This chapter is different from the other ones. I wrote this one way before I started writing Melody in Red 2, when it was still just in concept form and not officially on my to-do list. But, I decided I liked it. It lightens the mood a bit in the darker setting that's been set before. I know, weird to think I could lighten the tone when our favorite ghost hero is looking a little more on the dead side. Don't worry though…it's all been very, very, carefully planned. By Danny Ocean. No, not really. I'm just joking. What can I say? I like the Ocean's movies!

Twelve: f L i R t I n G w I t H d E a T h

Danny curled up on the soft surface beneath him, squeezing his eyes shut. He wasn't sure what was going on but he liked having his eyes closed right then. It made everything better somehow. And no force on earth was going to make him-.

"Danny Fenton, open your eyes." Said an Irish-accented female voice, "Come on, Danny-boy, I know you're awake."

"If I open my eyes will the pain come back?"

"No, there's no pain here, Danny. Everything's fine here. So open your eyes."

Danny opened his eyes and color exploded before him. It was so vibrant it was almost surreal. He lay beneath the shade of a blue-green-gold willow tree on bright green grass, the sky was an impossibly brilliant blue and cloudless, mountains sparkled with waterfalls and rainbows in the distance, hills and forests rose around him, and the sweet, refreshing scent of flowers floated on a warm summer breeze. Paradise.

"Nice, now stand up." He turned his head and saw a tall woman in a sparkling black and silver dress with long blonde hair and warm brown eyes standing over him, smiling.

"Who are you?" Danny asked, struggling to his feet; his limbs felt like lead, "And where am I?"

"My name is ?." She said something in a strange language, "But your people call me Death." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, "But I'd much rather you call me Lady Grim Reaper!"

Danny stumbled back in shock, leaning against the tree trunk. No! It couldn't be! The Grim Reaper! That meant he'd failed! That meant…that meant…!

"I'm…dead?" Danny cried hoarsely, clutching at his chest, nearly hyperventilating, "M-my heart!" He slammed a fist over the left side of his chest in panic, "It's n-not beating!" His voice rose to a squeak, his breathing ragged, his hands clammy and cold, sweat beading his forehead.

"Calm down, Danny, you're not dead. At least not yet anyway." The Reaper said, taking his wrist gently and leading him out from under the willow tree, "You're at the Inbetween."

"I-Inbetween?" His blue eyes darted over the bright countryside, "What's that?"

"Well, we're not sure if you're going to die yet so we're holding your soul here at the Inbetween; the place between Life and Death; until something happens."

"Where're my ghost powers?" He realized there was an empty space where his powers once were, "What's going on here? Where are you taking me? What happened? What's happening to me?"

"Shhhhh." Lady Grim put a manicured finger on his lips and his face flushed, "I'll explain in a minute but you have to calm down. Alright?"

Danny nodded silently and then continued to follow the beautiful Grim Reaper into what appeared to be a small roadside café only there was no road. She sat him at a table, told him to stay, and walked up to the counter where she ordered food and drink. Danny contented himself with looking around the little place. It was pretty much empty except for a tall man in a black suit and bright red hair pulled into a pony tail sipping a cup of coffee with a young boy whose face was hidden by a straggle of greasy hair.

"Here you go, sweetie!" Lady Grim Reaper put a plate and a steaming mug on the table before him before sitting down herself, "Now, your ghost powers are still in your body back on earth and there they will stay. You don't have to worry about them. Go on and eat, Danny, it'll do you good."

Danny gingerly picked up the doughnut and bit into it. Then upon realizing how hungry he was, practically inhaled it, and picked up the hot chocolate, carefully sipping it from the bright orange coffee mug. It was surprisingly warm in his hands.

"Good boy!" Lady Grim took a drink of her own coco, "This place, the Inbetween, is where Reapers like myself and Lord Grim over there," She pointed at the red haired man, "Watch over the souls of people who may or may not die. People who are in comas often end up here."

"Am I…what's going to happen to me if I do die?" Danny licked frosting from his fingers, trying to hide his fear.

"Heaven or Hell." Lady Grim replied and then reached across the table and poked his nose playfully, "But I think, with your record, it'll be Heaven!"

Danny grinned weakly,

"H-how long do I have to stay here?"

Lady Grim shrugged, taking another sip of hot coco, eyes closed. Danny sighed and slouched back in his chair, looking around the café. It was eerily quiet but not frighteningly so. It was the kind of silence that came with an empty library. Comforting.

"What about my friends?" He asked suddenly, straightening up, "What bout ZeE, and Amethyst, and Tucker…and Sam?"

"Sorry Danny, I can't answer that." The Reaper wrapped her slim fingers around her mug, smiling sweetly at him, "I was put in charge of you and you alone."

"Oh…" He watched the steam curling from the drink, "It's nice here." He smiled, "Is Heaven this nice?"

"Better." She responded and then the bell jangling over the café door made them look up. Another man in a black suit had walked in (this one had short spiky golden-brown hair) leading a tall, thin man with white hair into the cozy establishment. Danny would have had a heart attack if his heart had been beating.

"Vlad?" He leapt to his feet and the white-haired man turned to him in shock.

"Daniel?" He made to walk over to Danny but the Reaper that had led him in grabbed his upper arm, holding him back; Vlad scowled, eyes flashing with annoyance, "I'm not trying to run away again, Lord Sorrow…!"

"Let him be, Sorrow…" Lady Grim waved a hand and Lord Sorrow let Vlad go.

"Daniel, what're you doing at the Inbetween?" Vlad asked, stepping up to the boy.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing!" Danny snapped, "Trying to take it over?"

"Please, Daniel, I'm not as stupid as you're convinced I am." Vlad grinned, "This is my third time dropping by the Inbetween with Lord Sorrow. Life threatening experiments and all that, you know." He waved a hand casually like he was talking about the weather and not about a life or death situation.

"Hmph." Danny crossed his arms, unconvinced.

"But what're you doing here?" Vlad peered at the teen, squinting at him as though just by looking he could get the answer. Danny's bravado act quickly dropped away.

"It's a long story." Danny muttered, sitting back in his chair and taking another sip of coco, starring at the table top.

"I won't be going anywhere for at least an hour." Vlad pulled a chair up to their table as Lord Sorrow toward behind him, "I got hit with a pretty nasty blast. No doubt I'll wake up in the hospital…"

"Aren't you worried you won't wake up at all?" Danny asked, trying to act like he didn't care.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Daniel." Vlad waved the boy's question away, "I want to know what's happened to land a good boy like you at the Inbetween." He sneered out the words 'good boy.'

"Short version: evil genius, kidnapping kids, experiments, evil ghosts, and me." Danny said flatly, ignoring Vlad's glare, and taking another drink of hot chocolate. What he'd just said sank in, "The other eleven kids! What happened to them?" He rounded on Lady Grim Reaper, "Can't you tell me what happened to them at least?"

But Lady Grim shook her head, collected the mugs and plate, and walked over to the counter to return them to the owner. Danny looked helplessly at Vlad and Lord Sorrow but Vlad only looked confused and his Reaper was completely emotionless. Frustrated, lost, confused, and with sadness eating at his heart, Danny bolted from the café and out into the sunshine, not actually sure where he was going. His tennis shoes pounded the neon grass, the warm wind caressed his face as he went, colors flashed past him, and all he wanted to do was run. Run from…from what? From Vlad? From Lady Grim? From death? From himself? From his weakness? Not paying attention to where he was going, he smashed right into someone and fell backwards onto his butt,

"Owwww!"

"Aw! He's so cute!" A female voice cooed and someone lifted him off the ground and set him back on his feet again, "Hey lill' cutie, who you with?"

Danny blinked up at a teenaged girl who could be no older than him with black hair the swept her shoulders, sparkling amber eyes, black eyeliner and lipstick, and black cloths; a black T-shirt with the sleeves and bottom ripped off, a black mini-skirt, black fishnet gloves that reached to her elbows, and heavy black boots. She almost reminded Danny of Sam. Behind her stood a timid looking girl with light brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail and dark turquoise eyes.

"Um…uh…I…" Danny tried to reign himself in, "Well, I-."

"He's with me, Lady Darkness," Came the voice of Lady Grim Reaper and Danny felt her hand on his shoulder, "Keep moving."

"Ah, Milady!" Darkness swept into a mocking bow, sneering, "Nice to see you doing a job…for once." Her amber eyes locked upon Danny and he quickly looked away, she was creepy and that was saying something coming from a kid who fought ghosts, "And such an adorable one too!" She pinched Danny's cheek and he jerked away, making a face at her.

"Lady Darkness," A deep voice, deep as the ocean and as thick as pudding, cut towards them and Danny looked over his shoulder to see Lord Sorrow and Vlad coming their way, "Take your charge and get moving. Danny Fenton is worth more than your salary."

"Booger." Darkness muttered, took the girl by the hand, and stalked off.

"What the heck was that about?" Danny asked, sharing a confused look with Vlad.

"Reaper politics." Lady Grim replied, "To complicated for you, boy-o." She smiled at him, "How 'bouts we go somewhere and relax?"

Moments later, Danny was sitting on a river bank with his bare feet in the clear sparkling water, his pants rolled up to his knees and his shirt off. Vlad sat beside him though not near the water. The sun shone down upon them but it was not scorching hot, just pleasantly warm.

"It's so peaceful here." Danny said for about the umpteenth time, "I like it."

"As you've stated numerous times, Daniel." Vlad seemed irritated, fidgeting around like a caged animal, "So, what about this evil genius?"

"Can't you just drop it?" Danny snapped back, "I'm trying to enjoy myself here!"

"You're subconsciously blocking out those bad memories, aren't you?" Vlad's smug tone made Danny look up at him, "This semi-death state will do that to you."

Danny looked away, gazing back into the water, fingers weaving through the grass as he thought. As much as he hated to admit it, Vlad was right. It was such a beautiful scenery that Danny had almost forgotten how he'd gotten here in the first place.

"Yulcifer." He sighed and Vlad's head snapped up and the two Reaper's turned to look at him questioningly, "It was the name of that evil genius guy I told you about. He kidnapped, brainwashed, and experimented on kids; mainly teens. I was one of them. Turns out he was trying to use us to summon some sort of evil ghost that could destroy the whole world. Why he wanted to do that, I don't know. I just hope ZeE and the others are alright…"

There was an extremely heavy silence during which Lady Grim went back to picking handfuls of black roses, Lord Sorrow standing by her side, Vlad starred blankly up into the bright blue sky, and Danny pulled his feet out of the water, drying them off with his socks before pulling them and his shoes back on. Now that he had remembered just what had landed him here, he was completely distraught and fidgety. The halfa started twisting flowers in his fingers, popping their heads off as he went, brow furrowed.

"Danny, please stop killing the flowers." Lady Grim gently slipped her arms around his shoulders in a motherly sort of hug that choked him up as he remembered his family, "I'm sure that a decision will be made soon and you won't have to sit here with this annoying Mister Masters anymore." Vlad scowled at her and she chuckled, "Come on, boy-o, on your feet."

Danny hauled himself upwards and brushed himself off before turning his attention back to the clear, sparkling water of the river. Cicadas chirped nearby, the river rolled along in a bass rumble, the sky was amazingly blue, the grass soft beneath his feet, and the air was so pure he didn't think he would ever be able to breathe again if he made it back to Amity Park.

"Here." His Reaper pressed a black rose into his hands, "For that girlfriend of yours."

"What?" Was all he managed to get out before his own voice interrupted him.

"Danny? You ready to go?" Vlad was on his feet in an instant and Danny had spun to face the direction the voice had come from, "Whoa, whoa, there! Calm down! I'm just here to take you back!"

And, right before their eyes, a figure materialized out of thin air. He was a teenaged boy with black hair that fell into his face and bright blue eyes. He was grinning and fanning out behind him like something from a fantasy movie were a pair of obsidian black wings with millions of other colors shifting through them like an oil spill. Danny's mouth hung open. He was looking at himself. With black angel wings. Danny the Black Angel.

"What?" The winged version of himself cocked his head, rocking back forth on his heels, "Never seen your Guardian Angel before Danny?" He flared his wings out briefly before folding them again, grinning, "Come on, I've been watching you forever, man, that sort of hurts."

Um…sorry?" Danny rubbed the back of his neck, conscious of the fact that Lady Grim was giggling at his comments and Vlad was practically burning a hole in his back by starring at him.

"Are you ready to go, Danny Fenton?" Lord Sorrow loomed behind all of them and Danny gulped.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am, wait hold on." Danny faced the two Reapers and Vlad, a small smile on his face, "Well, Lady Grim, Lord Sorrow, Vlad, it's been fun. But I guess…I guess I have to leave now and get back to the hero stuff. Vlad," The elder halfa's turquoise eyes flashed and he smiled coldly at the youth, "I don't really want to see you soon but knowing my luck, I will." Vlad scowled at him and Danny snickered, moving his attention to the only girl in the group, "Lady Grim Reaper…"

"Yes, Danny Fenton?" Her brown eyes were alight.

"I won't be seeing you again for a while, will I?"

The Reaper sighed, "That depends on what you do." She responded, "As Clockwork likes to say: 'the future isn't set in stone.'"

"Wha-Clockwork?" Danny started a question but his Guardian Angel had grabbed his wrist and was already lifting off into the air, "What do you mmmeeeeaaaaaaannnn?"

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Cool. Another long chapter. Kudos. You didn't really think I was going to let Danny die did you? No way! He needs to finish what's been started! And what of Sam, Tucker, Amethyst, and the other eleven kids…? Well, you'll just have to find out…

Thanks for reading and I'm sorry for my absence! Byes!