Okay, you're going to do fine. Just don't screw this up. Dash gulped as he walked up the steps of the pompous manor that belonged to the most powerful man in Amity Park.

To say that he was nervous would be the understatement of the century.

The jocks palms were sweaty, his throat was dry, and he felt like he was going to hurl. People weren't just invited to Vlad Masters house. They were invited. And if you were invited, then he either really liked you or he REALLY DIDN'T like you. And Dash was freaking out because he had no idea which person he was to the mayor: the football star or the pig-head bully.

Dash shakily reached out to know (or stop himself from wetting his pants), when the door opened before he had even made contact with it. Standing inside of the door way was a pudgy butler. He had his nose up as if to say, "Your presence is a waste of time, I am far too busy to deal with the likes of you."

"Um, I was asked to meet with Mayor Masters this afternoon," Dash asked, surprising even himself with his polite behavior.

The butler sniffed and then spoke in a condescending tone, "Yes, yes. You were supposed to be here at nine." He waited as if expecting Dash to say something. Dash, of course had no idea what the man was talking about, so he just stood there awkwardly, with his hands clasped together in front of him.

The butler's eyes furrowed, annoyed. "You were supposed to be here precisely six and a half minutes ago."

"I'm sorry," the response came out sounding more like question, though. Mr. Butler huffed, turned on his heel, and began walking down one of the many hallways. When Dash didn't follow he turned around and gave him an irritated look until Dash caught the gist of what was going on and hurried on his way behind the butler.

"So, I'm guessing that you are wondering why I have asked you to come meet me here." The blonde had already been introduced to Mayor Masters, and they were in the library (which was more like a labyrinth) drinking tea.

"Yes sir." The blonde knew that he should talk extra carefully to Vlad, as it might be his entire life of the line. Nobody had actually ever seen him do anything ethically wrong…but there still were the rumors. And if the blonde could go off of what gossip he's heard, then Dash was (and pardon my French) screwed.

"Well, I have a proposition for you. How would you like to hunt ghosts for me?"

Dash sat there confused (which seemed to be happening more often than it did at the Masters Manor). Finally he choked out, "What?"

"Yes, yes. I've learned that you have had a recent interest in ghost hunting. I'll be paying you, of course. Personally, the more ghost hunters we have out there the better. And as long as that stupid Jack Fenton is out of the way, then we can easily trap all the ghosts' that are out there. Amity Park would be a much safer place."

Dash blinked, "I know that. But there are a lot of other people out there who would do a lot better job than I would."

Vlad grinned, "Yes, but you have proper motivation. That's something very hard to come by nowadays, what with all this technology all over the place." Now, Dash didn't know this, but when Vlad said proper motivation, he really meant a love for violence.

"What do you mean my motivation? Do you mean the recent ghost attack at Casper High? Somebody I cared about was hurt there…"

Taking this new information in stride (believing that the quarter back was talking about one of the girls who had gotten scrapped in the cross-fire), Vlad twisted things back into his favor, "Of course I mean something like that. If you become a ghost hunter, then you can protect the people that you care about."

The wheels were turning inside of Dash's head. Danny…he was hurt pretty badly. If somebody had been there to save him, then maybe he wouldn't be as hurt as he was now.

The poor boy was still recovering. Danny was allowed to go home, but he hadn't wanted to talk to anybody, and Dash couldn't blame him.

Dash nodded his head. "I'll do it."

Vlad grinned. "Of course you will. But I want you to pay extra special attention to taking down Danny Phantom."

"What! Why would you want me to do that? He's like, the town hero!"

"He's only a hero if you choose to see him like that. Phantom played a crucial role in the fight at your school that you mentioned earlier. You might even say that it was his entire fault."

That was the moment when Dash chose to turn his back on Danny Phantom.

When he was still Dash he would continue learning from the Fenton's, and he was still going to through with Paulina's plan. But from that day on, Danny Phantom was not cool…he was a sworn enemy.

The more time Dash had worried over Danny's injuries while he hadn't been able to see how they really looked, the more terrible and exaggerated they had become. The blonde was used to seeing Danny every day, and knowing how bad his bruises were because, well, he had caused them. But the second somebody other than Dash laid a threatened finger on Danny, the second blood was going to be spilled.

Danny was his. Hands down, mouth shut, no questions asked.

Dash loved Danny. He loved the smile on his face when he got an A on a science test, the embarrassed pout on his face when he had been caught wearing a dress, even the determined angle of his chin when he was running away from him. The boy was simply perfect. And Dash didn't really know how to react to perfect.

It scared him.

So he tried to ruin Danny's perfect porcelain skin, but the plan backfired, and Dash ended up hating himself more and more. But still, he craved the physical contact and the way all of Danny's focus would be on him when he was…trying to get away from the jock.

Still. If Dash had to become a ghost hunter to keep Danny safe, then so be it. If he had to endure tedious hours of working in the lab until he knew the ins and outs of everything supernatural, then so be it. And if he had to obliterate Danny Phantom, well then so be it.