Spectral Velocity

VIII. Danny Phantom

Sonic basically passed out when we got back to the ship, but I was pretty impressed with him. Even with the dread of not being able to hear anything, he had jumped onto his feet and saved people all around the stadium. I wasn't sure I would have been able to do the same after everything that had happened.

"Was that an earthquake?" Sam asked. "Or did you cause that?"

"It's possible it was something Ember did, but we took her down," I said with a smile, holding the thermos up.

"It was a mess, though," Dani added. "I hope everyone got out of there safely."

"What happened?" Tucker asked.

"It doesn't matter right now," I said, waving my hand. "We should move away from here before someone turns us in."

"Right," Tucker said, hopping over the seat and starting up the ship. He had us in the air quickly, the darkness making everything completely black. "We might not be able to land tonight."

"Why?" I asked.

"Can you see anything down there?" he asked. He shook his head. "I can stay up, make sure we don't run into anything. I'll land as soon as I can see anything."

"You sure?" I frowned. "I can stay up."

"I'll be fine, Danny," he said. "You had a long day."

He was right, though I didn't remember some of it. There was a pause between fighting Ember and Sonic taking me down that I couldn't remember. I looked back to see Dani, Sonic, and Tails all asleep. Sam was looking tired herself.

"Okay, then," I said. "If you're sure."

"I'm positive."

I changed from my ghost form, laying on the ground away from everyone. I looked at Dani, suddenly wondering if I had dragged her into something that was too big for her. Too big for all of us. Ember had some sort of technology that we hadn't seen before.

"I'll stay up with Tucker for a while," Sam said. "Last thing we need is a couple of tired ghosts protecting us."

"Right," I chuckled. I closed my eyes, falling asleep.

I was the first one awake in the morning, everyone else sprawled on the floor sleeping. I got up to the seats, noticing that we were somewhere surrounded by water. I phased through the ship, surprised to see a beach. I had no idea where we were, but the sight of miles of water, a clear blue sky, and a pristine beach brought a bright smile to my face. The water wasn't muddy, like the lakes I lived near. It was a light blue, clear enough that I could see fish moving in the ocean.

I walked around for a bit, feeling like we were safe for a while. I doubted we could stay long, though; we didn't have much food left. I sighed, knowing that I should get the ship into the air. Still, I laid down on the sand, feeling warm and happy. I closed my eyes, almost forgetting that Vlad was pretty close to taking over the world. Closer than he had ever been, at least.

I heard footsteps, seeing Sonic step from the stairs, already entranced with the view. Behind him was Danielle, looking around wildly. "This is amazing," she said. "I've barely been out of the state, never mind the entire country. Places like this exist?"

"I thought they were only in picture books and the internet, too," I laughed. My smile faded as Sonic didn't say anything, his ears not even moving as we spoke. I felt a flash of guilt that I thought he had been messing with me when he said he couldn't hear anything. Now, though, it seemed pretty obvious.

"Still nothing," Dani confirmed. "I tried going behind him and scaring him, but he didn't do anything."

"This is gonna be really hard if he can't hear," I sighed. "I didn't think Ember could do that."