Chapter 10: Etheral Landscape: Ember's Battle
First off, I want to say sorry for the slow update in this story, this site has been acting weird, and on account of my writer's block and thinking of ideas, there wasn't any motivation for me to think of things, but I appreciate the love you guys have for this story, I made this all the way back in 2016 when I was a Senior in Highschool, we've come a long way. So once again thank you.
As Ember regained consciousness, she found herself in a surreal landscape, nothing that she had ever seen before. She looked down at her body and noticed that she was wearing an all-white dress, she looked puzzled.
"What happened?" She looked all around this mysterious realm, the landscape that she was in was way out of the ordinary, the sky was a blue hue, and the air echoed with the strained faints of her guitar that she remembered.
As Ember delved deeper into this new landscape, the ethereal visuals of memories that spanned the spectrum of her existence were unfolded in the sky, from heated battles with Danny as her enemy, to them falling in love, to them having their first date near Amity Park with Danny phantom giving her flowers, and with their first passionate kiss, to them having their first child in Lucia.
"Where's Lucia, wheres Danny? Did I really truly die?! That bastard truly wiped me from existence."
She fell down, and tears began to swell up within her. In the midst of this ethereal landscape, she remembered that she collapsed after being rescued by the ghost police and emergency medics.
But why was she here? What is this place? She continued to sob, her family wasn't anywhere here, her precious daughter wasn't here, and Danny wasn't here. It was just her.
All of a sudden a demonic figure appeared, she looked up and gasped. In the dark heart of this landscape, Ember Mcclaim confronted the manifestation of her darkest fears, it was Skulker, but his eyes were purple, and his fangs were sharper, his appearance looked more demonic than before, with a dark aura surrounding him on his skin tone, his hook was replaced with a knife with the sharpest edge she had ever seen.
She gasped in horror and stood up and she was near the edge of a cliff, this skulker bore an eerie resemblance to the ghostly hunter who had kidnapped her family, he bore a grotesque distortion of the embodiment of her dark nightmares.
He grinned at her.
"This is a nightmare you can never escape from." He growled at her.
Ember scowled at the demonic skulker figure, she was in a rage, she was placed here because of it, this had all been an illusion by him.
Then all of a sudden Inner Demon Skulker lunged at her with his knife, she quickly dodged it and ran towards the other side of the realm. The realm was shaking all around her.
She saw her guitar in the distance and ran towards it.
"That won't stop me. I'm going to completely abuse your body and treat it like a toilet, you're nothing special." He sneered at her.
Ember, her eyes blazing, enraged but what she heard, charged towards him with her guitar, he did also with his long sharp knife blade, and the two traded blows with each other, both dodging stabs and hits, Inner Demonic Skulker however, got the upper hand and grazed her chest, she screamed and fell down, she was bleeding green.
Inner Demonic Skulker, sensing his opportunity, pounced on her, putting his boot on her neck.
"You need to understand your position, everything you are. Belongs to me." He then reached down to grab her body, for Ember, this was the last straw, she had endured everything from Skulker. From his abuse which led to the breakup, to his stalking, to the kidnapping of her family, she was through her breaking point, she screamed, causing Inner Skulker to become frightened.
Ember despite her pain and fear coursing through her, mustered the strength to resist, with a surge of determination, she summoned the remnants of her musical prowess as her guitar came back, she emitted a powerful wave of sound from her guitar, the force threw Inner Demonic Skulker off of her, giving her a moment to catch her breath.
As the ethereal landscape quivered in response to their confrontation, Ember clutched her bleeding her bleeding chest. The memories of her life, love, and the family she had with Danny and Lucia fueled her resolve to overcome this nightmarish manifestation.
"You won't control me!" she shouted defiantly, her voice echoing through the surreal realm.
Ember, fueled by the love of her family, rose to her feet. The guitar, an extension of her skills and her being emanated an otherworldly glow. She strummed the strings with newfound strength, creating a harmonic resonance that seemed to shake the very fabric of the demonic illusion.
Inner Skuler recoiled, temporarily disoriented by the unexpected surge of Ember's Power. Taking advantage of this moment, she launched a barrage of energy blasts from her guitar, each note carrying the weight of her determination to break free from this twisted nightmare.
The demonic figure howled in agony as the onslaught continued, the landscape around them seemed to ripple, indicating the instability of this illusion. Ember pressed on, her music now a symphony of defiance against the darkness that sought to consume her.
In a final, resounding chord, Ember unleashed a burst of energy that shattered the illusion entirely. The surreal landscape dissipated like mist, revealing a void that seemed to draw everything into nothingness.
As Ember stood alone in the void, catching a breath, a calming warmth enveloped her. The familiar presence of her family and the love she held for them provided solace in this emptiness.
The experience left Ember shaken, but she emerged with a newfound strength, her bleeding was gone, and she had to face her darkest fears and triumphed. She sighed in contentment, she then started to float up, the realm was emitting a white light, and she held her breath.
Ember's eyes fluttered open, she was greeted by the hospital that was in at the ghost zone, the sensation of being stitched up on her chest brought a twinge of pain.
As her awareness sharpened, she saw her husband seated at her bedside, it appeared he made a full recovery and was at her side, his eyes filled with remorse. He held her in a gentle hug, a mixture of relief and guilt etched across his spectral features.
"I should have protected you Ember, I'm sorry," Danny whispered, his voice carrying a weight of regret.
Ember, though weakened, managed a small smile. "Danny, it wasn't your fault. That scumbag ambushed all of us, quite literally."
As she spoke, a frantic worry erupted across her face, and she asked, "But where's Lucia? Is she safe?"
Danny's gaze softened, and he nodded, in a convenient timing, a female nurse, with a comforting aura, cradled Lucia in her arms. The little ghost baby looked up, her eyes brightening with joy at the sight of her mother smiling at her.
Ember's heart swelled with a mix of emotions as she reached out to hold Lucia. "Oh my sweet baby, I was so worried." She cried tears of joy, kissing her profusely on the cheeks.
The ghost nurse, who didn't like Danny and was disappointed in Ember's picking him to mate, was quite happy to see them embrace their baby, she had felt horrible about what happened to both of them and wouldn't wish that upon their worst enemy.
Ember, cradling Lucia against her, addressed the nurse, "I appreciate everything you guys have done. Please, if there's anything I can do to repay you..."
The nurse shook her head, her hair floated around her. "Your recovery is what matters the most, the bonds in the ghost realm run deep. We have to take care of our own."
Ember nodded and settled back into the hospital bed with Lucia nestled in arms, turning her attention to Danny with a mix of curiosity and anger.
"So what happened to that bastard?" She inquired, a sense of grit passed through her voice.
Danny reached for a nearby table and picked up a newspaper with a bold headline that read, "Ghost Hunter Skulker Apprehnded: End to Reign of Terror."
"He's been arrested," Danny replied, handing over the newspaper. "It's all over the news here, tons of ghosts are upset about what happened to you."
And that was understandable, despite some ghosts' hatred of Danny, going after a family was a line some of them didn't cross.
Ember scanned the article, her eyes widening with details as she read Skulker's capture, the story detailed what happened on the scene with all of them and how they rescued them.
As Ember absorbed the information, a mix of relief and satisfaction washed over her. The nightmare she had experienced in the ethereal landscape, created by Skulker's influence, seemed to lose its grip. She looked at Danny with gratitude, realizing that her fight against the inner demon had an external reward as well.
Danny smiled, "No one hruts us now." He hugged both of them, Lucia, sensing the change in the atmosphere, looked up at her parents with innocent curiosity. The reunited family, now aware of the challenges they could face in the ghost realm, also recognized the strength that came from their unity.
As Ember continued to read the newspaper, she couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of determination. Skulker's arrest signaled a turning point, not just for her, but for her family and in the ghost realm, maybe they will finally side with Danny and her relationship. They were ready to face whatever challenges awaited them, knowing that together, they could overcome even the darkest threats.
The next chapter will be a summary of the trial and what Skulker's punishment might be, I appreciate your love and vibes, see you in the next update.
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