Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, nor Nickelodeon. Check it, I don't.

A letter was hanging on the door leading into Jazz her apartment. Danny takes a hold of the piece of paper and opens it. As he walks into the room, his breath hitches in his throat. Jazz and Dani look to the hallway to see the halfa walking inside, a distressed look on his face as he holds the paper in his hand, the part he's holding crumpling under his grip.

"Danny?" Jazz speaks up as she approaches her brother. Seeing the lines of dried tears on his cheeks, she can feel any good feelings seeping out of her body.

"He's taken her. He's got Ember." Danny breathes, his voice laced with fear and worry. His sister grabs the paper from his grip and reads it herself.

"Oh, no!" She gasps as she put her hand to her mouth. Dani tugs at her pants, but she doesn't notice.

"Daddy?" The little girl asks as her dad goes to sit in the sofa.

"Skulker has Ember." He answers the question he knows she has. The little girl grasps her mouth with both hands, trying to keep any sound from escaping.

Her dad sits to put his face in his hand. He wants to cry, but he has waisted every tear he had to the walk home.

"He wants you to try and safe her." Jazz deduces from the writing on the paper.

"In Walker's prison. Bullet wasn't there for Dani, he was there for Ember." The boy includes from between his hands. He was so used to him or Dani being the targets, he never considered Ember.

"W-what do we do?" The redhead asks as she puts the paper on the counter of the open kitchen. A shaky breath escapes Danny as he considers the options.

"It's a trap, obviously. But, what would they do with her if we wait too long? I-I can't just leave her. N-not after today."

"What happened?" His sister decides to ask. He takes a deep breath, shaken and filled with loathing and sadness.

"I-I… I think I'm in love with her."

Jazz pauses before she puts her hand on his shoulder, the reveal shocking her. Danielle gasps at the news.

Danny Phantom, in love with Ember McLain.

Now, wow.

That's a shocker.

"Oh, Danny." Jazz sighs as she puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. His breathing is shallow and filled with emotion.

"Daddy." Dani sighs as she climbs on the sofa. She gives him a sad hug, feeling with him. She's grown to like the diva. Hearing that your dad loves her, that really strikes a string in the heart.

As he looks up from his hands, he notices something shining in the corner of his eyes. He leans over and grabs the object. Opening his hand, his breath hithes as he finds the knob from Ember's guitar.

"Without this, her guitar, is useless."

"She is completely defenseless." Jazz realizes. The tension is growing as they all understand what she was willing to do for Danny.

She was willing to put her fighting away for him.

"Ember. What have you done?" Danny shakes his head as he clutches the knob. His heart is shattering, but deep inside a new resolve is growing. His emotions clump together, and his eyes narrow in determination. His anger seeps into his powers, and the love he carries takes the place of his heart.

Now is not the time to be sad and emotional. Ember wouldn't have let him, so he won't let himself be that either.

"Jazz, call Sam and Tucker. Find a way to get mom and dad out of the house, we're taking the Fenton Speeder into the Ghost Zone."

"A guitar without a piece, my, my, you really have been stupid, haven't you?" Walker muses as he puts the instrument back on the table. Lying on her knees, arms behind her and wrists cuffed to chains from the wall, Ember scoffs.

"I hope you're very happy with yourself, you asshole!"

"Silence!" He yells before lifting his hand and delivering a harsh slap against her face.

"We arrested you for a reason, Ember McLain. Your boyfriend, Skulker, was so cooperating to reveal every crime you've committed." Walker states as said ghost walks out of the shadows, a smug look on his face.

"Skulker, you idiot. You escaped this place, why help the guy who tried to imprison you?!" Ember yells as she lungs forwards, stopping as her chains reach the max length and she stumbles back down on her knees. Her face shows pure rage, yet inside that gaze is a heart that is broken.

"Because, Walker was so kind to let my charges fall if I bring you here." The armored hunter explains, his voice showing just how happy he is with himself for a victorious hunt.

"You're crazy." Ember utters as her head starts to hang, her energy spent, and her resolve broken. Her ponytail starts to flicker down, the once powerful burning fading away, along with her strength. A single sob is able to escape her.

"Oh, this is something new. The great Ember McLain, crying? When did this happen?" Walker muses as he grabs the blue-haired girl her chin and lifting her head to look at them. Her eyes are bloodshot, trickles of dried tears streaming down her cheeks. Her tears were spent, but she still sobbed, muffled sounds, but in the silence of the room echoing through the air.

"Maybe you should have stayed with me, huh?" Skulker states. She turns to look at him, and with a frown, she spits at him.

"Sorry, but someone else caught my heart."

"And crushed it in the process, isn't it? I can see that you're heartbroken." Walker says, an amused tone to his voice. She glares at him, but the real force behind it is lost in her mind, thoughts jumbled up by emotion.

"Let's leave her be. Maybe the whelp has decided to come." Skulker speaks up as he starts walking to the exit. Walker nods before following, the one to close the door. Ember slums to the ground, sobs carrying in the air as her mask falls.

And then a strike of realization. She looks up, fear and worry gripping her.

'Whelp… But he only calls Danny like that… No… No! They told him where they took me! He's coming this way.' She thinks, her hands trying to grip her head but falling short with the chains pulling them back.

'If he even wants to save you. After all, you're the one who broke his heart.' Her subconsciousness speaks up. Sadness grips her as the scene replays in front of her. That look in his face. Like his heart was ripped out.

'And I grabbed it and stomped on it with good measure.' She loathes bitterly. Everything she did to him, everything he did for her, it plays in her head.

She screams. A scream filled with sadness, hate and loathing, bitterness and pure heart-broken love.

Sam cocked the ecto-blaster in her hand, a determined look on her face. She put it over her back before going to the table where all sorts of weapons were gathered.

Tucker types away on his PDA, making sure the Fenton Speeder is ready. He has a wrist-blaster on, and another blaster ready around his waist.

Jazz puts the Fenton Peeler away and grabs the Jack-o-nine for good measures. A special fighting stick is on her back, the ends made of two ectoplasmic blades.

All the while, Danny is floating in the air, gathering his thoughts and preparing himself for this, both physically and emotionally.

They had been able to get his parents off with the news that a ghost had been spotted in the park. At least they'll be far enough away o not catch them enterin or leaving. They hope.

"I can't believe we're going to save that damned pop-star." Sam says as she puts the last weapon she needs away. Danny his brow twitches a little, but with a deep breath he calms his nerves. Those two might never get along well.

"You do know that Danny can hear you, right, Sam?" Tucker his voice comes from inside the Fenton Speeder.

"Exactly." The goth states with some smugness in her voice. Danny his hand flexes a little, stuck between relaxing and making a fist. 'Sam, for your better health, stop talking.'

"Sam, I think he means that you shouldn't push my brother's buttons. He can be dangerous when angered." Jazz defends the halfa as she walks to the speeder.

"Yeah, like he could do anything." She mutters, unaware that he heard her. He tries to calm himself down, but it was very difficult. "What if she's only using him."

That was it, the last drop in the bucket. As Sam turns around from the table with weapons, the goth suddenly stops and gulps as she finds her face right in front of a glowing ball of ghost-energy.

"Shut up, Sam." Danny growls between his teeth, every part of him keeping himself in control. She puts her hands up in defeat and he breathes in deep before releasing the energy.

"I rest my case." Jazz mutters as she steps into the vehicle. Sam quickly joins her, wanting to be as far away as possible from the angry halfa. 'What's his problem?' The goth thinks as she sits down in the front-seat.

The doors of the Fenton Portal open, revealing those swirling green glows that show the entrance to the Ghost Zone. The Fenton Speeder is the first to enter, an agitated and grumbling Danny Phantom following after.

The group halts behind a floating piece of rock. In the distance is Walker's Prison. Guards were floating everywhere, the place looked like a real fort.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Tucker asks as he looks up from his PDA. Jazz and Sam look at each other before speaking.

"Didn't Danny have a plan?" They say together. A soft chuckle comes in through the Fenton Phones.

"Seriously, guys? You always expect me to come with a plan?" He asks, a bit exasperated. As they all murmur agreement, he can only slap his face with his hand, a deep sigh escaping him.

"Hey, you were locked up in her once." Sam counters. Danny scoffs as he remembers those days.

"Yeah, two and a half years ago." The boy counters as he turns invisible to get a better look without being spotted. The massive steel front-gate wasn't an option, obvious. Flying in like this either, they would be outnumbered in seconds and overmastered in minutes. He grumbles as the options start to wear thin.

And then he saw it. A rock with a small cave in it. It floated ahead carelessly, not a single one of the guards paying it any attention. Praising his luck, he motions for them to follow. As soon as the rock passes by he quickly flies inside, the speeder following. The cave is big enough for him and the speeder, and dark enough to hide the white machine (thank god).

The rock flies through the many groups of guards, only a few every letting a quick eye glance over the object. None saw the big vehicle hidden inside and he half-ghost floating next to it.

As it slowly flies over the courtyard inside, Danny does a quick check to see that no one is around. The ghosts that were imprisoned were inside, and the guards were more focused on the outside. Deeming the coast clear, he flies into the courtyard and finds the shed he knew normally was filled with junk and stuff. Opening the large doors, the Fenton Speeder flies inside and he joins them. Closing the door, he listens to see if anyone heard them. Deeming everything safe, he let a deep breath out before landing on the ground.

The other three of Team Phantom walked out of the speeder, harnessing their weapons and battle-ready looks on their faces.

"Okay, now step two." Danny muses as he starts walking around. The shed was standing against the prison, but there wasn't a door leading into the building. He shakes his head with slight exasperation before turning back to human. The others give him puzzled looks, and he responds by passing through the wall.

"Right, Ghost Zone, humans are the ghosts here." Jazz realizes the first before following her brother. Sam and Tucker quickly join her. As they pass the wall, the four find themselves inside an empty cell. The bars were normal, and they pass through I easily.

Looking around the compound, they found only a few guards flying around. They hid inside the shadows, and sighed as they see that none had seen them.

"Phantom?"

They turn around, surprised and worried as they face the ghost inside the cell they had been hiding next to.

Youngblood, the ghost-pirate, dressed in that old-fashioned black/white. He has a confused look on his face, but as he notices the weapons they have with them, it turns to a look of hope and worry.

"What are you doing here?" The pirate ghost asked, his hook motioning to the three others. "And why do you look ready for mutiny?

"Keep it down! Walker has captured Ember, and we're here to save her." Danny spoke in a hushed voice as he explained the situation. Youngblood his eyes widen when the halfa mentions the diva her name.

"Big sis Ember is here?" He asks with true concern laced in his voice. They all share surprised looks before turning back to the ghost-kid.

"'big sis'?" Danny questions.

"Yeah. We're both very alike, you know. I've always seen her as a big sister, even if she can be a real pain sometimes."

Danny nods, understanding that well. He knew that there must be more of a story behind this, but they have little time.

"You think you know where she might be?" Jazz askes whilst keeping an eye on the guards. The pirate-ghost thinks for a moment before his expression brightens. He nods before leaning in close to the four.

"Past the door, through the hallways right, is a big metal door. I saw it once, when they were bringing a real bad ghost inside. I bet that's where they're keeping big sis."

Danny nods in understanding before looking around. The guards were taking rounds, but kept a certain distance between. If they timed it right…

"Alright, once we get Ember, we'll need a distraction." Danny thinks further as his eyes are locked on the guards, doing some quick math in his head.

"How about, a break out?" Sam proposes. The three look at her, and can see some reason behind it. A break-out would really get the guards their attention, including Walker's.

"Hey, if you're planning a break-out, count me in!" Youngblood states as he grabs the bars with his good hand.

The three look at Danny, and he simply shrugs.

"Hey, this could really work in our favor, you know."

'And maybe add an ally to our list.'

Ember was hanging from the chains, her wrists most likely red and cut by now. The pain of those cuffs was bad, and her shoulder felt even worse.

But she didn't seem to care, her head low an her ponytail barely burning. They had kept her there for nearly two hours now, and she was starting to get hungry and thirsty. Her eyes were distant as they gazed at the floor.

Her mind was a mess, going back and forwards between things. And between it all, caught in the middle, was her heart (metaphorically speaking), along with her love.

That strange feeling of love, for Danny Phantom.

She has already long since her capture come to realization of these feelings. Debate about them was no longer there, only the fear.

Fear for their differences.

'He's alive, half, but still with a heart. And I, I'm a ghost… Dead, no life and no chances. I live for eternity, he might not. Humans are fragile, he can die. And as the hero of Amity Park, he might die in a fight.' Her chest tenses and a knot forms in her stomach. She hasn't had this feeling since the day she died. Since the day he left her.

'We're enemies, always have and always will be. I-I can't love him! Yet, I do… and I… I-I want to be with him…'

Suddenly, noise catches her ears. Not the noise from the guards or the ever-present sounds from the Zone, no, voices.

Familiar voices.

Human voices.

Voices that were getting closer.

And then, the closest one comes through into her hearing, loud and clear.

Danny.

'He came!' A sudden jolt of happiness springs to life, but quickly dies when she realizes.

'No, it's a trap! They came, and Walker will know!'

And then, suddenly, four figures phase through the steel door, like it's nothing. Her eyes drift upwards, her arms limp at her sides. The chains are slack, but the cuffs still burn and cut in her wrists.

Before anyone realizes it, Danny is at her side, engulfing the diva in a hug.

"Thank god, you're alright."

"T-that might be the overstatement of the years, baby-pops." She manages to say with mild amusement and relief, her voice hoarse with the lack of water. Jazz joins them at her side, a clip from her hair in her hand and already going through the lock of the cuffs.

"Hurry up, I hear noises starting to come from the hall." Sam speaks up with a hushed voice, her ear against the door. She takes a chance to look through the door, and quickly pulls back, her face suddenly pale as a ghost (no pun intended).

"Sam?" Tucker asks, but his answer comes in the way of the door flying open, Walker and Skulker parading inside.

"Well, well… Looks like you took our little bait, Danny Phantom." Walker spoke up, the smugness dripping from his tongue. Both ghosts have devilish grins on their faces as they gaze at the four teens trying to free the pop-star.

"Walker… You and your little buddy will pay!" Danny shouts as he gets up from his spot next to Ember, his hands glowing softly with green energy. Sam gasps, noticing the green glow in his hands. 'But he's still human!'

"Shut up, whelp. I'll make you pay for taking my bitch!" Skulker threatened, a scowl on his face.

"What, but they aren't even…" Tucker started, but was cut off by Danny's cry.

He charged, blasts leaving his palms. Both ghosts were caught off guard by the unusual attack, and were hit in the chest, flying back into the hall. Sam quickly pushed the door shut.

"When were you going to tell us about this little trick?" She asked as the original trio gathered.

"And what does Skulker mean?" Tucker asked, putting his PDA away and turning to grab a blaster from his belt. Sam armed herself with two.

"Soon, and that's a long story." Danny answered fast. He took a battle-ready stance when noises filtered through the door. Jazz put more effort into the second cuff, the first already undone. Ember was trying to stay conscious, the pain from the cuts in her wrists and lack of food and water taking its toll.

"Going host!" The halfa cries as the white ring appears. Quickly transforming, he's already charging energy in his hands. The door flies open, and the trio starts firing away. Blasts from the two ghosts and the guards who had joined them matched in force and speed. Hits are made, and grunts from the ghosts show how close of a tie it is. Danny receives a few good blows, but he doesn't back down.

Jazz bucked, a blast flying over the redhead. She curses under her breath. A dry chuckle from Ember alerts the girl to the blue-haired ghost.

"Cursing… Really isn't y-your thing, Red." She manages to say, her eyes glassing over. The redhead's eyes widen in shock, and she quickly opens the last cuff. Ember topples over, and Jazz can just catch the ghost-rocker and hold her.

"Danny!"

The halfa flew up to avoid the blasts and looked back. He notices the state the pop-star is in, and something in his head snaps. A low grumble resonates in his throat as he flies between the two fighting forces. He faces the ghosts and takes a deep breath, really angry now.

"Cover your ears!" Sam yells as she ducks behind the half-ghost. Tucker follows, and Jazz carries Ember to the back of the room. The diva is able to cover her ears just in time.

Danny cries out, unleashing his Ghostly Wail. Green shockwaves plow forwards, blasting back the ghosts. Skulker slams into the ground, his armor cracking and breaking. Walker flies far back with his guards, slamming into the other end of the hall.

After a few moments, Danny stops, his breath spend, along with his energy. He transforms back into his human form and lands on his knees, hands stopping his fall. Taking deep breaths, he allows some of his energy to return.

"Let's go!" Sam yells as she grabs Danny by an arm and pulls him up. Tucker helps Jazz support the unconscious Ember, and with some effort they start running off, leaving the ghosts behind to groan in pain.

Going further down the hall, sounds of fighting fills the air. Reaching an open door, a guard is blasted through and crashes into the wall.

"Looks like the plan is working." Danny says, a tired smile on his face. Entering the room, it's all chaos. Prisoners everywhere, fighting guards. A hole had been blown into the wall, a very angry Technus fighting with a group of guards at the side.

"Run!" Sam yells to them. They nod, and start running through the chaos. Avoiding blasts and fallen ghosts, they quickly reached the hole.

"Wait up!"

Youngblood appears from the chaos, his trusty parrot on his shoulder.

"Hurry!"

They run (float in the ghost's case) through the hole and to the shed. Opening the door quickly, they reveal the Fenton Speeder. Helping everyone inside, the door quickly closes.

"Halt!" Walker yells as he and a few of his guards appear from the building. Skulker is in tow, but he seems bad for wear with his broken armor. His weapons wouldn't work, so he was useless.

The speeder took off, leaving only dust for the chasers. It's too fast, and quickly vanishes into the green of the Ghost Zone.

"They got away!" Skulker grumbles in anger. The warden ghost turns around, an even angrier expression on his face.

"Arrest him."

"Whoa, whoa, we got a deal, remember?" The hunter exclaims as he backs off from the approaching guards.

"That deal went down the drain the moment you're bargaining chip escaped."

They wander through the green environment, Sam focused on driving and Tucker on navigating. Jazz is in the back putting a few patches on Danny's cuts and bruises.

"H-how's Ember?" He wheezes out, his chest contracting with pain as she puts some dissinfective on a deep gash.

"She's sleeping. She had deep cuts in her wrists from the cuffs, and her shoulder was almost dislodged, again. They left her without water or food, and she was very tired. I can't believe that guy!" She voices her concern after explaining the diva's condition. Danny nods before wincing as she puts the last patch on.

"Next time, I'll…"

"Keep your threats for after you're recovered, brother. Now, all we need is a way to get home without our parents noticing."

"That'll be harder than expected, you guys." Tucker spoke up from the front. Danny gave her a puzzled look, and she frown before standing up. Walking into the front, she gasps at the sight.

The place where the portal normally is, now has a massive rock stuck in the opening of the portal.

"Guess, they didn't see that one coming?" Tucker said with half-amusement. Sam swats him on the shoulder.

"Ugh, probably dad working on some kind of invention… Is there a place where we can stay and rest until the portal is open?" Jazz asked, her exasperation with the situation shown in her annoyed tone.

"Clockwork is too far off, and so is the Far Frozen. We need a closer place to hide and rest." Tucker said as he looked up from the map on his PDA. Sam appeared deep in thought, but came out blank.

"What about Ember her realm? It's closest from here." Youngblood spoke up as he phased through the wall separating the front and back. The trio jumped a bit, but breathed in relief that it was only the pirate-ghost.

"You sure we can stay there?"

"Yeah, she always let me stay. Besides, it's pretty spacious if you ask me."

"Okay then, show us the way, pirate-boy." Sam said, deciding that it's the best they've got.

The speeder stopped in front of a wooden door floating around. Danny walks put, his arms around his two friends. He floats out of the speeder and stops next to the door. Youngblood appears with Jazz in his arms, a frown on her face.

"Not a word against Dani." She threatens against the three snickering teens. The pirate-ghost opens the door and enters. Danny follows and stands down on the ground, a surprised expression on his face.

"This.. Is not what I expected…"

The place was very simple. It had the appearance of an old eighties apartment. A staircase leading up meant it had more than one floor, and the living room was connected to the dining room and kitchen. Posters of Ember were scattered around, and a few guitars were hanging on the wall. A single green record adorned the living room. It read something about a singing contest in the Ghost Zone.

"It's actually pretty nice in here." Tucker observed as he sat down on the couch. Sam sat next to him, nodding her head, and Danny assured they were going to be alright before going back to the door.

"Rooms are upstairs, there's food in the fridge. And now, I'll be going." Youngblood quickly said as he put Jazz down and started making his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" The red-head asked, hands on her hips. The young ghost looked back, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I actually am not allowed in her realm for the rest of the month. Kinda blew up her room once."

The three teens give him a deadpanned look, and he simply shrugs before flying out of the door. As soon as he's gone, Danny walks in with Ember sleeping in his arms.

"What chased him off?"

They all groaned.

They were having a simple diner, not really knowing what they should do as they wait for Ember to wake up.

Sam was first to finish, and she quickly asked the question she wanted to know first.

"So, who's watching Dani?"

Danny and Jazz looked up from their food. The red-head rolled her eyes before eating again, leaving her brother to answer.

"We send her to Jake's place. His dad is a good man, and we know she'll be fine there. We said she was going to stay there for the night, so don't worry about tomorrow. Only of we don't come to pick her up by lunch will we have to worry."

She nodded, seeing logic there. Standing from her spot, she moves to the living room and flops into the couch with a soft sigh.

After some time they're all finished and now sitting in the living room.

"Sooo… About Skulker…" Tucker started, his eyes going to the halfa. Danny sighs, resigning himself to his fate. Taking a good breath, he starts with his explanation.

'God help me now.'

At the end, Tucker and Sam are staring at him wide-eyed, and Jazz has a more worried and thinking look.

"You're… In love with her?!" Sam exclaims, bolting to the edge of the sofa so she's close to the halfa standing in the room. Danny flinches back a bit, a shiver going down his spine at the tone she said it.

"Man, just, man…" Tucker says, the first time he's been left speechless in a long time.

"Come on, guys… Give me some slack here. Sam, you know very well how our relationship ended, and why."

"I know, it's just… She's your enemy, Danny!"

"Well, maybe I want that to change." Danny defended as he crossed his arms. He have the goth a simple glare, and she quickly shuts her mouth before angering him more.

"Dude, this seems so cliché." Tucker speaks up, finally finding his voice again. His two friends give him a 'really?' look, and he closes his mouth, knowing well that speaking was a bad idea right now.

"Personally, as long as it makes you happy, bro, I'm fine with it." Jazz offers, and Danny gives her a pleased look. At least someone supportive.

After some more talking and some questions from the trio to him, they all have to stifle a yawn from escaping.

"Guess it's best to go and rest." Jazz says as she stands up, a sudden yawn escaping her.

"Yeah, good idea." A tired Sam agrees as she and Tucker stand up as well. Danny nods his head, and they go upstairs. Danny already knew where he was going, and after making sure the others had found the guest room (that surprisingly has three beds), he left for Ember's room.

He opens the door and is welcomed by the sudden flood of posters and decorations on the brick walls. In the center-left is Ember her bed, a chair from a desk where her guitar was standing (yes, they had left it in the room where she was locked up and Danny managed to grab it when they left).

He sits down on the chair and lays his head down on the bed, resting on his arms. His focus on the girl sleeping under the covers, his eyes watched her flaming hair, that was already showing she was calm and recovering.

'Good.' Danny thinks as his eyes start to drift closed. He doesn't fight it, and after some time falls asleep.

His dreams are filled with the possibility of him and Ember, together.

Just like those of Ember were about the half-ghost boy.

Author's note: I hope this came out good, these kind of plot-lines aren't easy for me. Fighting scens, aren't really my cup of tea.

Anyways, remember to fav, follow and review, and until next chapter!