A.N. - Hello! So I recently got into Danny Phantom, a childhood classic of mine, making use of Hulu's month-long free trial.

I was inspired the other day to write this one-shot (that progressively got longer the more I worked on it…)

I am also proud and pleased to announce that this will be my 50th published fanfiction on Fanfiction . net! I've loved being a part of the fanfiction & FFN community these past 10 years, reading, writing, and posting stories. Some of my earlier work is a little embarrassing to read now, but they're all a part of my writing journey and I'm grateful for the experience and joy they've given me.

I never thought that my 50th published story would be a Danny Phantom one-shot, but what better way to celebrate a decade of writing fanfiction than by writing something for a childhood favorite's fandom?

Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this, and I hope you have fun reading!

Skulker – the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter – examined the piece of paper clutched in his hand, eyebrows furrowed. He glanced up at the swirling green sky, lined with doors. Finding the one he wanted, he jumped up from his island and hovered in the air. Banging on a normal-seeming purple door with his metal-gloved fist, he shouted,

"Technus! Get out here!"

A loud Thump was heard along with a few muttered curses. Then the door flew open, revealing a white-haired, green-skinned ghost – who, while shirtless, at least wasn't covered in suds.

"WHO DARES DISTURB TECHNUS, MASTER OF ALL — oh, it's you," Technus exclaimed. Scowling at his neighbor, he asked, "What do you want, Skulker?"

Skulker thrust the green and white flyer in the other ghost's face. "Have you seen this?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes." Technus took the paper from Skulker. "Yes, I saw the Ghost Boy and his friends spreading them around with that Ghost Zone ship of theirs. Yesterday, I think it was."

Skulker had woken up this morning to see bunches of them piled on his lawn. Annoyed at whoever had dared throw their trash into his lair, but also curious, he'd read it immediately. It was a simple flyer, more like a letter, really, printed on white computer paper with a dark green border and dark green words.

It read,

Hey everyone, Phantom here.

So if you don't know, these next couple weeks are finals, and then graduation. And so these last couple weeks are REALLY important for me. I need to do well on my tests to get into the engineering NASA-track program at Amity University.

So I'm begging you all to please just leave me and the town alone so I can study. PLEASE. I promise after June 9th you can bust out, wreak havoc, wail on me all you want, but PLEASE no earlier. Okay? Do me this one favor?

Thanks,
Danny Phantom

P.S. - This is me asking nicely. If you don't comply, I will simply skip the witty banter, Ghostly Wail your backsides, and leave you in the thermos for the summer. You have been warned.

Skulker had sneered at the post-scripted threat, but couldn't help but wince at the thought of three months stuck in that blasted thermos. It was incredibly cramped, even more so when Phantom let his enemies pile up for a while.

Now, Skulker crossed his arms. "How ridiculous. As if that whelp is any match for me, the Ghost Zone's GREATEST HUNTER - "

"What's with all the yelling!? Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

Another door on the opposite side of Skulker's island opened to reveal Ember, who glared at them. She was dressed in a midnight blue nightgown and sans eyeliner. Another moment, and Kitty's green head – tousled from sleep – poked out of the door frame as well. They must have been having a sleepover or something.

Skulker floated over and showed Ember the flyer. Her glare deepened as he drew closer; they'd still never quite mended fences after their relationship ended. Not that Skulker cared, no matter how often the whelp teased him about it since he'd discovered Skulker always had Ember's latest song downloaded onto his suit when there was a new release.

Kitty and Ember read Phantom's note. Kitty shrugged, seeming unconcerned, but the fiery-haired pop star turned her glare onto the paper instead.

"What does he think this is, Christmas? What's gotten into that punk, makes him think he can order us around?" Ember seethed.

"Maybe because he's always stuffing us back into the Ghost Zone?" suggested Kitty.

"Or it could be because of You-Know-What," sang Desiree as she faded into existence next to Ember's door. Her presence surprised Skulker – he hadn't thought her lair was so close to his. Then again, the Ghost Zone often shifted and spun according to its own rules, and the genie-ghost was a wanderer by nature anyway.

He scoffed at her answer. "Oh, please. The boy's no king, and, as long as I have anything to say about it, he never will be. Not before he's reached his second century, at least."

Ever since Phantom had defeated Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts, in single combat three years ago, dislodging the Crown of Fire, he'd had the strongest, though unofficial, claim to the throne. And sure, he'd had help, from his parents' Ecto-suit, and Vlad Plasmius had been the one to lock Pariah away. But Phantom was the one who'd challenged and fought the old king, and come out of the ordeal alive (or as alive as a half-human, half ghost could be).

And now, any ghost that looked at him could sense the surge of power that lay dormant in the boy, the same as Pariah's though far less malevolent. It would only be unlocked by wearing the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage. It seemed as if Phantom himself was unaware of his inheritance, which in Skulker's opinion was just as well, one of the perks to having your arch-rival be half-human.

None of Phantom's ghostly enemies/occasional allies were about to tell him, either – cluing the boy in that he could command them to heel if he let loose his true power? No, thank-you.

"Anyway," Skulker began, gesturing to the flyer still clutched in Ember's hand. "What are we going to do about this? Are we going to do the whelp a favor, as he asks?"

"Johnny and I have nothing against him," Kitty said, sounding bored with the conversation. "Besides, he's practically gonna give us free reign if we stay away before his graduation. That's not too hard to do."

"I agree," said a new voice, high-pitched and feminine sounding. Skulker looked over to see the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost, floating near Klemper's door, hand in hand. Now when had they gotten here? The hunter might have to relocate if the neighborhood got much more crowded. The last thing they needed was for Walker to show up next.

Skulker crossed his arms. "Oh, you're just being nice to him because he finally broke up with that meat-hating Goth girl," he accused.

"What, really? He did?" Ember cried, sounding far too happy at the idea.

Technus, still hanging near his own door, laughed. His next words carried across the distance, "Oh, please. Those two break up every time they have an argument! They'll be back together by the end of next week. I still like the Red Huntress girl better, but what can you do?"

Ember clenched her fists at her side as she turned to glare at Technus. Kitty, noticing, giggled.

"Still gonna deny you have a crush on him?" she teased her friend.

Ember whirled around and pushed Kitty back into her lair, eliciting a yelp. The singer then crossed her arms and looked anywhere but at her fellow ghosts, a bluish-green blush on her face.

Skulker sighed. The conversation was not going how he had planned at all. "Come now, we don't necessarily have to go after him. There are others we could play with. The Red Huntress, like Technus mentioned, or — ooh, even the Ghost Girl, she'd put up a good fight."

Skulker grinned at the thought of battling Dani-with-an-I Phantom. She was even rarer than her sire, a half-human half-ghost clone. Danny Phantom would always be his favorite prey, of course, the first halfa he'd discovered; the first to humiliate him; and – one day – the first whose pelt he'd have hanging by his bed. Only after he'd taken him down would he go after Danielle and turn on Plasimus – no point in wasting a good benefactor while they had a mutual enemy in common, after all.

Ember rolled her eyes at him. "Oh yeah, uh huh, that'd go over real well. If you go after Baby-pop's baby, one, she'll beat you three ways to Sunday, and then when Phantom finds out, he'll lock you up in the thermos for a year."

Skulker narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you think so little of me, woman? I am SKULKER, the Ghost Zone's –"

"Greatest hunter, yada yada yada," Ember interrupted. "Remind me what your score card is like against our friendly neighborhood ghost kid? Two thousand to zero?"

"Like yours is any better," Skulker muttered. Ember growled at him but did nothing else, apparently not willing to start a fight this morning.

Skulker finally floated away from his ex-girlfriend's door. "Alright, one last time: I'm going to hunt Phantom this week whether he wants me to or not. Anyone with me?"

There was a beat of silence. Then,

"No," everyone else chorused. Skulker fell backward out of surprise before righting himself.

"Fine!" he declared. "Excuse me for trying to be sociable! See if I try to organize a neighborhood hunt ever again!"

"Yeah, well, don't come crying to us when he beats you," Ember told him, stifling a yawn before heading inside and closing her door. Desiree giggled before flying away.

"Give the boy a break and let him finish high school," the Lunch Lady advised. "Then we can crush him beneath meat piles of DOOM!"

"And boxes," the Box Ghost added. The two looked at each other lovingly before floating off, still hand in hand.

Skulker rolled his eyes and looked over at Technus. "And you, my technologically gifted friend?"

"Ah, yes, I, Technus, master of all technology, will have to pass as well," answered the other ghost. "But when you come back, let's work on some new upgrades, alright?"

The hunter nodded absentmindedly, already shooting off through the Ghost Zone, determined to hunt his prey. Honestly, it was as if the whelp thought Skulker actually cared about his human life events. When would he move into the Zone so that they could have proper fights all the time?

As the entrance to the Fenton portal came closer, Skulker grinned. The whelp was graduating soon, yes? Might as well make this battle one to remember.

He was risking three months in that blasted thermos for it, after all.

A.N. - So the ghosts' conversation just kept getting longer, therefore this fic got longer - oh well. I also wanted to explore a few different ideas in here as well, including Danny's possible friendly/frenemy relationship with the more recurring ghosts; a potential Ghost King Danny idea; and the reason why Skulker only ever hunts Danny for being a half-ghost even though he works for Vlad who is also half-ghost.

Also, because I know Phantom Planet is a contentious topic in the fandom, I wanted to make the timeline as vague as I could - just somewhere between when Danny defeated Pariah Dark ("Reign Storm"), learned the Ghostly Wail (The Ultimate Enemy) and the end of his senior year. Also, I'm more of a Danny/Valerie fan than Danny/Sam but I have nothing specific against Sam or that relationship, so, again, I made it kinda vague.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism, reviews, questions/comments/suggestions welcome!