Hello . This will be my first long fanfic of hopefully many.

I was toying with this idea and wrote out the first few chapters early in October, but college midterms and finals prevented me from actually getting around to posting until now. Plus, the added incentive of a recent fanfic of a similar concept helped spur me along into it.

Per usual;

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

…after a bunch of fanfictions doing that it seems more reasonable for the site to just put that on its cover screen "NO ONE HERE OWNS ANYTHING!". Oh well.

Enjoy!

Rated K+ for references to death and suicide (not Danny's, don't worry). Possible mild blood and violence in later chapters.

Chapter 1

Danny Phantom zoomed through the endless green swirls of the Ghost Zone. Familiar, purple doors flew in and out of his vision. His neon green eyes focused ahead as his white hair flew around wildly in a nonexistent wind. He always wondered why it did that…it's not like the Ghost Zone has air…huh.

Anyway, he had just gotten back from Technus' lair for an order his parents made. On his way back, he made a quick trip to Skulker's to pick up a soldering kit his dad let the cyborg hunter borrow for his suit. He currently had the objects jumbling together in an old sack cloth over his back.

He kept going until he approached a familiar hunk of rock floating in the green space. It was a simple two story building without many discernible features, save for the large saucer on top that said "F-nt- nWo-" in broken neon lights. The rest was destroyed in the same blast that took out the rest of the house's windows and a few chunks of charred wall.

He floated to the front door and opened it like the door was real. Everyone knew non-portal doors were mostly just for show. Any ghost could phase right through that in an instant. It was mostly just a courtesy or a habit that they enjoyed.

"Hey Mom! Dad! I'm home!" He shouted. He heard a muffled reply in the basement and headed down with the sack. His mother was currently soldering some circuits on a lab bench while his father was busy welding together some odd bits of metal.

He looked over the rest of the lab. Beakers and test tubes lay strewn about haphazardly. A few screens were wired together, displaying images ranging from graphs of electromagnetic flux and readouts of particle emission to security cam footage of convenience stores and home video footage.

He always laughed at that one.

Unlike most in the Ghost Zone, his nuclear family actually stuck together and remembered bits of their past. Not a lot, but more than most. In life, his parents had been obsessed with science; especially physics. They would always be doing random experiments in the basement to get things going. His sister Jazz was obsessed with getting into college and earning a psychology degree, so it made sense when you thought about it.

When his sister died, she was devastated about being cut-off from college before her time. Her obsession is scholastic knowledge and psychology. In a way, she's like Spectra, but younger and… sane.

When his parents died, they became fascinated with ghosts and the inter-dimensional relations between the Human Realm and the Ghost Zone. That was their obsession; discovery and exploration.

Though, no one was sure how they died…

Since the Ghost Zone was free game, they spent their energies looking into the relationship between worlds. Typical, they ignore the Human World when they were alive and when they die, they're obsessed with it. Always wanting the thing out of reach…

…at the time.

It took decades of research and experiments, but they compiled their data and discovered a relationship between the worlds. They discovered that, like Natural Portals, they could induce a bridge between worlds. Hence, their greatest invention currently stuck right into a wall on the opposite side of the lab.

The Portal.

They had been working nonstop on it, asking him to run errands or pick up parts every now and then. For instance, they'd just asked him to pick up the pieces from Technus.

The teenaged ghost cleared his throat and the welding and "bzzt"ing sounds stopped as both parents looked over to him.

His father wore his usual orange HAZMAT suit and had some red welding goggles for the job at hand. He pulled up the goggles over his black and white close-cropped hair to look up at Danny. He had a greenish tinge to the ghostly aura around him.

His mom, Maddie, pulled up her goggles and hood of her teal HAZMAT suit, revealing her bright red hair. She had a blue-green tinge to the aura around her. She smiled as she noticed her son standing at the foot of the stairs. "Welcome home, Sweetie. How was Technus?"

"He's fine. He got a virus though."

His dad, Jack, perked up at that. "Excellent. This is just the opportunity we need to try out the new Phantom Virus Sweeper!" He held up a CD and small light rays seemed to radiate from it.

His wife rolled her eyes slightly. "Jack, honey, just because you put our last name in front of everything doesn't necessarily make it unique. That's just that anti-virus software we downloaded and altered to adapt to ectoplasm."

Her husband was not affected. "So? It still takes a genius mind like the Phantoms to come up with something like this. Anyone with Java can make an anti-virus, but one to work on Ghosts?" He brandished the CD again.

Danny chuckled at his family's antics. They couldn't remember their last name all the way, but from the sign out front and vague bits of memory, it sounded like "Phantom", so they adopted that as the new family name. Over the years it stuck and they were known as the Phantoms.

He laid down the sack of components and let his parents rummage through it before heading back upstairs. He passed by his sister's room. She was currently floating a few inches over her bed, reading a book while simultaneously listening to something through her headphones. He often wondered if there was just a CPU under her red hair instead of an ectoplasmic brain. Seriously! How could she remember all of those things?

He kept going into his own ectoplasmically recreated bedroom and plopped himself down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while, bored out of his mind, before getting up and looking at himself in the mirror.

Of all of the family, he was the weird one. He was pretty sure he didn't have white hair or green eyes when he was alive, but he got them instead. Everyone remembered their original appearance and how they kept it as ghosts, but no one could remember Danny's appearance.

If that wasn't enough, he was the only one in his family- no the entire Ghost Zone - without an obsession. Every ghost had one. From Box Ghost and his boxes to Desiree and her whole Genie thing. No matter what he thought of, he couldn't remember his old life and what drove him then.

His family was great when it came to that. They couldn't quite remember anything of his life either, but they had snippets; a park visit here, a relative there, a favorite toy, etc. He cherished those memories they had managed to congregate together. Even though it was hardly a life (or afterlife) it was alright.

He counted his blessings, though. He had apparently died wearing a HAZMAT suit like his parents, though his was black with white details and white gloves. At least in his old life, he was safety conscience…he hoped.

He lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes. Ghosts hardly need to sleep, but it was an option. It wasn't really sleeping or dreaming, it was mostly like lucid daydreaming.

He dreamed a thousand scenarios, all about one thing;

His life.

He dreamed himself blonde, redhead, brunette, even black-haired. Sometimes blue eyes, other times brown, red or even gold. He had no basis, so he just went over anything that seemed right or seemed cool.

He tried every scenario for a teenager his age; geek, jock, playboy, bad boy, average Joe background character, even runaway. None seemed really right, but it was fun to imagine what a day in "life" for "Danny F-nt-nWo" would have been like.

He even extended it sometimes. He'd go off to college, meet a girl (once, he tried meeting a guy, but it didn't work out), having a family, even dying again. He never liked the last one, but he felt like it was more "complete" that way.

Right now, he had just graduated high school somewhere and accepted a position at a random college. He was shaking the hand of some principal in a suit-

"DANNY! JAZZ! COME QUICK!"

His father's bellowing interrupted his favorite part of the dream, but the urgency in the voice made him sit up. He made his way down to the lab basement with his sister in tow.

His parents were anxiously standing in front of a small control panel. They were beaming widely and practically hopping with anticipation. The last time he saw them this excited, they managed to get a computer to connect to the Human World's internet.

That was actually something worth the excitement. His parents loved chat rooms with real humans and getting in touch with modern development. Jazz loved to Google anything her books couldn't tell her.

Danny mostly liked it for human video games like Doomed.

Currently, these grins were almost identical to that time, if not even more excited.

"So, uh, what's up dad?" Danny ventured.

"We wanted you two here for our greatest accomplishment!" His father boomed excitedly.

"Wait. You mean-"

"That's right, sweetie. We finished the Portal!" Maddie replied. "Our calculations indicate that everything should be alright. Your father and I were just about to rev it up and thought you two should be here too."

Danny and Jazz looked at each other, smiling. They were happy for their parents. All of their work was paying off and they were there to see the results.

Their parents hurried around to the various terminals scattered around the lab; checking screens, reading printouts, and adjusting dials.

"Quantum flux is within parameters."

"The EM field is holding."

"Lower the Beta emission generator, we're getting too much alpha interference."

'Something's wrong with the containment field.'

Danny jumped. Neither of his parents said that, but it was clearly in his mother's voice….

Her worried voice.

"I've got a green light on electrical contacts A, B, and D. Still waiting on C."

"C's going to be a while, we rerouted it to E."

'The EM field is way out of whack.'

Danny shook his head again.

"Alright! We're a go! Press the button, Mads!"

His mother pressed a button on the main control panel. The lab lit up as terminals showed colorful line graphs and fluctuating bar graphs. Printers spewed out readouts. A few wires sparked here and there as the Portal started to hum with electricity.

The contact sparked and a klaxon alarm sounded.

'Jack! Turn up the flux! We're getting too much gamma!'

'The system won't respond!'

The portal got brighter as more electricity flowed into it.

'There's too much strain on the field!'

The contacts began to glow green and blue as ecto energy and normal electricity began filling the capacitors.

His parents walked around checking every terminal and grinning as the readouts came up positive.

Sparks flew as various pipes and wires exploded. Danny could practically feel the energy pulsating through the lab. Arcs of electricity flew around trying to find the source of least resistance.

The contacts inside the portal spun in a green/blue swirl of light.

A few readouts started spewing out from the printer and Jack rushed over to eagerly read them over. He nodded to his wife, who flipped a few more switches.

"It's working, Mads!"

Jazz was looking around, amazed at the scene unfolding.

Danny wasn't quite sure which one was which anymore.

He collapsed to the ground.

"DANNY!"

"JACK! THE CAPACITOR'S OVERLOADING! IT CAN'T HANDL-"

Sparks

flew across the table and

beakers exploded from the arcs

as the contacts whirred to life. The machinery inside

made a grinding noise as more electricity

coursed through the wires to the power nodes. The Portal glowed bright

Red

And electricity arced inside

The wavy energy seemed to implode into the center before-

The energy seemed to swirl in the center before-

…

It fizzled…

…

…

The weird déjà vu moment stopped at that point. They were vastly different from each other, but it had the same weird feel to it. Either way, it seemed like the fizzle did the trick.

Danny doubted he'd seen his parents more stunned. Maddie still had the grin, but it was slowly slipping. Jack maintained his smile, eagerly anticipating the next moment…then almost pleading for the next moment…

Everyone stood awkwardly as the contacts slowed down and died. The readouts stopped and the graphs leveled out. The electricity whirred down to a lower pitch until it was a dull hum.

Jack broke the silence. "Sorry kids…I guess something happened…"

He looked down for a second before shooting right back up.

"Don't worry, kids! This is just a setback! I mean, did you see that?! It was incredible! We are so close, I can taste it like your mother's fudge!" He boomed with renewed vigor.

Maddie seemed to brighten up at her husband's enthusiasm. "You're father's right! Everything went according to plan. I bet we just missed a contact or a switch went faulty."

They eagerly chatted with each other about where to start.

Jazz's eyes suddenly lit up at an opportunity. "Mom, Dad, I bet all you need is a quick break and it'll come to you! Psychology supports the theory of "sleeping on it", so why don't you guys go out somewhere?"

The parents looked thoughtful before nodding. "We could always swing by Technus and tell him the news."

"I heard Pandora has a new Greek restaurant in her realm."

"After that, maybe we can go to that one hill with the perpetual sunset."

The two began whispering future plans to each other, Maddie giggling occasionally. Jazz looked pleased at her psychological suggestion. Danny gagged a bit.

The two scientist ghosts made their way upstairs and said goodbye to their kids as they flew off towards Technus's Lair first.

"OK, Danny. Since I'm in charge, I think it might be fair for you to take charge." Jazz looked over to her brother.

"Say what?"

"I wanted to stop by Spectra's to pick up another book. I know what you think of her, but she's got the best psychological knowledge of anyone short of Clockwork." She explained at Danny's grimace. Danny had a nasty encounter with the misery-leech a decade or so ago and never really let it go. "I'll probably head over to Ghost Writer's library for a while too. Besides, I think you can handle it." She smiled at him reassuringly and he returned it.

He waved her off as she flew into the green void of the Ghost Zone.

So, Danny stood there…

…home alone…

"YES!"

The excited ghost teen flew inside at breakneck speeds and picked up the headphones to the computer. Within seconds, he was logged back on to Doomed and playing with his two cohorts; Fryer-Tuck and Chaos.

GhostBoy: Good morrow, minions!

Fryer-Tuck: GB, what's hangin?

Chaos: 'Sup?

GhostBoy: My folks and sis are out today. I got the computer all to myself.

Fryer-Tuck: Way cool, man! You should definitely throw a party!

Chaos: Yeah, man. Do you live near Amity?

GhostBoy: Never heard of it.

Chaos: It's this place in Illinois. You should totally come visit sometime!

Fryer-Tuck: Yeah, dude! You'd love it! The Nasty Burger is awesome!

Ghost Boy: The what?

Chaos: A grease-infested eatery dedicated to murdering innocent cows.

Fryer-Tuck: Aw, Come on, Sam! It's delicious, man!

Ghost Boy: Thanks! We don't really have too much out here to do.

Fryer-Tuck: Cool, man. So, are you planning on coming up?

Ghost Boy: No, I live pretty far away. :(

Chaos: Where?

Ghost Boy: …Canada?...

Chaos: That was a question, not an answer. :P

Ghost Boy: Look, I'd love to come up there, but I can't. OK?

Fryer-Tuck: Alright, dude. I understand, travel's pretty hard these days.

Chaos: Ork on your left!

And so, the mighty trio of Chaos, Fryer-Tuck, and Ghost Boy fought valiantly against the pixilated horrors for many moons… or at least until Fryer-Tuck's mom called him down for dinner. Danny logged off for the night and walked around the building.

He never actually appreciated it before. The rooms were pretty much intact, but the walls had scorch marks and some furniture looked like it should be rubble. The only reason the place was still livable was because the broken furniture defied gravity and just held its place as an ectoplasmic replica.

None of his family remembered why the place was how it was-

Blue and Green electricity arced through the metal pipes of the lab.

-but it was probably for the best.

Danny sighed before heading back downstairs, he just realized he never turned off the computer. He walked over to the PC and hit the power button before turning to go back upstairs.

He stopped for a moment.

He looked back over his shoulder.

His parents were adamant that their children couldn't be anywhere near the lab without them in it. He really was interested in the place. It was like a mad scientist lab with more…physics.

He decided to risk it. He walked around the lab, looking at the bubbling green and simmering reds in the beakers and watching an oscilloscope produce a jerky-looking sine graph.

Finally, he saw the Portal. The thing was impressive in itself, but the contact nodes inside were awesome! He let his hand drift on the wall of the portal chamber as he moved further in. It really was-

*click*

He looked down at his hand, currently pressing an odd little button. A familiar whirring sound surrounded him as the contacts began to light up again.

"Oh sh-"

Immediately, an enormous amount of electricity arced between the nodes. His entire field of vision became a white flash. He barely heard himself screaming.

Gigavolts of ecto-energy and electricity fused together at the center- conveniently where his body was. He felt as though he were being torn apart, rebuilt, then decomposed all over again. It was indescribable how much pain and confusion was going through his head.

He barely managed to stumble back as the portal activated. He couldn't resist the pull of the Portal's green spiral and fell right into it.

To him, it seemed instantaneous. There was no catastrophic squeezing or disintegrating feeling like in SciFi shows. One moment he was in his parents' lab, the next somewhere else.

He stumbled blindly in the dark. His dazed mind barely taking in his surroundings. He barely registered the footsteps as a figure walked towards him.

He blacked out.

Sam Manson was never scared.

That much was common knowledge in Amity Park.

She was the Goth Freak that somehow became friends with the tech nerd Tucker Foley. She was the kind of girl who would glare down bullies in third grade and win.

So, walking in a cemetery shortcut to get home should be a piece of cake. Right?

Wrong.

Normally, she'd feel right at home in the creepy graveyard, but today was different. There was something in the air that night. Something different…

Her train of thought was interrupted by a nearby bush crunching. Her adrenaline skyrocketed as she whirled around to see…

A boy.

He looked completely drunk as he made his way out of the treeline. She was immediately apprehensive about her own safety with some drunk guy, but noticed something different.

She'd seen guys her age drunk. They were always sloshy and laughing, but this one was different. He looked like he was dizzy, yeah, but in the wrong way. He didn't notice her.

She decided to risk it.

"Hey, are you OK?"

He fainted.

She ran up to the black-haired kid in the weird HAZMAT suit currently unconscious in front of her.

She immediately checked his neck.

She was relieved when she found a pulse.