Beyond Life and Death

I don't own Danny Phantom.

Chapter 5: Reunion Tour

Sam pulled her black top over her body and looked at herself in the mirror. It was another day of high school. And it would mean another day with Lancer. (I just had to have him again.) She thought as she sipped up her plaid skirt.

But, she knew it would be different. She had finally restarted talking with Tucker and the Fentons. She wasn't going to be a recluse like she originally was. From now on, she was going to have the old relationships back. She could now go and talk to Tucker and Jazz without getting that depressed feeling all the time. It would be the beginning of a new life for her.

As she put on her boots, one thing still remained in the back of her head. Reinstating herself into these new beginnings was great, but Danny was still gone. She knew that she shouldn't continue to mourn his death with such sadness. Every who knew him was sad, but that didn't ruin their lives. But its pressure was still gripping her mind. How would it be to have a person admit their undying love to you and die only a few hours after saying it? They still couldn't understand her.

(Stop it,) she thought as she got up and grabbed her bag. (I love Danny. And wherever he is, he is watching over me. I am never alone as long as his presence is there.) And yet she still had that intense feeling of never seeing him again. But, she knew she would. Some day.

She moved to the door, but stopped as something on her bedside table caught her eye. She looked down to see two small cylinder shaped objects with two green orbs of equal size. She smiled as he picked them up. They were the Fenton-Ghost Phones. Danny gave them to her prior to the Ember incident. They were the only gift that Danny ever gave her, which first gave her the impression that he had deeper feelings for her. Oddly enough, she thought she had put of them away.

She then thought about trying them on. (They're just earrings. Well, sort of.) She stuck them in and took one final look into the mirror. They fit perfectly in her ears. What if everyone gets the idea that she's still depressed about Danny? (I have to stop this. It doesn't mean I'm a sad mess) she finally thought as she headed out the door. But, she didn't know how helpful those things would be coming up.

A few hours later…

"…and that is how the molecular structure is compiled." Mr. Lancer finished as he stopped writing on the board. Of course, as always, no one cared what he said. It was always the man going on and on about whatever he was talking about. His rambling was barely getting the lessons through the student's boundary of annoyance. "Take this down as it will be on the test. Moving on to the next chapter…"

His mention of a test was hit with silent moans of annoyance. The only one who wasn't paying attention was Sam. She was looking out the window into the cloudless sky.

(Will he hurry up?) She thought as Lancer continued to write on the board. He really wasn't the best teacher in the world. It was just the same material everyday. Sam really thought that he should-

Suddenly, her mind then came to notice a purple van with two huge speakers on the roof appear out in front of the school. (New sound system for the school?) Sam thought. She never knew they could afford something like this. Then, she notice the speakers begin to vibrate. And coming out of the speakers was a guitar tune all to familiar.

Ember!

You will remember!

Ember…!

Sam's eyes went wide upon realizing the tune. She quickly brought her hands to her ears and thought, (Damn it. Ember's here. Must have gotten lose.) She remembered the last time she came here. The town's population of teenagers was under her spell last time. And Sam really didn't want to join them. Her hands then felt two little round bumps near her ears. The Fenton-Phones. She relaxed herself upon remembering Danny's gifts. With them on, she was protected from Ember's hypnosis. As for everyone else…

Every other person in her classroom then sat straight up and there eyes glowed a deep purple. Lancer, turning from the board, noticed this and looked at them with confusion. Just then, everyone jumped from his or her seats.

"Sit back down," Lancer commanded. The students paid no attention to him as they headed to the door. Lancer jumped in front of the door and ordered, "All of you stop this at once! I will suspend people!" At that moment, two of the larger students walked in front of the group and looked right at Lancer. One of them punched him right in gut. Lancer grunted and bent down as the other one then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and flung him into the wall to his side. With Lancer now incapacitated, they opened and the door and the group of hypnotized students then left the classroom.

Sam, still sitting down, was right now paralyzed from shock. Ember's return surprised her, but she quickly shook out of it and decided she should go see if Ember was really back in business. As she walked towards the door, she looked down at the fallen Mr. Lancer and said," Lancer could never now when to hut up."

Upon entering the halls, she took note of how empty the school was. (I guess people will do anything for good music) Sam thought. She then heard the distant drone of "Ember!" being repeated over and over again. She headed towards its source, which then the drones started to get louder. She then reached her destination: the exit. As she got to the opening into the outside world, she stopped suddenly and jumped to the side of the door, hidden behind the wall. She turned her head slightly out the door to then witness what was unfolding.

The mob of high-school kids was surrounding the van. They pumped their fists in the air and continued to chant," Ember! Ember!" Just then, a cloud of purple smoke appeared from between the two speakers. As the cloud settled, the crowd then went into an uproar. For their now stood Ember, in all her glory.

"Hello Amity! It's my reunion tour!" Ember yelled as she scanned the crowd. "I need to know one thing! Who…do…you…love!" In response, the crowd yelled, "Ember!"

"That's just what I like to hear. Anyways, as you know, some people in this town can't stand my tunes. That is, except for you. And those kids of people want to shut me down! Do you want that to happen!"

"No!"

"Do you want to save my music!"

"Yes!"

"Then you got to fight! You have to strike back! Show this town you will let my music continue to thrive! Bring this place to its needs!" Ember yelled out as she steering a few high pitched notes from her guitar. In response, the crowd then let out yells that sounded as though they belonged to wild animals. Continuing this barbaric assault of noise, they then scattered and ran off towards the town.

"True music lovers," Ember remarked as the van roared off down the street with her still on the roof.

Sam leaned against the frame of the door as she heard the vehicle speeded away. When the drone of the engine died down, Sam dropped to the floor. Ember had completely changed her tactics. Instead of using the hypnotized victims to gain power, she was using them to riot. The entire city would e in chaos. What should she do?

She then sat back as she broke out of her shocked state. She couldn't just sit here and be scared she had to be strong. She needed a plan and now. She went into deep thought as her brain pondered answers. Tucker and Jazz wouldn't help, since they were obviously under Ember's control .Other then the police, there was only the Fentons. They had the technology to fight ghosts. But, would it be enough to stop Ember? She would have a huge mass of her zombie fans on her side. Not even the Fentons ghost weapons could handle a huge mob. If only Danny were here.

(No. I have to be strong.) she thought. If she were Danny, he wouldn't panic. But, Danny was dead. Still, she knew how he would get through this. She couldn't go ghost or anything. The only thing she could do was to get the Fentons and take down Ember. It seemed like a longshot, but they were the only ones who had the right gear. She stood in the doorways and looked out at the city. She whispered to herself, "Watch over me Danny." She then ran off towards the Fenton's house.

As she run through the streets of Amity, she was taking full notice of the carnage that Ember had unleashed. Her puppets were bringing chaos to the city. Rocks or other projectiles shattered many building windows. Trash barrels were overturned and street signs were behind hacked down. The controlled were also either on cars and hitting them with blunt objects or lighting them on fire. Many were also breaking into houses and Sam could hear screaming and objects being thrown from out of the house. As for the people outside, they weren't at all lucky. The teens began to attack them with weapons or their fists.

(God damn it.) Sam thought to herself. (Were are the police when you need them?)

As if one cue, Sam looked ahead to a four-way intersection a few feet in front of her. A group of five officers in riot gear and armed with tear gas launchers were slowly backing away in a line. A group of about twenty where coming up from where they had emerged, pipes and bricks in their hands and looks of pure anger on their faces.

"Listen up!" the lead cop yelled through a microphone. "Put your weapons down and surrender. This is your final warning!"

The teenagers just keep coming, acting as though he didn't say anything.

"Okay guys! Take them down!" the leader yelled as the team stopped moving back. They aimed their cylinder weapons at the rioters and pulled the triggers. Out shot small canisters that left behind a trail of grey smoke as they headed towards the group. As the canisters dropped, the smoke then rose up in front of the group. The officers lowered their weapons as they waited for the gas to disparate. But, out of nowhere, the attacks ran out of the smoke and began a blind charge towards the officers. Sure, their eyes were tearing and Sam could hear them struggle to breathe, but it was like a mosquito bit to them. The cops reached for their guns loaded with blanks, but they were too late. The rioters were on top of the cops in no time and beating them with their weapons.

Sam quickly headed down a side street to avoid the chaos. Avoid it? Kind of silly as it was everywhere. Sam then began to feel as though the road was getting longer. It seemed as though she would never make it. (I have to be strong.) She thought as she continued her quick pace. She had to be strong. She wouldn't crack under all this pressure. Danny wouldn't. She had to be strong just like Danny. He would watch over her…

She then stopped running as she realized she had made to the Fentons. She had made it. She couldn't believe it. But there was no time to pat herself on the back. She needed their help. She walked up the stairs and was about to grab the doorknob, but realized that the door wasn't there. (I hope I'm not too late.) She thought as she walked inside.

"Hello!" she called out into the house. She turned a corner to then notice that the couch was flipped over and the television had a shattered screen, as well as the table being busted in half.

"Move and I'll break you in half!" she heard Jack's voice shout from behind her. She did a quick 180 to see him in front of her with a baseball bat raised over his head.

"Whoa! Whoa! Freeze, Mr. Fenton! Its me, Sam!" she said as she raised her hands up.

Jack lowered the bat as he said," You aren't like them."

"No. I'm good."

"Maddie, she's fine." Jack called out. Maddie then appeared from behind the entrance to the kitchen.

"Thanks God. Someone who hasn't gone crazy." Maddie said.

"What happened?" Sam asked as she looked at the damage.

"Some of those nut case jumped in and tried to bust up this place. Luckily, we are always prepared," Jack said as he tabbed his bat against the floor."

"What made them do this?" Maddie asked.

"A ghost," Sam said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, she's called Ember. She came her a year ago. Uses her guitar to hypnotize teenagers whenever she plays it. Danny took care of her last time."

"Well, we better get this over with." Maddie said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Sam and Jack then went after her. "I thought you were still haven't second thoughts about this?" Jack asked.

"Sam said this Ember girl can control teenagers. That means Jazz is out there in this mess," Maddie stated as she stopped upon getting to the weapons locker. She then begin punching in a number combination on the door's keypad that beeped upon confirmation."

"But, don't you think this is a trap? This might be what this ghost wants," Jack said as Maddie put her hands on the vault's wheel.

"I don't want to lose another child. And especially to a ghost. Besides, this gives you a chance to play with your new toys."

Jack could sense the harsh tone of her last sentence sting him. But, he knew time was of the essence. "Let's get this over with then," he said.

Maddie spun the wheel and the vault door opened with a tremendous lurch. The Fentons steeped inside and gazed upon the collection of anti-ghost weaponry. The two wasted no time as they headed towards the racks. They grabbed ghost grenades and two ghost pistols each. Jack then grabbed the Jack-of-Nine Tails as Maddie grabbed her energy staff. Finally, Jack laced an anti-ghost bazooka onto his back as Maddie also strapped one on. She then reached behind her head and pulled over her hood, adjusting her red goggles as they came over her eyes.

"Sam, get somewhere safe and hold off there until we're down," Maddie ordered as her and Jack headed out the vault.

:"Wait!" Sam called back. The Fentons stopped and turned around to see Sam then grabbed an anti-ghost assault rifle off the rack and place it on her back with its shoulder strap. "I'm coming too!"

"No. We can't have someone inexperienced coming into this fight," Jack ordered.

"I want to help." She stated.

"We can't risk it," Jack ordered.

"I want to protect this city just as Danny did."

"That still doesn't change or decision," Maddie said.

"I have to be strong in this as he was. He would do the same."

"And what if you die!"

"Then at least he'll know I went down fighting when he sees me!"

The Fentons then stared at each other and then back to Sam. After a minute of silence, jack said," Hurry up before we go without you."

As they headed out, Sam once again whispered to herself," I know you're there Danny. Be my guide." With that as inspiration for her, she went after the Fentons.

Can Ember be stopped? Chapter 6 is coming soon!