A/N Happy New Year to all of you, I hope everyone had a great holiday and didn't get too wasted, lol. I enjoyed celebrating with my wife until midnight, even though I knew I'd pay for it the next morning since I go to work at 6 AM. I have to say how much I absolutely love all of you amazing readers. 14 REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 10, YOU ALL ARE INCREDIBLE. Highest reviewed chapter yet and the first to get double digits. Also 1660 story views in the last 7 days, again all of you are amazing for reading this story. Anyway I am back and ready to add another chapter to the story, and this one I'm really excited about. The drama and action is really starting to heat up, so without further ado please enjoy and remember to leave a REVIEW.
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Sam was eagerly watching the clock on the wall while her foot and fingers were tapping away quite rapidly. This whole day felt like it had been dragging by twice as slow, and all she wanted to do was get out of school and go after Ember. Tucker kept noticing this all day and regularly reassured her that all would be okay in the end. He was actually starting to worry more about Sam than Danny. But Sam didn't care to be subtle or restrained anymore. She had done enough of that over the last couple weeks, and she was ready to unleash every last bit of that built up frustration all over Ember's face. At 2:59 PM, they were one minute away from the day ending.
"Come on come on come on already," Sam whispered impatiently, her eyes almost looking bloodshot from staring so hard at the clock.
"Calm down Sam, we'll never be able to do this right if you're so gung ho on the whole thing. We still need to approach with caution," said Tucker in a calm voice, sounding more like Jazz than himself.
Right at that moment, the clock turned to 3 PM, and the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Sam didn't waste any time jumping to her feet, grabbing her bag and Tucker's arm to pull him along.
"Let's go, we're taking her down right now," said Sam as they walked out of the school, practically running over the other students that were in front of them.
"Okay, so let's recap the plan one more time," said Tucker trying to stay focused. "We tell whoever answers the door we just need to check Danny's room for a book that we left last time we were hanging out. Check his ghost related notes that we keep hidden under the loose floor board. Wait for an opening to get to the lab, arm up, and get the speeder. Find Ember's realm and save Danny." Tucker kept counting his fingers with each task he said, barely keeping pace with Sam while they fast walked down the sidewalk.
"That all sounds good, I'm just really looking forward to that last one," said Sam as they both turned the corner and saw Fenton Works at the end of the street. As they both walked up the steps Sam was about to knock, much harder than would be necessary.
"Sam wait, we need to calm down first and compose ourselves," said Tucker grabbing her fist before she could practically pound the door down. "If Danny's parents or Jazz answer and you look like you're about to blow your head they're gonna get suspicious."
Sam took a moment to think over what he said, and he was right, she did need to look calm. At least until they got to the ghost zone. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breathe, she let out a long exhale through her mouth. Repeating the process two more times and she was now looking somewhat normal, at least as far as human facial expressions go.
"Okay, I'm good, let's do this," said Sam raising her fist to knock, much more calm now.
Shortly after she knocked the door opened and there was Maddie, who looked a little more glum than her usual energetic self.
"Oh, Sam, Tucker, hi, what brings you here? You know Danny isn't here right now," said Maddie with a bit of a sad face from mentioning her precious son.
"We know Mrs. Fenton, but we think we accidentally left our math books here the other night when we were hanging out with Danny," said Sam smiling politely. "We were just hoping we could take a quick look in his room for them, otherwise we won't be able to do our homework tonight."
Maddie actually didn't look like she was in any kind of mood to question them. Ever since Danny had left that morning for the weekend she kept thinking of whether or not she should have allowed it and if she should have maybe gone with him.
"Of course, go on up and take a look, just please don't take too long," said Maddie as she opened the door further to allow them in.
Sam and Tucker still smiled politely at Maddie as they made their way upstairs. Sam looked back at her as she sadly walked into the kitchen.
"Wow, she really doesn't look so great," said Sam concerned.
She understood that she must be feeling sad being away from her son like this for the first time ever. Imagine how much more devastated she'd be if she learned that he was under some kind of spell from a ghost that was seeking world domination. Sam would make sure that she'd never have to experience that.
"Okay, let's make this quick so nobody gets suspicious," said Sam as they entered Danny's room, closing the door and making their way to the loose floor board under his desk.
"I'll listen at the door while you check it all out," said Tucker as he put his ear against the door. Hearing nothing he gave Sam a thumbs up for her to proceed.
Lifting up the floor board, Sam reached in and pulled out everything that was there. From things they typed out and printed on Danny's computer to hand written stuff that was barely legible. She started sifting through each piece of paper one by one, making sure to give everything a thorough look over so she didn't overlook anything important. There were files on several of the ghosts they knew about, such as Vlad Plasmius, Skulker, Walker, Spectra, Johnny & Kitty, the Lunch Lady, and others. Even the Box Ghost was documented, though that one was pretty short and mostly just said 'annoying and not dangerous'. When Sam ended up finding Ember's page she felt all kinds of fury just from seeing the rock ghost's picture pasted to the paper. She read this one extra thoroughly, twice in fact, and felt even more rage from what it said, no doubt thanks to her influence.
"Are you kidding me with this?" said Sam in a rough whisper. "Listen to these things Danny wrote about her: amazing singing voice, beautiful, misunderstood, tragic life story, amazing kis..." Sam couldn't finish reading anymore. The words on this page just confirmed one of her biggest fears, that Danny had kissed Ember.
Sam's whole body was now shaking uncontrollably as she crumbled the paper in her clenched fist, wishing it was Ember's head. But just as she was about to slam her fist into the ground, the next paper brought a huge grin to her face. It was Danny's updated ghost zone map, and right there in big block letters with a dotted line starting from the portal, were the words 'Ember's realm'.
"Bingo," said Sam happily, showing Tucker the map.
Taking the map from Sam's hand he gave it a look over and realized this was exactly what they needed.
"Alright, now we know where to find her, let's get the speeder," said Tucker as he folded the map and put it into his pocket. Sam meanwhile was putting everything else back under the floor board, but making sure to tear Ember's paper to shreds instead.
"Let's go, we need to wait for our opening," said Sam as she and Tucker quietly slipped out of Danny's room and tip toed down the stairs.
They could hear Maddie still in the kitchen and it sounded like Jack was in there too. He was boasting proudly about Danny being a NASA prodigy and how the two of them would be able to fight ghosts in space some day. Tucker got a bit of a chuckle overhearing this as they quietly started walking down to the lab. They didn't know where Jazz was and just hoped she either wasn't home or was occupied with whatever smart stuff she was probably doing.
"Okay, you get the speeder ready, I'm getting the weapons," said Sam as she hustled over to the desk, seeing what was currently out and what they'd have to look for.
Tucker used his PDA to open the compartment in the floor so the speeder could rise out of it, pointing it directly at the portal. Sam was picking up a good arsenal for them to have.
"Okay, here's the wrist rays we used the last time we fought her in Skery City, along with the ecto launcher," said Sam putting the wrist ray on herself and handing the other to Tucker. "Oh, the ghost gauntlets, I'm definitely taking these for this one."
Handing the launcher to Tucker and keeping the gauntlets for herself, they started looking for specter deflectors, but before they could open any cabinets they heard voices from upstairs.
"Jack, do you hear something coming from the lab?" asked Maddie from upstairs. "It sounds like humming of some kind."
Sam and Tucker both went quiet and instantly realized that the speeder was humming since it was now turned on, and the sound could be heard pretty easily now that they were paying attention.
"Crap, we gotta go now or we'll get caught," said Tucker trying to pull Sam into the speeder.
"Wait, we need specter deflectors, those are our aces that make us untouchable," said Sam trying to pull back.
"There's no time, if we don't go now they're going to find us. We'll just have to make do without them," said Tucker hopping in and grabbing the controls. "Besides, we'll be in the ghost zone, and humans in the ghost zone are like ghosts in the human world so we might not even need them anyway."
Sam quickly thought it over and he was right. In the ghost zone humans were basically untouchable to ghosts, so a specter deflector wasn't as necessary as it was here in the human world. Hearing footsteps starting to come down the stairs, Sam quickly jumped into the speeder with Tucker and buckled herself in.
"Go go go go," said Sam in an urgent whisper as Tucker hit the accelerator, shooting them off into the ghost zone.
The speeder disappeared into the portal not a moment too soon, for Jack and Maddie both walked into the lab less than two seconds later looking for whatever was making the humming sound, but now everything was completely silent.
"Oh Jack, I think I'm hearing things from missing Danny already," said Maddie with a sad frown on her face.
"Well I'll tell you what I'm hearing Maddie baby, my stomach," said Jack holding his gut. "Time for ham, and fudge, lots of fudge." With an excited smile on his face, Jack sprinted right back up the stairs, making a bee line for the fridge.
Meanwhile, now in the ghost zone, Tucker pulled the map out of his pocket and handed it to Sam.
"Alright, I'll drive and you tell me which way to go," said Tucker as he made the first turn.
"Gotcha, you're gonna want to go a bit left once we pass this here," said Sam pointing at the map. She couldn't believe this was finally happening. She was going to confront Ember and do whatever it took to free Danny from her spell. Nothing was going to stop her.
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Danny had spent the last 7 hours on a bus riding towards Huntsville, Alabama. Though it was a charter bus with cushioned seats, his butt was still starting to get sore from the long drive. Looking at his watch he saw that it was almost 3 pm, so right around time for school to be getting out back in Amity Park. Since he hadn't changed time zones he didn't have to adjust his watch. Looking out the window again he saw a sign that practically had him pressing his face against the window like a little kid in a candy store.
Welcome To Huntsville Alabama
The Rocket City
Danny saw that the i in Huntsville was actually a space shuttle, thinking it was the coolest sign he'd ever seen in his life. He spent the next ten minutes taking in all the sights, eagerly seeking out the NASA facility and bouncing in his seat with anticipation. He'd never been so excited in his life and he wasn't bothering one bit to contain himself. This was a dream come true and he planned to savor every moment of it. He was already kicking himself for forgetting to take a picture of the welcome sign, making a mental note to get that on the way home. He started to dig through his backpack to pull the camera that Jazz had given him out in case he saw more cool stuff. And sure enough, moments later he almost dropped the camera as his face was in complete awe of what was before him.
"Holy guacamole," said Danny out loud as his eyes shot open at the sight of the space shuttle in the distance.
It was the most breathtaking thing he had ever seen, though if Ember ever asked he'd say that she was. The space shuttle was a little less than 200 feet tall and looked like it was ready right now to launch into space. Danny immediately started daydreaming of himself inside the cockpit, in contact with mission control as he prepared to launch. Holding the controls with a huge smile on his face. Tapping the imaginary necklace around his neck containing something Ember had given him so she could be with him in spirit.
As the bus came to a stop Danny was shaken from his daydream while he stood up and put his backpack around his shoulders. The bus driver got off the bus to start unloading the suitcases from the lower storage area as Danny stepped off, thinking it all looked even more amazing now.
"Hello there Mr. Fenton, welcome to Huntsville," came a voice to Danny's left. Looking in that direction Danny now found himself face to face with a much taller man in his late 30s to early 40s extending his hand.
"Oh, hello, thank you for inviting me, this place is incredible," said Danny unable to keep the smile off his face.
"Of course Mr. Fenton, you've earned this trip with your dedicated time to our program. My name is Brett White," said the man as he shook Danny's hand, a bit of a wide grin on his own face. "I'll be your guide and chaperone while you're here, so if you need anything at all over the next two days just come to me."
"Can you put me first in line to ride the shuttle when it launches?" said Danny excitedly, only half joking. Mr. White chuckled at his comment.
"He he he, ah how I love that youthful enthusiasm," said Mr. White, putting his hands together. "Come with me young Daniel and I'll give you a quick tour of the facility so you'll see everything you get to do all day tomorrow. Then I'll show you to your quarters for the next two days before dinner.
Danny was so excited he just tightened his bag around his shoulders and started walking with Mr. White, pulling out his camera to take a picture of the entrance and the shuttle in the background. As they walked past the shuttle Danny took what would probably be a picture he'd later frame and hang on the wall over his bed.
"Yes, this will be the first shuttle to launch from Huntsville ever," said Mr. White. "Though known as the rocket city, Huntsville is more known for building rockets, not launching them. But thanks to our private funder that will change next summer. And with any luck, you'll be here with a front row seat to observe it." Danny's eyes lit up like stars at that.
"What, are you serious?" said Danny unable to control his excitement and jittering. Walking around the shuttle Danny now saw it's name painted along the side. "So why is it called the Green Starr?"
"Ah yes, our private funder requested the right to name the shuttle since he is paying for everything," said Mr. White. "He's been pretty private about why that particular name so I imagine is something personal to him. Maybe you can ask him yourself when you meet him tomorrow while aboard."
Every moment this kept getting better and better for Danny. Being told he'd get to go onboard an actual NASA space shuttle had him feeling like he could pass out from happiness. He might need medication to control himself if he got any more excited.
"Well come now young Daniel, I'll take you to your quarters so you can set your things down before dinner," said Mr. White gesturing towards another building.
As Danny was led to his room he took in all the plaques along the wall that celebrated decades of accomplishments this facility had achieved. There were photos of so many famous astronauts, including one of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin when they visited the facility decades ago. Danny would have given almost anything to have been around when they landed on the moon in 1969.
Arriving at his room Mr. White left him for the time being so he could get settled in. The room looked like it had been put together just for Danny, and he could see himself living here. The headboard of the bed was shaped like a rocket, the sheets had NASA logos all over them, the ceiling had stars that would glow in the dark, the walls were covered with things related to space and astronomy. Everything about this room was a dream to Danny and inspiring him to make changes to his own room when he got home.
Danny was then led to dinner by Mr. White where he got to eat like a VIP since he was a special invited guest. He was informed during dinner that he'd be joining the other 4 invitees in the morning since he was the first to arrive. While enjoying a bowl of delicious beef stew that tasted like it could be served in a gourmet restaurant, Danny was firing away every question that came to his mind about the place and the history of NASA. Unfortunately for him astronomy wasn't a class he could take in high school until his junior or senior year, so he was determined to absorb as much knowledge of this place as possible. He would no doubt get an A in that class when he got there. Imagine if he applied himself to all the other subject as much as he did this one.
After dinner was finished Danny was led back to his room where he'd be able to relax and enjoy himself. He took the time to call his parents and Jazz to tell them all that the ride went really well and the facility was amazing. Maddie seemed to relax a bit more during the call both from hearing her precious boy's voice and that everything seemed to be going okay. Apparently this was all legit after all.
Looking at his watch Danny saw that it was now about 6 pm. Since it was December that meant it was already completely dark out. He wished he could call Ember but since she was a ghost she didn't have a phone, and was probably in the ghost zone so he wouldn't be able to call her anyway. Despite having an absolute blast he did still miss her and the feeling of her lips against his. Being a teenage boy that now had his first girlfriend, naturally he craved kissing her almost indefinitely, and Ember seemed to feel the same way when they were together.
"Guess I should also call Sam and Tucker," said Danny to himself bringing up Sam's number first. But when he hit dial it ended up going straight to voicemail, not even a ring. "huh, that's weird, she must be busy or forgot to charge her phone. Let's try Tucker, hopefully they'll be hanging out together." But the same thing happened with Tucker's number, no ring and straight to voicemail.
Danny suddenly looked a little worried. Both of their phones going straight to voicemail, that certainly wasn't normal and given their usual day to day activities, Danny was wondering if he maybe made a mistake leaving them alone. What if they were attacked while he wasn't there. It's not like he could just ask Ember to keep an eye on them and protect them if a ghost attacked. This was concerning and maybe he should try calling their houses to make sure everything is okay. But just as Danny was about to dial Sam's parents, something caught his eye out the window. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing properly. Mr. White was walking outside through the facility by himself, except he wasn't completely by himself, there were three very familiar being right behind him.
"Those are Vlad Plasmius's vulture minions, what the hell are they doing here?" said Danny to himself and narrowing his eyes. "Mr. White's about to be attacked, I gotta stop them. I'm going ghost."
The ring suddenly appeared around Danny's waist, one going up and one going down, transforming him into Danny Phantom, something he thought he wouldn't have to do while he was here.
Going intangible Danny flew out of his room and straight at the vultures behind Mr. White, ready to blast them all the way back to Wisconsin to their loopy master.
"Hey mister, watch out behind you," called out Danny, careful not to call Mr. White by name and give himself away. Once he got a good angle with Mr. White out of his firing range Danny let loose an ecto ray right at the ghost birds. "What are you buzzards doing here, shouldn't you be cuddling with your boss in his cheesy mansion?"
The vultures dodged the blast and lined up together facing Danny.
"Actually we're here right now on our boss's orders," said the middle one smiling. "And thanks to your young naïve teenage mind, everything is going just as planned and almost too easy."
"What are you talking about planned and too easy, is that fruit loop actually here right now?" asked Danny frowning. If Plasmius was here and ruined the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him he was ready to throw him into a fondue pot full of the cheapest cheese Wisconsin had to offer.
"Oh my dear Daniel, it truly does amaze me how dumb the mind of a teenage boy can be," came the voice of Mr. White behind him. Danny's eyes shot open in realization of whose voice it was. How could he have missed it earlier. He'd been so happy and distracted by the amazing NASA facility he'd been blind to what was right in front of him.
"Plasmius, what are you doing here and what are you doing overshadowing this man?" said Danny turning around to face Mr. White with his fists raised, ready for a battle.
"Oh Daniel my dear boy, are you really so blind that you can't see what I'm doing?" said Vlad still overshadowing his host. "I've brought you here to show you everything I can offer you if you'll simply join me by my side. Did you think it was really a coincidence that NASA reached out to you? They didn't, they don't have any idea that you exist Daniel. They don't monitor whoever has or uses their simulator programs, everything has been done and orchestrated by yours truly. The private funder, me. Pallas Divums? You're seriously telling me you thought that was a real name? A kindergartner should have been able to recognize that was fake. If you'd have taken two seconds to rearrange the letters you'd see that they spelled none other than Vlad Plasmius."
Vlad couldn't stop himself from smiling as he told the young boy everything that he'd done and everything that Danny had overlooked since getting the letter.
"I know all about your obsession with space my dear boy, so I simply overshadowed certain people in charge here, paid off others, and arranged so I could bring you here and show you everything that could be yours by teaming up with me. You want a career in NASA, done. You want a bedroom like the one you're staying in, done. You want to fly in an actual space shuttle, done. That really is an actual space shuttle that I've paid for and will launch next summer. I can make it all happen Daniel. All you have to do is renounce your idiot of a father, convince your mother and sister to come with me, and all this and so much more can be yours."
Danny was in such disbelief of everything that Vlad was saying to him as it was now dawning on him how absurd this all sounded and how much planning he would have had to go through just to make all of this happen. It was absolutely nuts.
"Wow, I know I've thought you were a fruit loop before, but apparently I wasn't even close," said Danny in complete disbelief. "You're absolutely cuckoo for fruit loops."
Vlad simply smirked with his eyes closed. He didn't actually expect the boy to just simply accept his offer/bribe, but it was worth making the attempt anyway, if anything just to show off how much broader his imagination was for using his ghost powers.
"Get out of Mr. White right now Plasmius, unless you want me to tear you out myself," said Danny preparing to charge.
"Oh, actually this man's name is Thomas Palmer," said Vlad putting his finger up matter of factly. "Brett White is just an alias I made up, another thing that you could have realized had you not been so naïve."
"How would I ever have known that, it sounds like a completely normal and believable name to me," said Danny raising one eyebrow. "I'll admit I should have realized your letter name was bogus, but not Brett White."
"Oh Daniel, did you remember absolutely nothing from your visit to my mansion during my college reunion?" said Vlad chuckling. "You noticed yourself that my house was filled with merchandise of the Green Bay Packers. Who are two of the most famous names in their history? Brett Favre and Reggie White."
Hearing Vlad explain his alias had Danny practically kicking his own rear end. He did notice when he was at Vlad's mansion months ago that he had autographed jerseys for both of those players, it made perfect sense now how he came up with that name.
"And the Green Starr, didn't you find is suspicious how there are two r's in it, and why the color green would be used?" said Vlad still smirking.
Danny reflected again back to everything he'd seen in Vlad's mansion, and it all kept clicking together. How had he not seen it before?
"You really are one crazy obsessed cheese head," said Danny glaring at his enemy.
"Why thank you my dear boy, that's actually quite a compliment," said Vlad smirking with his eyes closed again. "Obviously green is for Green Bay, home to the greatest sports franchise ever. And Starr is a tribute to Bart Starr, the forever hero that won the first two Super Bowls as quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. Ah I remember watching both of those games as a little boy."
"Yeah, and while you drown in your oversized mansion that is matched only by your ego, you have to live with the fact that the one thing you want you'll never have, my mom," said Danny smirking himself now. "It must suck to know that you lost out to a 'complete idiot'. But everyone has to have their coping mechanisms, it's just such a shame yours is so sad and cheesy."
Vlad wasn't smirking anymore at the mention of Maddie and how he had lost her to the biggest fool on this Earth, Jack Fenton.
"Your father is the reason I lost the woman I love and ended up like this, but worry not, soon all that will be rectified and Maddie will finally be mine," said Vlad longingly.
Danny had to hold in a gag at Vlad's daydream. He'd heard enough, he was ready to get to the action.
"Enough talk Plasmius, get out here now and fight like a rat, seeing as you love cheese so much," said Danny charging forward, ready to faze Vlad out of Mr. Whi...Palmer.
"Actually Daniel I think I'd rather take a different approach," said Vlad pulling something out of his pocket. Danny didn't have enough time to react and ended up flying right into it. Instantly he felt himself being electrocuted.
"Ahhhhhhhhh," screamed Danny for a few moments until Vlad pulled the device away.
With a groan and landing on his feet, Danny suddenly got a big surprise. He transformed back into Danny Fenton without meaning to.
"What the, hey, what happened?" said Danny looking himself over, somehow he'd been turned back into his human self. He tried to morph back into his ghost form but it wasn't working. "I can't go ghost, what's going on?"
"My newest little invention," said Vlad holding up the device. "I call it the Plasmius Maximus. It short circuits your powers for exactly three hours, leaving you unable to use them in any way."
Danny suddenly looked really nervous. Plasmius was already much more experienced than him with his powers, but now he was just a simple teenage boy without any powers, making him a sitting duck all by himself hundreds of miles from home.
"Well now, how about we keep playing, I do so enjoy a good game of chase," said Vlad, finally deciding to emerge from his host, showing himself in his ghost form. Mr. Palmer fell to the ground unconscious as one of the ghost vultures picked him up to carry away. "Oh but one more little add on, I won't be the one playing, I'd like to see how well you get along with my new friend here?"
As he finished talking Vlad gestured behind him without turning. Danny looked over in that direction and almost fainted. Floating right towards them was a giant bear ghost, twice as tall as Plasmius and it didn't look like it was coming to cuddle.
"Oh this is so exciting, my friend here loves to have fun, and his favorite game is tag," said Vlad in mock excitement. "How about he starts out it, so he'll try to tag you. And since I'm a good sport I'll let you have a running start on him.
Danny didn't have any idea what to do, he was powerless and staring into the face of ten foot tall bear ghost that looked like it was ready to snap him like a toothpick. Not seeing any other option, he turned and started running as fast as he could away from that bear. Vlad only watched and chuckled.
"Wait here for a few moments, let him get a good head start, it's not like he can exactly run home or call for help while we're here," said Vlad to his furry companion while floating into the sky.
Danny meanwhile was running as fast as he could and cutting between buildings to try to stay out of sight. He was legitimately terrified and had absolutely no idea how he was going to get out of this one. Looking at his watch it said it was 6:48. It'd been a few minutes since he'd been zapped, so that means he somehow had to keep himself from becoming bear food until 9:45.
"This is a nightmare, I'm being hunted by my arch enemy, in what should be dreamland for me," said Danny to himself in a panic.
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Ember was currently sitting at her sofa with pencil in hand, rewriting the lyrics for the song she'd been working on for several weeks now. She'd never spent so much time on one song, but this one was more special to her than any she'd ever written. It was all for Danny so she wanted to make sure it was perfect. Every time she thought it was done she'd rehearse it, but something always just seemed off. So she'd go back and edit things both in the lyrics and the melody, trying as many options as she could, not willing to settle. She certainly didn't settle with Danny, in that regard she felt like she won the jackpot.
"So it still doesn't sound right to you?" asked Kitty from the other end of the sofa. Since Danny was away for a few days Kitty had come by to help keep her best friend company, knowing that she wouldn't exactly enjoy being away from the best thing that ever happened to her, even if it was just for a few days.
"No, something just still feels off, and I need it to be absolutely perfect," said Ember erasing a line from the page yet again. She'd been at this for a couple hours to keep herself occupied, and the lack of progress was a little annoying. Sure she found inspiration for the song when Danny left her his letter and the purple rose, but finding the perfect combination of words was still proving rather difficult. All the time she spent for every song of her album combined didn't add up to how much time she was spending on this song.
She looked at the side table beside her sofa, taking in the picture of Danny that was on it. He'd given that to her about a week ago for their one week anniversary. Pretty corny but she was still happy to accept it. It's not like she had past relationships where she was able to celebrate milestones.
"Come on Danny, help me out here, how should I write this for you?" said Ember to the picture.
Kitty was chuckling at how adorable Ember looked talking to a picture of her boyfriend, something she never would have thought she'd see up until finding out about how Danny and Ember felt about each other.
"Well do you at least have a name for the song yet?" asked Kitty smiling.
"Yeah, that part was actually easy believe it or not," said Ember looking back at Kitty. "It's called..." before Ember could utter another word, the ghost ladies got a big surprise they definitely did not expect.
Out of absolutely nowhere a huge vehicle suddenly fazed right into Ember's realm through the door. Both Ember and Kitty were so shocked they floated up into the air and flinched back against the wall, staring at the huge intruder. Once the initial shock wore off though, Ember took in what it was and recognized it as the speeder that Danny's friends had been riding in that day they showed up at the cemetery in Skery City. As the shock faded from her face Ember looked at the glass dome and realized who was inside, her eyes suddenly raging with fire.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?" screamed Ember as the dome opened up and Sam and Tucker jumped out, Sam wearing an expression that matched Ember's.
Both girls were glaring daggers at each other, pure fury radiating off both of them as they stared into each other's eyes, seeing the other as an obstacle they didn't want around.
"This ends here and now Ember, we've come to save Danny from whatever you've done to him, and since he's a safe distance away you can't hurt him anymore," said Sam roughly, clenching her fists that were wearing the ghost gauntlets.
Ember's hair started flaring up wildly. They were here thinking that she had Danny under some kind of spell to make him be with her? She'd never been more insulted in her entire existence.
"I should rip your tongue out just for saying that," said Ember picking up her guitar from the sofa and strapping it on. "But first of all how did you find my realm and how do you even know that Danny and I are together?"
Hearing Ember suggest that she and Danny were actually together made Sam's toes curl in her shoes along with her fists inside the gauntlets.
"We saw the two of you flying together a couple weeks ago," said Tucker in a less rage filled voice but still aggressive. "We don't know what kind of spell you put him under, but we're here to undo it and free our friend."
Kitty hovered over beside Ember, ready to defend her friend's relationship that was completely real.
"You two clearly are not in the loop, and this shows that Danny was right to keep it a secret from you," said Kitty crossing her arms. "He's not under any spell, Ember is his girlfriend and it's completely legit. He's with her completely on his own free will, and if you ask me he's probably the happiest he's ever been. At least that's the impression I got when I walked in on them kissing."
Sam's teeth were clenching together so hard it seemed like she might shatter them in her own mouth. She just had an image of Ember and Danny kissing, and it was the most revolting thing she'd ever imagined in her life. She tried with all her might to block that image and stay focused on the blue flamed diva in front of her.
"There's no way Danny would willingly be with a self obsessed diva that wants to take over the world, he'd never fall for someone like that," said Sam angrily, restraining herself from launching right at Ember.
"Little breaking news for you two sidesticks, but I don't give a damn about world domination anymore," said Ember smirking, now noticing the jealousy in the goth girl's eyes and wanting to poke the hornets nest. "Who needs that when you've got the most amazing boy in the world by your side. If I'd have known how good a kisser he was from the beginning, I never would have bothered with my attempt to conquer the world and just gone right after him. I can't believe nobody else has ever realized what a catch he is, lucky me I guess."
Ember was smirking and staring Sam right in the eye the whole time while she spoke, very clearly mocking her and not even paying attention to Tucker. Sam meanwhile was so enraged she wouldn't have noticed if a meat lovers group was feasting on a buffet of steaks right in front of her.
"I'm gonna tear you to shreds and save Danny, one way or another," said Sam in a shaky voice and punching the gauntlets together. "Tucker, stay out of this, she's mine."
Ember was more than happy to take the goth on one on one. But as much as she would enjoy removing her from Danny's life so she couldn't stick her nose in her relationship anymore, at the end of the day she was unfortunately one of Danny's best friends. Doing any permanent damage would probably make Danny furious with her and cause him to break up with her, even if it was in self defense since she was the one who came here looking for a fight. It's possible he'd understand, but she wasn't willing to take the risk of losing Danny, so she'd have to make sure she didn't do anything permanent, though her mind was flooded with thoughts of bashing in the goth's face and she loved the way it looked. Restraining herself was not going to be easy.
"Sam, what are you doing, we need to do this together," said Tucker looking over at Sam, concerned for her well being.
"You heard what the hippie said geek boy, stay out of this. You too Kitty, I don't want any interferences," said Ember turning the knob of her guitar. Sam was now livid because of what Ember just called her.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" screamed Sam so loudly the walls were shaking.
"What's wrong, can't handle the truth?" said Ember smirking again. "Danny's told me about your beliefs and your causes and how you try to get himself and your geek friend here to go along with them. As someone who was alive in the 1970s, I have firsthand knowledge of what a hippie is. And sweetheart, you might be the biggest hippie I've ever seen. You're no goth."
Sam was shaking with so much rage that she lifted her fists and slammed them down to her side, smashing the table beside her into a thousand pieces.
"Oh man, this is nuts. I know I shouldn't be encouraging this, but suddenly I'm very intrigued to see what's going to happen," said Tucker taking a step back and smiling excitedly. "If only I had a camera, this would be the ultimate pay per view fight. I can see it now..." Tucker cleared his throat and adapted an energetic tone as he stepped between the two ladies and started broadcasting himself
"LADIESSSSSSS AND GENTLEMANNNNNNNN, WELCOME TO THE MAIN EVENT. WE'VE GOT A MATCHUP FOR THE AGES FOR YOU TONIGHT, TWO FIRE FILLED LADIES WITH AN EYE FOR DESTRUCTION. IN THIS CORNER, WITH HAIR AND CLOTHES AS DARK AS HER PERSONALITY. THE GOTHIC PUNISHER WITH AN APPETITE FOR EVERYTHING GREEN. SAMMMMMMMMMM MANSONNNNNNNNN! AND IN THIS CORNER, THE FIERY GHOST WHO DEFINES ROCK AND ROLL IN THE GHOST ZONE. THE BLUE HAIRED DIVA WITH A VOICE THAT MEANS NOTHING BUT BUSINESS. YOU ALL REMEMBER HER NAME, EMBERRRRRRR MCLAINNNNNNNN! LE'T'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Weirdly enough, hearing Tucker give them such an epic intro had fired up the two ladies even more. As Tucker stepped away both of their eyes were narrowed and they were ready to give into the dangerous levels of adrenaline pumping through their bodies.
"You're going down bitch, this is for Danny," said Sam launching herself forward with the gauntlets, aiming a punch right at Ember's face.
Ember only felt more eager to cause damage to the gothic hippie hearing her talk about her boyfriend that way. Floating into the air she dodges Sam's punch by quickly moving to the left. Setting her guitar knob she strummed a chord and sent an ecto fist right at her opponent. But Sam wasn't deterred at all, she just made a tight fist with the gauntlets and swung another punch at the ecto fist, shattering it upon contact in a flash of light. Ember was momentarily stunned that those gauntlets were apparently strong enough to match her blasts. Switching her knob to another setting she floated into the air and sent a stream of purple ecto energy at Sam. Sam dodged by rolling to her side. Grabbing the leg of a chair beside her, she stood up and flung it right at Ember with her enhanced strength courtesy of the gauntlets. Ember started charging right at her, swooping around the projectile and was ready to get up close and personal.
"This'll teach you to come between me and my boyfriend," said Ember clenching her teeth. Making her own tight fist she flew at top speed right at Sam, swinging her fist right at Sam's stomach, aiming for the center of her gut.
But what ended up happening left Ember completely stunned. Her fist didn't make contact with Sam's body, instead it went right through her and Sam felt nothing whatsoever. This quickly brought Ember's adrenaline levels down at the realization that Sam had a very huge advantage right now. As a human in the ghost zone, Ember couldn't touch her. Her eyes shot open as this was settling in, and Sam took advantage of Ember's momentary surprise.
"Oh yeah, seems being human has quite a few benefits here in the ghost zone," said Sam smirking as she quickly reached forward and grabbed Ember by the throat, lifting her into the air. "You're in over your head princess, unless you want me to remove your vocal cords so you can never sing again you'll set Danny free right now."
Ember was now quite worried, she couldn't touch Sam yet Sam could touch her, leaving her completely powerless to defend herself or fight back. And worst of all, the thing Sam wanted was something that she couldn't do because Danny really was with her by his own choice. Kitty was also looking really panicked now from the sidelines, thinking it was time to intervene.
"STOP, LET HER GO," screamed Kitty, charging forward trying to grab Sam. But just like Ember she also just fazed right through her, unable to touch her. "Ember hasn't done anything to Danny, she really is his girlfriend and he's with her because he wants to be."
Sam wasn't in any mood to listen to more of this garbage, even less from a second ghost that apparently is in on the whole thing. Using her free hand she grabbed Kitty by the arm as well.
"Stay out of this Kitty, or Johnny will never have to worry about getting in trouble from his flirting ever again," said Sam throwing Kitty away and into the wall.
Ember was trying to pull herself free, it seemed she could touch the gauntlets but it was useless, she couldn't do anything to loosen Sam's grip around her throat.
"Let me go, I won't let you take my babypop from me, when he find's out what you've done he'll never speak to you again," said Ember glaring into Sam's eyes.
Sam just smirked, thinking Ember was bluffing. Throwing Ember against the wall she started to advance on her, ready to chop her right in the throat so her voice could never be used again. Ember was actually legitimately scared now, pressing her back against the wall and wishing so badly that Danny was here.
Elsewhere Danny was sprinting as fast as he could from the bear ghost that was ready to slash him into ribbons, taking cover behind a large supply crate.
'This is not good,' thought Danny and Ember both in unison, despite being hundreds of miles away from each other.
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A/N Holy moly things are getting pretty intense, how are Danny & Ember going to get themselves out of their respective situations? BIG BIG shout out Nox Magnus Dux for this chapter, the idea for Tucker's promoter speech came from a joke message I received courtesy of him. We were discussing the story, he sent me a joke message like he was announcing a fight, and I had an epiphany. I already knew that I was going to have Sam & Tucker confront Ember the way they did, and I decided to add the whole announcer speech as a result and I LOVED it. I think it's my new favorite part of the story so far. Anyway Vlad has finally appeared in the story and he's up to his usual egotistical stuff. What will happen to Danny while Ember deals with Sam, guess we'll just have to wait until next week. I hope all of you don't kill me for the cliffhanger, still love you all. Until next week, please remember to leave a REVIEW! We're so close to 100, let's get there with this chapter.