A/N: Well, the moment you've been waiting for is here! Time for the rock concert arc! You can bet that Danny and Ember are gonna blow everyone away with their music.

I should also add that calling it the "Rock Concert arc" is a bit of a misnomer. Unlike the tournament arc, the arc won't focus ENTIRELY on a single event (in this case the rock concert), largely because it would be difficult for me to extend a rock concert for multiple chapters since it's largely me putting up song lyrics. Rather, there will be a series of events after the concert that are all tied together nicely.

In the interest of sanity and convenience, I'm going to mark who's singing a given lyric in front of that lyric.

Thank you for the song selections you guys gave me, I really appreciate the help. Unfortunately, I had to end up rejecting many of the songs you gave me since they were either (a) not played by an electric guitar and wouldn't fit in a rock concert, (b) were openly romantic, as I don't think Danny or Ember want to give off the impression that they're a couple yet (they're very close to it, but not quite there yet), or (c) had another song by the same band in the case of one. Granted, I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to (b), since the ending song arguably violates this particular criteria but I really think it encompasses the nature of Danny and Ember's relationship perfectly and it fit way too well for me not to use it.

I do think I found songs that I think you'll like, though. Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 52 – Rocking the Night Away

For the week after the announcement first appeared, the upcoming rock concert with Danny Phantom and Ember McLain was all that Amity Park could talk about. Ember McLain's rocking skills were well known especially to the teenagers and her fans, but the fact that Danny Phantom would be playing alongside her had completely flat-footed just about everyone.

Ember's reputation in the living world wasn't as bad as those of other ghosts, even though there was still some natural hostility directed towards her as a ghost who had once terrorized Amity Park before the Ghost Council had put its foot down. Granted, the ghost rocker had tried to "take over the world" more than once just like every other villain, but in terms of outright causing damage Ember had been on the low end of the scale despite being one of the more powerful ghosts of the Zone. When a fight with the likes of Skulker or Technus could turn incredibly messy on a bad day, the battles between Danny and Ember had seemed downright tame in comparison. It also helped that she was a genuinely talented singer who could gather quite the following even without mind control and that Danny didn't have a hard time cleaning up after any messes she might have left behind.

But the revelation that the Ghost Hero of Amity Park was apparently not only friends with Ember McLain, but also her rock concert partner…it wasn't much of a surprise that all the tickets for the venue had been sold out within days.

Ember knew from firsthand experience how standing in front of a crowd could cause a performer to lose their nerves, so she had organized a practice concert in Danny's bar a few days before so that Danny could get used to the atmosphere. Judging by how loudly the ghosts had cheered, either Danny wasn't nearly as nervous as she thought he'd be or he was doing a great job hiding it. The real hard part had been convincing the Guys in White to let Ember hold the concert in the first place, and the government organization had made it clear in no uncertain terms that any funny business would be cracked down on immediately. Ember hadn't been happy about having GIW agents posted in the periphery of the concert, but she'd caved in once it became clear that she had no choice in the matter.

In what seemed like no time at all, the day of the concert finally arrived, the Friday before the week high school started. Ember had rented out the Amity Park Stadium for her concert, and as predicted it was possibly crowded with people. Danny took a quick peak out from behind the curtain and immediately gulped, knowing that there would be hundreds if not thousands of people cheering him on very soon.

"Getting nervous, Danny?" Sam asked as her best friend ducked behind the curtain before the fans could see him.

"No kidding," Danny mumbled. "I thought I took care of my nerves with the practice concert, but this? This is a whole another level."

"Dude," Tucker lightly punched the back of Danny's shoulder, "you've got this. The entire world was cheering you on when you saved the world. This is nothing!"

Danny smiled at him. "Thanks, Tuck. You too, Sam."

Tucker smirked. "And thank YOU for getting us these sweet, sweet backstage passes! Can't get much better than this!"

It was Danny's turn to smirk. "I had to promise Ember not to let you interrupt it with your cat-screeching."

Sam laughed at Tucker's spluttered protests as Ember floated up next to him. "You ready, baby pop?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Danny replied with a nervous smile. Ember gave him a thumbs up and vanished in a whirlwind of blue flames. Danny turned invisible and flew into the air, Tucker and Sam waving at him as he did so. He and Ember had organized a very special entrance for the concert, and it wouldn't do to ruin it by flying into the air before the concert could begin.

As 7 PM approached, lights and smoke blazed from the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen," an unknown announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "please give a warm welcome to the Amity Park's ghost rocker and hometown hero, Ember McLain and Danny Phantom!"

Intense lights began to flash all around as smoke billowed from the stage. The crowd screamed in delight as Ember McLain made her dynamic entry, materializing in all her glory in a whirlwind of blue flames. At the same time, Danny turned visible and dived onto the stage from the sky above like a meteor, and even after decelerating to avoid causing collateral damage his landing caused a small shockwave to emanate throughout the stadium like a powerful wind.

"Good evening, Amity Park!" Ember shouted into her microphone with her trademark confident smirk on her face. "Tell me who you love!"

"EMBER! DANNY! EMBER! DANNY!"

Ember fought the urge of annoyance at hearing Danny's name mixed with her own. She had chosen him to be her duet partner, after all, and true partners share. "We're gonna blow your world away!" Ember promised, earning more cheers from the crowd. "And don't worry, there's not gonna be any mind control shenanigans this time around. Wouldn't want baby pop here to get on my case," she added jokingly.

There was some light laughter from the crowd. "No, what I've got for you tonight is music at its finest, plain and simple! And I've got baby pop here to make that promise a reality!" There were even more cheers as Danny waved his hand at the crowd. "So let me ask you, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ember grinned. "Then we've got no time to waste." She quickly checked the strings on her guitar to make sure that everything was in order – even if she was confident in the quality of her instrument, she made it a habit of personally making sure that everything was okay. Then, she turned to Danny, who had been doing the same thing she was. The halfa nodded and smiled back at her, confirming that he was good to go. With everything all set, she began to play the first of the songs they had agreed on.

E: "I don't care what you're thinking
As you turn to me
'Cause what I have in my two hands
Is enough to set me free."
(D: Set me free!)

"I can fight the feeling
To resist it over time,
But when it's just too much to take
You sneak up from behind."

"Is it me
You say you're looking for?
Let me show you who I am
And what I'm here for."

Both: "Try to reach inside of me
Try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of!"

"Simple curiosity
Tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Now!"

Some of the lights shifted from Ember to Danny, and the crowd drew in its breath as it prepared to hear Danny Phantom sing for the first time.

D: "Like a million faces
I've recognized them all,
And one by one they all become
A number as they fall." (
E: As they fall.)

"In the face of reason
I can take no more,
And one by one they all become
A black mark on the floor."

"Is it me
You say, you're looking for?
Let me show you who I am
And what I have in store…

Here for…Hey!"

The crowd erupted into applause as Danny ended his verse and Ember joined in for the chorus.

Both: "Try to reach inside of me
Try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of!"

"Simple curiosity
Tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Now!"

"You can take another life long try…
You can take another try!"

Danny immediately began to launch into a guitar solo, and just like Ember's had so many days ago, almost everybody's jaws dropped to the floor in shock. Ember smirked as Danny played his heart out, knowing that SHE was the first to have witnessed a hidden side of him that even his closest friends had been unaware of.

Both: "Try to reach inside of me
Try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of!"

"Simple curiosity
Tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Now!"

"Try to reach inside of me
Try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of!"

The crowd exploded into screams of adoration as the applause rose to a fever pitch. Danny was almost deafened by the sheer noise…how the heck did Ember deal with this every single time she had a concert?

"Oh, that's right…" he thought, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes in front of the crowd, "…this is literally in her very soul."

Ember fought the urge to let a genuine smile break out through her smirk. The crowd was chanting Danny's name even louder than before, and unlike the last time she didn't mind in the slightest. After all, he had definitely earned it.

"And that's just the beginning!" Ember promised. "Let's hit it with the next one!" The audience respectively fell into silence, and this time it was Danny who began to play. This time, the song had quite a long buildup time compared to the last one, and as Danny played his solo the audience members started bobbing their heads in tune with the beat.

D:"When darkness falls
May it be
That we should see the light

When reaper calls
May it be
That we walk straight and right

When doubt returns
May it be
That faith shall permeate our scars

When we're seduced
Then may it be
That we not deviate our cause

All sinners, a future
All saints, a past
Beginning, the ending
Return to ash."

Both: "Now that we're dead, my dear
We can be together
Now that we're dead, my dear
We can live forever"

E: "When all is pain
May it be
It's all we've ever known

When flame consumes
May it be
It warms our dying bones

When loss has won
May it be
It's you I'm madly fighting for

When Kingdom comes
May it be
We walk right through that open door

All sinners, a future
All saints, a past
Beginning, the ending
Return to ash."

Both: "Now that we're dead, my dear
We can be together
Now that we're dead, my dear
We can live forever."

It was now Ember's turn to play a lengthy solo, and though Danny might have been the guest star, the ghost diva was not one to simply be denied the spotlight. Ember had come not just to make music with a friend, but to carry out a mission – to prove that she didn't need mind control or evil schemes to prove that she was a rocking sensation. And as she played her heart out, with the crowd cheering and whistling approvingly at her solo, she knew that everyone had gotten the message loud and clear.

Both: "All sinners, a future
All saints, a past
Beginning, the ending
Return to ash

Now that we're dead, my dear
We can be together
Now that we're dead, my dear
We can live, we can live forever

Return to ashes, shed this skin
Beyond the black, we rise again
We shall live forever."

The crowd erupted into applause yet again, and this time the name chants were more evenly divided between Danny and Ember with a slight preference for the latter. Danny was happy for his friend; he'd always believed that Ember was a talented singer who didn't need to hide behind mind control to show how good she was. And now that she had that chance, she was getting the message across with nigh-perfection.

The next song was one that Danny had played before for Ember, "With Me" by Jun Senoue. As the two musicians performed on the stage, Tucker and Sam looked at each other and smirked. "Dang…" Tucker whistled. "Who would've thought that we'd end up here of all places? If you told me three months ago that Ember McLain would end up being Danny's best ghost friend I'd ask what the hell is wrong with your head."

"Tell me about it," Sam replied. "Heck, part of me is still trying to get a grip over this whole thing."

"Well, you can't deny that Danny's been a good influence on Ember," Tucker pointed out. "Even if the Ghost Council didn't put the hammer down on ghost invasions, I honestly don't think Ember even wants to try for mind control anymore."

"Strange as it may sound, I actually agree," Sam noted. "And even though I don't really see her all that often, I'd go so far as to say that she seems the happiest I've ever seen her."

"You don't think that…there's something more to that, is there?" Tucker asked with a smirk growing on his lips.

"…oh, I see where you're going," Sam returned the smirk. "Assuming that Danny actually gets a clue. I've been giving him signs for God knows how long and he STILL didn't pick it up until after we saved the world from the Disasteroid!" she complained.

"Eh, something tells me that we won't have to wait for too much longer," Tucker replied with surprisingly more insight than he usually seemed to show. "But I'll have to wait until after the concert to see if I'm right. I just hope that they get the message, cause otherwise…let's just say I've heard Johnny and Kitty say they want to speed things along, if you get what I'm saying."

"Well, we'll see…" Sam trailed off as the song ended and the crowd showed its respect and joy at the talented duet yet again. Ominous bells began to toll as the next song began, signaling a slightly slower but no less epic and metal performance about to unfold.

E: "Fellow armsmen, I ask you
Will you follow me tonight to break their spine
And reclaim what once was mine?
Those cravens backstabbed me, deceived me
Never shall I tolerate their crimes again
Now let the hunt begin, yeah
7000 souls, scared and daunted, such a tale of woe
Not too long ago, this village was a golden scene of hope."

Both: "Call down the reckoning
To bring back hope and peace
Restore our gloria
To live forever, yeah
Bring down the dark regime
I know how to unleash eternal power
Lead us to order
I am the Lightbringer!
I am the Lightbringer!"

D: "Now listen
Fellow warriors, I ask you
Should my campaign come to an end?
There's way more to avenge
15 million souls
Living in this realm without much hope
Not too long ago, this kingdom was a golden
State of hope, yeah, ah."

Both: "Call down the reckoning
To bring back hope and peace
Restore our gloria
To live forever, yeah
Bring down the dark regime
I know how to unleash eternal power
Lead us to order
I am the Lightbringer!"

Ember erupted into the by-now highly anticipated guitar solo, as Danny had been the one to take charge during "With Me." The ghost diva blew the performance out of the water yet again and reveled in the cheers and whistles thrown her way as she had done before.

Both: "Call down the reckoning
Bring back hope and peace
Restore our gloria
To live forever

Call down the reckoning
To bring back hope and peace
Restore our gloria
To live forever
Bring down the dark regime
I know how to unleash eternal power
Lead us to order
I am the Lightbringer!"

Flashes of light erupted all around them as the song ended, earning yet another round of adoration from the fans. Danny couldn't help but wonder how Ember was able to deal with this all the time – being hero-worshipped and adored like this over and over again was really starting to wear him out more than anything. Then again, Ember drew her power from the cheers for her fans, so it didn't really surprise him that she was just as energetic as she had been at the end.

There was now only one song left, but unlike the other times the singers had something to say first. "Have you guys enjoyed the night?" Danny asked through the microphone.

Screams of delighted affirmation answered him, nearly blasting him backward. "We wouldn't have it any other way!" Ember took over for him. "But as much as I hate it, all good things come to an end. We're down to our last song."

A chorus of disappointed "Awww"s answered her. "You might be thinking that this gonna be another rock or metal song, but we've got something a little different planned for the finale that we think is gonna be a real surprise. This is for all the couples out there!" Then, to everyone's shock, both she and Danny took off their guitars and they immediately vanished.

Murmurs of anticipation and confusion began to spread throughout the stadium, as nobody had any idea what song Danny and Ember were going to sing. Instead of heavy and intense music, a more soothing melody began to play with completely different instruments than what had been used for the rest of the concert. Whatever the surprise was, it was by its very nature different from anything they had played up until this point. The stadium saturated with anticipation, Danny began to sing.

D: "For the way you changed my plans
For being the perfect distraction
For the way you took the idea that I have
Of everything that I wanted to have
And made me see there was something missing, oh yeah."

E: "For the ending of my first begin
D: (Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah yeah)
E: And for the rare and unexpected friend
D: (Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah yeah)
E: For the way you're something that I'd never choose
But at the same time, something I don't wanna lose
And never wanna be without ever again."

Both: "You're the best thing I never knew I needed
So when you were here I had no idea
You are the best thing I never knew I needed
So now it's so clear, I need you here always."

D: "My accidental happily
E: (Ever after)
D: The way you smile and how you comfort me
E: (With your laughter)
Both: I must admit you were not a part of my book
But now if you open it up and take a look
You're the beginning and the end of every chapter."

Both: "You're the best thing I never knew I needed
So when you were here I had no idea
(When you were here)
You the best thing I never knew I needed
(That I needed)
So now it's so clear, I need you here always
(Now it's so clear)."

D: "Who knew that I could be
E: (Who knew that I could be)
D: So unexpectedly
E: (So unexpectedly)
Both: Undeniably happier
Sitting with you right here, right here next to me."

Both: "Cause you're the best thing I never knew I needed
(Said I needed)
So when you were here I had no idea
(When you were here)
(Said I had no idea)
You're the best thing I never knew I needed
(That I needed)
So now it's so clear I need you here always
(Now it's so clear)
(So clear, so clear, I need you always)."

"Now it's so clear, I need you here always."

/

A/N: And I think that's a good place to stop. Cause I'm evil with cliffhangers :P

This was a deceptively long chapter to get sorted out, especially since it was an important one. Don't be fooled by the small word count, this is an 11 page document on Word.

I would highly recommend listening to the songs either before or during reading this chapter. The songs in order are:

"What I'm Made Of" – Crush 40 (this is the other Sonic song that I mentioned way back when)

"Now That We're Dead" – Metallica

"Lightbringer" – Pentakill (if you're a League of Legends fan you might recognize this one)

"Never Knew I Needed" – Ne-Yo and Cassandra Steen, Princess and the Frog.

The latter was the twist song that I threw in, and one that I really think captures Danny and Ember's relationship in this fic perfectly even if they aren't technically in a relationship yet. Though I promise you that it will be solidified very, VERY soon. Also, please note that there are two versions of the song (one with Ne-Yo alone and one as part of a duet, and to really get the feel of it I HIGHLY recommend listening to the duet version.)

Anyways, I hope this was worth the wait!