Summary: It was just another night of patrolling. Everything was quiet, or at least, he thought it was quiet.
Characters: Dash x Danny x Kwan

Afterward 09

"I'm not seeing much out of the ordinary," Dash said followed by a slurping sound.

"Did you stop for food?" Kwan asked in a disapproving tone.

"I got a little thirsty. That's all!"

"I guess we should call it a night." Danny held back a yawn, keeping an eye on his surroundings. "It doesn't seem like anything's going on tonight." He liked the quiet nights, much more relaxing than his early high school days of battling some new ghost every week. But he couldn't help feeling a little itchy when it was quiet for too long.

"Danny," worry tinged Kwan's voice, "what are you doing out in the woods?"

"Oh, uh, it was pretty quiet in town." Danny winced. "So I thought I should explore around the forest a bit."

After they finished work on the ghost shield, and set it up on the roof of the school, he and Kwan poked around at other ideas that might be handy. Their communication devices, hooks around their ears, went pretty much unnoticed while in a crowd. Mostly they let them stay in contact without having to keep calling each other on their cell phones. They also had trackers placed in them so Kwan, who stayed back at the apartment most of the time, could keep tabs on their whereabouts should anything happen where one of them couldn't communicate anymore. Dash now had a pair of glasses that helped him see ghosts that were invisible. They weren't perfect, but Dash could at least pick up a blurry image, which was enough to clue him in on a ghost's location.

"Is everything okay out there?" Dash asked.

"All quiet," Danny assured them. "Let's meet up back at the apartment. We don't want to fall asleep during our get together tomorrow."

"Are you sure this is really a good idea?" Dash was clearly frowning with uncertainty.

"Will promised they wouldn't mention anything about being merfolk or anything about the supernatural world. And it'll just be a little brunch at our place. I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"We have been putting off telling Celeste and Hayley," Kwan reminded. "It's about time we finally told them."

Danny agreed. He hadn't meant to keep it secret for so long from them. They decided it was best to tell Hayley and Celeste in person, but they were all busy and their schedules didn't always line up for them to meet. "We can talk more about it back at the apartment. I'm going to start heading back now."

"Yeah," Dash paused to yawn, "I'm on my way back now too."

Danny turned to head back into town when a sound caught his ear. He stood still and listened carefully. The forest was quiet, only the rustle of leaves on the cool night breeze, until he located the sound. His mouth curved downward as he shifted to ghost form and made himself intangible. He followed the sound, his eyes flicking around the forest for any signs of trouble. Cautiously, he peered around a tree and found a young boy sobbing into his knees drawn up to his chest. After he gave the area another glance, he moved around the tree, trying not to startle the boy. It seemed like they were alone. He crouched down in front of the boy.

"Hey," Danny said in a soft voice.

The boy jerked his head up with a squeak, pressing his back into the tree. Two furry ears popped out of his dark hair. "W-Who are you?" His brown eyes widened, and his chest rose and fell in short panicked breaths.

"It's okay." Danny smiled gently, holding up his hands. "I'm just here to help. Why are you out here by yourself? Where are your parents? It's not safe to roam the forest alone at night."

"I," the boy sniffed, "know. But," his eyes were watery, "I wanted to prove I was a big boy!" He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I sneaked out after Mom put us to sleep. But-" His words got lost as he cried.

"Shh, it's going to be okay." Danny placed a hand on the boy's arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'll take you back home. Okay?"

The boy bobbed his head.

"Okay." Danny smiled. "Can you stand? Or do you want me to carry you?"

The boy shook his head. "I can walk."

"Of course." Danny nodded. "I apologize. I forgot you're a big boy." He stood up, and after wiping his eyes again, the boy did too. "Hm, I guess we should probably introduce ourselves." He winced, realizing he should have done that sooner. "I'm Danny."

"I'm," the boy said in a small voice, "Bentley."

"Well, Bentley, you're going to have to be the leader." Danny leaned down and cupped a hand over his mouth like he was about to share a secret. "And you should remember to keep your ears hidden."

Bentley gasped, clapping his hands over his ears. Panic flashed through his eyes.

"Don't worry." Danny winked. "You're not the only one with a secret." He held up a hand and slowly made it disappear.

Bentley's eyes widened in awe. "How'd you do that?"

"I'm a ghost." Danny grinned until he realized that might not be the best thing to say in this situation. He didn't want to scare Bentley, after all. "The friendly kind."

Bentley looked him over then frowned. "I thought ghosts would be scarier."

Danny winced. "Some can be. Anyway, we should start heading back to your family."

Bentley nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed hold of Danny's hand then started walking. He tried to hold his head up, but he chewed on his lip and jumped at any noise they heard in the forest. He couldn't be much older than seven or eight, still too young as a werewolf to fully control his transformations.

"Danny, why are you heading in the opposite direction of our apartment?" Kwan asked, concern seeping into his voice.

"Oh, something came up. Just making sure this boy gets home safely," Danny explained.

"Who are you talking to?" Bentley stared up at him. "Is that a ghost thing?"

"What's a boy doing in the middle of the woods at a time like this?" Kwan questioned.

"No," Danny leaned down and tapped at his ear to draw Bentley's attention to the communication device there, "my friends and I use this to keep in touch." Then he stood up straight again before replying to Kwan. "It's nothing to worry about. I'll tell you everything when I get home."

"Are they ghosts too?" Bentley asked.

Danny shook his head. "They're humans."

Bentley lowered his gaze, frowning at the ground. "But humans are mean."

"Why do you think that?"

Bentley tightened his hold on Danny's hand but wouldn't lifted his gaze. "The man before was scary."

Danny stopped walking. "Wait. What man?"

"The man before," Bentley repeated. "I couldn't see his face though because he was wearing a mask. He tried to grab me, but I bit his hand and ran away."

"Why didn't you-" Danny sighed, pinching his nose. He didn't even think to ask about the possibility of anyone else being in the forest. He thought Bentley merely wandered too far into the forest and got too scared to make his way home alone. But a masked man trying to snatch up Bentley in the forest at night? Danny didn't like the sound of that. "We should probably hurry back to your house then."

Danny pulled the boy with him as he picked up the pace. It was a faint noise. He nearly missed it. But the slight rustle of leaves was enough of a warning for Danny to jerk to a stop and yank Bentley behind him. The masked man dropped down in front of him. The tip of a knife sliced across his face. Danny flinched at the sting of the shallow cut. The blade gleamed in the moonlight that managed to break through the canopy of leaves above them. Danny realized immediately it was a silver dagger, possibly effective against a werewolf but completely ineffective against a half ghost.

"Give me the child," demanded the man, his mask muffling his voice.

"You'll have to go through me." Danny glared, his eyes glowing brighter with his anger.

"I'd really rather not kill an innocent person." The man swiped his silver blade, but Danny shifted himself and Bentley intangible.

"D-ny!" Kwan shouted in his ear. "Wha-s goin- -n?" His panicked voice came in broken fragments. Danny's powers always messed with the communication devices. He was certain they could find a way to fix that, but now was hardly the time to think on it.

"You're not taking this boy." Danny fired an energy blast. It struck the man in the chest, knocking him back several feet. "Bentley," he glanced over his shoulder to see Bentley struggling to keep quiet as tears and snot ran down his face, "I want you to run home. Run as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. Get home to your family. I'll stop this guy."

Bentley sniffled, terror in his eyes, but he nodded. Then he turned and ran off into the dark forest. Hopefully, he would make it home safely.

"You're going to regret that decision," the man said, grunting as he climbed to his feet. He pressed a hand to his chest, shoulders hunched forward. His posture didn't scream threatening or imposing, but Danny knew better than to let his guard down after years of fighting ghosts, hunters, and various supernatural beings.

Danny's mouth curled in a small smirk. He couldn't help feeling confidant when his opponent looked like he could barely stand on his feet. The man charged forward. Danny turned intangible to avoid the knife catching him a second time. He kicked the man in the leg. The man dropped to one knee. With a shout, he shot up, swinging a fist on Danny's jaw. The punch failed to connect, and the man stumbled through Danny.

"We can keep this up all night if you want." Danny turned around with his hands on his hips. "But I don't think either of us really want to do that."

The man spun around, raising the dagger above his head. Danny caught the man's wrist before the dagger had a chance to stab him. He preferred to keep this fight short so he could get home quickly.

"Stupid ghost," the man muttered.

Danny's brow creased, but he didn't get the chance to puzzle out the statement.

Bang!

Danny stumbled back, releasing his hold on the man's wrist. Pain bloomed in his shoulder. The man laughed as he kicked Danny in the stomach, sending him to the ground with a shout. His shoulder screamed. It wasn't his first time being shot. But why did it feel like fire was eating through his veins?

The man loomed over Danny. He pointed his pistol at Danny's head. "Say good-" A punch to the head cut him off, and he hit the ground with a grunt.

A smile flitted across Danny's face when he saw Dash. "Great timing."


Just Will: XD Yeah. I'm sure more than a handful crushed on the three of them. They most definitely took things slow to see what Dash liked or didn't like, as well as what he was comfortable with. I could see Kwan putting together a photo album. Maybe not too many picture currently, but they'll have plenty of years to fill it up. ;) I was struggling with something angsty to do from Kwan's PoV, but nothing was really hitting me. And it felt like a super long time since we heard from Will. XD

Kimera20: It doesn't surprise me that ffnet was having glitches, but that would certainly explain why it was suddenly so quiet. There have been quite a few times where I could see I got reviews but I couldn't actually read them. Still hoping they'll figure out what causes that and fix it so it stops happening. But, yes! Will and Kwan. I think they'll get along fairly well.

Rosie dragoneel: Danny's been shot! D: Good thing Dash got there in time!