"Don't worry Ember, it's not the Fruitloops. There is one other place which has the right equipment to hold you. But it can only be temporary. Val'll check here eventually."
Ember grimaced. As much as she liked seeing Damon, it tore her heart up every time. He was only one of the human lovers she had taken, but unlike with most of the others she hadn't really been able to properly move on. Oh she'd tried, but something went wrong in the forced cycling. The hard thing was they still reminded each other enough of who they were while being so far apart that they knew there was no closure in the way they both wanted.
"Feeling Okay?" Damon asked
"How do you think I'm feeling?" Ember stated angrily then realising who asked "Sorry. Relieved, Angry, Want to take over the World."
"Good, Danny that's correct. But you're right, we can't keep Ember here. Val will come to check up on me, once she calms down. But we do have some time, and we need to work out how to put Walker on the defensive. So far we have been reacting to his schemes and that never works. So we're going to shuffle Ember about a bit. I reckon Dani will be sent here at first though."
Valerie arrived back at the stadium. There was Dani waking up from a heavy power blast. She liked Dani, even if she was part ghost. A truly artificial Spirit-born - Okay so there had been a minor mistake in the womb. But she was fun and lively. Whoever had hurt her like this!
"Who did this, Dani? I'll make them pay."
Dani sighed. Val was in her righteous anger stage. It was always difficult to talk to her when she was like this. "Danny, but..." Val however had already rushed off. Dani sighed. Se supposed she had better give a demonstration. She quickly caught up with Val and collapsed upon the board.
"He damaged you that much!"
"NO! VALERIE GREY, LISTEN TO ME!" Dani yelled. At that yell Valerie finally did slow down. "He did attack you."
"Yes, but the instability isn't his fault. I was born with it. I can match his power, but not his stamina. He put me down so fast, because I'm just as stubborn as he is. You trusted me to hold Ember so I'd have fought to my destruction."
"Did she go willingly?"
"From what little I could see before I collapsed, no, she fought hard and well."
"Um, I'm no expert but from what I can see it's your ghostly side that's the problem. You tend to lose Ecto. One of my old suits should help you. And my Dad well he isn't really that observant, but if you let him know he'll help you."
"Not observant?"
"He didn't realise my Mum was a spirit. And he should have- he was a ghost hunter."
Dani nods and thinks, "I'm sure that's more a case of not wanting to admit things to themselves, Val, just like you."
Danny looked at Damon." Okay, can you explain the bad experience Ember had with my Dad? She just won't speak of it with me."
"It's not as bad as Ember's saying." Damon gently teased
"It was humiliating. Utterly. Still I'm glad that Jack forgot. Their disagreements over me almost finished your parents' marriage. Your mother was not nearly as open to ghosts then as she is now. But I suppose I should tell you..."Ember smiles evilly.
"Thanks." Danny eagerly interrupted.
"After I tell Val." She finishes.
"You just had to do that didn't you?" Danny sighed.
"Yes, but your priority has to be dealing with the warrant. Dani you go back to Val and say that I'm not here. I know she sent you for the suit, but I bet she asked you to check."
Dani nodded miserably.
"Look she wants to protect me but she can't, because of her binding. You however can, not having promised anything except checking if I'm here. You never promised to report the truth."
"Isn't that the letter of the Law, not the Spirit?"
"You be surprised how much obeying the letter is important. I'd say ask Val, except you can't, at least not yet.
(Ghost Zone)
Walker suddenly got splatted with a custard pie. Working with Youngblood was immensely trying, but he would just have to remember the necessity of this. "I hope you have good news for me, and are not just amusing yourselves."
"Neither. You may have hamstrung Val, but Phantom kidnapped Ember."
"How could he do that? It's not possible. He's a protection spirit."
"He's also an outlaw. He doesn't have to do things legally. Which is why you're so mad at him," squawks Youngblood's parrot.
Youngblood sighs. "I know you usually ignore me telling you to shut-up, but why can't you even obey that command the one time I'm right!"
"Don't worry. The concert is the real deadline. Val will save her old home till last."
"The real deadline is the concert. You need to prove that I have served my sentence but with my shifting identities that will be hard. Clockwork would be useful, but he may be otherwise occupied. I think he wants to talk to Sam. He wants to show her a possible future; He plans for Val to also see it. A future that was, and is no longer."
"So?"
"Skulker's realm or the Frost Giant realm will have what you need. Better check them both. Also if you can, Walker's realm but that's more of an if."
"I was more referring to Val and Sam."
"You're going to have to choose between them. Part of me really dislikes the idea of you as a son-in-law. On the other hand I'd like you breaking my daughter's heart even less. Still, ultimately, choose not for Val or for Sam, but for you. Clockwork is hoping to at least prevent the harshness of the choice but..."
"One of them is going to be disappointed." Danny sighed. "Even if neither wants to be with me, I might not be able to keep them both as friends." After finishing Danny left to investigate the realms Ember had suggested and Dani left to report to Val. The time limit was far closer than anyone had realised.