Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom. It's the property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International and it always will be. I am just one of the many fans out there…
Cupid's Wrath
Chapter 19: The Happy Ending
The was an unbearable silence in the clock tower as Danny and Ember simply stared at each other. Both were truly at a lost for words with what was just revealed to them. To be told that the date that they thought was nothing more than the result of Cupid's wrath was in fact real was mind boggling to say the least.
After what felt like an eternity, Danny finally decided to break the silence between them.
"So….."He started but soon trailed off.
"So…."Ember repeated but she still didn't know what to say.
"Como on Fenton, say something!…."Danny sighed and he knew he couldn't put this off any longer.
"Thank you…."Was what came out of his mouth.
"Huh?..."Ember asked in confusion.
"I said thanks...ya know...for saving me..."He said looking down.
"You already thanked me..."Ember pointed out and noticed Danny flinched a bit.
"Oh...Oh yeah..."He said rubbing his neck. Taking a deep breath, he knew he had to say this or he would just drive himself crazy.
"Ember...Do you like me?..."Danny asked to the ghostly diva who's eyes widened at that.
"Too forward...Idiot!..."Danny internally cursed himself but was silence when Ember spoke up.
"I….I don't know….Do you like me?..."Ember asked him with some hesitance in her voice.
Danny blinked a bit at that and felt a little flustered.
"I...I'm not sure...I'm just so confused right now, Clockwork and Aphrodite both say we have some kind of bond between us but...but…ugh ..."He said in a defeated tone.
This Valentine's Day was without a doubt the most bizarre and confusing one he's ever faced in his entire life. He found himself tangled up with one of his enemies due to the meddling of a hateful Cupid and later said enemy saved his life...all on her free will.
He honestly didn't know how to take this.
"You're not the only one who's confused right now baby pop….Just a week ago I was sure I hated you, then Cupid played us...and then I found out that I had my free will on that date...I...I..."Ember rambled a bit, feeling a head ache from the entire thing.
But what startled her the most was that Danny willingly chose to spend Valentine's day with her when he wasn't under any enchantment from Cupid.
"Danny...I just have to know...If...If you weren't under a spell to start with...Why did you go on the date with me?..."Ember asked the halfa who was blushing hard as he looked away from her.
"Because...because...I don't know...You saved me from Skulker and it looked like you might have been turning a new leaf..."Danny explained to her.
"So you went out with me because I saved you from Skulker?..."Ember asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No...Not just that...I...I liked the attention you gave me..."Danny said honestly, surprising Ember in the process.
"What?...You...You liked that you thought I was in love with you?..."Ember asked in an amazed voice as Danny nodded.
"Yeah...I did..."He said with that smile of his.
"Even after I planted that big one on you in the alley..."Ember asked and smirked when Danny turned a new hue of red.
"I dunno...Ember...This whole thing is a mess...I just got out of a bad break up and I spent months being harassed by a lady fruit-loop….'Danny said exasperatedly.
"I...I just don't know what to do?...'Danny said solemnly.
"Me either..."Ember said in the same kind of tone.
There was silence once more between them, but Danny knew there was something nagging him to bring it up...He just had to know...
"But Ember….What you said about your past….Was it true?...'Danny asked and saw that Ember slowly nodded.
"Yeah…Ember said sadly. She hated her entire human life and made it her afterlife's goal to never bring it up or reveal it to anyone...and she ended up telling the last person she expected...and it was all on her own free will.
"My human life sucked...but I can't do anything about it, all I can do is just rock out for the rest of my afterlife..."Ember said to the white haired boy.
"I'm okay with that as long as there is no mind control..."Danny said with his arms crossed and Ember shrinked back at his tone, surprising him in the process.
"Sorry...I-..."Danny was cut off by Ember's hand wave.
"No...It's alright...I get it...if anything I deserve more crap than that..."Ember said with some shame in her voice, surprising the half ghost hero.
"Could she really feel bad?...Maybe she can be redeemed?...'Danny thought in amazement.
"Ember...I meant what I said on our date...I think you have an amazing voice but I can't accept the plans for world conquest..."Danny said seriously to her.
"Do you really think I can make it as a singer on my own?..."Ember asked him desperately.
Danny was surprised by her tone, only to realize she means it…..
"I never thought Ember could be so insecure..."Danny thought as he blinked a bit.
For as long as he had known her, Ember always seemed so sure of herself but he was just discovering a whole bunch of things about her. And he now knew that there was a whole bunch about her he has yet to discover as well.
Stuff he wanted to discover as well...
"Yes...I do…."Danny said without hesitation and Ember could see in his eyes that he meant it.
Danny was taken back as he found himself in a hug with the azure haired pop idol. He noticed that she was holding him tightly and was smiling a mile wide.
"Thank you….Was all she said and Danny could practically hear the kind of emotion in it.
It was as if she finally achieved a long forgotten dream or something...and Danny realized that was very likely the case.
Smiling, he hugged her back and held her closer to him.
"Don't mention it..."He whispered in a soft voice to the ghostly girl in his arms.
Unknown to the to a certain guardian of love could see the entire interaction in her magic mirror and she was smiling.
"Those two make a really cute couple….but I think I'll let them figure it out on their own..."Aphrodite thought and she closed her mirror and then went back to her job of bringing soul mates together and ending unhealthy relationships for good.
Back to out favorite pair of ghosts. Ember and Danny were still discussing their entire situation and what it meant for them in their relationship...Whatever it may be….
"So...What does this mean?...Are we a couple or something now, or are we still enemies?..."Ember asked him.
"I don't know Ember….I mean you were under a love spell for 4 days straight and even after you were free from it, you still saved me from Paulina..."Danny said to her.
"Aw...Don't make a big deal about it, you would have figured someway to get away from her if I failed baby pop..."Ember said in an embarrassed tone, which made Danny smirk.
"No I wouldn't...Like it or not, you were a hero today Ember and I'll never forget that..."Danny said making Ember blush a bit.
"A hero?..."Ember thought to herself, she never would have imagined that word would ever apply to herself.
"Don't go getting any funny ideas dipstick, you can keep that whole do-gooder thing to yourself, I am a musician first and foremost..."Ember said stubbornly which earned a chuckle from the half ghost boy.
"I hear ya...I hear ya..."He said as he chuckled.
"I'm serious though...What are we now?...'Ember asked, truly lost by all this.
"We both started out as enemies, then Cupid uses us as a prank, then I find out our entire evening together was real...What is any of this?..."Ember asked him once more.
"I don't know...Maybe...Maybe we were just lonely or something…."Danny theorized.
"I mean...We both just got out of some pretty bad breakups...and we both seem to be unlucky in love..."He continued.
"We supposedly have a bond between us and that bond was what saved me today...but...But I'm just not sure if I'm ready for something like that so soon..."Danny explained to the idol ghost.
"So he...He's not ready for dating yet...'Ember thought somewhat disappointed but blinked when she saw a smile grow on his face.
"But I did have a good time Ember...I liked getting to know you better..."Danny said smiling, earning a small smile from the ghostly pop princess.
"I liked getting to know you too Danny..."Ember said honestly as she rubbed her arm a bit.
"So what does this mean?..."Ember asked the all important question.
"I'm not sure, really...I mean...I'm still reeling a bit from Sam, not to mention this all happened so fast..."Danny explained.
"And it's only been a few days since I broke things off with Skulker..."Ember said, earning a weird look from Danny.
"I still can't believe that you actually went out with that jerk..."Danny said with some annoyance in his mouth, which Ember noticed immediately.
"What? You aren't jealous are you baby pop?..."Ember teased and smirked when she saw Danny blushing.
"N-No...I'm just saying you could do way better..."Danny was rambling now and Ember couldn't help but giggle a bit.
"He actually is cute…."Ember thought honestly as she saw his shy, somewhat awkwardness...She wasn't under any love spell but...but she couldn't deny that there was something different between them now.
But what was it?
"Could we...Could we start over Danny?..."Ember asked out of the blue.
"I understand that maybe we aren't ready for whatever this is yet...but we can't deny that there is something between us and I...I don't want to be enemies with you anymore..."Ember said honestly.
"I don't want to be enemies anymore either..."Danny answered her.
"Do you think this time we can...we can start slow….I feel like there is a lot more about you that I still don't know about yet..."Ember said to him.
"I feel exactly the same way Ember..."Danny said smiling as he extended his hand to her, confusing her in the process.
"Hello, my name is Danny Fenton a.k.a Danny Phantom, my interest include NASA and bowling, my likes are flying, rock music and I absolutely can't stand clingy girl who can't take no for an answer...'He said in an "introductory voice" as if this was actually there first meeting.
Realizing what he was doing, Ember smiled and took him hand in a firm shake.
"Hello Danny...My name is Ember Mclain, rock star extraordinaire….My interests music and shopping, my likes are rock music, the color purple and I hate anybody who thinks they can disrespect me and get away without injury...'Ember said as she shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you Ember..."He said laughing.
Both ghosts soon found themselves laughing amongst themselves as they felt any and all of the previous animosity and tension between them disappear as they decided to start fresh.
And they knew that this time, things would become different between both the half ghost super hero and the ghostly songstress.
Later
During the evening
Ember found herself in her realm once more, feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulder now that things cleared up with Danny and she no longer had to worry about Cupid's stupid's actions.
Still there was something that was troubling the aspiring musician.
"Oh man….I forgot to ask them...but why did I keep getting power boosts these last few days and what exactly was what happened to me that gave me the edge I needed to beat Danny?...'Ember thought out loud.
"Oh, I believe I can answer that Ms. Mclain..."Ember turned around to see Clockwork behind her, with that all knowing smirk on his face.
"Clockwork...geez...Don't you ever knock?…:Ember said annoyed with her arms crossed.
"No...'He said cheekily.
"Anyway, I believe you have a question for me...'He said to the ghostly pop princess.
"Why...Why did I suddenly gain power when I thought about that one compliment Danny gave me...and during my entire time under the spell?..."Ember asked the ghostly time master.
"Tell me Ms. Mclain...You usually become stronger when many people chant your name..."He started and Ember nodded.
"Now why do you suppose that is?..."Clockwork asked her.
"I dunno...Because it's my affinity..."Ember said offhandedly.
'Why do you believe that it's your affinity?...'Clockwork asked once more and Ember was getting annoyed.
"Stop the games Clockwork, you clearly know the answer and I admit that I'm lost here, just tell me already...'Ember demanded while Clockwork rolled his eyes.
"Oh very well….The reason you gain power when people chant you name is because you want to feel acknowledged and remembered…"Clockwork started and Ember was wondering where he was going with this.
"You feel loved when people cheer your name Ember..."Clockwork explained surprising Ember once more.
"Love?..."She said in shock.
"Yes...Love...Ironic as it sounds, real or not, you feel loved when people praise your music and since you were under a love spell during these last few days, your increase in power was a side effect of your "feelings"..."He said with air quotes.
Ember was stumped but she started to see the sense in Clockwork's logic...She always did love hearing people cheer for her and praise her, even if she forced them to….but she was going to be different wanted to make people remember her...but this time, she was going to earn it. After all, Danny seemed to have faith in her abilities and she knew he was too much of a goody-goody to lie.
"Danny..."Ember thought fondly, only for her eyes to widen and her jaw drop as she realized what this meant.
"I...I got a huge power boost during my fight with Danny...but I wasn't under a spell..."Ember said in bewildered tone.
"I see…..Now why is that?..."He asked but the smirk on his face told us that he already knew the answer.
"I...I dunno...I...I was thinking that despite getting my heartbroken, my mind still went back to the time we spent together and I...I couldn't stand the idea of Pauilna-...of Paulina-….'Ember couldn't continue at this point as she started to put all the pieces together.
"You couldn't stand that thought of losing him and to someone you knew would have hurt him greatly..."Clockwork said, stunning Ember on the spot.
"Love is complicated Ember...but more often than not, it finds a way to work out in the end..."Clockwork said before disappearing, leaving Ember alone with his little reveal.
"In love...With Danny?..."Ember thought to herself, but this time not with shock but with interest.
Ember's eyes soon landed on the white rose across the room, still in the same vase she placed it in only a night ago. She soon found herself picking it up and admiring the beautiful little flower as she thought about the boy who gave it to her and who gave her the best date she ever had.
"Maybe this is love...Or maybe it's not...but whatever it is...I think I like it..."She thought happily as she continued to admirer the white rose in her hand.
She had no idea what path her new found bond with Danny would lead to...but whatever it was she would be ready for it and she would accept it when the time for decisions should arrive. She knew Danny wasn't ready yet for a new relationship and she wasn't either to be honest. But she wasn't going to force him or herself for something they still didn't understand yet.
Whatever happens will happen and she'll accept it if she is meant to become friends with Danny or more.
But until that fateful day arrives, she would enjoy the sweet sensation she felt in her heart as she admired the beautiful flower and thought about the one boy who was tugging her heart strings.
The End
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Just kidding, we still have one more to go
Next time on Cupid's Wrath
Epilogue
A/N: Hey folks, the story is coming to a close but I decided to add just one more chapter, so stay tuned.
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Invader Johnny, The Blade of Osh-Tekk, wiseguy2415 : I'm glad you guys all really enjoyed the punishments I chose for our antogonists, I really enjoyed writing it a lot as well.
Zachary Gilmore, Kimera20 and Rebfan90: Thanks you all once for.
DominusPisces: I used to love that show! It was part of my childhood :)
AwesomeSauce: Ehh...I considered it but I dunno it didn't really make sense in my opinion, especially when I dediced to add Lady Aphrodite in the fic.
Memmek10k: I'm not done yet….
Guest(1) and Guest(2): Nope, she won't I'm afraid and probably…
Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review