[Third Person Pov]
Danny was shoved back into his chair inside the recording studio with far more force than he was prepared for. The chair rolled several inches before wobbling unsteadily, and Danny let out an undignified grunt as he flailed for balance, barely managing not to topple over completely.
His vision swam as he blinked rapidly, disorientation clouding his thoughts. When his focus finally sharpened, the first thing he noticed was Ember standing directly in front of him. She sauntered closer with casual confidence, boots clicking softly against the floor, her posture relaxed in a way that immediately put Danny on edge.
"What the hell was that all ab—" Danny started, his voice sharp with confusion.
He didn't get to finish.
Ember lifted one finger and gently pressed it against his lips, silencing him instantly.
Danny froze, his eyes widening as his brain stalled somewhere between panic and disbelief.
"You know," Ember said slowly, a teasing lilt creeping into her voice as a crooked grin tugged at her lips, "I don't think I ever properly rewarded you for earlier."
"Huh?" Danny blurted out before he could stop himself. The word slipped out dumb and helpless, perfectly capturing how lost he felt in the moment.
"Shhhh," Ember hushed again, pressing her finger a little more firmly as if daring him to interrupt her twice. She leaned closer, straddling his lap, invading his personal space until Danny could barely breathe normally.
"Okay, no—this is really inappropriate—" Danny said quickly, his hands moving to her waist in an instinctive attempt to put distance between them. The effort failed almost immediately when she looped her arms loosely around his neck, anchoring herself there.
"Relax," Ember whispered, her tone playful and infuriating all at once. "Just take it as a reward, doofus."
"I don't—what? Since when do rewards work like this?" Danny's thoughts tripped over each other, logic abandoning him completely as he struggled to make sense of what was happening.
Ember didn't answer.
Instead, she leaned forward—
…
"AHHHHHH!"
BANG.
Danny jolted awake with a sharp cry as he tumbled straight out of his bed. The blanket and pillow followed him down, tangling around his legs as he landed upside down with his head thumping painfully against the floor.
He hung there for several seconds, one foot still hooked over the mattress, chest heaving as he sucked in breath after breath. His heart hammered against his ribs like it was trying to escape.
Slowly, awareness crept back in.
"…It was a dream," Danny muttered.
His cheeks burned as realization fully set in. He brought both hands up to cover his face, groaning miserably while still dangling upside down.
"What is wrong with me?" he groaned. "Why would I even dream that?! Just—just end me now."
He made no attempt to untangle himself from the floor. Instead, he lay there dramatically, letting out an exaggerated sniffle as embarrassment crushed him from all sides.
"I can't ever look her in the face again," he mumbled into his hands. "I'm changing my name. I'm moving to another dimension."
…
Danny wasn't the only one who had spent the past month productively. While he trained his powers and pushed his limits physically, others had been sharpening different kinds of skills.
Sam, for instance, had devoted nearly all her free time to study.
Her room was cloaked in darkness, the curtains drawn tightly shut to block out the outside world. The only illumination came from several candles positioned carefully around the room, their small flames flickering and casting long, wavering shadows across the walls.
In one hand, Sam held her grandmother's old grimoire—its worn pages filled with generations of carefully preserved magical knowledge. In the other, she gripped what looked suspiciously like a tube of black lipstick. With deliberate precision, she moved in a slow circle, carefully drawing an intricate pentagram onto the floor while frequently glancing back at the book to ensure every line was correct.
Incense burned nearby, filling the room with a thick, earthy scent that tickled Sam's nose and threatened to break her concentration.
"Sam, sweetie, lunch is rea—"
The moment the door cracked open, Sam lunged forward and slammed it shut with her shoulder. She yanked it open just enough to poke her head out, eyes sharp and serious.
"I'm not hungry," she said quickly. "And I'd really prefer to be left alone. I'm studying for an important exam."
"But—" her mother started.
Sam didn't wait to hear the rest. She pulled back inside, closed the door firmly, and locked it with a decisive click.
"I'll eat later!" she called through the door. "Just save it for me!"
Leaning back against the wood, Sam placed a hand over her chest and let out a long breath of relief. Once her heart rate settled, she pushed herself away and returned to her work.
She crossed the room to her bed, where a notebook lay open and filled with dense notes and scribbled translations. Mumbling softly to herself, Sam began committing the incantation to memory while carefully repositioning the candles around the completed pentagram, making sure everything was exactly where it needed to be.
Once the final candle flared to life and the circle of flames fully connected, Sam took a measured step backward. The air around the pentagram felt heavier now, charged with an almost electric pressure that made the hairs on her arms stand on end.
She drew in a slow breath and began, her voice steady despite the power building beneath her feet.
"Velum inter vivos et mortuos, solve te nunc…"
As Sam spread her arms wide, the symbols carved into the floor shimmered faintly. Her eyes sparkled with vivid violet light as magic surged through her, the circle igniting completely. Color blossomed outward from the pentagram in rippling waves as the spell activated, the runes glowing brighter with every syllable she spoke.
She continued the incantation without faltering. The flames trembled, flickering erratically as if struggling against an unseen force. Almost immediately, their familiar red-orange glow shifted, bleeding into a rich emerald green. Sam's lips curled into a satisfied smile at the sight.
The ritual intensified. The fire burned brighter, hotter, swirling faster as the air hummed with supernatural energy. Sam's smile sharpened into a confident smirk as she spoke the final words aloud, her voice ringing clearly through the room.
"Ember McClain!"
…
The Ghost Zone:
In her own personal pocket of the Ghost Zone, Ember McClain sat cross-legged atop a floating atop a bed, the walls designed with punk rock posters, a notepad balanced on one knee. She tapped her pen thoughtfully against her lips, brows furrowed in concentration.
"Now what rhymes with orange…" she muttered, staring intensely at the page.
A sudden glow caught her attention.
"Eh?"
Before Ember could react, a blazing green magic circle erupted beneath her feet, crackling with raw energy. The ground vanished, the air warped—and before she could even curse or fight back, she was yanked violently from the Ghost Zone in a flash of light.
…
Back in Sam's room, the emerald flames abruptly shifted hue. The glow drained away, replaced by a pale, icy blue light that flooded the pentagram.
The candle flames tore themselves free, streaking toward the center of the circle and colliding into a swirling storm of blue fire. The blaze roared like a living thing, forcing Sam to throw up her hands and conjure a shimmering magical barrier just in time to shield herself from the heat and force.
Within the storm, the flames began to take shape.
A figure formed slowly, the fire molding itself into a familiar silhouette. As the blaze peeled away, it revealed Ember McClain standing at the center of the circle, her guitar still strapped across her back, eyes darting around in open confusion.
"…Sam?"
"Yes!" Sam shouted triumphantly, pumping her fist as she bounced in place. She punched the air repeatedly, unable to contain herself. "It worked! It finally worked! After so long—hahahaha!"
Ember squinted at her, still visibly disoriented. "Did you just summon me or something?"
"That's exactly what I did—wait, don't—"
Ember took one step forward.
The moment she crossed the boundary of the magic circle, crackling energy surged outward. Ember cried out as she was violently shoved backward, sparks dancing across her form as she crashed back into the center.
"ARGH! What the hell was that?!"
"Yeah… sorry about that," Sam said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "It's a safety precaution. You know, just in case the summoning went wrong and I pulled in something… evil."
She paused. "I learned to set that up the hard way. But that's a story for another time."
"You could've warned me!" Ember snapped, shaking off the lingering sparks as she shot Sam an angry glare. "You crazy witch. So what the hell did you summon me for?"
Sam straightened, a spark of excitement lighting her eyes. "I wanted to see if I could borrow your power."
"…Excuse me?" Ember said flatly, placing a hand against her chest and staring at Sam like she'd completely lost her mind.
Sam quickly grabbed her grandmother's grimoire and flipped through its aged pages before holding it up. "See this? It's a demon summoning ritual. Usually you summon demons for contracts—power in exchange for your soul, favors, that kind of thing."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Ember asked, her expression deadpan.
"Oh my god, no," Sam groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm not calling you a demon, relax. I'm not done explaining."
She tapped the page excitedly. "I started tweaking the spell. I figured—what if instead of demons, I summoned ghosts from the Ghost Zone? Same structure, different target. Then I could form deals with them."
Ember's jaw dropped. "Have you completely lost your freaking mind?"
"Possibly," Sam admitted without hesitation. "At first I was only summoning wisps and lesser spectral entities—and I almost killed myself doing it. Had to learn a banishment spell real fast. But that's not important."
She puffed out her chest proudly. "Eventually I realized I needed precision. Not random ghosts—specific ones. And since you and I already know each other, I figured you'd be the perfect test subject."
Ember just stared at her.
Then she facepalmed, dragging her hand slowly down her face as she shook her head in disbelief.
"I cannot believe this is my afterlife."
********************************************
+10 advance Chapters and my other patron exclusive content on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3