Hey, everyone! Mystery Critic here, back at you with the second chapter of Chords of Passion! I really enjoyed writing the first chapter, and I'm going to also enjoy writing this one! Again, I apologize for making Sam like that, but it's how I see her in this one. I do enjoy Sam as a character, but it's just how I needed her to be in this story for it to progress properly. As for the disclaimer, I don't own Danny Phantom, nor any of the rights affiliated with it. That honor belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. Anywho, on to the next chapter of Chords of Passion!

Chapter 2

Ember's P.O.V

'Ugh, I have had it with that flying bucket of bolts!' I thought, flying through the Ghost Zone towards one of the natural portals that connect the Ghost Zone to the human world. As it opens, I smirk, flying towards it. 'Right on time. Unlike that mechanical paperweight. He's always fucking late. Well, I won't have to worry about it anymore. I'm sure the ass kicking I gave him was clear enough.'

Flashback, Ember's P.O.V

"Ugh, he's late again!" I yell to no one in particular, tapping my foot on the floor of my living room. I look to the clock again. "8:30. He's officially an hour late. I'm so sick of this!"

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door and I open it to find Skulker, flowers in hand and a nervous smile on his face. "Now, Ember. I know I'm late, but-"

"It's fine." I say, interrupting him.

"Really?" He says, completely dumbfounded. "Well, good. Glad to know you've stopped your incessant whining all the time. Now, come. We're off to the restaurant now."

"No, we're not." I said, crossing my arms.

"Excuse you?"

"We're not because I'm dumping you." I say, floating out towards him, my flaming blue hair rising higher as I close in on him. "I'm dumping you because I'm tired of you always hunting that dipstick, Phantom! I'm tired of you always placing hunting over me! I'm sick and tired of you going on and on about having his pelt on your wall, when you know that's never going to fucking happen! He's the most powerful ghost in the world, and you will never beat him! Last time you fought, he didn't even need to transform to beat you! You're pathetic, Skulker, and I'm done with you. We're over. Don't come back, or I will give you a beating that makes Phantom's look tame."

"How dare you, woman!" He snaps, throwing the flowers aside as his rocket launcher pops out of his shoulder plate. "I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, and I will not let you speak to me that- AGH!"

I interrupt his rant with a powerful fist chord that knocks him back several yards. "Get this through your head, dipstick. We're over. Bye bye, baby!" I scream, turning the volume up to max on my guitar and charging my energy before sending a fist at him three times bigger than him. It hits him head on, a smile on my face as his armor explodes, and his real body floats unconsciously away.

"Wouldn't even be good enough for a dildo." I mutter, flying off. "I wonder what Baby Pop's doing right now. Probably being a goody two-shoes or going out with that goth chick. Ugh, he could do so much better than a poser."

End flashback, Ember's P.O.V

I fly through the portal and into the human world, seeing I'm in Amity Park. I'm about to fly off to find Phantom, but I hear someone crying from the hill next to me. I turn to see it's Baby Pop himself, holding his knees to his chest and crying. 'What the hell?' I think. "He's crying! I've never seen him vulnerable like this before. What the hell happened to him?'

I float down and sit next to him, placing my guitar next to me as I lean back on my hands. "Hey, Baby Pop." I say, looking out at the sky, the colors just finishing changing from the sunset hue of red, yellow, and orange to the dusky tinge of blue and purple. "Whatcha crying like a baby for? You know Baby Pop is just a nickname, right? It's not supposed to be taken seriously."

He doesn't say anything, just keeps his face in his knees. I turn to look at him, and raise a hand t place on his shoulder before stopping to think about it. 'If he needed someone to comfort him, I'd probably be the last person he needs.' I sigh and stand up, picking up my guitar. "If you need me, I'll be terrorizing the town, Baby Pop."

I bend my knees to fly away, but I'm stopped by a hand around my wrist. "Please..." I hear his cracked voice say, barely audible. "Stay..."

I don't know whether it's the pure agony in his voice, the heartbreak, or the fact that he actually just said please, but I sit back down. Out of some long forgotten human instinct, I wrap my arms around him and pull him to me comfortingly, albeit a bit awkwardly. "Okay, Baby Pop. I'll stay." I say, shocking even myself at the words coming out of my mouth. 'What the hell happened to him? Something really bad shattered his heart. I bet it was that fucking goth chick. What gives her the right to hurt Danny like this? Wait, did I just call him Danny? What the hell? He's my enemy! But… He doesn't have to be, does he?'

I look down at him, then lay my head on top of his. "Can I lay you on my lap, Baby Pop?" I say slowly. 'This is it! A truce with the most powerful ghost in existence! Now I won't get my ass handed to me anymore!' My train of thought is interrupted as I feel him nod his head, making me smile. I slowly move his body down so the side of his head is in my lap. I brush his hair out of his face and see the dark circles under his eyes.

"Geez, Baby Pop. You look like shit." I say, mentally kicking myself in the head, knowing that sarcasm isn't what he needs right now. "When's the last time you slept?"

"Almost two months ago, I think. I've lost track." He says, shrugging. My eyes go wide as I stare down at him.

"Why, Danny?" I ask, my voice breaking. "You're half human, Baby Pop. You need to sleep."

"World needs me. Can't afford to sleep." He mutters, staring ahead at the night sky. "Don't need it, anyway. Ghost half keeps me going."

"If you keep doing this, you're gonna be full ghost, Baby Pop." I say, stroking his hair. "Look, what if I told you that if you sleep, we'll never fight again? I'm tired of getting my ass handed to you, anyway. I just want to jam now. I won't even try to take over the world anymore."

"World needs me. Can't afford to sleep." He repeats, and I stare at him incredulously.

'What's happened to him?' I think, stroking his hair as I stare into his eyes. 'His eyes don't shine like they used to. They're dull, almost like they're…'

My head snaps up as I come to a realization. Doing this is killing him, if it hasn't already. "Baby Pop, get up. We've gotta take you to your parents so they can examine you." I say, picking him up. He doesn't fight or struggle, so I take that as a sign of acceptance. I take off from the ground and fly him back to his house. I turn us invisible and intangible, phasing through the walls of the building and the floor to set him down in the lab. I teleport up to the living room, place my hands on his parents, and teleport them down into the basement, the blue fire of my core settling down. "Listen, I know I'm a ghost, but I'm a ghost that cares about Baby Pop there on the counter. I'm going to get his sister, but you guys need to check him out. I think that the stress of saving the entire world is killing his human half! Get started, please!"

I teleport back up to the sister's room and grab her, teleporting us back down to the basement. As soon as we're in, I see his parents working to try and save him. "Danny!" His sister screams, joining them to work on her brother. After a while, his mom looks at a screen and drops to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mom, what is..."

She reads what's on the screen, and she too, falls to her knees, tears wracking her body. Baby Pop's father didn't need to read the screen, he just picks up his family and hugs them tightly, tears cascading down his face. I look over at the screen to see a bar going down slowly, almost to zero.

"Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" I snap, pointing to the screen. "I sucked at science and shit when I was alive! Being dead never changed that!"

"Danny's human life force is draining. This long without sleep would have killed a human a long time ago..." His mother explained. "He's only held on this long because of his ghost half. However… He can't hold on anymore. There's nothing we can do. His human half is going to die. He's going to be a full ghost..."

"Are you serious?" I say, completely flabbergasted. "He's going to die?!"

"Not fully." His father explained, his voice breaking. "Just his human half. His ghost half will still be around. I don't know if he's going to turn evil or not, but if he does, we'll have no choice but to eliminate him. I just hope it doesn't come to that."

I look over at Danny, whose chest is rising and falling, slower every moment. Finally, it rises one more time taking in his last breath, and falls for the last time, expelling the last bit of oxygen his body would ever have. Danny Fenton was dead. His mother and sister threw themselves over his corpse, grieving while they could. His father walks over to the closet and pulls out a blaster, aiming it at Danny shakily. The rings of his transformation appear around him, the sheer force of the energy blasts everyone back against the wall as the rings travel up and down his body, changing him from human to ghost, never again to go back. He opens his eyes and sits up, turning to see his family against the wall.

"Geez, guys! Are you okay?" He rushes over and helps them to their feet. "What happened?"

"Baby Pop, how do you feel?" I ask, taking his hand in mine. 'There's no warmth anymore. He seems like himself, though...'

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I was passing out. Did you bring me back home?" His mother starts crying again, and his sister and father comfort her. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"My baby!" She cries, her screams and sobs of anguish piercing through the air.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I'm right here!" I turn his face towards mine and place my hand on his cheek. "Baby Pop, listen. You're dead."

"What? That's ridiculous! I don't feel any different!" He says, looking down at himself. "Plus, I'm still walking around. How can I be dead. Watch."

He stands still, waiting for his transformation to happen. When nothing does he growls. "Come on! Go human already!"

"Baby Pop, you can't!" I yell, holding his face in mine before wrapping my arms around him. "Your human body died from those weeks without sleep. I'm so sorry, Baby Pop…"

"I'm… really dead?" He asks softly, looking over at his family.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Baby Pop." I say, placing my hand on his cheek again. "Listen, we need to get out of here. We need to make sure you don't become evil, or anything. Let's go to Clockwork. He'll know how to prevent that from happening."

"Okay…" He said, walking over to his family. "Listen, guys. I'll be back. I just have to make sure you guys don't have to hunt me. I love you. I'll be back, I promise."

I take his hand and we're about to take off when a pair of clock hands appear in the air, rotating around before a white portal opens up. I fly forward with my hand in his and we travel through the portal into Clockwork's realm, and I hope to whatever Clockwork does, it doesn't change him. I don't want to lose my Baby Pop…

Ooh, she said her Baby Pop! Is it just me, or has ember been hiding a crush for a while? :) Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. No flames, just constructive criticism, if you feel it's necessary. I'll be posting another chapter either today or tomorrow, but I just wanted to write two chapters to start this one off. I'll be writing a chapter every day or two. Well, trying to, anyway. Either way, this will be updated weekly, regardless. I hope. Anywho, I'll have a couple more chapters by next week, so be prepared for these things to come out like bullets. I'll see everyone next time. This is Mystery Critic, signing off.