Author's Note: Thought or Emphasis.

I don't own Danny Phantom.

Danny Phantom: Not All Bad

Part III

"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU BETTER RUN!"

A group of yeti ghosts scattered as the Phantoms and Ember stood in a snow-covered plain in the Realm of the Far Frozen. The three wore jackets to brace through the cold; Danny's was red, and the currently furious Ember's black jacket sported her personal flame decal.

Danielle's black jacket, meanwhile, came courtesy of Danny's friend Samantha Manson.

Danielle liked Sam. According to Danny, Sam was passionate, even pushy, about what she wanted, but she'd put any cause aside for a friend. True to his word, when Danny came to her doorstep with Danielle, telling Sam how she wanted and needed a home, the wealthy heiress had a guest bedroom in her mansion prepared within minutes and a month-long wardrobe of new clothes prepared within hours. She had even tucked Dani in personally, to make sure she went to sleep at a proper hour.

Danny's jaw dropped—he hadn't seen Sam act like that motherly since the flour baby project.

As for Danielle, having a warm bed beat sleeping in Vlad's stasis pod by a mile.

Now that she was out of the infirmary, she could walk around the icy realm for herself, meeting the yeti ghosts that made it home, including their leader Frostbite. Many of them had come to watch her and their hero today on seats of ice, as the plain doubled as a sports stadium.

The Far Frozen gave her many titles, from "Young One," to "Little Great One," to "Child of the Great One." Danny told her she'd just have to get used to those.

Ember, on the other hand, would never get used to the titles they gave her. She was "the Great One's Aide," "Servant of the Great One," and "the Great One's Fire Maiden," among others.

One unlucky ghost gushed that it was "an honor to meet the Great One's consort."

Ember asked the nearby Frostbite what a consort was, and he told her.

That poor ghost's fur would never grow back the same way again.

"The nerve. Me and him!?" She grumbled, a puddle of melted ice at her feet growing as she seethed. "I oughta shove a flamin' fist up that teddy bear's snow white-"

"Language, Ember," Danny tried not to laugh, "there are children present."

"Don't get smug, Phantom. I'm not afraid to knock you out in front your fan club," she pointed to the laughing Danielle, "or in front of your kid!"

"Well, that's good news, since we're here for a spar." He raised his hand, covered in wispy blue. "Let's give Dani a quick demonstration of my ice power in battle."

"I get to take a shot at you, and you thank me for it? Again?" Her anger disappeared, replaced with mischief. "I think I'm gonna like this new arrangement of ours."

Danny called out to the realm's leader. "Frostbite, set the timer for two minutes, please."

"Of course, Great One." The benevolent beast pulled out the timer from behind his sash. "I wish you luck." Judging by the roars of the audience, they felt the same.

"Just remember not to actually try to waste me, okay?" The hero joked.

"Come on, Babypop, you know that's half the fun." The villainess summoned her guitar, tuned for destruction. "Get on with it, snowman!"

"As you wish, Great One's Aide."

"Ugh, it's 'Ember,' you-"

Ding!

Danielle blinked at the sound, and they were gone. Her eyes could barely follow the black and blue streaks crossing the field, crashing into each other with ice sword and guitar.

When did he even make that?

Danny was even more proficient than that, Danielle discovered. He would drop out of the sky to form ice slides, then pick up speed for a continued flight; toy with Ember by tossing snowballs; and create pillars to block her path and risk collision.

Ember faced his attacks with her own, melting his constructs with her hair or her touch; cracking the ice with sonic blasts; or weaving through obstacles as she surfed her guitar with blazing speed.

Neither seemed to be breaking a sweat.

Danielle could only gawk at it all. She knew Vlad was strong—she could feel it—but she never truly saw the power he held until that fateful day she was set free. This was even more special, because she was watching the half-ghost who truly cared about her, wielding a unique power Vlad might never have.

This must be what Danny's normal fights look like.

As her eyes acclimated to them, she saw something different from those usual fights…

…Are they smiling?

They both landed on the ground, Danny keeping up the grin. "You know, when you're not trying to destroy me, you're actually a pretty good sparring partner!"

"I better be. I haven't been slacking off these past two years." She would never forget the time she almost ruled the world.

Neither would he, though he recalled it differently: "You mean these past two years I've been beating you?"

"With help!" She never forgot that goth girl either, who broke the love spell on the Dipstick and helped in her defeat. "You don't have your girlfriend to save you this time!"

"Uh," he blushed, "Sam's not my-"

A purple ghost ray shot him off his feet, his sliding body digging up a pile of snow.

"Ow."

Riiiing!

"The match has concluded!" Frostbite announced, amidst the shocked screams and murmurs of his fellow Far Frozen. "The Great One… has lost!"

"Well, that's that, Babypop. A long time coming." With a smile, Ember blew her fingertip like a smoking gun. It may not have been a real fight, and she hadn't conquered the Earth, but victory was hers, and it tasted sweet. "You up for an encore?"

"You bet he is!" Danielle bounced on her feet, ready for action. "You might have beaten Danny on his own, but wait till you get a double dose of Phantom fury!"

"Not so fast, Dani," her elder corrected, rubbing his sore shoulder and shaking snow out of his hair. "You'll be fighting her alone."

She stopped and gulped. "You're not fighting with me?"

"In the field, I'll definitely be there." He already told himself he wouldn't leave her unsupervised, not yet. "But the only one using your ice powers is you."

"Alright, twerp…" Ember floated to face her. "Let's see what you can do." In a flash, she turned the guitar's knob and slammed on the strings, belting out an energy fist.

Dani reflexively summoned a shield, which managed to resist the shot. "What was that?"

"Yeah, Ember," a protective Danny folded his arms. "What was that?"

"I'm teaching her how I learned to fight," she explained. "Not every bad ghost out there's gonna give some big speech or warn you before they shoot like I did. You gotta think fast and-"

"I already know how to fight." Vlad at least taught her that much. "And you call that a warning?"

"Hey," she smirked, "I'm no hero either, remember?" Another strum fired another energy fist, which Danielle destroyed with a green blast.

Time and again, they exchanged shots, but while Ember easily dished out her musical blows, none of Dani's attacks dealt that icy impact she sought.

"Dang it!"

Frustrated, Dani charged in with a punch. Ember dodged it, deflecting a second and third. A bit bored, she merely stepped back from a rising kick.

The ghost girl smiled.

Ember failed to notice the collected ecto-energy on Dani's foot before it was too late, and she took a green ray to the gut.

"Check out my Phantom Flash Kick!" She soaked in the adoration of the crowd, crying out for her to 'avenge the Great One.'

"AGH! You little-" Forgetting the setting, Ember shot back a raging purple ray from her palm, stronger than before.

"WOAH!" Dani ducked, almost certain she lost a little hair on top. "Hey, take it easy!"

"Uhh…" Crap, too much! The musician masked her surprise and repeated, "I told you, I'm no hero. And besides," an eyebrow rose, "you do know you're supposed to be working on your ice power, right?"

"I'm trying! I thought I had it yesterday," she frowned, "but now I'm only getting ghost rays."

"You need to remember that feeling of cold," Danny told her.

"But it's cold everywhere!" She tried to concentrate, her hands only releasing a puff of chilling vapor.

"It doesn't come from your hands, it comes from your core!"

"My core?"

"Indeed, Young One!" Frostbite repeated the advice he had given to another Phantom in need. "You must build up the cold within you, then let it out, as you have done before!"

"And think about it this way," Ember warned, "if you don't build it up, you're gonna get blown up!"

Starting a guitar riff, she tapped into her own core, her ponytail forming a blazing ball above her head. She merely dodged the ghost rays that came her way. "You'll need to do better than that if you wanna stop me."

Danny agreed. I know she can do better, but how?

Ember's teaching style was rough, but he knew from experience the school of hard knocks made him a fast learner.

It's risky, but… you'll understand later, Dani.

He began to cheer.

"EMBER! EMBER! EMBER!"

The fire above her head surged. "Ooh!" The rush of power felt a bit different from him compared to when human crowds chanted her name. Maybe it's because he's a halfa. Or maybe it's been so long that it feels new. Either way… "Keep going, Babypop."

Danielle cut into Danny's call. "What's going on?"

"I'm making Ember stronger."

"WHAT?" Confusion and the pain of betrayal mixed in her gaze. "Why? I thought you were supposed to help me?"

"Believe it or not, Dani, I am!"

He continued to goad Ember on, the fireball growing to resemble a tiny sun.

"You want a warning, kid?"

Ember's power coalesced as she continued the riff; the guitar's strings glowed with danger.

"Here it comes."

With a slam on the strings, she fired.

A torrent of sound and flame crashed into another of Dani's ecto-shields. The snow around her melted from the impact alone.

"Come on…" Dani begged herself, but to no avail. The shield cracked as she fell to a knee from the strain. "No, it's too much!"

"You gotta push!" Danny forced down his concern and spurred her on. "Find your core and let the power out!"

"I… I don't know if I can!" She mentally grasped for that inner power, but it seemed just out of reach. The heat from the attack was only another blow to her concentration.

Ember didn't let up, only flying in closer. "I didn't come out here to waste my time on a weakling, kid!" Still, she could see the girl's effort. "If you're half as good as your dad here, you can beat this!"

"She's right, Danielle," Danny assured. "We both believe in you. You can win, and you can make the power your own! And you know why?"

She reached out one last time…

"Because you're a Phantom!"

Her eyes opened, a cold blue glow.

The power was hers.

A wave of ice from her hands reinforced her shield, refusing to succumb to Ember's attack. Soon, the wall was so thick, she could barely be seen.

"Yes!" Danny grinned. "You're doing it!"

Dani only closed her eyes and grit her teeth as her power swelled within. The aura of cold intensified, covering her body and extending to the shield itself.

"Oh, no…" The elder Phantom had a feeling what would happen next. "EVERYBODY DUCK!"

Ember, distracted by his cry, unwisely turned away.

"Duck for what?"

"HAH!" With a release, pure cold exploded from Danielle in all directions.

"Holy-" was Ember's last word as she turned back…

…and was frozen solid.

"You g-got me g-g-good, t-twerp!" The siren specter shivered in the infirmary as she reached for her hot cocoa, courtesy of Danny. "Hey! D-d-don't forget the m-marshmallows."

"As you wish, my 'servant.'" He winked, recalling the Far Frozen's names for her.

"You're so l-l-lucky I'm not a hundred p-p-percent, Dipstick, or I'd b-b-blast you for that." Her body was frigid, but her gaze still held its fire.

He met it with cool concern, watching her smother herself in the infirmary's sheets even after a turn in the de-icing chamber. As close as she was to Danielle in the fight, she had taken the brunt of the young Phantom's explosive awakening. "How are you feeling, though, Ember?"

She gulped down the warm drink, which helped cure her stutter. "If I'm gonna be honest," she snapped her fingers, getting only meager sparks, "I don't think I could light a match right now."

"Sorry." Danielle sat on the opposite side of Ember's bed in the infirmary, twiddling her fingers at her mistake. "I know I was supposed to let the cold out, but I guess I went overboard."

"No worries. You did what you were told to." She looked over to the elder Phantom. "We can both blame him for this."

"I'm sorry too, to both of you." He scratched his head awkwardly. "I learned some of my skills during my hardest fights, and for you, Dani, I thought it might work the same way. I wanted to push you, and you pushed back—hard!"

"Well, I guess it's okay, since I've got a grip on my ghost ice again." She mumbled to herself, "I'm definitely making up a name for this…"

He looked to his sparring partner. "That's also why I powered you up, Ember. Hope I didn't make you burn out," he cringed, "er, pun not intended."

"Meh, I'll find a way to get back at you later." She shrugged. "And hey, she beat me when you couldn't!" She looked over to Danielle. "Maybe she ought to be taking your hero spot, huh?"

The ghost girl failed to hide the rosy cheeks over her smile.

Ember too gave a grin, one of respect. "You got yourself one tough kid."

"Once again, she's right." Danny brought an arm over the ghost girl's shoulders. "Good job, Danielle."

Vlad may have said these four words during her first lessons, but Danielle knew now that he never meant them. Danny's words, however, reached her ear and went straight to her heart, gentle and true.

"I'm proud of you."

A happy tear escaped, to her own surprise—she had no had no idea how badly she wanted him to say that. She snuggled into his chest in gratitude. "Thanks, Danny."

"You're welcome, Dani."

Silence.

"Dani?"

It wasn't until he heard a soft snore that he realized she had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Guess the fight wore her out," Ember observed.

"I'd better get her home." He stood up and moved Danielle to his back, his young charge instinctively wrapping her arms over his shoulders. "I'm sure Frostbite can show you the way back, if you need time to recover."

"Oh, no, Babypop. You're not leaving me with these monsters!" Ember tossed off the sheets, her clothes already on. "I'm gettin' outta here." Hopping into her boots, she grabbed her jacket and strutted out the room's door.

Frostbite met her in the hall. "Ah, you have recovered."

"Outta the way, fuzzball." She shoved him to the side. "I know where the exit is."

Gentle as ever, the yeti simply gave his farewell. "Then I wish you a pleasant journey home, Great One's-"

She glared.

"…I mean, Ember."

He added it to his mental checklist: I really must find an appropriate title for her.

"You should just stick to 'Ember,' Frostbite," he heard from behind, as if to answer his question.

"Great One! Your daughter has quite the potential!" He smiled at the sleeping child. "With the power she holds within, she may yet surpass us all."

"Um, I don't know if I'd call her my-" He caught her stir and lowered his voice. "Let's just say we're taking this family thing a day at a time."

"As should we handle all changes in life, and in afterlife."

They both looked to the fiery femme fatale at the exit, arms folded in wait.

"Wouldn't you say, Danny Phantom?"

The young woman who a few days ago would have turned him into charcoal didn't take the chance when he was vulnerable, when a little girl needed his help the most. The whole sparring session, she could have done worse to him or Danielle—and she technically had permission—but she didn't. She kept her word to not split the Phantoms apart forever, and Danielle came out stronger for it. Indeed, she was… nice to Dani, and to him, in her own way.

Maybe, like his life, Ember was changing too.

"Yeah, I would."

"Hey, Dipstick!" She cried out. "Are you renting a room here, or what? Let's go!"

With a chuckle, he realized, Well, maybe she hasn't changed that much overnight. "I'm coming."

Danny Phantom adjusted the little girl on his back, and set a course for home, keeping those words in mind.

One day at a time.

END