[Third Person's PoV]
Danny walked down to the basement of Fenton Works, where he opened the portal and released the captured ghosts back into the Ghost Zone. As they flew out of his thermos, his eyes lingered on Ember. Unlike the others, she didn't struggle or resist—she simply drifted back through the portal with an expression of quiet resignation, as if she had already accepted her fate.
Once the last ghost had been sent back, Danny closed the portal and turned to leave. He reached the top of the stairs before suddenly stopping, his shoulders slumping with a heavy sigh.
"Curse me and my bleeding heart," he muttered, shaking his head as he continued walking forwards and out of the house.
A few minutes later, Danny returned to the basement, a bag in one hand and his phone in the other.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be late for patrol. I have something important to take care of." A pause. "No, it can't wait. I'll join you after I'm done." With that, he hung up and stuffed his phone into his pocket.
White rings of light formed around his waist, washing over him as he transformed into his ghost form. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button to open the Ghost Zone portal. The swirling green vortex illuminated the room, and Danny stared at it with a trembling gaze.
His breathing grew heavy, a sharp ringing noise filling his ears. His palms were sweaty, his legs heavy as lead. Clutching his chest, he forced himself to take deep, steady breaths.
"I can do this… I can do this… I'm stronger now. I can do this," he whispered, his face scrunched in determination as he tried to calm the anxiety clawing at his chest.
The ringing in his ears gradually faded as he exhaled one last deep breath. Then, steeling himself, he stepped forward and into the portal.
His body tensed as he was engulfed by the shift in energy, but when he finally opened his eyes, he froze in awe.
The Ghost Zone stretched out before him—a vast, endless expanse of green energy swirling in the distance. Ghosts of all kinds drifted through the air, some floating aimlessly while others zipped past at incredible speeds. Scattered throughout were floating islands and landmasses, suspended in the eerie glow of the realm.
Danny quickly scanned his surroundings until he spotted what he was looking for.
On the edge of a floating landmass, Ember sat alone, staring into the void with a distant look in her eyes. Her blue flames flickered softly, her lips pressed into a tight line. Her guitar—her most prized possession—lay untouched beside her, as if she had lost the will to pick it up.
Danny flew closer, landing softly behind her with his shoulders slightly hunched.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
Ember scowled, not bothering to look up. "Look, buddy, there are thousands of floating rocks in this hellhole. Why don't you go bother—"
She cut herself off mid-sentence, finally turning to see who it was. The moment her eyes landed on him, her scowl deepened into a glare.
"Oh. It's you." Her voice dripped with bitterness. "What, here to finish the job? Shattering my face and my dreams wasn't enough? Now you wanna ruin my peace of mind too? How sadistic."
Danny blinked, caught completely off guard. "Huh?! What? No!"
Sighing, he sat beside her without waiting for permission.
Ember let out an annoyed huff. "Why don't you just leave me alone? You already won, didn't you? What more do you want from me?"
Danny rested his arms on his knees. "I told you before—I wanted to get to know you better. But someone clearly didn't believe me." He rolled his eyes.
Ember scoffed. "Wow, you really are an obsessed fan." She fell silent for a moment before muttering, "I don't need your pity."
"You're right. You don't." Danny nodded. "But even if you don't need pity… I think you could use a friend." He offered her a small, genuine smile.
Ember gave him a weird look. "A friend? Yeah, no thanks. Don't need that either."
Danny hummed unconvinced. "Lucky for you, you've met me—Danny Phantom, friend to ghosts and humans alike!"
Ember stared at him with a deadpan expression. Danny's confidence wavered, a faint green blush creeping up his cheeks as he coughed into his fist.
"I mean… or at least, I try to be."
A small snort escaped Ember before she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Pfftt—wow, you're so lame."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."
"Oh, I will." She smirked.
Danny smirked back before tilting his head. "Speaking of friends… what happened to your band? Shouldn't you guys be sulking together or something?"
Ember frowned and let out an unamused snort. "They abandoned me as soon as they realized I wasn't that impressive or special."
"What idiots, am I right?" Danny said dramatically.
A faint smile tugged at Ember's lips as she shook her head before noticing the bag Danny had brought with him. "What's in the bag, anyway?"
"Oh, this?" Danny hesitated, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure when would be the right time to give it to her.
"Uh… I wanted to get you something to show that I was serious about getting to know you. I didn't really know what to get, so since it's Valentine's Day, I got you friendship chocolate. Here." He handed her the bag.
Ember arched a brow and smirked. "Wow, just how obsessed with me are you? You're going out of your way to get me something like this? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get with me~."
Danny gave her a deadpan look and pulled the bag away. "If you don't want it, just say so. I'll leave."
"No, no, wait! Just give me the chocolate, then you can leave if you want!" She lunged forward, reaching for the bag.
"Sorry, but like I said, these are friendship chocolates, so my friendship must be accepted to accept the chocolates," Danny teased.
"Alright, alright, you friendless ghost," Ember said, rolling her eyes. "Since you're so desperate to be my friend, fine—I'll be your friend. Now give me the chocolate." She grabbed for the bag, fighting Danny for it.
"I'll take what I can get, I suppose." Danny relented, finally handing her the chocolates. "I didn't know which ones you liked, so I got a bit of everything."
"Awesome." Ember grinned as she immediately opened the bag, popping the first piece into her mouth.
A second later, her face scrunched up in disgust. She stuck out her tongue. "Ugh! Mint chocolate? How gross!"
She glared at Danny. "If you wanted to poison me, just know I'm already dead, asshole. No need to waste perfectly good chocolate on this abomination."
She grabbed a second piece and took a bite. This time, her expression melted into one of pure bliss as she swayed side to side. "Mmm, now that hits the spot~."
Danny chuckled as he watched her. She slowed down after taking another piece, looking hesitant before finally glancing at him.
"Thanks…" she muttered. "I appreciate it. And… sorry for attacking you back then."
"It's cool. Sorry for breaking your nose."
Ember rolled her eyes, letting out a disgruntled huff before looking down at the chocolates in her slightly glowing hand. "So, what exactly is it that you want to know about me? You're going through all this trouble just to be friends."
Danny shrugged. "Mostly, I want to know what motivates you. What made you want recognition so badly? I mean, like you said before, I don't know you. So I can't really say I understand why you did the things you did. I want to understand, so I want to get to know you better."
Ember nodded silently, tossing a piece of chocolate into the air before leaning back and catching it in her mouth.
She closed her eyes, savoring the taste before finally speaking. "I got stood up…"
Danny blinked, caught off guard by the sudden confession.
"Before dying and becoming what I am now, I was just an unassuming girl with big dreams of becoming a rock star," Ember continued, her voice quieter. "I was excited… I let my hopes get up. I waited and waited… and yet, he never showed up."
She shrugged, as if trying to make it seem like it didn't matter. "It's typical of how things went for me, anyway, so I wasn't that bummed out..."
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