Author's Note:

OHMYGOSH I'M SORRY PEOPLE

This chapter is sooo crazy late…D: I really apologize. School and life have been super hectic recently and I've had almost no time to sit down and work on things like this. I've had half of it done for ages and just barely got a chance to finish. Forgive Waggy! I don't know how often waits like this will happen, but know that I will definitely not give up on this story! Sometimes ya gotta just keep nagging me. X3

SO I hope you enjoy the chapter! It's nice and long and has BACKSTORY. Woot! Speaking of, no stealing Mr. Wolfe, kay? =3 You can PM me and whutnot and talk about using him but I will unleash hoards of undead hamsters on anyone who steals him.

It wasn't often that Winston walked through the park anymore. His school schedule combined with the general business of life didn't give him time for it. However, today he had forsaken grading for a couple of hours dedicated to getting his racing thoughts under control.

The rest of the school day hadn't gone as smoothly as he could have hoped. It had been lucky there weren't any in-class experiments scheduled or the room might have acquired a few extra burn marks. Even after telling himself to put aside all thoughts of ghosts and one particular student they kept cropping up.

"It's absurd," he told himself again, hands in his coat pockets as he strode along the path. "I haven't even seen a ghost in this town, not since…" With a sigh, the man shook his head quickly. It was impossible, he knew that. Why, then, did he keep going back to the one theory that was impossible? It was his memory that was to blame. It certainly wasn't anywhere near eidetic or any similar condition, but the things he did remember stood out clearly.

That beaker wasn't just dropped. The more he thought about the event the more certain he was. Danny was clumsy, everyone knew that, but he hadn't actually dropped it. What, then-?

"Ow! No, stupid, through it, not into it…" With a start Mr. Wolfe looked up, brown eyes scanning the area in search of the voice. He hated irony sometimes. Maybe it would be easier to just continue walking, not confront the boy.

It had seemed like a good plan. He was a few yards further, hands in his pockets when the same voice suddenly sounded right behind him.

"Are you following me or something?" The man jumped, turning to find a pair of blue eyes narrowed accusingly at him. How on earth-?

"I would ask you the same thing," he said with a slight grin. "You seem to be appearing on a fairly regular basis now." Danny snorted, his expression far more serious than his teacher was used to seeing.

"Yeah, well…I practically live here now," he muttered, arms crossing. "What are you doing here? It's a school night, isn't it? I thought teachers got locked in the teacher's lounge on school nights." Winston chuckled, shaking his head.

"I managed to break out. I'm on the run now, just waiting for one of them to find me and drag me back." His attempted joke apparently had no effect and the teacher let his face grow serious once more. "Considering the fact you're alone, I take it nothing's changed since lunch?" Danny's face, if it were possible, grew even stonier as he glanced away.

"I am not about to apologize," he growled. "I'm not the one who-" The boy cut off, now watching the ground intently. "It's not like I asked for this." The statement was nearly whispered and Mr. Wolfe frowned.

"Didn't ask for—"

"How do they expect me to control this stuff?" he demanded, turning away from the man and glaring across the park. "It's not like I know how. It's not my fault it's—it keeps getting worse." Brown eyes blinked once in slight confusion.

"You do realize I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, don't you?" Winston inquired. Danny scowled as he glanced back, arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Good," he muttered. "It's better that way. No one would…" The teenager trailed off, shaking his head. "I thought they might get it, they were there…just shows what I know about people."

"Daniel…" Mr. Wolfe sighed quietly, his hands going into his pockets. "Even if you don't want any help it never seems to do much good ranting if the receiving party has no knowledge of the situation. If I were—"

"I didn't ask for this!" The man flinched back as Danny turned suddenly, hands thrown in the air. He couldn't tell whether the expression on his student's face was one of anger or desperation, or perhaps a mixture of the two. Whichever it happened to be, Winston fell silent. "They act like I'm trying to make everything happen. They think I just want all of these—whatever it is, I didn't exactly put in a request to be a freak, alright? High school is bad enough already. Now I have to deal with this?" He paced a few steps restlessly and Winston could tell he was debating how much he would actually say. It was obvious the freshman had wanted an audience for a while, though now that he had one, the words were harder to find. "It's…it's not my fault!"

The park fell silent after this outburst and the teacher blinked again, one hand running through his hair as he sighed. An idea had formed in his head but he was hesitant to voice it.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that…incident in your parent's lab, would it?" he asked. Danny seemed to choke a bit before letting out a hoarse, humorless laugh.

"Apparently you're the only person who even remembers that," he muttered. "Ironic considering you weren't even there."

"What happened?" The boy swallowed, his angry energy dissipating. He paced a few steps, hands clenching and unclenching intermittently at his side.

"You don't need to know," he stated quietly. There was no more venom in the words though, only a weary resignation. "It-it doesn't matter."

"Apparently it matters a good deal more than you're letting on," Winston pointed out. "If the incident was the cause of whatever's going on…"

"The 'cause', yeah, you could say that." For being so unwilling to talk, the boy seemed to be eager to say something. "If we hadn't stayed down there none of this would've happened. It'd just be another stupid invention that didn't work and I could still have a fairly normal life. I wouldn't-" He cut himself off with some effort, apparently having to remind himself that his teacher was present. Swallowing again, Danny shoved his hands into his pockets and forced himself to stand still. "If it weren't for the supposed ghosts they look for none of this would've happened." The park fell silent again and Mr. Wolfe hesitated only a moment before speaking, eager to find out something before the night was over.

"You said it was the Portal that malfunctioned, right?" The teenager blinked a few times, staring at the ground, then nodded quickly. "That was the one that…shocked you?" Danny scoffed, his gaze flickering up toward the man briefly before turning away again.

"You could say that."

"Then what part of this is only half true, Daniel?" The question was met with silence and he elaborated. "The story seemed believable enough, but if that were the end of the story I doubt you would be so stressed about it." The boy seemed to consider the statement before he ran one hand through his hair, shifting rather nervously on his feet.

"What would you do about it if there was something else?" he asked, suddenly very quiet. The teacher hesitated before shrugging, his arms crossed.

"I couldn't do much, could I? I can't exactly control you outside of school, you know. I would just like to know the full truth." The silence then stretched out but Winston made no move to break it. He was close, he knew, to getting something out of this attempt. Maybe this time he would actually get some answers, some explanation for the past few weeks.

"I wasn't by the Portal." Danny spoke softly and with a hefty amount of hesitation. He still refused to make eye contact, staring at the ground to one side. "I-there was a button on the inside. I guess it…activated it or something, it…" He seemed to choke a moment before continuing, suddenly faster as if he were trying to say it all before he questioned it. "It turned on when I was inside. The initial power-up was some kind of blast and it caught me straight-on. My parents-" The boy cut off suddenly, his hand clutching at his hair as he shook his head. "They just think it started working, they don't-they can't know! They'd freak just because of that, not to mention-" He fell silent again, swallowing. It took a moment for Mr. Wolfe to speak up, determined not to let it go at that.

"That's why you asked about the machines." It was more of a statement than a question. "You were worried there might be side-effects because of the ectoplasm in it." Blue eyes narrowed and Danny's arms tensed for a moment.

"Might be…" he muttered softly, barely loud enough to be heard. "Yeah, there might be some side-effects, huh? Real strong possibility there…"

"There were, weren't there?" Danny looked up suddenly at the question, eyes widening again. The expression on his face was enough of an answer. The man sighed, his initial fear apparently confirmed. "Ectoplasm is a touchy substance. The results of mixing it with an electrical current…not exactly something that's been tested, I suppose." After a moment he started down the path to a nearby bench, feeling a small surge of satisfaction as the teenager followed him. "I suppose if the conditions were right it may have a few odd effects. This would explain all of the accidents in my class, wouldn't it?"

"I-I don't-"

"I'm not blind," Winston assured him. "I've seen you when those beakers fall and half the time there's nothing normal that may have caused it. What would you call it, then?" Another silence as they came to a halt and Danny seemed to be going to great lengths to avoid the brown eyes that were leveled on him. After a few moments his own eyes closed and he ran one hand over his face with a soft groan.

"Intangibility…Tucker looked it up."

"I'm surprised anyone else knows the term; it's not one that's widely researched." The man managed a small grin, his arms falling to his sides again. "Intangibility; that would explain quite a bit, wouldn't it? I suppose it's something that would be difficult to handle." Danny almost looked shocked that his teacher hadn't run off screaming, and was actually looking up now, his expression an odd mixture of confusion and relief. The news was a shock, really, but after all Mr. Wolfe had seen a boy with strange 'abilities' wasn't something to send Winston sprinting to the nearest news station. It wasn't like anyone would have believed him, anyway. Only the few that had actually seen it…Shaking his head briefly to get it out of that train of thought, he turned his attention back to his student. "Anything else I should be aware of, then? I've come to expect you going through my entire collection of beakers by the time the month's out. I don't want any other surprises to make school so much more interesting."

"I, uh…" Swallowing again, Danny blinked a few times before his hand went to the back of his neck. "It's not as bad as it was originally," he finally stated softly. "I can…I'm almost controlling it now, but there are…others. They're a bit more noticeable, I guess." Others? The intangibility had been enough, really. With an attempt at nonchalance, the man shrugged.

"Such as?" In reply the freshman lifted one hand, a sudden look of intense concentration on his face. It relaxed after a moment and there was a slight pause before Winston actually noticed the change; the arm had vanished. It wasn't just pale or an outline, but entirely gone. He had to restrain himself from taking a step back and simply stared for a second before clearing his throat.

"Invisibility too?" It was fairly impressive, really, once one got past the blunt fact that his entire arm had vanished with little apparent effort. The arm came back in the next instant and dropped back to the boy's side as Danny looked away again.

"Yeah. Invisibility too. Everyone always says they'd want it as a superpower or something, right? Stupid thing's come in handy once. The rest of the time I'm just trying to keep from confirming my role as freak of the school." He snorted, hands shaking slightly as he crossed his arms. "Those two weren't so bad. We could handle it for the most part. It was the last bit that-" The teenager looked up briefly, his voice suddenly tight. "They freaked out. Sam and Tucker, they were fine with it at first. It freaked all of us out some, but they stuck with me. Now…" There was a pause before he continued rather hoarsely. "They're afraid of me. It's not like I blame them. It scares me too, honestly. You'd think, though, that they might actually try to act supportive or something, right?"

"What's the 'last bit', then?" Mr. Wolfe inquired with a slight frown. The first two were explainable enough. Ectoplasm - to those who actually knew it - could easily explain them. Were there any other powers common to such things? Flight, perhaps, but that seemed unlikely to scare a bunch of freshmen. It would be the best part of all of this if flight were included. Danny seemed to deflate suddenly, his shoulders sagging as he looked back down at the ground.

"Can I trust you?" His voice was low and the man leaned forward.

"Excuse me?"

"I-I need to know. If it gets out…if my parents find out I'd be dead. I'm dead if anyone finds out." Blue eyes finally locked with brown as he lifted his face very slightly, fists suddenly clenching at his sides. "Can I trust you?"

"Well…Of course you can. I'm not one to go sharing secrets, not unless it's a direct threat to someone's-" He was cut off, stepping back slightly as a sudden flash of blue light stunned him. It faded quickly and Winston couldn't keep his mouth from gaping as two rings split, sliding quickly up and down the boy's body. They vanished as soon as they had appeared and it took a good deal of blinking before he could process what exactly he was seeing.

The teenager standing in front of him was certainly not the one that had been there a moment before. The black hair was now snow-white. The normal t-shirt and jeans had changed to a black and white hazmat suit complete with boots and what looked to be thick gloves. His eyes were closed for a while but once they opened the switch from light blue to a piercing green was most startling. He had seen those eyes before, at least once. It hadn't exactly sunk in at the time, but now the man felt completely idiotic for not noticing.

"Daniel?" he finally asked, eyes wider than they had been in a long time. White hair bobbed slightly as the boy nodded hesitantly, his gaze pointedly fixed on a tree nearby.

"Unfortunately…" Gloved hands lifted for a moment in a gesture of defeat. "I don't even-I don't know what this is. I found it by accident, but Sam and Tucker tell me I was like this after the explosion." He snorted suddenly, eyes narrowing. "You'd think they'd remember something like that…"

"And you can do that on purpose?" There was a hesitation before Danny nodded again.

"Most of the time. It tries to change by itself constantly, though, I have to push it back." He paused, frown suddenly deepening and his expression turning to one of slight suspicion. "You don't even seem surprised," he accused. "I somehow doubt you see this sort of thing on a regular basis. Why aren't you scared like the rest were?" A rather grim smile came across the man's face and he pulled the collar of his shirt down slightly. The scar stood out as prominently as ever and Danny almost winced at the sight of it.

"You know how I got this, Daniel?" Winston asked. The teen shrugged, being quite obvious in his attempts to not stare.

"You were a Marine, we all just figured…"

"It wasn't in combat." His hand moved from his neck to run once through dusty brown hair. "That's what most people think, and I do nothing to contradict the assumption." He paused and then laughed. "Well, I say it wasn't combat…not your average combat, at least." The man sat with s sigh, looking up at the boy who was now floating a few inches off the ground. His white boots still seemed firmly planted on some solid surface, and as Danny appeared to be unaware of it, Winston put it out of his mind momentarily. "I've been interested in chemistry since I was younger than you, but I discovered a certain branch of it that caught my attention at once."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Trust me, you're bound to become familiar with the subject. Even more so now, I assume." He paused, then gestured vaguely at the ground and added "That's really getting a bit disconcerting; could you sit or something?" Danny glanced down and yelped, quickly falling back to the ground.

"I hate it when I do that, it's like I can't stay down when I'm like this…" Green eyes suddenly widened and he looked back at the teacher. "It was about the paranormal, wasn't it? Crud, don't' tell me you're like my parents-"

"Far from it." Winston held up one hand to cut him off. "Though I respect your parent's…enthusiasm, I was never quite as dedicated as they are."

"But you did study them…?"

"Indeed. My parents didn't approve, but I studied ghosts the entire time I was in college. There wasn't very much information back then, and ectoplasm was all but unknown. The few samples I got a hold of were far from cheap. I did discover a great deal about it, though." He gestured at the boy. "Your eyes, for example; the glow comes from the ectoplasm which is as plentiful in your head as blood is in my own. The substance is denser than water, but when the right kind of energy is put through it, it becomes lighter than helium. For that reason, flight does take energy, but very minimal amounts." He paused briefly, considering Danny. "Although, you may be an exception. I studied ghosts, but you aren't really one, are you? More of a…a hybrid, perhaps." Winston paused and then shook his head. "But I digress, as usual. Come, seriously Daniel, sit."

Danny paused, seeming wary as if the seat were rigged. "I'm fine standing, thanks."

"I haven't made a habit of booby-trapping park benches, you know."

After a moment's hesitation, the boy finally sank onto the seat. His head rested on one hand, fingers clutching at snow-white hair.

"So the whole…ghost chemistry or something?"

"Right, right…Once I graduated, I moved here, as even then Amity park was considered the most haunted town in the area. That wasn't saying much, really. I spotted a ghost maybe once every month, if that. They were little more than blobs most of the time, but on occasion a more…identifiable one would show up. People were terrified, of course. There was one…" Mr. Wolfe trailed off, glancing away. He took a purposeful breath before going on. "He called himself Tarrigon. He was one of the few that didn't come often, but when he did, the results were far worse than any of the others. Most ghosts showed up, ran around town for a day scaring people, then left. Tarrigon was different. He would show up and…attack. We had a few people hospitalized and one man was killed. He was the definition of malevolence, really. Your parents didn't have functional weapons back then; the attacks were what convinced them to research it."

"Right, so what does this have to do with chemistry?" The man grinned, shaking his head.

"I'm getting there Danny, trust me." He leaned back slightly, dark brown eyes surveying the sky. "I had a rather modest lab, enough to do some slightly complex experiments in. One night I had a paperclip moment." He looked down to see neon green eyes staring at him in bewilderment.

"A what?" It was still too strange, being able to see basic qualities of his student - the facial structure, expressions - in the ghost sitting next to him. He could only pray no one else would notice the similarities.

"The paperclip, one of the most well-known and widely used office supplies, was invented purely by accident. A mistake, really, but a brilliant one. I experienced a paperclip moment. Somehow I stumbled on a mixture that, for whatever reason, reacted…strongly when it came in contact with ectoplasm."

"How strongly?" Mr. Wolfe sighed slightly.

"Let's say it was similar to how people imagine vampires reacting to sunlight. It dissolved it, violently. I've no idea how I came across such a thing, but it was the ideal weapon against the ghosts that plagued the town. Quick, effective…and, as far as I could tell, lethal." The teacher paused and then laughed shortly. "Lethal might not be the right word, but never mind." He bit his lip and seemed to try and collect his thoughts before continuing. "I was…stupid, to put it bluntly. Over confident, proud of my discovery. I didn't tell anyone about it, not even your parents - who were already well-known for their research by then. Perhaps if I had, they would have told me all the things that took me by surprise. They would have warned me against going, or maybe even helped." He seemed to choke on the next words and let his eyes fall shut for a moment.

"So did you…" Danny hesitated briefly. "Did you hunt one or something?"

"Not just one of them Daniel," Winston sighed, running his hand over his face. "A specific one."

"Tarrigon?"

"Indeed." Silence fell over them, the only sound being the wind moving the trees around the small park clearing.

"What happened to him, then?"

"He's…gone now. But just barely." The man idly touched his scar as he went on. "It took a while for Tarrigon to show up again. I imagined he was elsewhere, terrorizing some other town. I got impatient, really. I never bothered testing the new weapon on any smaller ghosts, I was so confident in its effectiveness. That was a mistake." The teacher looked up again at the dim stars that were beginning to appear overhead. He hadn't realized it was this late…"Then he arrived. I went off of rumors; the news didn't bother reporting such things. I got my weapon - I had managed to design a small gun for it by then - and set out looking for him. It didn't take too long; I just had to run toward the screams instead of away from them. Tarrigon was…he was more violent than usual. There were a few holes in the buildings and at least one car was on fire. People were scared. I was scared. I was the only one stupid enough to not take cover."

"Hang on." Danny put a hand up, blinking. "You said there were things that took you by surprise. I thought you had studied the ghosts, how could -"

"I had studied what I knew of, nothing more. I knew they could fly and become invisible if they wanted, but other than that the ghosts were a mystery. Intangibility was a rumor, but we all assumed they were just substantial. They could do damage, after all, and you need to be solid to do damage." He shook his head wearily. "That was the main issue. I didn't know about the intangibility. If I had, I wouldn't have tried anything. He saw me soon enough…seemed to find it funny." Brown eyes shut and he grimaced as the event seemed to swim before his eyes.

"Interesting," the ghost growled. "A human is trying to stand up to me, eh?"

"You better bet I am," Winston snapped. Most of his concentration was now going into keeping his voice steady. Tarrigon laughed, tossing the mailbox he held carelessly over one shoulder.

"At last, a break in the monotony."

"He was fast," Mr. Wolfe murmured. "A lot faster than I expected. I could tell it would be tough even then…and then he just sank right through the ground."

"Come out here, you coward!" the young man finally shouted, already panting. His gun lowered and he took a steadying breath. Knowing his luck the ghost had probably just left, gone off to terrorize someone else.

The sudden pressure at the back of his head came quickly, before he even registered the pain. He didn't notice he was in the air until he hit the asphalt. Only the strap over his shoulder kept the gun from flying loose.

"Coward, am I?"

Red eyes glowered as the ghost leaned over Winston's head. "You call me a coward?" The man attempted to raise his weapon, only to have it smacked idly out of his hand. "You're a fool, human, a fool to confront one you have no chance of beating."

The streetlights suddenly flickered on in the distance and they both started. They were far enough back so the lights didn't reach the bench; the glow seemed confined to the small circles beneath the lampposts. Mr. Wolfe glanced at the boy next to him, a very slight grin replacing his previous pensive expression. In the fading light, Danny's more ghostly attributes were prominent. He could now see a distinct glow around him that the man hadn't noticed before. It wasn't green, like most ghosts he'd seen floating around, but a pale white. His eyes weren't just neon green in color anymore; one could see a glow from them as well, although it seemed rather dim now. He guessed the brightness changed depending on the circumstances, similar to the green blobs he used to see dimming as they weakened. Even the snow-white hair seemed brighter…His train of thought was cut off suddenly as Danny turned to him with a raised brow as if inviting him to continue.

"For a little while, it seemed like the end of the fight. I was having trouble moving, let alone getting the gun and aiming. Really, I'm lucky he loved to brag."

"My first actual challenge, eh?" Tarrigon laughed, circling the area casually. "Pitiful. If this is the best the humans can throw at me, it should be all too easy to level the place."

"He thought I was done so he didn't bother finishing me off then. I was just an audience for his gloating. But…" He smirked rather grimly. "It wasn't for nothing I was the head of my platoon at basic training. I managed to get the gun back and stand while the beast's back was turned…probably the first of his prey to do so, and I think I was more surprised than he was. He got over it faster, though…"

You could make a weapon out of ectoplasm? Winston stared at the glowing blade held in the ghost's hand, mentally reminding himself to investigate further if he survived. It seemed Tarrigon was fairly old fashioned.

The fight was still far from fair, even though his opponent didn't vanish nearly as much. After the first shot he took simply went through a suddenly-appearing hole in the ghost, he didn't risk wasting the rest of the ammunition. He just had to wait for the right shot…The persistent throbbing in his head wasn't helping. Asphalt was far from forgiving, and the young man spent most of the time dodging, vaguely hoping to wear the ghost out. It didn't seem to work well, he had to admit. Tarrigon kept laughing, the sword whirling aimlessly.

"You're dead, you wad of goo," Winston growled, skidding to a halt as a flash of green crashed into the cement where he had been standing a moment before.

"Thank you for noticing," his oppressor shot back. "You, however, are not; something I plan to remedy." It wasn't for lack of trying; as well as the throbbing head and back, the young man sported a few persistently bleeding cuts where the blade had grazed or he had collided with some stray sharp object in the street.

"Everyone had run, of course, but I knew there were a few trying to watch from a reasonably safe distance." His face fell even more and his voice lowered. Danny had to lean in slightly to catch the next words. "The fools…" The teacher sighed, now watching the ground between his feet with apparent interest. "I don't blame them, of course, but…"

The boy was young, perhaps eleven or twelve. Brown eyes had spotted him on one of his many crashes to the ground. The kid's own eyes were wide, his hands clutching the handlebars of the bike he still sat on. He obviously stumbled on the fight while heading home. He wasn't in the direct line of fire, but the battle really hadn't gone as expected so far. It would be far to easy for a strike to go astray.

"Go!" Winston whirled around, eyes wide as he gestured frantically. "Get out of here, kid, he's not-" He cut off with a strangled gasp, the gun finally clattering to the concrete.

"Never turn your back on an opponent," Tarrigon snarled. "First rule of battle, human."

Mr. Wolfe gave a rather forced laugh. "Luckily the kid was pulled away by some smart woman afterwards. It seemed as long as they were out of the way, my own well-being didn't matter much."

He seemed unable to get enough air. One hand went to his throat and he brought it away with a puzzled look at the crimson running down his fingers. Tarrigon stood a few feet away, the blade held at his side. Red eyes were now hard and narrowed as he surveyed his challenger. The green weapon vanished as soon as the man collapsed to his hands and knees, struggling to remain upright.

"Hardly a challenge."

Winston attempted some snappy retort, his arms trembling as he tried to keep from falling. His mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out except a trickle of blood. Tarrigon snorted, bending down and picking up the fallen gun.

"Pitiful," he scoffed, glancing over the weapon with little interest. "You really looked to beat me, didn't you?" The man's arms finally gave out and he hit the pavement with a strangled grunt. The blow hadn't sliced through his windpipe or any of the main arteries that were located there, but being hit in the neck with an ectoplasmic sword wasn't good for one's health, no matter how shallow it cut. He could feel what little strength he had left seeping out with the steady stream of blood. The ghost smirked, taking the gun in both hands, his red eyes flashing. The street was silent and Winston's ragged gasps seemed to echo off the buildings.

"Only human, I suppose."

The metal gave way with a snap as the gun was bent. It took Tarrigon a moment to realize that the ammunition had come free, released from its slightly pressured hold. The dark green liquid caught the ghost on the face and upper chest, contrasting sharply with his own lighter green color. He glanced down at it with a rather puzzled expression as a faint trail of smoke began rising from the surface.

The world had already begun fading, and the sudden infuriated scream echoed painfully in the young man's ears. He attempted to blink as shards of metal clattered once again to the ground. There was a faint tremor, what he could assume was the ghost collapsing, and Winston managed a weak grin before his mind went black. It had worked…

He sighed softly as he managed to bring himself back to the present. Phantom pains nagged at his throat and the irony of the term wasn't lost on the man. He touched the scar idly again, remembering waking up to babbling doctors and what seemed like enough morphine to knock out a horse. It was lucky he had survived, they told him. Lucky whatever hit him didn't sever his windpipe, lucky there had been someone there who had seen to call an ambulance…he hadn't bothered to tell them how he was injured. They wouldn't have believed it. The staff just assumed his mind had blocked out the event and didn't ask too many questions.

"You asked why I wasn't scared of you, Daniel." Brown eyes lifted to the sky briefly and he lowered his hand with some determination. "It takes a lot to scare me these days."

Longest chapter yet whut?

Stupid ending is…well, fairly stupid. XD I once again apologize for the wait!

The credit for Mr. Wolfe's backstory and the name Tarrigon go to Liz, my amazing friend/writing buddy. =3 She comes up with brilliant things in the middle of the night and is the only other person I know who thinks it's awesome to sit on her floor at 2 a.m. and roleplay. LOVE YA LIZ.

Just to make it clear, going out to fight a creepy malicious ghost with a weapon you haven't tested is very very dumb. -nod- Mr. Wolfe was very much an idiot, but at least he didn't die, yes? X3 He's not as stupid now, we hope! (-inserts a 'do no try this at home' subscript-)

SOOO many thanks to my beta reader, Dragondancer123. I would be incoherent without her. 3 And an equal amount of thanks to all of you for being so patient and not killing me for making you wait this long. You know how much I love reviews!

Until next time!

~Waggy