"So, this is the Ghost Zone," I said as I looked around at all the different doors floating around. I was in the Specter Speeder with Sam and Tucker, while I let Danny deal with Klemper, this ghost in pajamas. I tried fighting him with Danny, but he hit me pretty hard. So that's why I was in the Specter Speeder instead of helping Danny. Got hurt, he sent me in here.
"Get off me, Klemper!" Danny yelled, making me look over at the battle. Klemper almost had Danny pinned to the ground.
"But I just want to be your friend!" Klemper said, making me sigh with sorrow.
"Will somebody please remind why this was a good idea?" Danny asked through these Fenton Phones that are in Tucker's and Sam's ears. It was strange. I never seen Sam's hair behind her ears before.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to map out the Ghost Zone," Sam said with a smile.
"You're also the only one who doesn't have to wear these stupid Fenton Phones," Tucker added on, making me give him a look. "Correction, you and Briar are the only ones who don't have to wear the Fenton Phones." He pressed something on his PDA and I could hear loud music coming out of his Fenton Phones, as well as Sam's who just grimaced at the music.
"Good thing they also work as wireless earphones," Tucker stated, making me roll my eyes. "Because these things are a fashion don't."
"They're not supposed to look good," Danny exclaimed. "It's supposed to fill out spectral noise so we can communicate!" I watched as Danny was having a hard time with Klemper. I couldn't help but giggle at the fight. "Like when I say things like...HELP GET THIS THING OFF ME!"
"And there's the cry for help," I sighed as I changed into my ghost form and flew out to help him.
"They're not stupid," Sam said as I body slammed into Klemper and made him fly back some. "I think they make really cool techno-goth earrings."
"Really?" Danny said as Klemper knocked me down as well. "Hey, do you-?" He went to ask me, making me put up my hand to stop him.
"I don't want a pair," I said. "I'm not much of an earring person." I smirked as I thought of the one thing I do like. "Though I wouldn't say no to a new necklace." He chuckled as Klemper grabbed him. I floated up behind Klemper as Danny smacked him away. The lonely ghost than blew ice towards Danny from his mouth and froze him in a block of ice.
I almost panicked before I saw him use his ecto-energy rays and break the ice. He looked at Klemper with anger as I smirked behind him. I turned around and saw a refrigerator door floating behind me. I quickly looked back at Danny who nodded, saying he saw it too. He nodded me to go back to the Specter Speeder, basically saying he had this now. So I nodded back and flew towards the Speeder, phasing through it and changing back to my human form.
Danny then flew up to the refrigerator, Klemper following him, and he grabbed on to the door handle. He pulled it open and Klemper flew inside. Danny closed it behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. He shot the handle off of the door and flew back to us.
He phased through the seat between me and Tucker, and changed back to his human self as well. He started to shiver, blowing hot air from his mouth onto his hands.
"Can a ghost get frostbite?" He asked, making me giggle as I scooted closer to him and took his hands in mine.
"Here," I said. "My hands are warm." He looked at me and grinned with a faint blush on his face. Those fireworks I felt whenever we touched were back. They popped through my mind and my stomach was filled with those little butterflies. I grinned back as my cheeks warmed up with a faint blush as well.
But...
"EMBER! GO, EMBER!" Tucker screamed, making me glare at him as Danny chuckled and took his hands out of mine.
"I think we're gonna need our hands to cover our ears," He said covering his ears. I giggled before putting my head on his chest.
"I have a better way to ignore him," I grinned, hearing Danny's heartbeat beating in my ears. I heard him chuckle as I felt his hand on my shoulder, while also hearing Sam drive back to the portal home.
I was at Danny's the following Monday (it was Saturday when we went through the Ghost Zone), ready to go to school. I was in the lab with him as he was double-checking everything in his backpack.
"Books, check. Pencil case, check. Thermos," He grabbed the thermos and I smirked. "double-check."
"Nice job remembering that," I said as he looked at me, smirking as well.
"I try to nowadays," He returned. "Oh!" I watched as he grabbed a small box from the counter behind him. I cocked my head to the side out of confusion as he put his bag on his back and walked over to me. "Here."
"Oh, Danny!" I said with surprise as I stared at the box. "I was only kidding about the necklace."
"I know you were," He smirked at me. "But my dad and I saw this, and I thought of you." I looked at him confused before taking the small box into my hands gently. I looked at him again, seeing the smile on his face. I opened the box and gasped. Inside was a gold banded ring with a small turquoise gem in the center. I stared in awe at it as I felt Danny walk closer to me.
"Danny," I looked at him, seeing the grin on his face. "You-"
"Here," He took the ring out of the box and showed me the band. I saw my name was engraved on it, making me smile even more.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" I asked as I watched him put it on my left hand. The ring finger, to be specific.
"Definitely," He replied. "I'm promising to you that we'll be together forever."
"As I'm promising that, too," I giggled as we shared a short but sweet kiss. "I love you, Danny Fenton."
"I love you, too, Briar Winthrope." I giggled again, before noticing the time.
"We better get going," I said, closing the box my ring came in and put it in my satchel. "We're going to be late."
"Good point," He chuckled before taking my hand and we walked up the stairs to head to school.
I walked up to my locker, hearing this song called "Remember" playing around the school. It was apparently by this new rock star named Ember McLain. Personally, I thought it was a catchy tune, but I wasn't into rock music. Sure, I liked it, but I didn't listen to it as much as some people.
"Hey, B," Robin's voice spoke up, making me sigh with relief. She wasn't wearing any Ember stuff like most of the student body was. Tucker already had on a hat and shirt, while listening to the song on his PDA with Danny and Sam.
"Hey, Robin," I said. "You're not a fan of Ember either?"
"Heck, no! Give me country and I'm happy," She returned, making me giggle as Edwin walked up. Same deal, no Ember stuff.
"Hey, E!" I said, making him smile.
"Hey! Where's Danny?"
"He's with Sam and Tucker," I said as I moved my left hand to grab a book, the lights glinting off my ring.
"Hold the phone!" Robin yelled as she grabbed my hand and stared at the ring. I giggled at her sudden antics. "Please tell me this is a promise ring!"
"It is," I said, making her squeal and hug me. I hugged back, laughing.
"Danny promised himself to you?" Edwin asked with surprise, but I saw the smile on his face.
"Yeah," I answered as Robin pulled away from the hug. "He surprised me this morning with the ring."
"Aw," Robin cued, making me giggle again. "He's a nice guy."
"He is," I bit my bottom lip out of excitement. "I really feel like he could be the one, guys."
"Oh, please tell me I'm your Maid of Honor!" Robin yelled, making Edwin roll his eyes.
"Robin, you do know that Sam is also my best friend, right?" I asked with a smirk.
"Oh, I know! But-"
"So who's to say I can't have two Maids of Honor?" She squealed with a hop and spin, making Edwin snort. He had to live with this hyper girl everyday at home. I felt bad. But surely it gave his life some excitement.
"Oh, Ember/you will remember," A student sang as she walked passed us with earbuds in her ears.
"I don't get it," I said with surprise. "This Ember McLain comes out of nowhere and suddenly she's the biggest thing since MP3s. It's so-"
"Infuriating how mindless prepackaged corporate bubble gum is preventing true musical artists from being heard?" I turned my head to see Sam standing there now, annoyed and irritated by the song. I gave her a look that read 'what the heck?', making her shake her head and grin. "I said the same thing to Danny and Tucker. Surprisingly enough, he said exactly what you said earlier, too."
"Huh, I guess great minds think alike," I smiled. "Anyway, I was going to say weird, but okay."
"Again, also what Danny said," Sam returned, making me giggle for...I don't even know how many times now!
"Ember's not all about the music," A random student spoke to us. "She's an expression of my unique individuality." And then they were gone. It took them leaving for me to notice all the posters and banners of Ember around the school.
"What in all things ghostly happened?!" Robin yelled with shock. There were even kids wearing the Ember stuff around the school.
"Oh, yeah, she's one of a kind," Edwin said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. I looked at Sam, seeing the blush on her cheeks as she was looking down at her book, keeping her eyes away from Edwin's. "Every single one of you."
Of course, Paulina had to come up at that moment, a glare on her face as she noticed the ring on my finger. Her must have become sour once she saw it.
"Nice ring," She said jealously. "Sale at the 89 cent store?" I smirked as I looked at it.
"Actually, no," I returned. "It was a gift from my boyfriend. You know? Danny Fenton?" My smirk couldn't have been bigger with the look on Paulina's face. She must have not realized that Danny and I became a couple.
"Really? He gave you a ring?! But, you're too young to-"
"Haven't you heard of a promise ring, Paulina?" I asked annoyed, but the smirk was still on my face.
"Wow," Was all Paulina said. That made my smirk falter a little bit. "I had a feeling you two losers would end up together." Now it was gone and so was she.
"We're not losers!" I yelled, my eyes glowing a bit. Thankfully, Robin calmed me down and made me force a grin. I guess now Paulina wouldn't go after Danny with evil intentions anymore.
"Well, I better be off," Sam said, sounding...shy? That wasn't like Sam to be shy ever! "Don't want to be late for class. See ya later, Briar." Her eyes met Robin's and she nodded with a smile before her gaze hit Edwin, and the blush became apparent. "Bye, Edwin." And she walked away.
"Oh, I think someone has a crush on you, Eddie!" Robin exclaimed with a squeal, making me roll my eyes this time. I'm surprised that this redhead still had a voice because of all that squealing.
"Wait, you think Sam has a crush on me? That's not possible!" Edwin exclaimed, but I could see the blush forming on his cheeks. "I mean, not that I'm saying I wouldn't find that sweet, but-"
"You like her, too, don't you?" I interrupted, making his blush deepen right as the bell rang for class.
"Gotta go. Bye!" And then he left, leaving smoke behind him.
"Saved by the bell," I retorted, making Robin giggle this time. I closed my locker after a moment and thought of the possibility of Edwin and Sam ending up together. That would be something.
"Come on, let's get to class," Robin said before we started our walk to Mr. Lancer's classroom.
"As you know, the North-Western 9 standardized testing starts in two days. And because my bonus is proportional to your grades," Mr. Lancer began, making me roll my eyes with boredom, "we have installed the Cramtastic Mark 5. The latest in state of the art subliminal study aid technology."
I looked at my screen, seeing it say Standby. But I never put the helmet on.
"Let the learning begin!" Lancer spoke as he pressed a button and the screen turned on, showing us a music video of Ember McLain, singing her song "Remember" instead. The classroom went crazy as Danny and Sam took off their helmets.
Lancer looked peeved as he pressed the off button and the computers shut down. I watched as he pulled out a CD of Ember's song live. But the music started back up, making me look around confused.
"Foley!" Lancer yelled. "Turn off that blasted PDA!" He threw the CD at Tucker like a Ninja Star, having it bounce off the computer and fly up in the sky.
"It's not me!" Tucker said. That was surprising. "It's coming from outside!" The whole class raced over to the windows, with me in the front of the crowd as I saw a truck roll up to the front of the school. It had a stage attached to the back of it with a banner that said Ember's name on it and two big speakers on either side, blaring out the beat to Ember's song.
I've heard it enough. Still not a fan.
Purple smoke just exploded on the stage then and faded, revealing Ember in it's place with a smile. Her band came up after and they were still playing her song, and Ember started singing. The whole class left the room at that moment, making me stumble and fall on my butt.
"Ow," I groaned as a hand was held out to me. I looked up and smiled as I took Danny's hand, having him lift me up. I have to say, he's gotten stronger since he started ghost fighting.
"Hello, Casper High!" Ember yelled, making me look at the window with Danny following my actions as he turned his head. "Tell me who you love!" The crowd of students started chanting her name after that...making my ghost sense go off as I watched Ember's hair turn into flames. Great. Ember's the ghost.
We raced to the front of the school and watched as Tucker dove for the crowd and fell face-first into the cement. I cringed when I saw that. But he somehow still managed to crowd surf a little.
"We love you, Ember!" He yelled.
"That's because I fill a void in your empty lives!" Ember yelled back, making me tense up with anger. She's ruining the music industry! I was half tempted to get up on that stage and show her a thing or two about being a REAL musician...one who inspires others. But I was stopped in that thought when I noticed Danny's ghost sense go off. Wow, his ghost sense is very slow!
"Uh, oh," Danny seemed nervous and scared, making me take his hand to comfort him. I also noticed Mr. Lancer getting up on a fire hydrant with a megaphone. This can't be good.
"Attention, freakishly dressed teen idol!" He said through the megaphone. "I order you to cease and desist!"
"Desist this, grandpa!" Ember yelled as I watched her change something on her guitar and then strum it. A purple swirling vortex came out of the strum and washed over the crowd.
And then their completely red eyes flashed open, clearly hypnotized.
"Oh, no," I exclaimed as I pulled out my ghostly microphone and watched as they all turned to Lancer, growling.
"Pride and Prejudice!" He exclaimed.
"Ember's the ghost?!" Danny yelled as he changed into his ghost form, making me look at him with a 'you're just now finding this out' look on my face. He saw that and grinned nervously.
"I'm a C student! Cut me some slack!" He said with a shrug.
"You used that excuse on me once before, babe," I said, smirking. "Not buying it this time." I quickly hopped off over the railing of the staircase and hid in a bush. I changed into my ghost form and flew up into the air while I saw Danny flying toward Mr. Lancer to save him.
I flew over to Ember and floated in front of her, holding my microphone tightly in my hand. She saw me and gasped with a step back.
"Stardust?!" She yelled, smirking after a while. "How nice to see you could make it! It's nice to have someone of importance in the Ghost Zone appreciate good music!"
"Cut this out, Ember McLame!" I yelled. "You wouldn't know good music if it hit you in the face!"
"Oh, yeah! Well, what do you know?!" Ember growled, getting ready to strum a chord at me.
"I know a whole lot more than you!" I yelled. "And what do you mean by that?! I'm not important in the Ghost Zone!" Ember just looked confused at me, like I was stupid not to know what she meant. But in the end, she just smirked up at me.
"Oh, ghoulie, if you don't know, then it's too late for you." I growled as I pressed the star on my microphone to turn it on. It sent a sound wave through the whole crowd and knocked Ember to her butt, right as a beat came along with it.
I looked at the microphone and smirked, letting the beat continue before I saw it hurting Ember. She was covering her ears before she just disappeared into thin air. The beat from my microphone stopped after this and I sighed before flying up to Danny.
"Well, looks like Phantom and Stardust are needed again," I said while making my microphone disappear out of my hand.
"Seems like it," Danny agreed. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. But-" I hesitated, wondering if I should tell Danny what Ember said. 'Someone of importance'? Me? I doubt that!
"But what? Did she hurt you?!" He seemed genuinely concerned as he checked my face for any bruises. I just laughed at his kind-hearted nature as I took his hands into mine and kissed his cheek.
"I'm fine, babe," I returned. "It was just something Ember said that got me curious."
"What did she say?"
"Something about me being someone of importance in the Ghost Zone," I said. I never liked keeping secrets. To protect people, definitely! But never to just keep a secret out of selfishness.
"You?" He seemed surprised, though I knew he meant well with that. "I mean, I can see that here someday when it comes to your music."
"Nice save," I said with a smirk.
"But in the Ghost Zone? I don't know."
"That's what I was thinking," I returned. "I think I'll do some research to find out what she could mean by that."
"Good idea. I could look on my end, too. See if I can find anything," I grinned at Danny. He was so sweet, always willing to help out when he didn't need to. I loved him so much.
"If you don't mind," I asked, making him chuckle.
"For you, I don't mind," He said, making me giggle before pecking his lips quickly.
"Then let's go."
I walked into my house after saying goodbye to Danny and saw my mom sitting at the island with a cup of something. I'm guessing coffee since she had a notebook of research in front of her. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, dropping my bag by the counter and sitting in one of the bar stools there.
"Mom?" I asked, making her look up at me and smile.
"Hey, sweetie," She said. "How was school today? Any ghost attacks you stopped?" I grinned at her.
"Actually, there's this new teen idol of a singer named Ember," I stated. "She's a ghost, and we have to find out how to stop her."
"Well, I know you will stop her. I believe in you," Mom said, winking as she said this.
"How'd you find out?" I asked, making her smile fade a little. "How did you find out that I was Stardust?"
"Oh, honey," Mom began, taking my hand into hers, "you're voice is so recognizable."
"Come on, mom! I know that's not the case!"
"I also saw you in your ghost form at the accident," She said, making me calm down and stare in shock. "At first, I thought the worst. That I lost my whole family in the blink of an eye. But then, you changed back and you were alive. You were still in my arms. I...I couldn't have thanked God anymore than I have to have saved you. Though your father was taken, I was just glad that my little girl was alright."
I grinned at that statement, letting a tear fall down my cheek. So she has known this whole time and said nothing? I'm not mad, I'm just glad that she's been safe from all the battles I've fought for these 4 years of being Stardust.
"Oh, and Danny doesn't have to hide it from me, either," Mom continued, making me look at her with surprise. "It is him as Phantom, right?" She asked, and when I didn't answer, she giggled. "Honey, I know it's Danny Fenton as Phantom. It's his voice that I recognized when you two were fighting the Wisconsin Ghost."
"Wait...you were in the room?!" I yelled in shock.
"Of course! I heard the commotion and came running! Finding you with Danny taking control of Mr. Fenton made me smile," She returned. "Knowing that your boyfriend has your back in these fights helps me sleep at night." I sighed in defeat and grinned.
"I'll tell him you know," I said. "But he might freak out."
"Trust me, I know," Mom giggled as she stood up straight. "Anyway, you seem like something is on your mind. What's up?"
"Oh, it's nothing," I said, though I should tell her what Ember said. "It's just, Ember said something about me being someone of importance in the Ghost Zone. Any idea of why she would say that?" Mom looked to have tensed up, but I wasn't sure. I just saw a glimmer in her eyes and a smile on her face. Almost like the question didn't bother her.
But I knew better.
"None at all, sweetie," She said. "But I'm sure you'll find out what she meant." And with that, she gave me a wink and left the kitchen. She took her notebook and coffee with her.
I sighed as I leaned forward on the kitchen island, thinking of any possible leads as to what Ember meant. Cotton did mention that the star on my suit was used a lot in one of the Ghost Zone's regions. I don't know what region, but it might have been something to look into.
"Briar?" I looked down at the voice. Speaking of Cotton. "You okay?" She looked just as cute as she sat there before me.
"I'm fine. Just thinking," I said as I got up from the chair and knelt before her. "I have a question: what region is the star that's on my suit from?" Cotton cocked her head to the side like she didn't understand the question at first. But realization struck her eyes before she nodded in understanding.
"It's the symbol to a kingdom region," She said, making me fall on my butt in shock.
"A kingdom?!" I yelled. "What kingdom?!"
"I don't know the name of it," Cotton said. "But I do know that it's been without a royal family lately."
"What happened to them?"
"You'll have to do research on it, because I don't know," Cotton said, making me sigh as I took out my phone and dialed Danny's number. I could tell him what I found out from Cotton. Maybe that's what Ember was getting at earlier. Maybe to her, Stardust is part of that long lost missing family of royals. I'm just spit-balling here, but you'll never know!
I put the phone to my ear and waited for Danny to pick up. I know after I told him what Cotton said, I'd have to tell him that my mom knows he's Phantom. This conversation was for sure going to be a problem...at least to him.
"HOW DID SHE FIND OUT?!" Danny screamed as he paced back and forth in my room. Once I told him my mom knew, he hung up and flew over to my house. Now, we're in my room, alone, and he's freaking out now that he knows my mom knew his secret. Told her this would happen. Thankfully, he seemed supportive when I told him about the kingdom region my star symbol is from.
"She heard your voice when we were fighting Vlad," I said as I leaned back on my bed. "If you're worried that she'll tell anyone, she won't. She keeps secrets pretty well." I gave Danny a look as he kept pacing my floor. He had changed back into his human form the moment he flew into my room.
"This is bad," He said, seeming to ignore my statement. "She's friends with my parents! If she accidentally says something to them, then-"
"Danny, relax," I said as I walked up to him and took his hand. He stopped pacing...finally. I was afraid he'd put a hole in my floor. "My mom is good on her word," I said, seeing the faint blush on his cheeks. "If she says she won't tell a soul, then I believe her."
"You sure?" He asked, calming down some as I grinned at him.
"I'm sure," I giggled. "I know my mom." Danny sighed in response before grinning at me and kissing my forehead.
"Okay, I trust her," He said, making me smile. "Besides, one day she could be my mother-in-law. So I should learn to trust her." I giggled at that as I wrapped my arms around his torso and placed my head in his chest. I felt his strong arms wrap around me as his chin rest on the top my head.
"That's my boy."
"Yeah, yeah," He mumbled, making me giggle again before we pulled away.
"Anyway, did you figure anything else out besides what I told you?" I asked.
"No, not yet sadly," He said. "But I'm sure I'll find something soon."
"Same here," I said. "I'm starting to think there's more to my family than I thought."
"Maybe," Danny returned as he sat on my bed. "But, what are we going to do about Ember? This couldn't have come up at a worse time!"
"I know," I said, sighing before looking at Cotton, seeing her just smile at me. "Tell you what," I began, looking at Danny again. "Let's focus on Ember first, and then worry about me. I don't want us distracted when she attacks. Sound good?"
"That's why you're the A student," He smirked, making me grab a pillow from my sofa and throw it at him. He caught with a chuckle as I rolled my eyes. But I was smiling nonetheless. It sure would be boring without Danny in my life.
The next day was even worse than the other. Everyone was wearing the Ember merch and Tucker was wearing this icy blue Ember wig instead of his normal hat. He even had Ember's eyeliner look painted on his face.
"Tucker, you're starting to scare me," I said as I tightened my grip on Danny's hand.
"And we fight ghosts," Danny said as he gestured to me and him.
"It's an Ember thing," Tucker stated as he started to fluff up the wig on his head. "You wouldn't understand it."
"Uh, you do realize she's an evil mind-controlling spirit from another dimension?" Sam stated, sounding more annoyed than I felt.
"Yeah," Tucker said, making me slap my forehead. "But you said the same thing about Paulina." That I snorted at.
"You know, he has a point," Danny said with a smirk. I giggled while Sam glared at him for just a moment. And speak of the devil, Paulina walked on over.
"Hey, everyone!" She yelled. "Ember's giving away free concert tickets at Bucky's Music Mega Store!" She didn't look any better. She had the same eyeliner look, but she had a turquoise ponytail attached to her already black hair. She was even wearing the same outfit as Ember.
"Nice hair," She said pointing to Tucker.
"Thanks! Nice hair!" He returned before they all started running towards the door while chanting Ember's name. I sighed as I looked down beside me, staring at my guitar case beside me. I brought it to school today just to get some songwriting done during my free period. I haven't written a song in a while.
"You people are not going anywhere except for de-TENTION!" Lancer yelled before getting trampled by the students. Sam, Danny, and I stayed behind as Edwin and Robin walked over. Danny and Sam were trying to keep Tucker back from leaving.
"Must...have...Ember...ticks!" He exclaimed.
"We're gonna have to deprogram him!" Sam exclaimed, making me sigh in defeat.
Before I knew it, they had dragged Tucker away to a random classroom. Whatever they were doing, I wasn't sure. They were probably going to tie Tucker up and have him watch the Cramtastic Mark 5. At least that's what I hoped.
"What happened?" Robin asked confused.
"Stampede," I answered, picking up my guitar case. "Ember's giving away free concert tickets I heard."
"Huh," Edwin spoke. "First Dumpty Humpty was the biggest thing, and now Ember. Things are looking bleak."
"I thought you liked rock music?" I asked with surprise.
"I do. But Ember's song is just not good!" Edwin exclaimed. "I mean, seriously! Who puts their own name in their hit single?!"
"Yeah!" Robin said. That got my gears turning slightly. Ever since Ember showed up, I've been wanting to learn her backstory. Learn what made her a ghost. But I could never figure it out. Maybe it's in her song.
I decided to think about it later and walked over to the classroom with Robin and Edwin following me. Sure enough, my boyfriend and Sam had Tucker tied to a chair while watching the computer screen. I sighed and walked over.
"This is where the healing starts," Sam said with her arms crossed. She still had the Fenton Phones on. Weird.
"I still don't get why none of us are affected by Ember's music," Danny said as we walked up to his locker, and he made his arm intangible. Really? He stuck that through the door and pulled out the Fenton Thermos.
"Maybe it's because of your ghost powers like Briar," Sam said. "And my-"
"Individuality or intelligence?" Edwin said with a smirk. I giggled as I looked at Sam, seeing the slight blush on her cheeks.
"I was going to say utter disdain of anything popular, but okay," She said. "You really think I'm smart?"
"Uh," Edwin blushed as well before Lancer walked over to us.
"Not so fast," He said, making us all look at him with surprise. I thought he was knocked out to be quite honest. "You five kids may be the only students left in this whole school, but that's not going to stop me from giving you an education." He looked at me and grinned. "You are excused, Briar. You took the test early and passed it with flying colors."
"You already took the test?" Danny asked with surprise.
"Yeah. I had some time to study for once and got an A my first try," I answered with a smirk. "You could learn a thing or two from me, babe." I winked before kissing his cheek and walking away.
But I didn't leave completely, I waited behind a wall as Lancer grabbed my friends' wrist and started to take them to a classroom. But Danny grabbed the other three and turned intangible, phasing through Lancer's hold. I went invisible myself and flew over as I grabbed Robin and Edwin for Danny and we flew out of the school.
We flew in through the wall, seeing Ember's hair higher than it was earlier. This couldn't have been good.
"Something tells me they're not going to love seeing their idol sucked into the Fenton Thermos," Danny said as he glared at Ember.
"I think I can distract them," Sam said with a smirk as Danny flew her over to a giant cardboard cutout of Ember. She hung onto it and drew glasses, a goatee, and a mustache in red marker. Where she got the marker I'll never know. But it seemed to have worked.
"Hey, everybody! Look! It's Ember McLame!" Sam yelled to the ground.
"Oh, great. A critic," Ember said as I placed Robin and Edwin down in the crowd. "Perhaps you'll like my new song better!" She changed a dial on her guitar and went to strum it when Danny flew up and shot her with his green ecto-energy rays. She flew back into me and I smirked.
"Hiya!" I said. "Miss me?" I shot her with my icy blue ecto-energy and made her fly back some more.
"Hey, do you take requests?!" Danny yelled as he flew up to me. "How about "Beat it"?!"
"How about I just lay down a few power chords down instead, dipstick?!" She then strummed her guitar, making a stream of green ecto-energy with skulls in them come at us. I managed to get out of the way, but I heard Danny got hit. I even noticed that the thermos got stuck on the cutout of Ember that Sam was on.
"Danny!" I flew after him quickly before he flew passed me. I turned around to see Ember had disappeared. I flew back to Danny and he pointed up. I nodded and we flew up through the ceiling and landed on the roof. There we saw Ember, floating in front of us.
"Dipstick. Ho ho. Funny," Danny said sarcastically, making me snort at the remark. He flew at her and started to fight her. "Who writes your insults? The same hack who writes your songs?"
"EMBER! EMBER! EMBER!" A crowd started chanting, making Ember's hair grow before she over powers Danny with strength.
"Chanting...makes her stronger!" Danny yelled, making me slap my forehead.
"I figured that out, too!" I yelled.
"You got that right, baby-pop," Ember said before she tossed Danny behind her. "And the more kid's chanting, the stronger I get!" I watched as Danny hit the giant cutout on the roof and made it fall. It was teetering the edge.
"You think I'm strong now?" Ember said. "Just wait until midnight, when my concert goes global and the whole world's chanting my name! Then you'll all be my slaves!" I flew in quickly as Ember strummed her guitar. I pushed Danny out of the way of the attack right as the red ecto-energy hit me and sent me flying. I hit a wall fell to the ground, winded but awake. Although I did change back to my human form thanks to that blast.
"Briar!" Danny yelled as he flew up to Ember to attack when she used the same method on me as she did with me. He flew next to me and changed back as well. "Briar, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said as I sat up some.
"What's this?" Ember said, making me glare at her with Danny. "Is there romance here?" Her smirk never left her face as I could see the gears turning in her head.
"Get away from them!" I looked over to see Edwin and Sam rush up and stand in front of us. Why was Edwin coming to help and not Robin? Wait...Ember's more powerful now because of the chanting. Robin must have been hooked. Crap!
"Ah, teen love," Ember stated. "They say it never lasts. But nothing distracts teenagers more than hormones." I quickly pulled out a set of Fenton Phones. I may have told Danny I didn't want a pair, but I took a pair...without him knowing. I had a feeling I might need them for a time like this. So I quickly put them on without anyone realizing it.
"And I need to keep you busy for the next 8 hours," Ember continued as I watched her change the dial on her guitar. "I have more than just music for you. Now that they're chanting my name, my music CAN affect you!" I'm surprised Edwin was affected. "How about a love song?!" She quickly strummed her guitar as pink ecto-energy shot through the air with hearts in it. It blew Sam back and made her go to the cutout that was still teetering on the edge.
I watched as Edwin quickly ran in and pushed Danny and me out of the way of the blast. All I remember after that was nothing but pure darkness.
I woke up not even moments later in a bed. I knew it wasn't my bed because I could see a space station poster above a desk. I knew immediately it was Danny's room. I sat up with a groan and heard Danny do the same. I looked over at him, seeing him shirtless was not a bad sight since he had some nice muscles now. But I'm just grateful his pants were still on.
"What happened?" He asked as he looked at me. "Briar?"
"Hi," I said as I looked down at my hands while blushing. My shirt was still on thankfully. "You're without your shirt."
"Yeah, whatever," He said, making me look at him surprised. "What happened?"
"I don't know! The last thing I remember was-" I stopped and gasped. "Oh, my! Sam and Edwin! They took that blast for us from Ember!"
"Oh, crap! That's right!" I watched as Danny quickly got out of bed and grabbed his shirt from the floor. "I don't remember this happening though."
"Neither do I," I said as I got off the bed as well.
"I mean, we didn't-" Danny stopped himself as a blush appeared on his face. I looked at him with boredom as I gestured to the fact that I was still wearing all my clothes. He was the only one without his shirt. He nodded in response, now getting what I was trying to say.
"But I do have to say, you've gotten pretty muscular for a 14-year-old," I smirked as he looked at me, smirking back. Though the smirk didn't last long.
"Why are you wearing the Fenton Phones?" Danny asked, making me sigh and take them out. "I thought you didn't want a pair."
"I didn't. But I still thought they'd come in handy. And I was right. I wasn't affected by-" I stopped again as my eyes flickered with realization. "Wait...Sam was still wearing hers."
"So?" Danny asked.
"So, don't they filter out ghost noise?" I returned, making Danny's eyes widen in realization as well. He really was slow. "That's why she wasn't affected by Ember's song!" My soon excited smile fell from my face as I remembered...
"Oh, crap...Edwin didn't have a pair," Danny sighed as he threw on his shirt and looked at me again, changing into his ghost form.
"What time is it?" He asked, making me look at his alarm clock.
"Almost 9:50," I returned before looking at Danny again. "Let's get to Sam's place and fast." I changed into my ghost form and flew out with Danny trailing behind me.
We flew over to Sam's quickly and saw Edwin there, looking all lovey-dovey with Sam. She was starting to get annoyed by this I could tell. I rapped a rhythm on her window, making her perk up and race over to open it.
"Guys, thank God you're okay!" She says as we flew in and landed on the ground. Edwin looked angry as he stared at us. "Edwin is under a love control spell thanks to Ember! He won't leave me alone!"
"How can I leave you alone when I love you so much, Sam?!" Edwin said with a dreamy smile on his face.
"Oh, great," I sighed before noticing Sam was still wearing the Fenton Phones as well. "Oh, great! Sam, those Fenton Phones your wearing!" She looked confused for a moment before her eyes show with realization.
"Oh, my; gosh! That's right! They filter out ghost noise!" Sam yelled.
"Does this mean that breaking up?" Edwin asked with hurt in his voice.
"Don't you get it, Edwin?! That's why I haven't been affected by Ember's music! I've been wearing the Fenton Phones the whole time!" Sam exclaimed.
"So, we're not breaking up?"
"How can we be breaking up? We were never together!"
"Besides, what about Valerie?" I asked with a smirk.
"Who's Valerie?" Edwin said dreamily while staring at Sam, who just blinked and smiled.
"That's a pleasant side effect," She said.
"We're gonna have to deprogram you like we did Tucker," Danny said, making all three of us gasp.
"Oh, my; gosh!" I exclaimed. "Tucker!"
We raced through the halls of the darkened school and found where we had Tucker. Danny and I were in our human forms again as we rushed up to our techno friend.
"12...hours...of...intensive standardized test prep," Tucker said.
"Tucker, I'm so sorry," Sam said guiltily as she took the helmet off his head.
"You're beautiful when you're wracked with guilt," Edwin said with a dreamy smile, only making Sam annoyed.
"Not now, Edwin," She said.
"Man, it's about time!" Tucker exclaimed before hugging both Edwin and Sam. "I always knew you two would end up together."
"We're not together!" Sam said as she pushed Tucker away with Edwin. "Ember put him under some kind of spell."
"So you don't want to end up together?" Tucker asked, making me look at Sam with a grin. I had a feeling she liked him back.
"I don't know! Maybe!" Sam yelled. "But not like this!"
"We have to break this spell," I said.
"Then let's crank up the story problems and see him in 12 hours," Tucker said as he slammed the helmet on Edwin's head. I looked at the time on the wall. 11:45.
"We don't have 12 hours," Sam said. "Ember's concert starts in 15 minutes. She gets her power when people chant her name."
"And with a worldwide audience, she'll be unstoppable!" I exclaimed.
"Then we better bolt down to that show and crank down the volume," Tucker said as he threw the helmet off of Edwin's head and pushed them out of the room. Danny and I followed after them. Tucker started spewing something about volume and pi as he did this. "Wow, that thing really works." He said, making me snort with a giggle. "And I spent the first 9 years of my school life actually reading?!"
I slapped my forehead at his remark.
We quickly flew into the stadium Ember's concert was being held in. We phased through the doors without being seen as Tucker raced over to the control panel. He was now wearing the Fenton Phones.
"Go kill the power! We'll stand watch," Sam said as Edwin started staring dreamily at her again. "Uh, can you watch something other than me?" Edwin perked up and then went to staring dreamily at Sam, but this time it was a photo. I rolled my eyes.
"There is one way to break a spell like this," I said with a smirk as I looked at Sam from the corner of my eye. She blushed and looked at her thermos.
"I know, but-"
"I get it. First kiss and all," I said. "But trust me, it's better than you think." I grinned at her and she grinned back. Sam was like a sister to me and I just wanted to see her happy. And Edwin was like a brother, meaning his happiness was mine as well. So to see them maybe get together after this would be worth it.
But the moment ended as I felt a pair of strong arms grab me and Danny, while another set grabbed Edwin and Sam. Someone else was dragging Tucker away as he was talking about a train moving at 25 miles an hour. Man, that program really does work.
We were now in another control room with Ember getting ready to head onstage. This was great. Of course, Tucker would have to turn on the PA system. For a tech guy, he sure makes stupid mistakes.
"On the air in 5, 4...!"
"Later, dipsticks," Ember said. "I gotta go rock my world. And when I say my world, I mean my world!" She left with her guitar and her hair flaming higher.
"Danny! Briar!" Sam yelled to us. "Stop her! Now!"
"We can't!" I exclaimed in a whisper.
"We can't transform in front of Dash and his friends!" Danny whispered back, making Sam sigh in defeat. She looked over at Edwin and saw his dreamy stare on her again. I had a feeling I knew what she was about to do.
"I hate to do this to you, Edwin," She said. "But if I can't break Ember's spell, then I'm gonna have to break your heart." Wait...what?!
I watched as she turned to Dash and kissed him, making me stumble in shock out of Kwan's hold.
"Sam...how could you? How-" Edwin said as he closed his eyes in frustration and yelled. "Hey, get away from her!"
"Ah! She tastes like a geek!" Dash yelled.
"Ah! He tastes like a failure!" Sam yelled in return as Dash and his friends ran off disgusted.
"Edwin, I'm so-"
"What happened?" He asked as he shook his head, making us all look at him with surprise. "All I remember was shoving Danny and Briar out of the way of Ember's attack."
"You took the hit for us," I said with a smile. "You sort of started having feelings for Sam thanks to Ember's love spell."
"Wait, what?!"
"Now's not the time to explain," Danny said as he looked over at Ember and made his eyes glow green. "It's time to crash the show!" He immediately changed into his ghost form with me following after before we shot to the sky and flew out to the stage.
"Oh, Ember/so warm and tender/you will remember my name!" Ember sang before Danny rammed himself into her and shot her through the air.
"Hey, no-hit wonder! Mind if I jam with the band?!" Danny yelled, making me snort. He was really good at quips.
Ember came out of the TV she crashed in and hopped on her guitar, riding it like a surfboard. She came back to the stage and hopped off it before putting it on normally. "Get this straight, dipsticks," She said as she changed a dial on her guitar. "I don't do duets!" She strummed the guitar and a giant green fist shot out at us. I managed to dodge out of the way while it hit Danny and made him fall into the crowd. I don't know where, but at the moment, it was my turn.
I flew up to her and shot a blue ecto-ray at her, making her fall back some. Unfortunately, she was quick on her feet and managed to shoot me. I fell on my butt with a burn mark on my arm. Thankfully it wasn't too serious.
Ember went back up to the microphone and was about to start singing again when Danny grabbed the mic stand.
"Sorry! No vocals in this number!" He quipped. "Have you considered taking up mime?!" I snorted as I stood up.
Ember growled as she started using her guitar like a sword while Danny did the same with the mic stand. They fought and fought until a big a bright light surrounded them from the colliding of two electrical devices. They both flew back, landing on their feet. Ember was the one to make a move as she jumped in the air and sliced her guitar against the mic stand Danny used as he was flown back.
The mic stand was broken after that.
"Crap," I exclaimed as I went to race over to him when I heard a thud. I looked over to see Ember had dropped her guitar and decided to use her pink ecto-energy from her hands. She shot a stream of it out of both hands, knocking me back some and making what looked to be an upside-down tornado.
"Danny!"
"EMBER! EMBER! EMBER!" The crowd cheered with excitement as I sat up some.
"Hear that?" Ember said with a smirk. "They're chanting my name all over the world! The revolution will be televised!"
"She's too strong," I said quietly. "If I could just-" An idea popped into my head. If Sam kissing Dash broke the spell on Edwin, maybe someone else singing could break the spell on the crowd. I would have used Tucker, but I had a better idea. Everyone knew Briar Winthrope could sing...but not Stardust.
"Hey!" I yelled, gaining Ember's attention as I finally stood up from the ground. I could feel Danny's eyes on me.
"Stardust, what are you-?"
"Remember how I said I know more about music than you?!" I smirked as I made my microphone appear in my hand. The look on Ember's face was that of worry and fear. Something told me she knew what this meant.
"Hey, be reasonable," She said, sweat dripping down her forehead. "You don't want to-"
"Oh, but I do," I said before pressing the star on the microphone, letting a blue ring of light shoot out of it around the whole of the crowd.
(SONG: "Set It All Fee" – SING movie – Scarlett Johansson) [Shortened]
A the same beat from before came out of it.
BRIAR/STARDUST: I followed my heart/into the fire, got/burned, got broken/dumped by desire, I/tried and tried/but the smoke in my eyes/left me blurry/blurry and blind.
"Stop!" Ember yelled right as her band started playing the rest of the beat for me, making me smirk with victory.
BRIAR/STARDUST: I picked all the pieces up off the ground/dirt on my fingers/but that's gone now/got the glue in my hand/I'm sticking to the plan/sticking to the plan that says I can!/do anything/at all/I can do anything/at all.
A giant ring of light from my ghostly microphone shot through the crowd again, making them all stop chanting Ember's name...and start chanting Stardust's. Shame this spell won't last forever.
BRIAR/STARDUST: This is my kiss goodbye/you can stand alone, watch me fly/cause nothing's keeping me down/gonna let it all out/come on and say right now, right now, right now!/This is my big hello/cause I'm here and never letting go/I can finally see/it's not just a dream/when you set it all free, all free, all free!/You set it all free!
Ember's guitarist started going crazy with a guitar solo, hitting the right chords at the right beat. And all while this was happening, I noticed Ember's hair getting shorter and shorter. Her flame was getting put out. Finally.
BRIAR/STARDUST: This is my kiss goodbye/you can stand alone, watch me fly/cause nothing's keeping me down/gonna let it all out/come on and say right now, right now, right now!/This is my big hello/cause I'm here and never letting go/I can finally see/it's not just a dream/when you set it all free, all free, all free!/You set it all free!/You set it all free!/You set it all free!/You set it all free!/You set it all free.
(End of the song)
Once the music ended, I heard the crowd chant Stardust's name one more time before they all blinked and gave confused faces. Perfect. It didn't last as long as I thought it would. I looked over at Danny and saw he was free, and smiling at me.
"What? Wait!" Ember called with worry. "No, stop!" Her hair had diminished even more now that no one was saying her name. "No! Tell me who you love! Come on say it! Say my name! SAY MY NAME!" She fell to her knees before falling to the ground completely. I tossed Danny the Fenton Thermos as he walked over to the ghostly rock star.
"The only thing we're saying here," Danny began as he pointed the uncapped thermos at Ember. "Is goodbye!" Ember got sucked up into the thermos and Danny quickly capped it so she wouldn't get out. I sighed with relief as Ember's band vanished with her. I smiled at our victory before rushing up to Danny and hugging him.
"Danny, that was awesome!" I yelled, hearing him chuckle as his arms wrapped around me.
"The only person who was awesome here, was you, Stardust," He said as he lifted my face up by the chin and kissed me. I heard the crowd cheering loudly at this sight, but I did my best to drown them out. I was enjoying this moment.
"These standardized test scores are the worst in school history," Lancer said the next day, though I didn't pay much attention since I knew mine was perfect. "No doubt due to the rampant late-night carousing prior to test day. However, two students' perfect scores did manage to bring the entire school's average up," Lancer held up my test and Tucker's, making me smile with pride.
"And that is good news for my bonus," Lancer added, making me sigh in defeat now, the pride off my face.
"Therefore, Tucker Foley and Briar Winthrope are excused from this afternoon's cramtastic session," The woman in the room said, making Tucker cheer with excitement as he tossed the helmet off. I just giggled at him before walking by Danny's desk and pecking his cheek.
"See you later," I said before walking out of the room with Tucker.
"I'm starving," He said. "You up for some food?"
"Sure," I said before my ghost sense went off, making me stop in my tracks. "But I'll meet you there."
"Okay," Tucker shrugged before heading off to the cafeteria. I turned around and saw Ember leaning up against the wall.
"What are you doing back here?" I asked. I wasn't going to change right away. I wanted to hear her out first.
"I'll be going back shortly," She said. "I just came to see you."
"Me? Why?"
"You have talent, ghoulie," Ember said. "You have the pipes to make it big in this world. Trust me, I know."
"Oh...thank you?" I was confused. Wasn't she here to harm me since I ruined her plans?
"Don't be scared! I'm not going to hurt you," She said before making her guitar appear in her hand and tossing it to me. I grabbed expertly as it changed into a neon icy blue electric with stars instead of flames. "I think you've earned that."
"Why are you giving me your guitar?" I asked confused.
"Because I believe you'll make it big. And if you use that guitar, who knows what will happen," She then saluted two fingers to me. "See ya around...Pop Princess." And then she was gone.
"Pop Princess?" I said surprised. "That's new." I shook that feeling off before looking at the guitar. It was gorgeous and the stars looked just like the one on my suit. There was obviously a reason as to why I was given this. And though Ember did say it was because she saw potential in me, I was still confused.
But I just shook it off and grinned. A new guitar. I'm more acoustic than electric, but I'll give it a shot. Who knows! Maybe this will be the guitar I use in concerts.
"Briar, come on! I'm hungry!" I heard Tucker from down the hall. I giggled. I guess he decided to wait for me. I walked up to my locker and phased the guitar through the door quickly.
"Coming!" I called before racing after him and heading to the cafeteria.
~THE END! – END OF CHAPTER 9~