Hello there! I have to give a huge thanks to Din Kelion and AkizukiSakura. I wrote it, they made it readable.

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"Danny!"

Daniel Fenton blinked slowly, refusing to remove his head from the pillow. Despite his exhaustion Danny turned his head without lifting it from the pillow to peer at the still-blinking clock on his nightstand – had the alarm gone off and he missed it?

What an unholy thought. Even in the daze of his sleep, he could remember precisely what time he'd fallen asleep: an hour and a half ago.

He had gotten an hour and a half of sleep. He groaned as he buried his face in his pillow, forsaking his father's morning calls a little bit longer. Any time before noon would have been too soon for Danny. His eyelids felt like cement his mind registered a dull ache throughout his weary body. He needed sleep but his parents thought otherwise. Hearing a loud pounding on his door, Danny rolled over and burrowed further into the blankets hoping, uselessly, for at least a few extra minutes of sleep.

Ignored, Jack Fenton threw open his son's door, causing a loud bang to resonate through the room as it slammed against the wall.

"You're wasting daylight, son," he began in his usual perky enthusiasm. You know how I hate that." Despite his negative statement, Jack remained chipper. Danny grumbled incoherently as he slowly lifted himself from his mattress.

"That's my boy; if you get ready fast enough I'll tell you about the time your great-great grandfather killed fifty vampires with his own wooden leg!" Jack always continued to imagine that Danny was at the age when he would bounce in joy to hear his father's wild stories. After hearing the story the umpteenth time, Danny thought sleep would be a better activity.

Jack closed Danny's door as loudly as he had opened it. Danny listened to his father's heavy footsteps fade as he made his way downstairs. The teen sighed and tried to pick out a pair of pants as slowly as possible. He settled on a semi-clean pair of jeans; they didn't smell so no one would notice the that they were less than clean.

Maddie Fenton looked up from the large metal weapon she was polishing to smile at her son as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Good morning, sweetie! How'd you sleep?" she asked as if brandishing a large, threatening weapon was natural. It was in this house, so Danny paid no attention to it.

As he yawned, Danny muttered an incoherent answer. He stopped in front of the cupboard and reached for bowl of Fenton O's. His father was vain sometimes but Danny excused it as normal since the cereal wasn't half bad. He grabbed a bowl and spoon from the dishwasher and settled down at the table. He hadn't even poured his cereal when he heard a honk from outside.

"Danny! Sam's here!" his mother called from the living room. Sure enough Danny's pocket vibrated; he removed his phone from his pocket, flipped it open, and held it to his ear.

"I've been sitting outside your house for like 5 minutes!" an impatient voice exclaimed.

"I'm coming, Sam. I had another rough night," Danny informed her quietly so that his parents wouldn't overhear.

"Hey, Tuck and I offered to help," she drawled. Danny sighed.

"Yeah, I know; I'll see you in a sec."

"I'll be counting."

Danny stuffed his phone back into his pocket and grabbed a Pop-Tart off the counter. He crammed it into his mouth and walked towards the front door, stopping to grab his backpack by the stairwell. Danny opened the door and stared as his friend poked her head out through the window of a shiny Ford Escape.

Danny opened the door to the passenger seat and climbed in. "New car?"

"It's a hybrid." The Goth girl explained with a smooth grin. Sam wasn't usually proud of flaunting the results of having wealthy parents, but after adding that the car was a hundred percent green, Danny figured that was why she was grinning so proudly.

Danny nodded and turned his attention toward the radio that was currently blasting a song that sounded like a howler monkey on speed. Danny was about to change the station but stopped when he noticed the ominous glare from Sam. He quickly moved his hands to his lap and turned to look out of the window.

"It's like I was telling Tucker the other day: If everyone switched to hybrid cars instead of their stupid, gigantic, ozone killing SUVs then the environment . . ."

Danny folded his arms across his chest, blinking slowly while his head began to nod. He was so exhausted; he had been up all night, running, fighting, tracking...

There were times where he wondered if it was really worth it. He would never get recognition for his efforts. Most people didn't believe in the existence of vampires, let alone fear the prospect of being attacked by one. He shook off the feeling. Heroism wasn't about the glory; it was about protecting people. Still, when he wasn't in a vicious struggle with one of the immortal foes, he was haunted by the thought of them savagely ripping at his flesh. He wouldn't doubt that they would try that if they had the chance to, either.

The job of a hunter was not a glamorous one.

"Danny, are you even listening to me?'

"Huh? Oh, yeah, global warming, dead penguins, it's terrible," Danny mumbled.

Sam huffed as she pulled into the school parking lot. "You know Danny, I'm starting to think this whole vampire hunting thing isn't good for you."

Danny laughed sarcastically. "What? You mean fighting blood-thirsty demons all night doesn't actually help me?" Danny feigned bewilderment.

"Danny, I'm serious!" Sam didn't get to finish her thought, for as soon as she removed the keys from the ignition a geeky boy wearing a red beret tapped on her window, looking like a large bug smeared against the car. Sometimes Danny wondered whether Tucker loved Sam or just the things constantly around her. Sam's train of thought was gone in a second as she laughed at Tuckers expression.

She opened the door and walked towards the school turning when she reached the stairs and noticed that Danny wasn't following. "Hurry up! Lancer's gonna kill you if you're late again!"

"He's already gonna kill me when he finds out I didn't finish that research paper last night," Danny said rubbing his aching eyes.

"Aww, cheer up, Danny." Tucker put his arm around Danny's shoulder and lead him toward the school, "It's not your fault you had to save the town. It's too bad you can't give Lancer a note; heroes should be exempt from homework."

"Yeah, I can see it now: 'Dear, Mr. Lancer, please excuse Danny's missing paper; he was busy killing monsters last night.'"

Tucker shrugged. "I'll forge your dad's signature if you want."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Tuck. I don't want the school calling my parents and telling them their son is making up stories about vampires. The last thing I need is for my parents to find out I'm secretly using super human powers to hunt vampires at night. They'd flip!"

"Your dad would be ecstatic."

"Yeah, or severely depressed," Danny said with a roll of his eyes as he moved to pick his pace up and catch up with his friends. "He'd probably have me dressed up in a suit and doing shows to impress everyone that never believed him about hunters. I think I'd like to be discreet."

"I guess," they stopped outside Mr. Lancer's door. "Come on Danny, you fight monsters, facing Lancer can't be that hard."

Danny grimaced, "The monsters can't give me detention."

--

"Mr. Fenton . . . Mr. Fenton!!"

Danny's head shot up from his desk, a large red mark on his forehead indicating he'd been resting for quite some time. Luckily, this time, the paper that he had been doodling on did not stick to it.

Mr. Lancer glared at him. "If you don't mind, please refrain from snoring during my lecture. This is an English class Mr. Fenton - nap on your own time."

Mr. Lancer walked back to the front of the class and continued talking about Shakespeare's use of foreshadowing in Julius Caesar.

Danny propped his head up and tried to focus. Moments later, however, he found that the classroom was becoming exceedingly blurry and Mr. Lancer's voice had quieted to a dull murmur. A soft buzzing noise rang in his ears. He attempted to sit up straight but soon found himself leaning towards the left and out of his chair. He leaned more, and more, and more...

He fell out of his desk, causing enough of a disturbance in to snap himself awake and hear the sound of laughter around him as he made contact with the ground.

"Fenton!"

"Shit..." Danny rubbed the side of his face and watched as a pair of feet stomped heatedly in his direction.

Lancer pulled him roughly to his feet and hauled him out of the classroom. His peers snickered as he passed, his face warm and blushing with embarrassment.

Lancer slammed the door, let go of Danny and turned to face him, "Mr. Fenton, this is third time you've fallen asleep in my class this week. Is there something going on at home that's keeping you from getting your rest?" Mr. Lancer spoke with a tint of agitation, but a genuine sense of concern that all teachers supposedly had.

Danny stared at his teacher in disbelief. Was Lancer seriously acting concerned about his home life?

"Uh, no, it's nothing like that..." Danny said distantly as his gaze wandered over his teacher's shoulder.

"You're an intelligent individual, Danny. You have great potential, but you are ruining your chances by sleeping in class and not turning in assignments. If you don't get your act together you're going to fail this class!"

Danny stared at his shoes, following the twisting pattern of the laces. He'd never failed a class before; in junior high he'd been a straight 'A'student. Had he really gone from an honor student to a barely-passing student in just a few years? Danny would have liked to blame puberty. Besides the usual awkward growth spurt, Danny had also gained the addition of inhuman speed, a sixth sense, and strength. Who knew those unusual abilities would affect his grades in anything other than P.E?

After an awkward moment of silence Lancer sighed. "Danny, get more sleep. Going to bed earlier isn't that much of a challenge, now is it?"

Danny tried not to roll his eyes. "Mr. Lancer, it's not that simple. I've been really... busy lately."

"Oh, I believe it's exactly that simple. The amount of sleep you get at night has an incredible effect on your abilities in school. Whatever you've been busy with is not more important than your grades."

Danny was just about to protest when the sound of a loud bell echoed down the hall. A wave of students emerged from their classrooms and scattered in different directions. Danny took this opportunity to run back into Mr. Lancer's room and grab his bag. He walked back out surreptitiously, noticing with relief that Lancer had caught another student leaving that also needed some kind of supportive advice from class. This gave Danny the freedom to turn and veer off in the direction of his locker.

He could see the number on the small metal door when he heard a loud voice behind him.

"Hey, Fentoid!!"

"Damn."

Danny closed his eyes and slowly turned towards Dash. The large jock grinned maliciously as he walked towards him, his red football jacket pulled tightly over his overly-muscled arms. Danny gulped and took a small step back.

"Hey nerd! You look like you could use a beating." He laughed as if his threat was something clever. "How would you like a fist in your face?"

"You know, Dash, that sounds really nice and all, but I have to get to class, so if you don't mind..."

As Danny took off running in the opposite direction, he heard a loud roar echo down the hallway as the blonde came tearing after him. Danny had screwed over his reputation in school years ago. Running away from a fellow classmate that was about to wail on him wasn't considered cowardly. After all, Danny knew he could beat Dash… It would only raise questions as to why a scrawny teen like him could upstage a fitness sports nut. He tried to dodge several groups of students crowded around their lockers. He looked behind him and noticed Dash knock several of these students to the floor as he shouted a steady stream of threats.

Danny turned down an empty hallway and ran into the science lab at the end of the hall. He searched frantically for a place to hide. Hearing Dash fumbling with the door Danny went into a state of mixed panic and anger – it looked like he was going to be late for Algebra again.

Dash burst into the science lab and scanned the room for any sign of the puny Fenton kid. After looking under several tables he swore bitterly and headed for the door. Again his eyes searched for even the slightest hint of Fenton. He slammed the door as he went in search of another victim – maybe one of those band geeks.

Danny listened fervently until he was sure Dash wasn't coming back. He breathed a sigh of relief and climbed back into the class room. He was grateful Dash hadn't decided to look out the window. He also hoped no one had seen him hanging from the windowsill. He would've preferred to have simply jumped but if anyone had seen him leaping from a second story window with ease it might have raised a few questions that Danny wasn't prepared to answer.

He yawned; his day had started out a lot different than he had hoped but not much different than what he had expected. Enduring the dubious delights of a lecture from his teacher followed by nearly being beaten up were parts of his normal routine. Not that he really understood the word 'normal' anymore in the first place.

--

Sam had offered to give him a ride home and Tucker even made room on his scooter but Danny had decided to walk. He was already enough of a burden to his friends. He was constantly getting notes and the like from them and on a few occasions they'd even helped him patrol the city. They really were his best friends... He owed them so much.

He stared at the sidewalk the entire time he walked home and thought about what Lancer had said earlier. Was defending Amity from villainous bloodsuckers more important than his GPA?

It was a stupid question and Danny knew it. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he just quit. He could remember countless times he had stopped a vampire from breaking into someone's home. He couldn't even count the potential murders he had prevented. However, past experiences had taught him that he couldn't save everyone.

He had heard the stories about the ones he had missed: bodies found in alleyways with no certain cause of death besides massive blood loss, entire families found dead in their homes, slit at the throat and not a trace of evidence for the police to follow. However, nothing made Danny cringe more than the stories about children.

Less than six months ago a small girl had been found no more than three blocks from her home. Her throat had been ripped from her tiny body. Danny remembered that night more vividly than any other. If only he had been just a little faster, if only he had been just a little stronger. He remembered the vampire's laugh when Danny had found him possibly seconds after the little girl had died.

The vampire's malicious snickers echoed in his mind.

Danny couldn't see what was so funny about killing a child. He wished he had ripped out the monster's heart right then and there. But instead the creature had run and Danny had chased after him. He could remember the vampire's silky voice taunting him, provoking him until he became blind with fury. Danny balled his hands into tight fists just from the memory. He had screamed with rage when he finally tackled the vampire to the ground.

The monster was in shock when he realized Danny had actually caught him. He had struggled frantically against Danny'shold but the youth'sgrip remained firm. Most vampires never expectedto fight with an existing hunter. At least Danny had the element of surprise with him. His hand had moved to the creature's throat, pinning him as he reached for the sharp object attached to his belt. He held it above his head, his eyes narrowed as the monster's eyes widened, he then brought the weapon down in a flash,piercing the screaming figure through the chest.

Danny removed the stakeand ripped the vampire's heart from his chest. He stood and pulled a lighter from his pocket. The pale creature tried to stand up but when the heart became engulfed in flames he shrieked in pain. He writhed and twitched, shouting curses as his eyes rolled around in his head.

Danny stood there, the heart still in his hands, unaffected by the bright flames that encased the black mass.

The life of a hunter wasn't pretty… Danny even made sure Sam and Tucker had never actually seen him take the life of those murderous creatures. What they did see was usually a gaunt-faced, blood-smeared Danny. Sam, fortunately, had made it clear that she was willing to help provide extra clothing.

Danny had reached his house without realizing it as he reminisced. Now he stared up at it, his expression almost surprised. The brick building was rather large, something he had never really thought about it before. Before his sister Jazz had gone off to college it hadn't seemed so empty, but now it felt rather lonely. His parents spent most of their time in the lab. He hated to admit it, but even though his sister had a habit of trying to counsel him he still missed her nagging voice. She always tried so hard to cheer him up.

He had come home in tears that night. He had never seen a victim of a vampire before then. His sister had heard him vomiting from outside the bathroom door. She had waited patiently until he had came out and had become frantic when she found her baby brother covered in blood. She had then proceeded to force him back into the bathroom and washed his face with a wet washcloth.

Danny had told her everything that night. Surprisingly she had agreed to keep it a secret from their parents. From then on, though, she had always risen at sunrise, and waited for Danny to come into the house. She had bandaged him up on more than one occasion that year- not that it was really necessary. Danny always healed quickly, but he appreciated the gesture all the same.

Jazz still called him often, always making sure he was taking care of himself. She always wanted him to consider his own feelings before anyone else's. It was hard, though, now that she was in college.

As soon as he walked through the front door he hurried to his room and flopped onto his bed. His eyes closed and within moments he was deep in sleep.

He was awakened a few hours later by his cell phones shrill ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, he groaned when he realized it was only his alarm. He looked out of the window. The sky had turned a reddish color. He pealed off his T-shirt and pulled on a black long-sleeved shirt that clung to his body tightly. He replaced his dirty jeans with a pair of black cargo pants. On his belt hung a few weapons he had managed to swipe from his parents.

He opened the window, stepped up onto the sill, and climbed up the wall until he reached the roof. He pulled himself over the gutter and sat next to the sign that read "Fenton Works."

Most people associated sunsets with beauty and wonder- Danny could think of nothing but the approaching hell. He tried to mentally prepare himself. Who knew? Maybe this would be an easy night. It was possible. He stretched his limbs and yawned. He assumed it was part of his "hunter powers" but as soon as the sun went down he went from completely exhausted to extraordinarily energetic.

The sky became dark and, for a moment, it was as if the entire world had come to an abrupt halt. Danny felt a cool breeze against his face as his eyes scanned the horizon. Though it was now dark he could see just as well as he could during the day, possibly even better since his lack of sleep made things so blurry.

He looked out across the tops of the many buildings that surrounded his home. In the distance he thought he saw something moving; it leapt from one roof to another at a speed most humans wouldn't have even been able to see. Danny got swiftly to his feet and stared harder at the figure. As he had suspected it was running determinedly toward Danny's home.

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