"Ember, I'm so sorry," said Sam, drawing Ember back into a hug. Tears for her friend made tracks down her face.
Some time later, Ember pulled away again, trying to compose herself.
Sam put her hand on the knob and turned it. Ember heard the sound, and quickly turned to her. "Sam, please, don't go in there."
"But I just..." started Sam.
"Please, don't," said Ember, "It's a horrible sight, and I don't want you to see it."
Sam turned the knob some more, and Ember dropped to her knees. "I am your slave, and I can't stop you. All I can do is beg. Please, please, don't go in there. Trust me, you don't want to see it."
Sam let go of the doorknob without opening it. She stepped over and raised Ember to her feet. "Okay, if it's really that bad..."
"It is. Thank you," said Ember.
"Well, let's go find out what happened," said Sam, turning to the stairs. Ember followed closely.
When they got back to the living room, it was just in time to hear the men and Desiree laughing at some joke of Tucker's.
"Daddy?" said Ember, approaching her father.
"Ember, sweety, why aren't you back in your body?" he said, looking at her.
"It's dead, Daddy. Why didn't you take care of it?" said Ember, softly.
Her father's face changed, becoming a rictus of rage. "I KNEW IT!" he shouted, standing up, "You aren't my daughter! It's all some ghost trick!"
They all stared at the man. "What?" said Ember, "Daddy, no!"
"You can't inhabit it because you are not Ember! I've had enough! Two years of this! I'm going to end it all, wiether I get my daughter back or not!" he shouted, and ran from the room.
Stunned, his visitors watched him leave, then looked at each other.
"I think we'd better go stop him," said Danny, "I'm going ghost!"
He changed forms, and tried to dive through the floor. He slammed into it, and fell flat.
"I can't go through the floor!" he said, pushing against it.
"He has some sort of ghost shield, based on your parent's work," explained Ember, "Come on!"
They followed Ember back through the house, finding the door to the basement standing open.
"Daddy, wait!" shouted Ember, as she flew down the stairs.
"Sam, Tucker, you come last. Desiree, come on!" said Danny.
Desiree nodded, and reverted to her ghost form. She followed Danny down the stairs, and the two humans brought up the rear.
At the bottom, they found Mr. McLauren standing by a large bomb-shaped object, with Ember standing a few feet away. He was tapping on a keyboard attached to the bomb. An LED timer started, showing 30 seconds. It dropped to 29.
"I'll show all you ghosts what for!" he shouted, "All the tricks, lies, death, and destruction you've put my family through! I will have my revenge! HA HA HA HA HA!" his eyes showed only madness. Then he caught sight of Danny and Desiree. "More ghosts! I was right! This was all a trick! One you will never get away with!"
"Daddy, please!" pleaded Ember, holding her hands out to him.
"You horrible spirit, how dare you take on my daughter's form? Now go back to oblivion where you belong!" he said, and picked up from somewhere an energy pistol. It make a rising whine as it powered up. He aimed it at Ember.
A bolt of green from Danny destroyed the pistol. Mr. McLauren looked at his slightly singed hands, then at Danny. "That doesn't matter! You all will be destroyed!"
The timer had dropped to 10 seconds.
Danny took aim at the control console on the bomb, and sent another green ectoplasmic beam at it. It splashed harmlessly away without touching the bomb.
"Uh oh," said Danny.
6...
5...
"Let's get out of here!" shouted Tucker, and turned toward the stairs. Sam followed.
"You can't get away! Every ghost will be destroyed!" shouted Mr. McLauren.
3...
2...
1...
Zero...
With a loud CLANG! a portal on the bomb opened, and the air started stirring and moving toward it. The suction grew harder and harder. Danny, Desiree and Ember were being dragged toward it. Because of their solidity, Sam and Tucker were less affected.
"It's like a huge Fenton Thermos!"thought Danny.
A small wooden box on a shelf suddenly flew toward the bomb, and smacked Sam in the head.
"Aaagghh!" she screamed, and fell backwards, where the suction grabbed her and pulled her toward the bomb.
"Ember! Help!" she cried, weakly.
Seeing her friend in trouble, Ember put on a huge effort, and moved against the wind toward Sam. "I... will... not... fail... you...," she muttered. She reached Sam and pulled her to herself.
"Danny, what do we do?" shouted Ember over the wind.
"I... uh..." Danny looked around in a panic. "I got an idea! Follow me!" He grabbed Tucker,
turned them both intangible, then dived into the floor. Desiree followed closely.
Ember looked at her father, while holding the injured and semi-consious Sam. He was staring at her with maddened eyes, and a huge grin. It was a sight she would never forget. Then she too dived into the ground, carrying Sam with her.
Casting a green light, they found each other. Above them, they could clearly hear the wind howl. Then came the splintering of wood. That sound grew until it drowned out the wind. Then came a creak of metal as it was bent. With a low moan like a giant animal in pain, the sound died, and there was silence.
They waited several more minutes before venturing up to the surface. What they found shocked them. The house was destroyed. What was left of support beams leaned toward where the bomb had been. Piles of wood, chopped to splinters, were oriented toward it as well. A lot of debris, much of it unrecognizable, lay around. The sun shone brightly down into what was left. The nearby trees were also leaning toward the wreckage.
They stood in where the basement had been, looking around.
"Wow," commented Tucker.
Danny went over to the portal. He opened the door and looked in. Everything appeared to be the same. The Spectre Speeder still waiting for them.
"Thanks, Ember," said Sam, holding her head.
"You're welcome," replied Ember, then, "You're bleeding." She found a piece of cloth, rinsed it out in a broken water pipe's flow, and held it to Sam's head. "I'm so sorry," she said.
Just then, a previously-unknown aspect of the spell was activated. When the spell was created, it was assumed the ghost affected would be enraged about being controlled. So punishment for disobedience or failure was woven into it. The spell realized the ghost's master was no longer in danger, and that the ghost had failed to protect the master, so punishment was meted out.
Ember suddenly fell to the floor, screaming in agony. To Ember, it felt like every atom of her body was encased in iron.
Danny, Tucker, and Desiree, startled, went to her. Danny looked at Desiree. "What's wrong? Can you do anything?"
"No, I can not. It is not my magic," answered Desiree.
Danny looked at Sam, who was looking away, lost in thought. As Sam was the ghost's master, the spell was giving her knowledge of what was occurring.
"Sam? SAM!" shouted Danny.
Sam looked at him, startled. "Oh, it's the spell!" she said, and quickly knelt by the screaming ghost girl. She knew what to do now. "Ember! I forgive you! I forgive you!" shouted Sam over the screams.
Ember fell silent. The pain was gone. She looked up at Sam, and began to cry. "Thank you, Sam," she said, and reached up to hug her friend. "I will never fail you again."
'Uh, let's talk about it later. Why don't you go find your father?" said Sam, helping Ember stand.
"Yes, Sam," she answered, then flew around through objects, looking.
Danny flew up some twenty feet. It was apparent the bomb had not affected anything much beyond the house itself. The yard surrounding the house was huge, and Danny could see other houses in the distance. People were standing in their yards, looking toward them.
"Uh oh. I bet that means we're going to have company soon," he thought, and went back down to the others.
Ember landed by them. "No sign of him, or my body," she said.
Just then, they heard the sounds of sirens in the far distance.
"I think we'd better leave soon," said Tucker.