Ember took a trembling hand, and put it on the knob.
"Wait," said Danny, "We need to fix something first. He will be expecting Ember to be a ghost, but it might be better if the rest of us aren't."
He turned to Desiree. "Can you look more human?" he asked her.
Desiree put her hands together, and bowed slightly to Danny. "If you wish it."
"I wish you looked like a human, dressed in modern clothes," he said.
"As you wish it, so shall it be," said Desiree, spreading her arms. A green cloud surrounded her, and disappeared. Her skin was now copper-brown, her eyes black and shining. She was now wearing a blue blouse, jeans, and sandals.
Tucker's eyes bugged out. "Wow!" he said.
"This was my appearance when I was alive," she said, smiling. She turned around for them. "Do you approve?"
"Oh, yeah..." said Danny, almost drooling.
"Uh, guys, we need to focus here," said Sam.
"Ah... right," said Danny, snapping out of it, "Let me go in first. If he hates ghosts as much as you say, he might have traps around the portal."
Danny opened the door, and peered into a darkened basement room. "Nothing obvious,"
he commented. He stepped over the threshhold, and immediately floodlights snapped on,
and an alarm pealed.
"Whoops! Guess he knows we're here," said Tucker.
"Ya think?" queried Sam, pushing him forward. Ember was behind Sam, and Desiree last.
When she was in the room, Desiree closed the door behind her.
Suddenly the alarm was silenced. Their ears rang from the noise. A new noise could now be heard; the sound of an energy weapon being charged.
"Hold it right there, ya stinkin' ghost!" came a voice from the top of the stairs. "Thought you could sneak up on me, huh?"
There was a clatter as someone came down the stairs. An unkempt man appeared. He wore his clothes carelessly, had a few days growth of beard, and really needed to comb his hair. He held a large bazooka-like device that glowed red energy at the business end.
It was a tense moment, until Ember stepped in front of Danny. "Daddy?" she asked. The weapon immediately targeted her.
"Daddy, it's me," she said softly.
The man's eyes grew wide, and his aim faltered. "Ember? Honey? Is- is it really you?"
He dropped the weapon's nose.
"Yes, Daddy, I'm here," she replied, hesitantly holding out her arms.
The weapon hit the floor with a loud THUNK, and father and daughter were reunited.
The others looked anywhere except at them, to give them a minute of privacy. But finally the hugs ended. Mr. McLauren held Ember away from himself.
"Oh, honey, you're still a ghost," he said, sadly.
"Yeah, Daddy, still," replied Ember.
"Well, we're going to fix that. Who are your companions?" he asked, finally taking a better look.
"This is Danny, Tucker, Desiree, and my very best friend Sam," said Ember, acknowledging each in turn.
"And... none of you are ghosts?" he asked.
"Um..." said Sam, and Ember gave her a brief shake of the head.
"No, sir, one hundred percent human here," she said. Technically, this wasn't a lie. Sam WAS human, after all.
"Let's go upstairs and get aquainted. You can tell me your story there," said Mr. McLauren.
They followed him up to the main floor, where he stopped and pressed a button. The lights downstairs went out. "Reset button," he explained.
"Daddy, what's happened here?" asked Ember, looking around. The house was a wreck. Electronic parts were stacked up everywhere, clothes tossed around on the furniture, bags of trash that needed to go to the curb weeks ago by the door.
"I'm sorry, hon," he answered, "I've been too busy to keep things clean like your mom did."
They followed him to the living room, and moved books and papers from chairs so they could sit down.
"What has happened to you over the last two years? Why didn't you come back home?" asked Mr. McLauren.
Ember gave him an edited version of events, leaving out her and Danny fighting, and Desiree's help. "And after I got my memory back, Danny offered to bring me home in his parent's Ghost Zone transport," she finished.
"So you became a rock star? I never would have expected that," he commented.
"Didn't you see Ember on TV?" asked Tucker, "She was all over the media."
"I haven't turned on the TV since... you know," he replied.
"Well, I'm here now, and we can get our lives back together, Daddy," said Ember.
"Speaking of lives, there's something waiting for you in your room," said Mr. McLauren.
Ember looked hopeful. "Is it...?"
"Yes, your body. Why don't you go reclaim it?" he replied.
"MY BODY!" squealed Ember, clapping her hands. "Finally, some heat!" She grabbed Sam's hand as she stood up. "Come with me, please."
"Sure," answered Sam, and followed her friend out of the room.
When they got to the stairs, Ember walked up the first three, then flew up to the top.
She disappeared through the second door on the right.
Sam arrived shortly thereafter, and put her hand on the knob. Suddenly Ember came back through the door walking backwards. She had a shocked expression on her face. Sam moved back a few feet.
"Uh... Ember?" she said.
Ember looked at her, and Sam saw tears running down the ghost girl's cheeks. Ember wrapped her arms around Sam, and let the sobs start.
"What's wrong?" asked Sam, doing her best to comfort her friend. "Is it there?"
"Oh, God, Sam," said Ember, and pulled away from her a little. "Yes, it's there. But it's not waiting for me."
"I... I don't understand," said Sam.
"It's dead," Ember replied, sobbing, "My body is dead. And it has been for a long time."
Fresh ectoplasmic tears fell down her cheeks.