Disclaimer: I do not own the rights on Danny Phantom or Nickelodeon.

Running.

Fire.

Burning wood.

Ashes falling down, raining on the ground.

Darkness.

No hope.

A melancholic tune is playing in the background.

Fire consuming dreams.

Running, trying to get away.

'My dreams, burning away, going up in flames.'

A guitar, purple with blue flames.

It's crushed, breaking in pieces before burning up in smoke.

'My life, a disaster. No love, no care, nothing.'

Running, a corner.

Stuck.

Turning to face the fire, it reflects in the eyes.

Green eyes.

Blue fire, flaring up.

Die.

Die.

'Die.'

…

I died…

'Danny!'

Ember shot up with a gasp, breathing heavy, sweat coating her body and soaked into her clothes. She clutches to the spot where her heart would have been, but she feels nothing.

'Of course, I'm a ghost, stupid.'

She takes deep breaths, calming herself. The scenes from her dream play through her head and she sighs.

It's that same time of the year again.

Death-day.

'Brilliant.' She allows her breath to leave, her fiery hair finally calming down. She looks around and remembers.

She's staying with that dipstick.

She flinches as her hand touches her shoulder. Her arm was no longer in a sling, but her shoulder still stung as hell. Finally calmed down, she drops down on the pillow, her blanket halfway over her body. She doesn't move it, allowing the coolness of the December air to clutch her body and suppress the warmth from her fire-core.

Since when has she started to enjoy the cold so much?

Ember looks at the digital clock on the wall.

4:21 AM. Great, far too early to get up, but too late to try and get some more sleep without risking another nightmare.

She phases through the blanket and floats through the room, taking a seat at the dining table. She rests her head on the table, her arms sprawled out. She bits her tongue as she feels the sting from her shoulder, protesting against the movement.

'Why?' She thinks, her hair faltering with every time she thinks back to the dream.

She hates Death-day. To many memories, too much…

Pain.

Suffering.

Emotions.

'I'm a ghost, yet I feel all these human emotions, why?'

Looking up from the table, she looks through the window to see the moon preparing to set over the skyline. The light cascades into the room, putting an eerie glow over everything.

You would almost think that the entire place is haunted.

'With me around, it is, right?'

She chuckles, but there is only bitterness and malice.

'Like anyone thinks about me.' She thinks bitterly, her mind going back to her oldest and faintest memories. From before her death. From her life.

'Is it really a life if it felt like I was living in hell?'

Dropping her head on the table, a groan escapes her. She checks the clock and wants to bang her head on the wooden table.

4:31.

Time is not in her fortune today.

Morning came far quicker for the Fentons in the apartment. Danny was the first to wake up, surprisingly, and he quickly started making breakfast. Jazz followed afterwards, and after another ten minutes of patience, the boy halfa left to wake up his daughter.

Danielle looked worse than in the weekend, when she can sleep longer. Her hair was a mess, and she was yawning almost all the time. When she walked into the living room, Ember couldn't stop the herself from laughing, the scene far to comical. Even Jazz agreed with the blue-haired ghost that it does look funny.

Danielle responded by shooting a small ecto-ray at Ember's behind and giving a harsh glare to her aunt.

Yep, don't mess with a grumpy Danielle in the morning.

After a quick morning shower and getting Dani more awake, the two Phantoms were ready for their day in their respective schools.

"Jazz, you think you can pick up Danielle from school? I don't want to risk anything with the increased ghost-activity in town." Danny asked as he put the little girl's backpack on her back. Jazz gave him an apologetic look before answering.

"Sorry, bro. I've got the later studies today. Can't you?"

"I'm going over to Sam's place today for a project we have to work on as a group." Danny explained as he took an apple from the fruit-bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Can't she come here?" Jazz asked, putting the last of the dishes away.

"Sam her parents are very strict, and they don't trust me enough to let her go with me." Danny explained, his voice showing how he thought about the goth's parents. He had to suppress a growl from leaving his mouth.

For the first time in ever, Ember was able to understand the goth a bit. Parents like that aren't nice to have. She had heard about Danny's parents and their hunting, but they didn't know that Phantom was in truth their son, so you couldn't blame them that much either.

"So, no one can pick me up?" Danielle asked from the hallway at the door. Danny and Jazz shared a worried glance, and for the first time in forever Ember found her doing something she hasn't done in a long time.

"I could go and pick the little bud up from school."

Helping people.

All three the apartment's residents turn to look at the ghost. Danielle with a hopeful look on her face, Jazz with a collected and calculating look and Danny with a surprised look.

"You would do that?" The boy halfa asked, very much surprised but also a little bit proud with the ghost-diva. Could it be that they're rubbing off on her so much?

"Sure, I don't see much of a problem in it." She said, her voice not showing anything of worry, or a different motive. Jazz shook her head, snapping from her thoughts.

"Well, if it's alright with Ellie…"

She couldn't even finish her sentence because the little girl had thrown herself into the blue-haired girl a big smile on her face and a loud squeal escaping her. She hugged the pop star with excitement.

"Yes, please!" She said the first part to Jazz and begged the latter part to her dad. The two siblings shared a last look before the oldest sighed and nodded and Danny gave her a happy smile.

"Sure, Ember can pick you up."

"Thank you, daddy!" Danielle exclaims as she hugs her dad. A real smile is able to appear on Ember her face at the sight of the two halfas. A true family.

'Different from mine.'

Her smile falters a little bit as that thought passes her mind.

'Family, huh?'

"Bye!"

"See you tomorrow!" Jake calls back as he leaves on his bike with his father riding next to the boy. Danielle waited for a few moments before they disappear behind a corner. Satisfied with today's school-day she walked along the edge of the wall separating the playground from the road.

"Hey, kiddo."

She looked up, her ghost-sense having picked up the pop star's presence a few minutes ago. A big smile adorned her face as she watches Ember landing in the pavement of the street. The ghost rock-star has a smile of her own as she adjusts the guitar on her back.

Wait, guitar on her back…

"You've got your guitar back!" Dani cheers as she looks up to the blue-haired girl. Ember nodded, not trying to hide her happiness this time.

"Yep, the friend of your pops brought it to me a few hours ago. Honestly, I'm glad to have it back." Ember said as they started walking down the street. It was more than an option for them to fly, but it seemed nicer to walk back. Enjoy the view on the way.

As they walked, none was aware that it wasn't just Ember that had set off Dani's ghost sense. The shadow lurked over the rooftops of the buildings, eyes following intently as the figure followed the duo.

After some time, the shadow closed the gap, now lurking behind them, using the buildings and alleyways as hiding spots. It floated, so no footsteps were heard.

But it didn't know that both had experience with these silent stalkers. Dani had started to tense up when her eyes caught a slip from the figure. She stayed silent, gauging its intentions. She saw it a few more times, and knew it was following.

"Ember…" She whispered, getting the diva's attention. She nodded.

"Yeah, I saw him too. Don't show you know."

So, the pair kept walking. They took a few turns, going the complete other direction then they should. The figure kept following.

"On my mark, run and hide behind something. Turn invisible and don't act, whatever happens." Ember spoke under her breath. Dani nodded as she looked ahead, already scanning for places to hide. Both their eyes fell on a nearby alleyway blocked by a trash-container. A perfect spot.

"Now."

Dani took off, sprinting ahead. Ember turned on her heels and took her guitar out. She strummed the strings and a shockwave blasted out. The shadow phased into a building, the attack missing, and it came out from the second story.

"Show yourself, creep!"

The shadow obliged, revealing itself in the sunlight.

"Great, Bullet, right? Aren't you one of Walker's goons?" Ember spoke in annoyance. She had heard about the ghost's presence when Walker tried to take over Amity Park.

"And you're Ember McLain. Do tell, where did that kid go?" Bullet spoke as he pulled out one of his blasters. Ember frowned. He wasn't going to wait around for an answer any time soon.

"Sorry, can't do. Maybe you'd like to hear this!" She hit the cords, unleashing a green ecto-fist into the ghost's direction. He fired his own attack, and the two clashed in mid-air, exploding outwards. She skids across the pavement, digging her heels in the ground. Bullet was blown back, dazed.

She smirked and turned the knob on her guitar. Playing a strong note, she fired her skull beam. It hit target, causing Bullet to disappear into the sky.

"I-Is he gone?" Dani asks as she phases through the trashcan. Ember walks over, putting her guitar back, before giving the little girl a soft smile.

"Yep, and I'm pretty sure he won't be coming back any time soon."

"Thanks, Ember!" Danielle comes out of her hiding spot and hugs the teen-ghost. At first a bit surprised, the diva quickly softens before crouching down to give the girl a hug herself.

'This actually… feels, well, good.'

"What would Bullet want with me? Heck, what would Walker want with me?"

Danny passes around the table for the for the hundredth time now. Jazz rolls her eyes with the way her younger brother was acting, but Dani was looking at her father with concern.

"Ugh…" Ember groans before standing up from the sofa. She walks in the boy's way and stops him by grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him a bit.

"Get a hold of yourself, Phantom! Running yourself through the floor isn't going to solve anything!"

Danny looks in Ember's eyes, and he can see that beyond her mask, she's worried too. He sighs before resigning himself to sit on the chair behind him.

"I know. I'm just worried. I know Walker, and I know that he can be a real danger to Dani, if not the whole town!" He throws his hands in the air before slumming in the chair.

"I can fight!" Dani exclaims as she goes to stand on the sofa, a confident look in her eyes.

"We know, sweetie. But your pops here is just being overprotective. Shut it, baby-pops, it's true." Ember shuts Danny up before he can make any protest against her statement. After a few moments he realizes she's right and sits upright before putting his head in his arm, resting on his knee. The gears in his head are turning.

"Maybe Clockwork knows." Jazz proposes. Danny was about to make a notion on that, but Ember beat him to it.

"He probably does, but won't say it because of some kind of timeline-shit and other stuff."

The college student retreats to lean against the wall, her own thoughts about Walker and his reasons.

"Where did you send Bullet?" The boy halfa asks. Ember rubs her neck, a sheepish chuckle escaping her.

"I, eh, kinda shot him into space."

Everyone groans.

"Hey, I didn't want him to get his undeath hands on little bud, okay?"

"We know, Ember, and I'm really grateful for that." Danny starts as he stands up from his seat. He places a kind hand on her shoulder, surprising the blue-haired girl for a moment. "I think we're all just a bit tense after a long day."

The diva relaxes and she nods her head, understanding that logic. Her eyes glance over to the clock and she sighs.

"I'm going to take a breather, you gonna be okay?" She turns a questioning look to the boy.

"Yeah, I think we'll be fine." Danny smiles as he takes his hand off her shoulder. Ember mentally frowns at the sudden loss of that comforting coolness from the halfa's hand. She shakes her head a little before turning intangible and fly away through the ceiling.

"Somethings been bothering her, I could tell. She was the first awake this morning." Jazz states when she's sure that the ghost-diva is gone. Her brother nods his head, the boy having noticed the same.

"Maybe it's because today's her death-day?" Dani thinks out loud. The two older Fentons turn their head to look at her quizzically.

"Death-day?" The siblings ask, a bit confused now. The girl gives them a 'are you kidding me' look before sighing as she sees that they really don't know.

"It's the day that person died? When they became a ghost? I could see she wasn't happy with that stupid ghost bothering her. Normally you leave a ghost alone as much as possible on their death-day." The little girl explains, surprising them with her knowledge.

"How do you…" Danny began, now really confused.

"Know? Something Vlad taught me. At least he gave me good lessons." The girl states with no emotion on her voice. That shut any further inquiries from the two, both knowing that her life as Vlad's 'daughter' isn't a pleasant subject.

After about half an hour of simply allowing the silence to accompany them and think on the subject of Bullet's appearance, Danny is already back to pacing the room, this time with a different worry in his mind.

"What's taking her so long?" He asks himself as he turns around to keep pacing. Ember has been gone for far too long now.

"It's a little trip to the cemetery." Dani argues as she looks up from her book.

"What if a ghost attacked her?"

"Can't. Cemeteries are neutral territory, no fighting allowed. It's like the Christmas truce, but then about a place, not a point in time." Dani states, her focus more on her book. Still, she had worries. She has started to grow fond of the pop-star diva.

"Seriously?! There are places I could go that are safe of attacks? Now, I suddenly feel very stupid." Danny exclaims as he stops in his pacing. Dani simply shrugs and Jazz gives him a deadpanned look, like it seemed so obvious. 'On hindsight, it really is.'

Danny sighs, takes a few moments to think, and then a determined look comes to his face. Taking a little space, he focuses and summons that signature ring around him. Transformation done, he goes intangible before flying off, leaving his sister and daughter alone. Risky, sure, but he knew that they could fight for themselves.

'Now, where is the Amity Cemetery again?'

Flying through the air, knowing you're headed straight for the one spot that is considered a respected and sacred spot for ghosts had a strange surreal feeling to it, especially if you count the fact that people see a cemetery as a place not to go to with ghosts around.

As he reached the entrance of Amity Park Cemetery, he found it a bi eerie and almost scary as he looked past the iron bars of the fence around the edge of the cemetery. Taking a deep breath and transforming back (somehow, walking in as a ghost seemed very indecent as a half-human/half-ghost), he walked past the many graves and headstones. He wasn't unaware of how the place was like, he had some… Personal experience with the place.

He considered the time that Ember had been alive, and quickly found himself going to a section he knew pretty well. It was a bit more secluded, a small forest around the area, so he knew that there would be enough privacy.

A bit of evening fog had set up, and he couldn't really see if there was anyone around. His footsteps were muffled, and the birds were silent.

And then he heard it, a soft humming, a few sobs mixed in between. He was passing through the trees and bushes to catch little attention, his body going intangible there were a branch was or the bush became very thick-leaved.

He peered through, and found a shadowy figure in the distance. Walking out from his hiding spot, he closed in. The fog started to dissipate a bit, revealing the familiar figure.

Ember was sitting on her knees in front of two headstones. One was smaller than the other, and he could tell that the smaller one was a bit older. Her figure was shaking a little with some sobs, and as he walked around a bit, he could see her face better.

Tears were running down her face, her make-up running out at some spots. Her hair was hardly flaming, more just smoldering for the heck of it, lying flat against her back.

He has never seen her like this before, and something in his heart tugged, hard.

As if fate wanted to haunt him, a small twig snapped under his foot. Ember her head twisted to face him, and for a second her hair flared in anger. As her glaring wet eyes met his, she quickly deflated again, hair dropping and her glare vanishing in a flash.

"Hey, dipstick." She speaks up after a few tense seconds, voice breaking in the middle. All that fire and flare that he always saw the diva carry herself with was gone, and all that was left was a broken teen.

"Hi, uhm, am I intruding or-…?" He trailed off, not really sure how to handle this anymore. Why did he come here again?

"No, honestly," She answered for him, her voice soft. "I think I could use some company right now."

Danny came closer and chose to sit down on his knees as well, if only to show some decency. Now closer, he could finally read the tombstones. That is, the smaller one. The first one had a name, but it was scratched out.

"If you're trying to read the first, it says ' Amber McLain, loved daughter.'" Ember answers the unasked question. Danny his eyes widen a bit in realization.

"You're real name was Amber?"

"Yeah, I only called myself 'Ember' when I was playing the guitar." She answered as her hand brushed over the scratched part, her fingers lingering a moment over the section 'loved daughter'.

"Who did this, and why?" Danny mused as he eyes the scratches. A bitter chuckle leaves Ember as she finds a bit of humor in her damn, cursed luck.

"My dad, that's who. Desecrate the grave of your second daughter, because she's an utter failure." She states, voice laced with venom and decades of hate. And in it all, animosity to the man she hated the most.

"He's the reason for your hate of adults and rules, isn't he?" Danny asked, a wave of realization flowing into his head. The more he learns, the more he can see the reasons behind the ways Ember acts around people.

"Got it on the first try, baby-pop."

Danny nods and is about to let the silence fall when his eyes shoot open and dart to the second grave.

"Second daughter." He whispers as he read the second grave.

'April McLain, dear little sister.'

Oh… God.

"You… y-you had a sister…" He breathes, a sudden tension grasping his heart. A soft sob makes him turn to see that Ember her eyes are fixated on the grave, true sadness dripping from her eyes. Her hair seemed to deflate even more.

"D-died when I was 14. She was o-only ten, a sweet little bud. Stupid trucker who didn't wear his glasses on the road." She spoke, her voice strained and a bit hoarse. She seemed so tired, like she could just faint right here and now. He felt how the atmosphere around them darkened even more, coated with decades of sadness and grieve.

"Little bud? Y-you call Dani that." He says, another shock going through his head and into his heart.

"Yeah. You know, she-she really is a lot like her. L-like I see her in front of me, all over again." Another sob, deep and filled with grieve escapes the blue-haired girl. Danny takes a moment to gauge her, and finds that it was worth the risk. He wraps his arm around her back and pulls her against his shoulder, offering some warmth and comfort. She tenses for a moment, but his coolness envelops her body and she relaxes, feeling the comfort and condolences he's offering her.

"Did she…?" Danny starts after some silent comfort.

"No, she didn't. Guess she was happy with her life as it was. Still, w-when I died I really hoped I-I would see her again, you know. Up there."

Danny nods, understanding her well. He sighed, a few of his own memories from being here surfacing.

"You know, before I became a half-ghost, I already faced death once."

"Oh. W-what happened?"

"If it wasn't my sister Jazz who protected me from my parents their antics, it was my uncle, Terry. He was a good man, very kind and protective. My mom always said that I'm a lot like him. "He chuckled, but it held a bittersweet taste. "H-he died when I was ten. Lung-cancer, in his sleep. He was a happy man, s-so I don't think he became a ghost either."

Ember her eyes turned to look at her sister's grave. To know these things… Who has he ever told this?

"Do your friends know?" The question came before she even really thought about it.

"No, t-they don't. I never really talk about it… Not even Sam knows."

'Wow, so even the goth chick doesn't know?'

Silence fell again, but this time the air seemed lighter, the fog was clearing away. After a few moments, Danny retreated his hand. A shiver crawled down the ghost-girl's spine, like she suddenly was left to the elements.

He put his hands together and slowly opened them, his ice-ray coming out in a controlled fashion. After taking great care in the details, he finished his work. In his hands lies a rose made of pure ghost-ice. The ice at the top was so dense that it colored blue, almost letting it seem like a blue rose.

Danny started talking again as he placed the flower on April's grave.

"After my uncle passed away, I was very depressed. I didn't eat or sleep that much, heck I think it felt like all life was drained from my body. But, mom one day told me that those who pass away always stay with us one way or another."

He fashioned another rose in his hands, putting even more effort into making a small bouquet.

"I always thought she was talking about ghosts. But now, I know what she meant. We will always remember them, and with those memories we carry a piece of them with us. So, in a way they are still there, in our heart."

He finished the bouquet. Taking it in one hand and taking Ember's hand with the other, he brought her hand to hold the bouquet together with him. The diva had a small blush on her face as their hands touched. Slowly, they carry the blue ice-roses to lie on her own grave.

"As long as you never forget about those people who pass away, they're never truly gone."

As they let go of the bouquet, Danny takes his chances and takes Ember her hand in his. After a tense moment, she responds by intertwining their fingers. Laying their hands between them, both sit motionless as they gaze at the graves.

After a minute, Ember decides to break the silence.

"Thanks for being here, with me. I-I always had this weight in my chest whenever I left here, but this time, it's gone. I-I think you helped me a-accept the fact that she's gone."

A smile makes its way on the girl's face, a true, genuine, happy smile.

"So, thanks, Danny."

His eyes widen. For the second time, she's called him by his real name. He turns to look at her, and what happens next takes his breath away.

She plants her lips against his, eyes closed and a massive blush on her face. His mind is on pause for a moment, trying to wrap itself around what's happening. After some tensing, he relaxes into the kiss, making a few moves of his own against her soft lips. The halfa's hand lifts up to cup her cheek, allowing him to deepen the kiss a bit more.

After some time, they have the part for air. His hand is still holding her cheek, and she grabs it with her free hand, eyes closing as she leans into the cool feeling.

"I'll always be there for you, Ember."

"I knew you would say that. But…" Her smile disappears as a sad look overtakes her. She turns away from his hand, and her eyes look the other way.

"I'm a ghost, and you're only half-ghost. This… Won't work out."

"Ember…" Danny tries to reach out to her, but she turns intangible before softly flying up. She returns visible and offers him a last, sad smile before leaving.

Danny sits there, on his knees, hand reaching into the sky. As he looks back down, a single tear rolls down his cheek.

"But, I love you, Ember."

Tears fall down as she flies through the sky. Ember McLain, the ghost pop star that always wanted someone to love her, has just left the one person that really loved her, behind.

'You deserve someone better. Someone alive, like that goth. Someone… Who hasn't done anything wrong. We're enemies, and will always be just that.'

As she flies through the air, the diva is unaware of the danger looming from a building's shadow.

Suddenly, a net captures her. The electrical shock paralyzes her, leaving Ember at the mercy of the person who caught her.

"Let me out of this thing!" She yells as she tries to struggle against the net. Another shock makes her scream in pain. The strength is sapped out of her, her arms falling limp.

"Oh no, this time I'm taking what I want." A deep and cold voice speaks. Ember her eyes widen as she realizes who has just captured her.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me." She looks to the tall and big figure, revealing itself to be…

Skulker.

"Hello there, missed me?"

Author's note: And with that cliffhanger, I leave you to your cases. Do follow to see what next chapter is going to be, and remember to review and fav.

I bid you a farewell and until next time!