Crash!
The ghost boy slammed into the lab wall. He pushed himself back up, grimacing only for a moment. You would think being thrown into a wall by a techy lunatic would hurt terribly. Ghosts, however, had amazing stamina and durability. And Danny was also high on adrenaline from the fight. That certainly helped.
The boy's hands glowed with energy. Then he blasted a shot of it at Technus. A shield materialized at a wave of Technus's hand, deflecting it onto the lab wall. "I thought techy nerds were supposed to be weak!"
"Oh ho ho! On the contrary, young ghost child, I, TECHNUS-" A ball of ecto-energy to the face cut him off. Technus took a second to steady himself and dodge another strike. "Stop interrupting my monologues! It's rude!"
"Then keep them to yourself," he replied, firing a ghost ray. Danny didn't have time to listen to Technus today. His parents were going to be home any second. He had to catch Technus before that happened or else they'd both be in serious trouble.
Danny launched himself at Technus and knocked him backwards. Technus promptly flew into the console generator, breaking the wires and sending sparks everywhere. The smell of burnt copper started to fill the lab. "Come on Technus," Danny said as he floated up and folded his arms. "Let's just cut to the chase."
The tech ghost shook himself out of his daze. Then he glared at Danny through his shades. "Cut to this!" Suddenly, he turned to code and phased into the console. Danny waited.
Nothing happened.
Technus's head popped out of the console. "Give me a second." Then a hand popped out, summoning a lightning rod. He vanished back into the console, leaving Danny to stare. Was he trying to power the console?
Bolts of electricity jumped from the rod to the console. The siren above the portal roared to life as the console screen lit up, showing Technus's face. Panels on the walls and ceiling opened up to reveal various types of guns and all aimed at Danny. That was a yes.
"Get a load of this, ghost child!" Technus laughed as the weapons began to fire. Danny jumped and began weaving between shots. It just had to be Technus who escaped today.
One blast nearly got him before he could turn intangible. Danny turned and fired a blast of energy at the base of that gun. It promptly fell to the floor and broke. Another blast. Another laser gun fell. This time it landed on the console and cracked a panel. His parents were going to have their work cut out for them repairing the lab.
A blast smacked him in the side and sent him tumbling. Shooting the guns individually wasn't going to work.
Danny curled up, releasing a wave of ecto-energy that flung the weapons off their hinges into the far wall. The console screen flickered. The alarm above the Fenton Portal still blared. Danny rubbed his head. He felt drained now.
Then he shook his head and flew over to the console. "Just give up, Technus. We already know how this ends-with you back in the ghost zone!"
Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say. Cords coiled around him, blocking his ghost powers. Technus scowled at him from the screen as the portal opened. "Always back to the ghost zone! Well, ghost child, let's see how you like being thrown back in there!" Before Danny could react, he was hurled, screaming, into the portal.
Wherever he ended up was dark. So dark he barely saw what he assumed were plants before he crashed into them. Thick stalks slapped his face before he collided with hard dirt and skidded a few feet. That really hurt, like he'd turned human and been thrown face-first onto the ground. At least his hands and arms had taken the initial impact so his face wasn't broken. His right wrist felt like it might be, though.
Danny groaned before pushing himself to his feet. He felt stalks of something brush up against his sides as he heard something akin to the crackling plants made when they were dry and stepped on. The place smelled oddly fragrant. Was he in a field of wheat?
He blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Normally darkness wasn't a problem for him in his ghost form, but this place was pitch black even for a ghost. It took several minutes for Danny to notice the place had a faint purple glow like a concert Sam had dragged him to where the band was underlit by the stage. Indeed, he was surrounded by stalks of plants.
He pulled one close to get a better look. In the low light, he could tell the end had numerous flowers. Each flower had six petals, and each petal had some sort of line going down the middle. In this light, they looked light purple.
Whatever these plants were, they weren't wheat plants. Maybe Sam would know once he got back. She loved plants, after all. He could tell her about these weird stalk plants he'd seen in some part of the ghost zone, see if they were like those white-flowering stalks she had at one point. What had she called them? Asfofel?
Danny looked around, one hand brushing his chest to try and ease the ach from skidding on the ground. He couldn't see very far, and what he could see was nothing but these flowering stalk plants. He stepped forward a few feet, brushing the plants aside with his good hand. Just more plants. Danny turned around and began to walk back.
And then he wondered why he was walking. He might be aching, but he was still Danny Phantom. Flying would be a much easier way to see what was around him.
He pushed off the ground and fell right onto his stomach where the dirt had piled up. Now his face, chest, and his stomach ached. But mostly his wrist hurt. It felt like the fall had irritated it further.
Danny pushed himself back up to his feet, wincing as he put a little too much weight on his right hand. He looked at his hands. He was still wearing the old hazmat gloves; he was still in ghost form. So why couldn't he fly? Technus hadn't used a ghost stinger on him.
The boy tried to focus energy into his palms and form an ecto-ball. Nothing too difficult, just a simple construct. He felt nothing. There wasn't even a spark of energy. There should've been something if his ghost powers were working. But there wasn't even a buzz of power. What had happened? What was this place?
Could he even get out of here?
He had to try. He had to get back to the others. Ask the others about this place. He'd make up a story about how he ended up here. Danny had to find out what this place was, had to warn the others. Despite the pain, he took a few more steps. Then something caught his attention.
Off in the distances was a light. Orangy-yellow, like a candle or fire. At first, he was happy. That meant someone else was here. Maybe they could help him. Maybe they could answer some questions he had. So he eagerly started walking closer and brushing the stalks aside.
Then Danny remembered ghosts were very territorial. Many ghosts didn't like him still, and liked it even less when their homes were invaded. Frostbite had only let him in The Far Frozen because he was seen as a hero to the frost people. Only Clockwork had never seemed to care when others entered his lair, but then who besides Vlad would be dumb enough to try and steal territory from a time master?
His walking slowed. What should he do? He couldn't just hide here. Sooner or later, he'd need to eat or sleep. Sooner or later, his friends and family would start to panic and come looking for him. But he couldn't just confront anyone, either. That light would certainly expose him to whomever was here. The ghost, or ghosts, would probably fight him if they found him, and that wouldn't fly with him being injured and powerless.
He paused again.
And then he realized that tiny light was bigger, and getting bigger still.
His eyes widened. Danny's first instinct was to run away. But if it really was another ghost, running backwards would only delay them finding him. So he took off to his left. He desperately shoved stalks out of his way. His wrist screamed for him to stop. But he had no choice. He couldn't get caught like this.
Soon he heard the angry snorting of horses and crack of a whip. This ghost was on horseback. No wonder they were fast. It was going to catch up.
He glanced back. The light was maybe thirty meters behind where he'd landed now. And it was bright. Small, but bright. He couldn't run quick enough. Danny dove into the stalks, igniting the pain in his wrist and chest again. With any luck, they would hide him from the light.
And then he waited.
He waited to be found.
He waited to be attacked.
Instead, all he heard was the passing angry snorts and soft hoofsteps of horses as they kept going. Soon, there was silence as they left earshot. But he dared not look up. He dared not even breathe. Not yet. What if they were still in earshot and just being quiet? What if they were looking over to where he was? Moving would tip them off. Danny didn't want them seeing him powerless and vulnerable.
If they fought him, they'd surely win. And who knew what the ghost would do to him then? What if the ghost, or ghosts, was the horse? They'd probably trample him, and at this rate, he wasn't going to heal any time soon from that. Danny didn't feel like being trampled today, especially in whatever this place was.
Danny wasn't going to move, going to breathe, until he was sure they were gone.
Suddenly, the sound of hoofsteps and horse snorts returned. They were coming back. There was the sound of creaking metal, followed by a deep voice. Something about the voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it.
Then he heard it again behind him. The voice rung out loud and clear with an accent Danny couldn't place. "Run through the asphodel all you like, ghost child. You can't hide from me. Not here, not in the Unworld. I'll find you, that's a promise." There was a sound like someone cracking a whip as the voice said something he couldn't understand. Horses whinnied as metal creaked again and they swiftly departed.
Only when Danny couldn't hear those soft hoofsteps did he dare look up. The light was a lot closer than he thought. He had to be careful, or else he might be heard. He waited at least a minute before getting up and walking out further through the field.
At least he knew why his powers weren't working. His parents had told him before that The Unworld was a gap between worlds, and that a calculation error could end up causing the portal to lead here than the Ghost Zone. Shortly after that he'd sought out Clockwork, who'd told him ghost powers didn't work in The Unworld.
Danny brushed aside some stalks. So these things were called asphodel? That's what Sam had at her greenhouse once. Why did she have it when it grew in The Unworld? More to the point, why did a gap between worlds have a landscape, and how had Technus sent him here if he meant to send Danny to the Ghost Zone? Had Technus accidentally messed up the console? And who was that person that had spoken?
As he moved, a realization came to him. That person had known he was here. Not just that someone was here, but that Danny was here. They'd called him ghost child. No other ghost went by that name. Not even young ghosts like Ember, Young Blood, or Box Lunch for the short time she'd shown up. How'd they known so quickly? Had they seen him fall? The thought made him walk faster despite his injuries.
He had no clue where to go, he just knew he had to get away from where he'd been and that ghost that had been talking to him. Hopefully that'd lead him home. Or at the very least, lead him to a way out of The Unworld.
He kept walking. Minute after minute. Stalk after stalk, plant after plant. Nothing broke the expanse of asphodel. It felt like a mile of field. There was no end to this dully lit purple field as far as Danny could tell. Then again, he couldn't see very far ahead.
But what if there really wasn't an end to this field? He'd been walking for minutes now, and there'd been no change of scenery. With every step he took, this place felt more and more like an unending world of asphodel stalks. Was that what that ghost had meant? Was this just a hopeless cause of wandering aimlessly in the field? What if he couldn't find a way out? With the inability to fly, it wasn't like he could get back to the portal. Even if he could, Mom and Dad might've changed it by now, or maybe Technus had changed it.
No one even knew he was here except maybe Technus. How could they rescue him from a place they didn't know he'd been to? Clockwork might know, but if ghost powers didn't work here, could Clockwork even see him? Danny hadn't thought to ask that before. In hindsight, he really should have. He wanted to call out for Clockwork's help, but if he did and Clockwork couldn't hear it, then he might reveal himself to the other ghost.
A small call was worth a shot, though. Danny paused his walking for a moment. "Clockwork? I know you're probably busy with time stuff, but if you can hear me, I could really use your help right about now."
He waited.
Some of the stalks rustled in as if there were a breeze.
There was no response.
Danny continued walking. Clockwork was probably too busy to help him. And then, Danny thought, even if Clockwork had heard, he probably couldn't teleport here. It was a foolish thought to think Clockwork could've saved him from a place where no ghost powers worked.
In the distance there was a howl. And then more. There were dogs. Wolves.
Danny had no doubt what they were after.
He bolted. His pain was forgotten. He slapped stalks aside. He had to get as much distance between him and the wolves as he could.
Normally, he loved dogs. Dogs were pals, friends to play fetch with. Even ghost dogs like Cujo and Wulf were fun to be with. But these weren't Cujo or Wulf. They were with a hostile ghost. In The Unworld. And worse, they were a pack.
He couldn't fly. He had no option but to run. He couldn't be found. He had to get away from those wolves. If they found him, Danny knew they'd bite into him and rip him apart. He didn't want to be torn to pieces. This wasn't about getting home anymore. This was about living to see another day. This was about not dying. Not anymore than he already had.
He heard another group of howls, this time much closer. The wolves were already gaining on him. How were they so fast? It made Danny run all the faster.
He couldn't push the asphodel aside fast enough. It started to slap his face and arms. It whipped at his legs. One smacked his right hand and caused the pain in his wrist to flare up anew. It stung like Hell. But he had to keep running.
Danny had to get away. He had to live. His feet started to hurt. But he had to keep running.
He had to live.
He had to live.
Plants began to snap and crack behind him. He heard unison snarls. Those weren't playful snarls. The wolves weren't more than twenty feet behind him now. Why were they so fast? Why couldn't Danny run any faster?
He had to run.
He had to get away.
He had to shake these wolves off.
But there was nowhere to hide.
There was only asphodel. And they weren't tall enough to hide him.
Nowhere to run.
Nowhere to hide.
Danny screamed out Clockwork's name in desperation. The wolves snarled again much louder this time.
Suddenly, he saw a tree. Without thinking, Danny leapt at it. His arms squeezed the trunk. And then he climbed. His fingers snagged what they could and he hoisted himself up. The moment he saw a branch, he grabbed it and pulled himself atop it.
There, Danny sat with his knees to his chest and his hands gripping the smooth bark behind him. He had no clue what color the tree was, but he suspected it was an ash with how smooth it was. Maybe Sam would know if he wasn't killed. It would explain why the bark was smooth enough to give him trouble holding on, though.
Or maybe that smoothness had been his hands bleeding from being scraped up when he landed. Hell if Danny could tell in this light.
He heard a lot of stalks suddenly snap below, but felt nothing from the tree. They must've skidded to a stop. Danny glanced down. Three pairs of eyes glared at him through the darkness from the ground. The three dogs snarled in unison again before they started to rapidly bark. They all leapt up, but their teeth snapped short of the branch. It looked like Danny had chosen the right branch to sit on.
Except, now he was a little trapped. One of the wolves got up and started clawing at the tree. The pack certainly wouldn't just let him jump down. He looked out. There was that light again. Here on this tree branch, he was a sitting duck for that ghost, and all the barking would certainly attract attention. They'd know he was here.
The boy needed rest. His muscles were aching and his wrist was on fire. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, he could feel it with how he was starting to shake. But he couldn't afford to rest now with the dogs barking and drawing the ghost's attention. He had to do something, get out of this situation somehow.
Danny pulled off one of his gloves. Then he threw it behind him as hard as he could and froze. All the wolves perked up. Then they all ran off, flattening stalks of asphodel as they did, barking madly. Danny waited a moment before he slid himself down the smooth bark and took off running in the other direction.
He had no clue where he was going. He just knew he had to get away from those dogs. His feet were sore, his wrist stung even worse. Still, he pushed himself to run. He needed distance. He needed time.
He needed a place to hide from these wolves.
Run. Just run.
His feet hurt.
He kept running.
His wrist felt swollen.
Run.
Blood trickled down his side.
Just run.
He couldn't see where he was going.
Just run.
That was all he could do. Run and hope the dogs would be distracted long enough. Push the plants aside. Cover as much ground as he could. Get distance. Distance between him and the threat.
Oh, why did it have to be wolves? Why couldn't it have been cats? He wouldn't be able to look at Cujo the same if he got out of here.
He heard howling behind him again. Danny jumped and tried to run faster. One foot caught on a rock and nearly sent him tumbling head first into the ground. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet. The wolves began to bark. It sounded terrifying how they barked in unison now. But it gave Danny an indicator of how close they were. And how much harder he needed to run.
If he could run any faster, that was. Their barking got increasingly closer. He tried to run faster. He was already running too fast. Running so fast he couldn't move stalks out of the way quick enough. His feet wouldn't carry him any faster. And yet they were gaining.
The light sped into view up ahead of him, and in it Danny saw a face. A face looking right at him. It stopped off to the right, and jumped down from something. Then the person walked forward several paces, and the light swung down in an arch.
The field ignited into fire. Danny nearly screamed at how quickly the asphodel blazed to life, creating a wall of flames. The sudden burst of light in the darkness dazed him. His steps began to falter. The fire expanded to the sides and advanced forward. The smell of ash and smoke began to fill the air.
Amongst the blaze, he heard the terrified neighing of horses. He saw the figure of a man holding something, two horses rearing up, and some sort of cart in front of the blazing inferno.
The furious sound of barking and crunching plants from behind brought Danny out of his daze. He was trapped. Trapped between a raging fire and ravenous wolves. What should he do? What could he do?
He foolishly stopped to turn and look around.
In that moment, the wolves pounced and forced him to the ground, two heavy paws pressing down on his arms. It almost felt like they were going to snap under the weight. The rough impact knocked the wind out of him. In the light of the fire's blaze, Danny finally got a good look at the dogs.
Which were in fact one dog. One massive dog with three doberman-like heads. And they were all snarling down at him. One head had his now-torn glove in its mouth. Oh god, was this dog going to eat him? How would a dog with three heads even eat? Why hadn't he turned when he could?
Two heads sniffed him. Then they sniffed his glove. They howled for a moment before one of the paws moved from his arm. One head grabbed his legs in its teeth, and the other snagged his chest. The teeth began to dig through his hazmat suit and pinch his skin. A bite to secure him, and then he was lifted up. They really were going to eat him They were going to shake him around and eat him. And all Danny could do was struggle feebly. With how exhausted and hurt he was, he was no match for the dog's strong grip.
As it began to carry him, amidst the crackling, Danny heard that deep voice say, "Good boy." Then there was the sound of something tapping metal. Horses snorted in disdain. Danny glanced over right as he was dropped onto something cold and metal. His glove was dropped as well. He sat up.
He saw the three headed dog, nearly as tall as he was, merely staring back at him. It was now he saw that it had snakes writhing on the back of each neck. Its coat was a patchy mixture between brown and black. Interesting choice of color, but Danny was in no position to judge. Was the dog waiting for him to run again?
He reached a hand forward. One head stretched forward and sniffed his hand.
Suddenly, the dog backed away as the man stepped forward. Danny blinked. He was dressed in a black hooded robe, a dark violet cape, and some sort of dark grey sash along his waist. He wore a golden gauntlet on his right arm. His skin looked something between a tan and auburn in the fire's light. His eyes, by contrast, were such a dark brown they might as well be black. His expression was colder than steel. In his hand he held an old lantern.
"Get up, child," he commanded, "we have a long way to go."
Danny stared for a moment. Then he got up and leaned against one side of the metal cart. Something about the way the man spoke reminded him of Clockwork. Maybe it was the fact he'd called Danny "child". Or maybe it was the deep voice.
The man, who Danny presumed was the ghost from earlier, stepped up onto the cart. He glanced back at the dog. "Back to the gates with you." The three-headed dog turned and started running through the fields again. Danny leaned down to pick up his glove with a bleeding palm as he watched the dog disappear back into the field.
When he looked back to the man, the old lantern had been fixed onto a pole, and he was holding the reins and a whip in either hand. "Hold on." Danny gripped the side of the metal cart which, he realized, was probably a chariot considering it was small, metal, open on one side, and drawn by two horses.
The man lashed the reins with a loud cry. The horses sped off, turning away from the fire. The chariot jerked violently. The horses circled back. And then Danny noticed that the blaze was below them. He shook himself in disbelief. Indeed, this chariot was above the fire.
They were flying? This thing could fly? In the Unworld? How?
One of the horses snorted. Danny looked back towards the man driving the chariot. "Okay, who are you?"
The man was silent for a moment. "Hades," was all he said.
Danny blinked. This was Hades? But Hades was a greek god, a myth. How could he be real, and in The Unworld no less? "You're Hades?"
The man nodded in response. Then it clicked: his accent was Greek.
Danny pulled himself a little closer. "So that dog-?"
"-Was Cerberus, yes. I sent him after you." He glanced back at Danny. The grim, hardened look in his eyes made Danny think he'd seen his fair share of wars and hardships. "You'll see him soon." Then he looked back towards his horses.
"How did you know I was here?"
"I know everyone that enters The Unworld and whether or not they belong. And you don't belong here."
Danny glared at him. "So what are you gonna do?! Kill me for trespassing? Your dog did a good enough job; just feed me to him."
Hades half closed his eyes, not bothering to glance at Danny. "No, you foolish child. I'm going to send you back to Earth. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have told Cerberus to merely retrieve you."
That made Danny arch his eyebrow. "You taught your dog 'retrieve'?"
"No," he replied quietly, "I gave him a ripped off piece of your suit and told him to fetch."
There was a moment of silence. Danny drummed his fingers against the side of the chariot. "So your name is Hades, huh?" Hades nodded. "That's kinda hard to believe since Hades is a Greek god."
He cracked the whip. One horse tossed its head as they galloped faster. "Your friend Pandora is real, isn't she?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Another pause. "So does that mean you're a ghost? If that's the case, how are you flying this thing?"
"I am no ghost, child."
Danny nearly lost his footing. "What?!" The only creatures with magic were ghosts. "How?"
Hades glanced back at him again. "I'm a different kind of being. You might equate it to a god."
"B-B-But-" Danny struggled to pull himself up next to him. "Ghosts and humans are the only things that exist! Okay, maybe not, but only ghosts have magic!"
Hades gave him another disappointed look. "Foolish ghost child, do you really think those with power as strong as Clockwork's and Nocturne's are mere ghosts?"
Clockwork. Danny's face screwed up in confusion. Clockwork wasn't a ghost? Was that why he'd called himself the master of time when they first met? Was he really that powerful that he was pretty much a god? More importantly, if he was, why hadn't he answered Danny's call? "Was Clockwork too busy to come get me?"
The man shook his head. "Clockwork's clairvoyance can only see time in worlds. The Unworld is only a gap between them all, no matter what it looks. Even if he could see this place, he couldn't teleport out. Most of his powers don't work here."
Danny draped his hands over the edge. Then he looked back. He could see the fields still burning in the distance. It looked like a big flat candle burning on top of a cake from here. Hades's horses were fast.
He chewed his cheek for a moment. "What do you plan to do about the fields?"
"Nothing." Danny glanced back at him. "They'll be fine."
"So, what is this place then?"
"A gap between worlds. Lost souls gravitate towards here. Perhaps they failed to move on but never ended up in the ghost zone, or they performed acts so heinous they can never move on and are stuck here for eternity as punishment. Or maybe someone just built a faulty portal and punched in the wrong coordinates. Whatever the case, the souls that end up here have no ghost powers, and no human powers while they're here. They're under my rule."
Danny looked down at the asphodel. Faulty portal. That must've been how he ended up here.
One thing didn't make sense, though. The Unworld was dark, but it didn't seem like a place of punishment. At least if you took out the dog chase. "This place doesn't seem that bad."
"The field of asphodel may span eternally, but it's only one part of The Unworld."
"What are the other parts?" He expected an answer.
No answer came. Danny looked up at Hades. He was still watching the horses, but it seemed like his gaze was fixed on something else. He took that as Hades not wanting to answer and left it. The other parts were probably nightmare places.
He looked forward. There was a castle in front of them now that was, compared to the rest of The Unworld, brightly lit. It was dully colored, but still impressive. "I take it that's your place?"
"Yes," he said in a deadpan tone, "that's 'my place'. Most of my work is done from there. But it's not our destination."
They passed over the castle, and as they did, Danny realized the horses towing the chariot were jet black. He couldn't see any shadows on them they were so dark. That must've been why he hadn't seen them before the fire. They blended with the utter blackness of The Unworld.
Once they were over the castle, Danny saw a river below. Or was it a gap in the world? It was difficult to tell. But he spotted Cerberus below, on a chain or leash, along with another figure.
The chariot began to circle down like a roller coaster with Hades speaking a language Danny couldn't understand. It ended up beside a very eager Cerberus who was barking and salivating. His tail looked like a snake, yet wagged like a normal dog's tail. As Hades stepped out, he gave a command that Danny guessed was in greek, and then rubbed one of the heads when Cerberus sat. Danny hesitantly stepped out as Hades left to go talk to the other figure.
Carefully, he walked over to Cerberus, who snarled at him. Danny froze. Then he held out a hand for the dog to sniff. One head sniffed, and then the three snorted and looked away. Another head licked its nose. Danny took that as Cerberus not finding him worth attacking and stepped closer. He brushed the back of one's head. That head began to pant and lean into his hand. It made Danny smile. Big bad Cerberus liked being pet like any other dog. Though his hands still ached, Danny reached up with both hands and started scratching behind that head's ears, causing that head to lean down and pant more.
Then the other two heads glanced over and barked. All three looked forward. That disappointed the boy. But, he supposed, Cerberus still had his duty of guarding The Unworld. Or at least Danny assumed that's what Cerberus's job was.
"Ghost boy." Danny looked up when Hades called him. The man motioned him over. "Time to go home."
Danny walked over. Beside Hades was a short man in a long, dark green shawl that covered most of his body and a captain's hat. Danny couldn't tell if he had long fluffy ears, or if he just had long hair. He was looking down at the dirt. Behind that man was something that looked kind of like a gondola. Or was it a canoe? Danny couldn't tell in this light.
The short man tilted his head to the side, motioning for Danny to get in. Then he strolled to the other side and picked up an oar out of the boat.
"This is Charon," Hades said, making Danny jump at the sudden voice behind him. "He'll take you back to Amity Park. Don't return here a second time. I won't be so forgiving if you do."
Danny gulped, but nodded and got in the boat. He made himself as comfy as he could with how sore everything felt and waited. Charon pushed the boat into the river, then got in and began to paddle. Danny watched him row. He thought about talking, but after everything that had happened, he was starting to feel exhausted.
His head drooped, and he got a good look at his stained hazmat suit. He had no clue how long he'd been here. It felt like minutes, yet it also felt like hours. He couldn't recall how long he'd ran from Hades initially, nor how long he'd ran from Cerberus. And he didn't recall how long the chariot ride he'd just taken had been. His body still ached, and his wrist burned like lava, but when he had the healing of a normal human now, that was a pretty poor indicator of how long it had been.
The boat ride felt relaxing. It was quiet, with the sound of water lapping against the boat and the faint splash of Charon's rowing. The boat gently rocked from side to side in the water's tow. The castle's glow provided a comforting light, and its silhouette a nice backdrop. It was calm and relaxing. And quiet.
The boy turned his attention back to Charon. "Where does this river lead?"
Charon merely pointed forward. Apparently Charon didn't feel like talking. Or maybe he just didn't talk.
Danny shifted so he was facing the front. He couldn't see what Charon was pointing at, but maybe Charon could see something in the darkness that Danny couldn't. Danny exhaled loudly. It seemed that he wouldn't be getting much conversation from Charon on the trip home. At least that meant he wouldn't be disturbed. He probably needed the calm, anyway.
Jazz always told him he needed more chances to relax. She'd probably say this was the perfect chance to do so. Or she'd be worried sick over him and fussing over his injuries. That thought made him smile. It would be just like Jazz to worry like that. He kind of missed her fussing.
He sighed to himself, thinking about how Jazz would run over his injuries and insist he see a doctor for his wrist. It felt terrible after all the running and being knocked down, but at least here on Charon's boat it could rest and wouldn't be battered any further. He'd probably wrap it up in some gauze when he got home and ice it for a while. If his parents asked, Danny would probably tell them there was a lab accident. Or maybe if Jazz insisted, he'd tell them at least part of the truth.
Suddenly, light flooded his eyes. The boat stopped moving. It took several blinks for Danny to realize the light was from the sun, and that he was at the edge of Amity Park under a tree. He turned to shoot Charon a question, but Charon was gone, as was the boat.
Danny looked down. He was sitting on the grass in his normal clothes. He looked battered, but his shirt and jeans were intact and unharmed with no stains. His wrist still ached, and it was indeed swollen, but he could feel the pain starting to fade.
He looked around. No one else was there. Danny quickly turned ghost and flew off. He wasn't staying around to see what might happen next.
((AN: This fanfic was inspired by a drawing from tumblr user Sandy-Sketches that makes up the image for this story! You should find it here post/156268408255/unworld-the-fields-of-asphodel-imagine))