The next morning was Saturday, and the day found three friends, Danny Fenton, Tucker Foley, and Sam Manson, sitting on the steps to Sam's home in Amity Park.
Danny and Sam were discussing an upcoming test. Tucker had gotten bored, and was listening to his MP3 player. Specifically, Ember's song "You Will Remember". That was fine until he started singing to it. Sam and Danny looked at him sourly, and Tucker noticed.
"What?" he said, pulling off the headphones.
"Why are you still playing that, when you consider what we had to go through to beat her" asked Danny.
"Hey, I LIKE her music," answered Tucker.
Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off, and he stood up.
"Well, it's nice to know I still have ONE fan," said a female voice behind them. They turned, and on the steps above them, was Ember, looking at Tucker. "Too bad he has one of the worst singing voices I've ever heard."
"You know, if you want to KEEP your fans, you shouldn't talk about them like that," said Tucker.
"I'm going ghost!" said Danny, changing. Tucker and Sam stood up.
"What do you want, Ember?" asked Sam, crossing her arms, and looking at her with an angry expression.
Ember sighed. "To get this over with," she replied, and blasted Danny with ectoplasmic energy.
Danny recovered from the blast, and flew up above the houses. Ember took off, and joined him there.
Tucker and Sam watched the areial dogfight, unable to help. Sam looked thoughtful.
"I think something's wrong with Ember," she said.
"Sure there is, she's attacking Danny!" replied Tucker.
"No, something else. Didn't you notice her expression? I think she's in pain," said Sam.
Tucker looked at her. "What could cause a ghost pain?" he asked.
"I don't know, but I think we'd better find out," she replied, and took off running down the street to keep the fighters in view. Tucker followed.
Overhead, Ember sent bolt after bolt at Danny, desperation giving her strength. Danny dodged, or blocked the blasts, waiting for her to tire so he could counter-attack. The bolts weren't particularly stong, and he had no trouble fending them off. He deliberately flew toward a warehouse district, which would be unoccupied for the most part on Saturday, to try and keep this battle private.
The two of them played hide-and-seek between and through the buildings, trying to get open shots at the other. The few humans around were startled, to say the least, at a ghost passing through.
Finally, Ember managed to sneak up on Danny, who was peeking around the corner of a building, and blasted him in the back. He fell to the ground, just as Sam and Tucker arrived. Sam stood over Danny, and looked up at Ember, who was aiming another blast.
"Ember, wait!" shouted Sam, holding up a hand. Both Danny and Tucker thought it was the bravest thing they had ever seen.
Ember's hands were glowing green, but the effect faded, and she lowered them. "What?" she yelled back.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Sam, "Why are you attacking Danny?"
"Look, I don't WANT to, but I don't have any choice," she answered, "My so-called manager has made me into a slave, and I have an eternity of pain waiting if I don't BLAST HIM!" she said, launching ectoplasmic bolts at them.
Sam dove out of the way, as Danny phased through the ground. The bolts splashed harmlessly on the concrete.
Sam stood up. "You look like you're in pain now," she said.
Ember flew lower and closer. "You see this necklace?" she asked, pointing at it, "See it? It's made of IRON, and it HURTS! And the only chance I have of getting it off, is if I BEAT HIM!" She launched another bolt at Danny, which missed, and almost got Tucker.
"HEY!" yelled Tucker, "I'M your fan here, remember?"
Sam took a step forward. "If you stop attacking Danny, I'll take it off," she said.
Ember flew down, and got within inches of Sam's face. "Don't play me, human," she hissed, "Do you have any idea what I could do to you?"
Sam gulped, but held her ground. "I'm serious," she said.
Ember landed, a faint ray of hope on her face, conflicting with suspicion. Tucker walked up, as Danny drifted up.
"Ember," said Tucker, "If Sam says something, you can depend on it."
"Yeah," said Danny, "We'll help you if we can."
"All you have to do is trust me for one minute," said Sam.
Suddenly Ember's face hardened. "Right. Sure. Like I can depend on the word of a human."
"Well, then let me try," said Danny, reaching for her.
"Don't be stupid, dipstick. You can't touch it," said Ember, turning towards him.
Danny touched the necklace, and screamed. He yanked his fingers away from it, and examined them for damage.
"See?" she asked sweetly.
"Wow," said Danny, looking at the ghost girl with more respect, "And that's what it's doing to you all the time?" He transformed back to human form.
Ember grimaced. "Yes."
"Evil or not, you don't deserve that," said Danny.
Ember looked at him. "I'm not evil," she said.
"Like nearly taking over the world isn't evil," said Tucker.
Ember looked down, ashamed. "I admit I've done some evil things, but I was tricked into them!" She looked at Danny. "Can't you tell?"
"The only way I have to judge you is by your actions," said Danny, shrugging.
"But you're the Halfa!" said Ember, "No ghost can hide its true nature from you."
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Danny, confused.
Ember whispered into Danny's ear for a minute.
"Really? It sounds simple enough," said Danny.
"Try it," said Ember, stepping back from him.
Danny looked at her intensely.
"What do you see?" asked Tucker.
"It's not something I can put into words," Danny answered slowly, "But she's telling the truth. She ISN'T evil. That necklace needs to come off."
"Wow, a new ghost power," said Tucker.
"Please, Ember, let me help," said Sam.
Ember considered. What, really, did she have to lose? She couldn't beat the Halfa, and she didn't want to go into the box. She couldn't imagine anything these humans could do to her that would be worse.
"All right...Sam...I'll trust you. For one minute," said Ember. She stood still and waited.
"Okay..." said Sam, approaching Ember. She touched the necklace, and nothing happened. The touch shifted the necklace against Ember, and she whimpered.
"Sorry," said Sam, "I'll be careful."
She walked slowly around Ember twice, looking closely at the necklace, before she found the clasp.
"Got it," said Sam, and with a motion, removed it.
Ember moaned loudly in relief, closed her eyes, brought her hands to her throat, and sank to her knees.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," murmured Ember, rubbing her neck. She looked up at Sam and smiled. "You kept your word. Thank you."
Sam smiled and offered Ember her hand. "Glad to help."
Ember hesitated, then took the proffered hand, and stood up. Ember noted Sam's warmth, and Sam noted that, while Ember's hand felt like flesh, it was cold.
"I guess we should send you back to the Ghost Zone," said Danny, pulling out the Fenton Thermos.
Ember looked at him, panic on her face. "NO! Please, don't!" she begged, "He'll find me!"
"Maybe we should go somewhere private, and talk," suggested Tucker.
"Uh, maybe I should just go," said Ember, uncertainly.
"Where?" asked Tucker.
"I don't know. I'll just run and hide for as long as I can," she said.
"Don't do that," said Danny, "We said we'd help you, and we will."
"But why?" asked Ember, "Don't the two of you hate me for what I did to you?"
Danny and Sam looked at each other and blushed. "We don't hate you. We were mad at you, but our friendship is stronger than that. And now you need help," said Danny.
"Then... you forgive me?" asked Ember in a small voice, clasping her hands together and looking down at her feet.
"Yes," said Danny.
"Yes," said Sam.
"You really didn't do anything to me, but I'll forgive you too, if it will help," said Tucker.
They looked at him, and he shrugged.
Ember smiled shyly, and ectoplasmic tears drifted away from her. "I've had humans love me and adore me, but never be friendly to me, and want to help me," she said.
"Come on, let's get something to eat, and go talk," said Tucker.