I'm glad to be filled with inspiration, enthusiasm, and ideas to write this tale, but I'm even happier knowing there are still fans willing to try and read my tales, no matter the delay. Even one review is enough for me to continue forward. So, without ado, here's chapter two.

Also, there's one thing I want to announce to you all: I am pleased that my stories are receiving many praises and attention that I've been asked to give permission for make artwork of my stories. Let me say this that as much as I want to see some art, I have deep concerns accepting those proposals due to trust issues and the fact that it may cost me. So, unless you're willing to do it for 100% free, I will not allow artwork based on my tales. My works are to be read and enjoyed only.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom characters except my OC's.

Enjoy!

mikaela2015 - Thanks for the comments. And don't worry, there will be more chapters to come.

How to Befriend your Ghost

Chapter 2: To Kill or not to Kill

Later that morning, after the attack, the villagers all gathered inside the grand hall for a meeting called by Jack. The adults stood around a wide, round table, brightened by the sunlight piercing through the skylight. The table formed a ring around a fiery pit already lit by a fire and atop of them was an ornament of a ghost being blasted by a cannon, signifying their mortal enemy. Jack brought out a map of their home, the archipelago, and the vast sea surrounding them and announced his presence.

"Listen, people! This war cannot continue. Every day, we wonder when the next attack will be, and even if we're prepared, those ecto-monsters still steal our food, livestock, and supplies. Either we finish them or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them. If we find their den and destroy it, the ghosts will leave! They find another home away from us!" He declared while stabbing the map with a dagger where the supposed ghosts' den is located. "One more search before the first snow."

"Those ships never come back," one man said. "It's a suicide mission."

"We're hunters, most of us anyway. It's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?" Jack called out to the people.

The villagers worriedly muttered their insecurity. They mean well, but their search for the den were unsuccessful. Either they come back home empty handed with tattered ships or none return at all. Each one came with an excuse such as things to do, sick to work, and etc.

Luckily, Jack had a way for them to reconsider. "Alright, those of you who stay will look after Danny."

In a flash, everyone rose their hands to volunteer. Facing ghosts or anything else is better than watching Jack's awkward son.

"To the ships!"

"I'm with you, Jack!"

"Yeah, that's more like it," Jack grinned smugly. "Make preparations and we'll set sail soon. Dismissed!"

At once, the villagers left the hall to pack up for the mission. Lancer finished his drink and began to prepare for the expedition. "Okay, I'll pack my undergarments."

"No, Lancer. I need you to stay here and train some new recruits," Jack insisted. "Heaven knows we need all the help we can get."

Lancer frowned as he sat down. "Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Danny can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, loads of time to himself. What could possibly go wrong?" He sarcastically said.

Jack sighed heavily. "What am I gonna do with him, Lancer?"

"Put him in training with the others," Lancer calmly suggested.

"No, I'm serious."

"So am I."

"He'll be killed before you let the first ghost out of his cage!" Jack argued, disagreeing with the idea. Danny is not physically capable for training and tends to ignore even the simplest commands.

"Oh, you don't know that, Jack."

"I do know that."

"No, you don't."

"No, actually I do."

"No, you don't!" Lancer exclaimed.

"Lancer, listen. You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl, he's been...different," Jack sighed. "He doesn't listen, has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing, he goes hunting for...dragons!"

"Hey, dragons exist, you know!" Lancer disagreed. "They're sacred to the Chinese, supposed to be symbols of good fortune, but to me, they're beasts. I think one took my fish one time!"

Jack began to recall his youth to Lancer, hoping for him to understand his situation. "When I was a young boy..."

"Here we go," Lancer quietly groaned, having heard this tale before.

"My father told me to punch my fists against a boulder and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him, and you know what happened?"

"You broke your hand."

"That boulder split in two. It taught me what a hunter could do when facing danger. He can run through fire, crush mountain, level forest, tame seas! To be a force your enemies would fear. Even as a boy, I knew who I was, what I had to become," Jack then felt down at the thought that Danny is not like him. "But, Danny, he is not that boy."

"Jack, you can't stop him. You can only prepare him. He's forging his own path because he's growing up," Lancer wisely explained. "I know it seems hopeless, but the truth is you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now."

Although initially hesitant, Jack knew Lancer is right. He agrees to enlist his son into Ghost Hunting Training in the hope it will toughen him up and give him survival skills if he is to become an exceptional ghost hunter.

Meanwhile, Danny traveled to the woods beyond the village, somewhere around Crow Point in search for the fallen ghost. He checked his notebook which contains a small map of the village and the woods. Several locations were checked with X marks, symbolizing the investigated areas. He knows he shot down a ghost and if he could bring it back or even a piece of it will prove to the others that he wasn't making it up.

He arrived at the latest location, only to find empty results. There was no ghost or traces of it, only trees, rocks, leaves, and dirt. He sighed and checked that spot off until he frustratedly scribbled on the whole page and closed his notebook.

"Oh, I am cursed. I bet God hates me by now," Danny complained. "Some people lose their knife or mug, but no, not me. Instead, I managed to lose an entire ghost!" He then swatted a branch, only to get hit on the face by the same branch. "Ow!"

He then looked and realized the branch belong to a fallen tree, a tree that was slashed in half, as if something crashed through it. Next to the fallen tree limb were several destroyed trees, scorch marks, and a trail of churned up ground leading down a hill caused by a fallen being. Danny carefully follows the trail, watching his step along the way. When he reached the top of the hill, he gasped and hid quickly. Taking the risk, he peered over and to his surprise, he discovered the downed ghost, tied up in the bola shot he fired from his cannon.

Danny nervously took out a knife from his waist and slid down to the unmoving ghost. The ghost wasn't as large as he expected. It was the same size as a human, same as Danny. It had hands instead of claws, feet instead of paws or tails, and wore only black, tattered, worn cloak that covered his head.

"Oh, wow. I can't believe it. I did it. I did it! Man, this fixes everything! Yes! I have brought down this mighty ghost!"

As soon as he puts his foot on the ghost, it quickly moved his arm, scaring Danny to a rock. The ghost was alive, panting from the crash. Danny walked closer with his knife in hand in case the ghost strikes back. The ghost lay in place, but he opened his neon green eye, staring at Danny's face. His single eye showed both anger and fear, something no hunter had a chance to see.

Danny breathed heavily. He captured this ghost, is currently helpless, and now has the opportunity to bring his trophy to the village, proving himself to be a hunter like he wanted. He psyches himself up in preparation to cut out the ghost's core (his heart) with his belt knife.

"I'm going to destroy you, ghost. I'm gonna rip out your core and take it to my father. I'm a hunter. I AM A HUNTER!"

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and raised his knife over the ghost's chest, ready to strike down. But as he opened his eyes, he saw the intense fear in the ghost's eyes, looking back at him. The ghost moaned as he accepted his fate. But the knife never came down. Something stopped Danny. After seeing his eyes, the teen just couldn't bring himself to kill the ghost. He saw the helpless state the ghost is in, like a prey captured in a hunter's trap, waiting for death. The ropes prevented its escape and since they are anti-ghost bolas, it can't even phase through it. And who knows what injuries the ghost sustained from the fall.

"I did this. It's my fault."

Danny was about to walk away, but he couldn't just leave the ghost alone, not like this. Against his better judgement, he decided to do something no hunter has ever done: help the ghost escape.

The ghost opened his eyes at the sound of Danny cutting the ropes, feeling the bolas loosening its grip. After Danny cut him free, the ghost pounces on him and the situation has now reversed: Danny is clearly afraid and the ghost stares intently into his eyes for several moments. Danny then realized that the cloak hood fell, revealing the ghost's true face. Danny was shocked to see the ghost's face reflecting his own, like looking in a mirror, only the ghost had snow white hair and glowing neon green eyes. Rumors about this ghost was true, it truly is a Halfa. When it rears up, Danny cringes as he thinks it's going to kill him, but it instead spoke to his face.

"If you wish not to be destroyed, you will leave and pray that I never see you again!"

The ghost then let out a loud, ghostly wail in the air before attempting to fly off into the trees, leaving behind a stunned Danny. The teen slowly got up and attempts to walk away but faints from the encounter.

Later that night, Jack was patiently waiting for his son to return while tending the fireplace. Behind him, Danny entered through the door and gently closed the door. His eyes widening when he saw his dad by the fireplace, not wanting to speak to him now.

The teen believes he is in trouble, thinking his father discovered his absence from the house. He sneaks past Jack, but when he began climbing the stars, his father called out. "Danny."

"Dad, uh, listen, I have to talk to you," he said, climbing down the stairs. His sudden encounter with the Halfa left him with second thoughts regarding his career.

"What a coincidence, son, because I need to speak to you too."

Both father and son had something to say to each other, so they decided to spit it out at once, not realizing that they have different suggestions.

" I think I don't wanna fight ghosts," Danny revealed.

"I think it's time you learn to fight ghosts," Jack suggested.

"What?" They simultaneously said, clearly not listening to the other.

"Um, you first," Jack suggested.

"No, no, you go first, Dad," Danny insisted.

"Alright," Jack agreed. "You get your wish. Ghost training. You'll start in the morning."

"Oh, man, I should've gone first," Danny regretted his choice. "Because I was thinking, you know we have a surplus on ghost fighting hunters. But do we have enough bread making hunters or small home repair volunteers?"

"You'll need this," Jack said, handing Danny a big metal bazooka with the word Fenton on it. "Anything with our name on it is guaranteed to be a ghost's worst nightmare, especially if we're using it."

"I don't wanna fight ghosts," Danny admitted, struggling to hold the weapon.

Jack chuckled, thinking his son is making a joke with him. "Oh, come on, yes you do."

"Rephrase. Dad, I can't kill ghosts."

"But you will kill ghosts."

"No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't!" Danny tried to renegotiate for his dad to change his mind, but it falls on deaf ears.

"It's time, Danny."

"Can you not hear me? Or don't you understand English?" Danny pleaded his dad to listen.

"This is serious, son. When you carry this gun, you carry all of us with you," Jack seriously said. "You understand what this means? It means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more of...this."

"You just gestured to all of me!" Danny argued.

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one sided."

"Deal?" Jack sternly repeated, expecting an answer that he wants to hear.

Danny sighed in defeat. "Deal."

"Good," Jack was satisfied. Maybe this way, his son will lose most of his personality and become more like the others, more like him. He then took his bag packed with supplies for the expedition and gave some fatherly advice. "Until then, train hard, stay safe, listen to your teacher, and don't cause any more trouble. I'll be back...probably. "

"And I'll be here...maybe." Danny said, watching his father leave him alone in the house. Tomorrow will not be a fun day for him. It's time for school, but it's unlike any school he's ever been. One that will either make him stronger or lead him to his death.

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