By Nyassa Kaiba
Ember was locked in vicious combat. She NEEDED to beat this ghost. It was invading her territory! Her home!
Nevermore was vicious. Ember had heard her reputation. Among all the female evil ghosts, she was most powerful. More powerful than Spectra at her peak, or Desiree, no, this ghost was just too much.
"I'll kill you all over again Nevermore!" Ember shouted as she strummed up a spell on her guitar.
"I doubt that." Nevermore replied as her hand signals summoned a spell. "Your powers are useless without sound…" And the spell released, flying faster than Ember could speak.
Ember screamed, long and painful as the spell shocked her. /Gotta, break, free./ She thought angrily. Her rage was so strong it consumed her. And she felt something changing inside of her. Some part of her was different. But Ember had no chance to contemplate this as she blacked out.
About an hour or so later Danny and company passed in the ghost skimmer that Danny's father built. They were continuing with Danny's idea of mapping the ghost zone. Suddenly the scanners went off. "What is it Tucker?" Danny asked, for Tucker was nearest.
"It says there's a human in the ghost zone, but that would have to be impossible." Tucker commented as they drew closer.
"Let me see." Sam leaned over to see. "But that's impossible. Not unless there's another portal OR another halfa. And there's neither!"
"Shall we check it out?" Danny asked. "I mean, they might be in trouble or something."
"Let's go for it!" Tucker agreed.
"I'm in." Sam agreed.
Tucker was driving. "Alright, hang on tight!" Tucker told everybody.
Tucker brought them slowly up beside the person, whoever it was. The three of them got out to see who it was.
Danny turned the unconscious figure over. "NO WAY?" He backed off. "It's Ember! But what happened to her? She's not a human!"
Ember groaned, still in pain from the beating she'd taken. "Whatever happened, she needs help." Sam told him. "Are we going to let her suffer or are we going to show compassion and give her the help she needs?" Demanded Sam.
"Okaaaay, but if she causes trouble we get rid of her."
"Um… helloo. No ghost means no ghost powers." Sam pointed out. "If she's fully human her abilities will be gone, if she's a halfa like Danny now then her powers would be changed and she wouldn't know how to use them."
"Oooookay. I suppose I could try." Danny sighed. "Okay, we'll give her a chance, but you're responsible for her."
Sam nodded. "I'll take her to my place. I'm sorry, I don't like her that much, but I really feel sorry for her. Now lets get Ember back through the portal."
"Okee dokee." Danny agreed. The three of them tried to get Ember back to the ghost skimmer. But there was one problem.
"Um… sorry to bust your bubbles, but there's only three seats and four of us." Tucker pointed out.
"I'll carry her." Sam offered. "We're lucky we're not far from the portal."
Danny's ghost sense went off. "Oh no. You guys, whatever attacked Ember is still nearby. We have to get out of here!"
"Steppin on it!" Tucker said as he hit the gas.
They made it to the portal. "Close it! Quick!" Danny told Tucker as they jumped out in Danny's Parent's lab.
Tucker leapt for the button to close the portal. A BANG was heard as if, something had tried to come through and hit its head. "That was too close." Danny said with a sigh as he leaned against the closed leaves of the gate.
"Danny help me… she may be a ghost, but she's not light!" Sam growled as she tried to move Ember from the seat to the couch that was there in case Danny's mom or dad wanted to rest and take a break from their research. There were even a couple quilts and a pillow there. Danny made them intangible and floated Ember over to the couch.
"There." Danny set her down.
Sam neatly unfolded the blanket and covered Ember with it, placing a big fluffy pillow under her head. "Now we wait."
Ember was floating in a blissful blackness. It felt so peaceful. Her soul, which had once been tormented by being turned into a ghost as she had, was finally at peace. She heard voices talking around her.
"Help me… she may be a ghost, but she's not light."
And the sensation of being lifted and moved. Something soft was spread over her body. "There."
"Now we wait."
Ember drifted off to an uneasy sleep, for even in her state she knew something was wrong.
Then she felt herself slowly waking. Ember's eyes fluttered open. It was nighttime. Ember always knew what time of day it was. She was lying on a couch in a familiar laboratory, with a blanket over her and a soft pillow underneath her head. "…"
Sam was sitting near her. "Hey Ember, feel better?"
Ember let out a shriek and tried to say something. But nothing came out of her mouth. The music ghost slapped two hands over her mouth. "My voice…" She tried to say.
Nothing came out. Ember tried to sing. Nothing. She tried to tell Sam what had happened. Nothing. Finally Ember let out a silent cry of anguish, tears falling from her eyes.
Sam pulled the ex-ghost into her arms. "It's okay." She said softly.
Ember shook her head. /No, it's not okay! I want to speak! I want to sing/ Then she snuggled into Sam's grip. /So warm… wait a minute… warm? A ghost's flesh is cold!
Alarmed, Ember tried to shove a hand through the couch. Nothing happened. Ember let out a squeak and tried to fire a ghost beam at the wall. NOTHING! She closed her eyes and tried to fly. NOTHING!
Ember burst into tears. Sam pulled her back into her arms. "Yeah, we suspected that would happen. We were mapping the ghost zone when our scanners picked you up. But they said you were human. We think whoever did this to you changed you froma ghost into a human." Sam explained. "You're in Danny's Parent's lab. They're going to a college… thing with Jazz down south. So Danny has the place to himself for the week. Want something to eat?"
Ember's stomach answered her. Ember looked down in surprise.
"Oh, of course, you were a ghost. I don't know how long its been since you've eaten." Sam sighed.
Ember eagerly sat up, she opened her mouth to speak, and then growled, frustrated.
"This reminds me of that stupid Disney movie, the Little Mermaid."
Ember glared at her angrily, as if to say. /I don't care about a stupid movie. And I'm not some little princess to be pampered. GET ME BACK MY VOICE/
Sam sighed. "I wonder how you lost your voice… um… may I try and guess which ghost did it?"
Ember sighed and nodded.
"Okay, was it Desiree?"
Ember shook her head, picked up a nearby telephone pad and wrote. /Nevermore./
"What, was that a raven ghost or something?" Sam asked.
Ember shook her head, exasperated. /I don't think Danny's met her./ Ember wrote. /She's more powerful than Vlad is even/
Sam shuddered. She hated to think of a ghost more powerful than Vlad. "And this lady ghost went after you?"
Ember nodded and sighed, lying back down.
Sam looked nervously at the portal. "I think she tried to get through, something hit their head on the portal."
Ember shivered in fear.
Sam pulled the reborn ghost into her arms. "Shhhh… it's okay."
Ember snuggled into Sam's arms, feeling warm and safe in that grip.
"I'll… I'll protect you… I'm not sure how, but I promise. I'll stay with you." Sam whispered softly in Ember's ear.
The goth ghost sighed in relief, slowly falling asleep.