Authors Note: I do not own Danny Phantom or Ember Mcclain. I do however own the creature. (You'll see) I got the idea from a challenge posed by TheBlueVampireQueenOfAbiland. Thank you and enjoy the first chapter.
A Helping Hand
Ember sat on the bright green chair in her living room, cradling one of her many guitars in her lap. She slowly and methodically plucked each of the strings, tuning them by ear. Just as she got to the A-string a loud thump echoed through her home. Her hand twisted the knob in surprise and with a violent twang it snapped. She growled to herself setting the guitar down, standing, and listening intently for the source of the noise. Whatever made it was going to be hurting. This time the ghost heard two quiet knocks at her front door. She walked to the front door grumbling to herself.
"I swear if that's the box ghost again I am gonna make him fall in love with the lunch lady." She stopped almost right after she said this and shook her head violently trying to dislodge the image. "Yikes… or maybe ew… yeah that's definitely an ew."
She turned the handle to the door and it flew open as the weight pressed up against it fell forward. She gasped and stepped back in shock. Danny Phantom was lying on her floor, unconscious, bleeding, and from the looks of things broken.
"D…Danny…but…how?" Ember honestly didn't know how to react to him. This kid had stolen every chance she had of becoming famous and by now had locked her away in the ghost portal several times now. Part of her wanted revenge. To beat and humiliate him. But not like this. Whoever did this wanted to kill him.
She stepped around his frame, which was breathing shakily, and peered outside. At first she didn't see anything but then a dark figure soared over the horizon. Its form was difficult to make out although she could tell it had wings. And those eyes. They looked blood red.
She quickly closed the door and kneeled next to Danny. The rustle of wings could be heard outside as whatever it was flew past. Ember kept her head down and stayed quiet. Eventually the sound faded off into the distance and she sighed with relief. Her arm snaked under Danny's and across his back in an effort to lift him up. But when she turned him up off his chest she nearly vomited. A large spine, almost two feet in length, was lodged in Danny's stomach. The green glow it gave off showed it was crafted from ectoplasmic energy. Neon green blood leaked out from around the wound. His black and white jumpsuit was torn with dozens of scratches and he looked severely burned in a few places. Both his arm and leg on his right side hung limply and at odd angles.
Ember swallowed, fighting to keep her breakfast down as she carried Danny to her sofa. "Jeez. What the hell did this to you?" She laid him down but jerked away as he cringed in pain. "What do I do? He needs help but the closest medical center is Frostbites and I don't think I should move him." She kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his chest. He jerked a little as his unconsciousness still registered the pain. Ember looked up into his face as though hoping he would wake up but he merely slumped back down. She blinked a few times. There had been quite a few battles fought between them but even with all the times she and Danny had faced off she could never remember him looking so… helpless. Ember honestly thought she knew Danny. A cocky, smart ass, good guy… a good guy who would probably wake up any second now to see one of his enemy's faces a few inches from his face. She pulled back quickly. "Come on Ember. Don't want to give the kid a heart attack."
Her hand moved from his chest and gently rested on the spine in his stomach. "Well I guess now is a good a time as any." She looked at Danny, then back down at her hand which was slowly encircling the spine, took a deep breath, and slowly attempted to pull it out of him. Danny's back jerked into an arch as his eyes shot open though still unseeing. He tore a scream from deep inside himself that could only be made of one thing. Pure white hot pain. Ember cringed as his scream continued. She pulled harder on the spine trying her hardest to get it out of him. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. She grunted, actually lifting Danny off the sofa with the spine. "What the?" She released it and Danny fell back onto the sofa. Though still unconscious the pain racked his body, making his muscles quiver and causing him to mumble incoherently. Ectoplasm dripped from her hands as her efforts had only served to coat the spine with Danny's ghost blood. She shook her head. "It's not gonna leave his body… I… I need to go get some help. Like clockwork. Yeah he's always had a soft spot for the dipstick."
She went to the front door, shouldering her guitar and wiping the blood off on a rag. Her hand reached out and grabbed the handle when a voice boomed out. "I know you're here phantom! I heard your scream." Ember peeked outside and her eyes grew wide with what she saw. It was a ghost of some kind but it was almost twice the size of skulker. Huge bat-like wings protruded from its shoulder blades and flapped at a slow beat. It was definitely male, with an extremely muscular body all the way around. He had claws and talons, instead of fingers and toes. His face looked surprisingly human with dark brown hair that came down to his shoulders. The ears were large, pointed, and bat-like. Fangs protruded from under his top lip and his eyes glowed a blood orange color. He clothed himself in a pair of black pants which were being held up by a belt and a long trench coat that stayed open at the front revealing his gray chest.
"Why not come out where I can see you boy! I grow weary of this game." He swiveled around looking in different directions. At the different houses and portals that surrounded the area.
"He doesn't know where Danny is…" She whispered.
His ears perked up and he turned quickly in her direction. Fortunately Ember had seen his ears move and silently closed the door, holding her hand on the turned knob so it wouldn't click. She held her hand over her mouth and waited in fear. Soon she heard him making some sort of sound.
"Is… is that laughter?" She asked herself.
Sure enough the creature was laughing. "Of course you are hiding Phantom. I should have known you would have a few friends in here. Well to whomever's harboring him know this. All you have to do is give him up to me and I swear, no harm will come to you." He waited for several minutes before sighing and saying. "My offer stands… for now. And if you're out there Phantom listen carefully. You are placing all these denizens of the ghost zone in danger. But I can wait. Oh yes. I can wait."
Ember heard his wings give a mighty flap and she waited for him to get a good distance away. Finally she relaxed and slumped down next to the door. "Okay. I can't leave. Not with that thing waiting out there." Her gaze moved to Danny who just barely twitched in his sleep. She sighed and half smiled. "Looks like it's just you and me baby pop."
