Disclaimer: obviously don't own DP, but wishing there were more new eppys. Where's Desiree when you need her?

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Danny couldn't move. He was frozen, perhaps from shock, as the darkness swelled in the old theater and pulsed around him like a live thing.

Then it rose and descended on Tucker and Sam, swirling around them until Danny couldn't see them anymore.

With a terrible scream, Danny found that he could move again, and he leapt towards the stage.

His scream echoed eerily in the dust-filled theater…in fact, it was rising in pitch and ferocity. Danny stopped and snapped his mouth shut in confusion.

It sounded, Danny thought, strangely female. For the umpteenth time that day he questioned his sanity.

"DESIREE! You WITCH! I'll kill you! I'll DESTROY you! No one will ever know your name after this!"

Something was flying at the throne in a streak of blue, slicing through the dark cloud that had risen from the minion audience.

It was at that point Danny realized someone else had been screaming, and he wasn't crazy after all. He watched restlessly – all he could think about was getting his friends off the stage.

With a shriek of rage, Ember crashed into the wish ghost, toppling her over before she had a chance to lift a finger.

Suddenly the dark cloud around Tucker and Sam vanished. They were left swooning before Desiree, looking surprised and confused.

Ember's three band members were zipping around the stage, and one stopped by Tucker to lift his PDA out of his jacket. Tucker was too confused to say anything, although he gazed at the ghost reproachfully.

With a considerable effort, the ghost snapped the PDA in half.

Tucker's half-hearted yell was lost in the commotion.

The black haze that had filled the theater was thinning as Desiree's minions leaped from their seats, surging forward, pressing against the stage like fans at a concert.

A concert…Vaguely, Danny remembered that Ember's live concert was supposed to be tonight. He looked over at her, but Ember and Desiree were a blur, a swirling dervish of blows and curses. The crowd of minions hesitated at the edge of the stage, obviously unsure of what they should do.

If there was ever a time to save Tucker and Sam, Danny thought, it was now.

He forced himself to move, to leap into the air towards the stage. It seemed to him that he was moving very slowly, through liquid sludge, through a gummy haze.

Ember and Desiree were screaming incoherently as they pummeled each other, but even Danny could see that Desiree was winning.

Finally he was at the stage, finally he was swooping down and grabbing his best friends by their arms. They were as cold as blocks of ice, and the freezing sensation that seeped into his hands somehow shocked time into speeding up again.

In a moment his friends were as invisible and intangible as Danny was, and he lifted them easily, up through the sagging roof and out into the sunlight.

They flew several buildings away and landed in a sand lot, where Danny set them down gently.

All three of them blinked in the light as they became visible. Tucker and Sam looked around dazedly, their eyes empty but not as dark as they had been before.

In the theater, Desiree's minions had taken control of the stage and captured Ember's band, although Ember was still hurling desperate punches at Desiree.

Desiree firmly grasped both of Ember's wrists and shoved her effortlessly to the stage floor, her eyes glowing.

"I am growing weary of this charade," she hissed, her face inches away from Ember's.

Ember looked surprised for just a moment. Her face darkened as she realized she couldn't move her hands. At all.

Desiree smirked.

Ember hissed and then her face twisted into a grin.

"I wish –" Ember began, but was cut off by a blow from Desiree's head.

"Silly thing, did you actually think it would work like that!" she snarled at Ember, who was moaning in pain. "I have never granted wishes to those whose hearts no longer beat."

Desiree was shaking with anger, all traces of amusement gone. Her eyes were burning red and orange flames.

Ember had a moment to panic before she was hit with the full force of Desiree's energy blast. She yelled in pain, struggling to free herself from Desiree's clutches. With a lurch she rolled to the side, ripping her arms from Desiree's grasp. Pain had made her stronger, for the moment.

But as soon as she stood, she knew she couldn't win. If she had been alive she would have had second- and third-degree burns, she was so dizzy the theater seemed to be spinning crazily, and her band was captured by hundreds of flame-eyed minions.

Desiree was now standing, steadily and unhurriedly, fire still licking the sides of her eyes.

Ember backed away. "You may have won this battle," she snarled. "But the war is ON! Don't think I didn't hear your little plan."

Ember looked around slowly. "But," she said, dripping false concern. "Where ever did those two little children go, the ones who were supposed to save your greedy asses from the ghost zone?"

Startled, Desiree noticed for the first time that Tucker and Sam had indeed disappeared.

Despite the pain, a slow smile was spreading over Ember's face until she was grinning ear-to-ear like a Cheshire cat. With a high-pitched giggle she lifted an arm over her head and disappeared in a swirl of blue and teal, her band members popping out of existence with her.

Desiree shrieked. And then she closed her eyes, a look of forced calm and intense concentration on her face.

Danny was getting dizzy, looking at the swirls of lilac that were going round and round in Sam's black eyes.

"Danny?" Sam whispered, her voice unquestionably her own, although hesitant and sounding close to tears. "What's going on?"

Danny blinked and then reached down and grabbed Sam by her hands. They were ice cold, but they didn't burn him like they had before.

Desiree must be losing her concentration, he thought as he rubbed Sam's hands gently to warm them.

"It's ok Sam, don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you," Danny said, looking back into Sam's swirling eyes. He would have blushed at the way his voice cracked, but he was far too worried about Sam.

"Danny…I feel funny," Sam whimpered, swooning. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a fierce hug, glancing at Tucker, who seemed more out of it than Sam but was at least still standing. Sam was trembling like a leaf.

A sense of urgency filled him. He had to do something, NOW.

Immediately he was turning intangible and leaning forward, until he passed through Sam's icy body, overshadowing her.

Inside, everything was dark at first, but he could see a light up ahead. He rushed towards it. There was something wrong with the soft luminescence. It was flickering, like a candle flame threatening to go out.

Danny realized, with a start, that the light would have been far brighter if there hadn't been a shadow clinging to its outer edges.

The shadow was leeching inwards, devouring the light, consuming it and transforming it into dark nothingness.

With horror, Danny watched the shadow pulse and grow and the light dwindle before his very eyes. He thought he could hear screaming.

In an instant he was on the shadow, pulling at it, trying to tear it away from the light. It was slimy and disgusting and reeked of death, and even as he retched he could feel its cold burn scorch his body.

It was then that he truly understood the awfulness of Desiree's plan. He could feel the black thing writhing in his hands, twisting and swirling as if it was made up of more than one entity. Indeed it was, and one of them was Desiree.

Danny refused to let go, he refused to leave Sam, even as he could feel the shadow growing larger and larger, pushing him away from the light. It was stronger than Danny – there was two of them and he was only one.

And he really couldn't hold on, he was being pushed back through the darkness, away from the ever-dwindling light.

With a yelp he was thrown out of Sam, tumbling through the air and skidding awkwardly on the sandy ground.

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He rose immediately, tears blurring his vision. He had failed Sam, had failed to protect her, and now she was lost beneath the shadow. The pain that tore at his heart was much greater than any pain he could ever feel.

Or so he thought.

That was before he turned around and was introduced harshly to Tucker's fist. He flew backwards, barely registering the pain in his shock.

Then Tucker was standing over him, glaring down at him with hatred so intense Danny felt like he was frozen. For a moment he couldn't move.

Tucker sneered. "So this is the great Danny Phantom. You can't even take a punch."

At that, Danny found he could indeed move, and was halfway to Tucker's neck before he could comprehend his cat-like reflex.

And then he was flying backwards again. Sam had rushed at him from the side, before the intention to strangle Tucker became more than a thought.

Danny was seeing stars. Everything was going fuzzy. He imagined his inner cat slinking away, embarrassed to be caught with his tail between his legs.

The last thing he saw was a brilliant flash of light, and then his cerulean blue eyes were closing as he lost consciousness.

thefanwithashortattentionspan – sorry – things aren't better yet … poor Danny…

Kats02980416 – :)it is quite the crazy mess, but it can't be helped

Fantastic Bouncy Girl – Thanks! I know I wasn't as quick at updating this time, but there were tests. And papers. And stuff. Anyway, I'll definitely finish this story sometime, so don't worry! There will be an end ... eventually ;)

Joseph K – Cheers:)

Haimnotonthissite – nope!

Danny-Phantom-Luver626 – LOL, I watched the Ember eppy 3 times, but not in a row!

Sorry this is such a short chapter - I'm kind of suffering writer's block... the next chapter will be longer, I promise!

And, just because I'm a shameless beggar-girl >>> Please Review:)