I was suffering from writer's block, so I decided to try to wake up my muse with a one-shot. So you get this one. ~ Zone

Final Threshold

"You know…you're right." Danny Fenton looked into the broken ghost portal. "Who knows what kind of cool things lie beyond that portal?" He pulled on the bodysuit and zipped it up as he walked inside the portal. It was dark, so very dark. Maybe he should get a flashlight. He placed his hand on the wall to feel his way around and felt something move under his hand.

"Uh oh." He heard the machine power up around him and started to turn to leave. "Guys, I thi—AAAAHHHHH!" He let out a scream of agony as the machine light up brightly and he felt electric volts too high for him to think about at the moment shoot through his body. He reached out to his horrified friends before collapsing to his knees, his body badly charred.

And then he felt something consume him from behind as his world went green and then black.

He opened his eyes again to find himself in a place that had ticking echoing all around. He groaned and reached up to touch his head, feeling dizzy beyond belief. "Ohhh…" He slowly looked around, blinking. "Where…am I?" He seemed to be on a strange cobblestone path, leading into darkness. A green sky was all around him, and he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Welcome, young Fenton." A voice said from the darkness. "This is the Final Threshold."

"The what?" Danny blinked.

"The Final Threshold, Danny. Your final path."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm…still not getting it."

"Oh, for the love of…you're dead, Danny. Now you're going to walk this path and relive your life before your death."

"And what I don't walk it?" Danny asked.

"Well, then your only choice is to sit there at the start of it." The voice sounded impatient now. "You can't exactly go back, your body is charred and your life is over."

Danny sighed, looking at the path. "I'm…dead?"

"Yes, I said that. Now can you start walking? I have other things to worry about." The voice said, and Danny felt something push against his back. When he looked behind him, he saw only a cloaked figure. "Now would be nice."

"…You're the Grim Reaper?" Danny asked. "So…you're real?"

"Great, a skeptic. Can we just go on? I'll answer all your inane questions as we go. Clockwork owes me big for this one." The Grim Reaper muttered as he grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him along.

Danny looked at his black boots and sighed, following the Grim Reaper. "I'm really dead…Jazz kept saying they would kill me one day with their obsession, and now they have. Because I got curious. Curiosity killed the Danny."

The Grim Reaper sighed and shook his head. "Well, let's just walk this thing to the end. Do you have any regrets?"

"Regrets? Loads, I guess. The last thing I said to my mom was 'shut up about ghosts' and then I slammed the door in her face. The last time I talked to my dad, I told him that the portal didn't work because ghosts aren't real. Then I stormed off. The last thing I said to Jazz was 'I wish we'd been born in another family'. I'll never get to know Sam more. I'll never get to hang out with Tucker again. I'll never get to tell Paulina that I like her." Danny looked at the cobblestones as he talked.

The Grim Reaper groaned. He was hoping for just one, but this boy was FULL of regrets. Guess he was going to get an earful this entire trip.

"I'll never be able to join NASA and go to space. I'll never be worth anything. My grades will never get better. I'll never be known as anything but the Fentons' stupid kid, the weak link in a family of geniuses." Danny continued. "I'll never get to see Jazz actually get with a guy I can stand. I'll never see my sister in a wedding dress. I'll never see her go to college. I'll never be able to tell her I love her again, or tell my parents…" Tears slipped down his cheeks. "I'll never be able to see what kind of bride I'll eventually have…or see my future kids…or see my parents' happy faces when they see another Fenton in the family…I'll never be able to make more than two friends. Amity Park…is all I'll ever know…" He looked down and fell silent, his eyes closed.

The Grim Reaper sighed and listened to him continue on until he finally ran out of regrets. They'd been walking a long time, and still there didn't seem to be an end. Images of Danny's life appeared and disappeared all around them, but Danny didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Is there any moment in your life that you're glad about?" The Grim Reaper finally asked after nearly an hour of silence. "Proud of, maybe?"

"Well, I guess when I defended Tucker and those other kids from Dash Baxter and the other bullies at the start of Freshman year. I ended up in the hospital, but it was worth it when they all came to thank me." He grinned. "For, like, one day…I was a hero. Someone of worth, even to a few people."

The Grim Reaper nodded. "So, it wasn't all bad."

"No. I guess not." Danny sighed. "What's after death, anyway?"

"Well, as many regrets as you have, you'll be a ghost." The Grim Reaper laughed. "Don't worry, though, we'll get you set up with someone to teach you the rules of the Ghost Zone and all that."

Danny nodded, going silent again. The images kept appearing and disappearing around them, images of his life from birth to death, and the road ahead didn't seem to lead to anywhere. "How long have we been walking?"

"Oh, a while. We're walking through fourteen years of memories, so we'll be here a little while." The Grim Reaper said cheerfully.

"So…ghosts. They're real, then." Danny said next, looking at an image of his parents acting "spooky" to make little him laugh.

"Yes, they are." The Grim Reaper assured him. "Don't worry; it'll be just like being alive, only you're dead."

"You mean I still have to deal with jocks and school and all that other crap?" Danny asked. "What's so good about death, then?"

The Grim Reaper just shrugged. "I don't really know. You'll have to talk to someone that's actually been alive before. There IS a school, but it's trapped in the 60s or 70s. There's tough guys, nice guys, mean girls, y'know. Basic society."

"No nice girls?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sure there are also some of those." The Grim Reaper shrugged. "I hardly ever see beyond this place, y'know. People dying all the time, I get sent to take care of them and walk them down the Final Threshold."

"Sounds like a boring life." Danny blinked.

"Well, it's not TOO boring. We Grim Reapers have our own community, separate from the ghosts." The Grim Reaper shrugged.

"How do you become a Grim Reaper?" Danny asked.

"First of all, most of us don't become Grim Reapers; we're created by the Master of Time. Secondly, why the hell do you wanna know that? You're gonna be a ghost, which has WAY less responsibility. Seriously, go enjoy your afterlife. You don't want this boring job."

Danny laughed. "Okay, if you insist, Grim."

The Grim Reaper sighed and shook his head. "You weren't one for responsibility in life, why would you take on in death? What a weirdo."

"I dunno." Danny looked at the images as they passed them. "Maybe…that's one of my biggest regrets. That I was such a lazy slob who avoided responsibility."

The Grim Reaper shrugged, walking along with him. They both went silent as they continued to walk, Danny's boots clicking on the stones and the Grim Reaper's cloak brushing against them with a faint rustle. As the images gradually changed from baby to child to teenager, Danny finally spoke again.

"How long have we been walking?" He asked, looking at him.

"A very long time, Danny. How long does it feel?" The Grim Reaper asked.

"An eternity." Danny said flatly.

"Well, take heart. There's your exit coming up, right at the moment of your death." The Grim Reaper said cheerfully.

As they approached it, The Grim Reaper noticed something strange. So did Danny, as he walked up to the glowing, green ring of light. There was a figure inside the ring, glowing white with snow-white hair and a black bodysuit that looked like Danny's appearance had been inverted. In fact, the figure's face was even the same!

"Is that…me?" Danny breathed.

"Oh dear." The Grim Reaper pursed his lips. "Well. This changes things."

"Huh?" Danny looked at him. "Why?"

"Danny! Wake up, Danny!"

"Sam?" Danny blinked, looking at the figure. "Why am I hearing Sam's voice from this guy?"

"Because, Danny, you're not quite dead yet." The Grim Reaper sighed. "We can't take you into the Ghost Zone, because you're still alive. And yet, you're not."

"I'm confused." Danny said, walking closer to the figure.

"Because of how you died, Danny, ectoplasm merged and fused and altered your DNA. You're both alive and dead. A human…" The Grim Reaper looked at the silently glowing figure. "And a ghost."

"If I'm still alive, what do I do now?" Danny asked.

"I'm not sure. This is my first time seeing a halfa at creation." The Grim Reaper admitted. "It's so rare, so…unbelievable that I never thought they were real. Until now."

"What's a…a halfa?" Danny asked.

"Danny!" Tucker called this time. "Wake up, dude! Oh man, we are SO lucky your folks are still out…"

"He's breathing, Tucker, so we know he's alive. Why won't he wake up? Should we call an ambulance?" Sam asked.

"Go to them." The Grim Reaper said, nodding. "I think just touching this ghost will take you there."

"He's in pretty bad shape…I'm surprised he's alive at all. Yeah, I'm going to call 911." Tucker said.

"Wait!" Danny ran over and grabbed the ghost's hand. He then let out a scream of surprise as the ghost's green eyes shot open and he was grabbed, pulled forward and into the ghost, into the ring.

Then he saw green, and then the bright lights of the lab.

.

"Tucker! Tucker, he's waking up!" Sam cried.

"He looks…different, though." Tucker said, lowering his phone.

"Nn…" Danny slowly awoke, blinking up at them. His body had recovered from its charred state, but he was glowing. He reached out a hand and blinked, seeing a white glove instead of a black one. "Ohhh, my head…" He slowly pushed himself up, one hand on his head. "Feel dizzy…"

"Danny…are you okay?" Sam asked.

Danny blinked, noticing his bangs were snowy-white, and quickly bolted to his feet, running upstairs.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker called after him, running to catch up.

He was staring in the bathroom mirror when they caught up, his eyes wide with shock.

"Ghost…" He breathed. "I'm…ghost…why?" He looked at himself. "I thought…aren't I alive? Shouldn't I be—" He was interrupted by a white ring forming around his waist before it split and went over his body. He looked down to find himself in the same clothes he was in before he put on the bodysuit. "…Human?"

"Danny…what happened to you?" Tucker asked.

Danny looked at him. "Uhm…I died…but I'm also alive. I don't…know how else to explain it."

Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, let's give you a week or so to see if you're really okay. Do you want to go to the hospital and get a check-up?"

"No, I'm…I'm okay." Danny assured her, looking back at the mirror. 'Why did I turn into that ghost I saw?' He thought. 'I'm…definitely alive, right?' He placed a hand on his cheek, testing the temperature. Warm.

A word stuck out in his mind: Halfa. It meant something, something important. If only he could remember WHAT!

There, that seems to have woken my muse up! In fact, I got another fanfic idea. Bah, I need to stop doing this. ~ Zone