Author: Okay, so we last left off with Andy and Jazz finding out about Danny's little secret. I'll bet you're wondering what happens now, right? Surely Andy will be much more accepting now that he knows, right?

Andy: ...

Author: ... Right?

Andy: ...

Author: Err... just find out while you read.

Chapter 21: My Brother's a Ghost!

What just… happened? One moment I saw my brother… and the next he was replaced by Phantom… no… it couldn't be… my brother can't be… he can't be a ghost! That would imply that he's dead and he's not dead! I didn't notice Jazz talking to Tucker and Sam… in fact I didn't notice anything around me… I was in shock, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened… it kept replaying itself over and over again in my head.

My brother's a ghost… my brother's a ghost… my brother is a freaking GHOST!

"Andy! Wake up!" I flinched when Jazz suddenly grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me up. "Just breathe, relax…" she said gently to me.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack… "J-Jazz… what I just saw… that didn't really happen, r-right? I was only seeing things, right?" I asked desperately.

I couldn't remember much of anything after that… I think Jazz was looking through the window or something, but honestly my mind was too lost in a jumble mess… how could my brother be a ghost!?

"Andy… Andy come on, we better get home." I vaguely remember hearing my sister's voice telling me, but I was honestly lost in my jumbled mind. I think she helped me up and drove me home, but I was still too much in shock.

I finally snapped out of it by the time I was already sitting on the couch beside Jazz. If Danny is a ghost then… doesn't that mean he's d-de... d-d-dead? I suddenly felt like throwing up! My stomach felt like it was about to release all its contents.

"A-Andy! Breathe, try to relax! It's a big shock I know but… just relax." Jazz said quickly and gently, rubbing my back.

I had to put my hand on my mouth, scared that I actually would throw up… Jazz had to lead me into the bathroom. After a minute or two I actually did throw up… yeah, the shock of the news became too much for me and I couldn't take it. I felt Jazz rubbing my back as I continued to release my stomach's contents. Ugh… I feel so sick…

Finally, what felt like hours but was probably only ten minutes, I stopped, but the tears began falling. Jazz helped me get cleaned up before we head back down to the living room, where we sat on the couch. My stomach still hurts though.

"Andy… I know how you feel… he's my brother too." She said gently to me.

"B-but Jazz… if he's a ghost… doesn't that mean he's dead?" I asked through the tears.

Jazz frowned and started twiddling her fingers, she was just as worried and unsure as I was about that, "I always thought ghosts were just a myth… and that when someone dies you don't really see their spirits." She said finally, but that wasn't a 'yes' or a 'no'.

"…" I was afraid to ask my next question… but I had to. "… But he's dead, right? Is he going to Heaven soon?" I remembered as a little kid I would ask my Mom this question… if we die where would we go? Mom just smiled and said while most ghosts would end up in the Ghost Zone, if we have faith and believed in God we would go to Heaven… or at least, move on to Heaven… there is another place that nobody would want to go to, but I rather not say.

Anyway… after I asked Jazz this, she looked even more nervous.

"I don't know, Andy… maybe… Maybe we need to accept he's a ghost now… It's time to let him go." She said sadly.

I shook my head, "But I don't want to let my brother go… not yet… not like this…"

"But this must've been what happened after the accident…" she started.

I finished, "The accident that killed him… that's what he, Tucker and Sam have been hiding from us all this time… hiding the fact our brother is a ghost… that he's… dead…" I grabbed my forehead as more tears kept spilling out. "I-I should've known! I-I should've been there t-to stop it! H-how c-could w-we not have s-seen it s-sooner!? Th-that three months ago w-we LOST OUR BROTHER!?" I all but shouted near the end.

"Andy! Calm down!" Jazz yelled to get me to stop. I did stop yelling… but I couldn't stop crying… my twin… my other half of my soul… is gone… he's dead… there's no sugar coding it; he's a ghost, the accident killed him… he was that Phantom kid I kept seeing… my brother is dead.

Suddenly we heard the door open, I quickly buried my face into the pillow… just in case it was my dead brother walking in… I didn't want him to know that we found out. "P-please… don't tell him, Jazz." I said weakly.

I don't think Danny noticed us, or if he did he wasn't really in the best of moods, because he just walked into the kitchen to get something to eat. My dead brother… still eats… I almost choked at that.

"Wh-what should we Jazz? I don't want to lose him…" I asked my sister weakly.

But you've already lost him

I shake my head from that dark thought. Jazz frowned a bit, "Well… maybe he's not completely lost to us yet… he's still here and he still talks, eats and sleeps like when he was alive. Maybe he's not… dead?"

I shook my head… ghosts are people who had died, there's no other way around it. "He's not human, Jazz, the way he flew off proved that."

"Well… maybe… but I'm going to talk to him. You're welcome to join me." She said softly to me.

"No… I don't think I can face him right now… just don't tell him we know." I said and she nodded in understanding.

I heard Jazz sighing before leaving the couch. I didn't know what to do… really, I don't… how could I talk to my brother knowing he's dead? How could I have not known he had died since the accident? Why didn't he tell me himself? I… I don't know how to deal with this… I knew death was inevitable for all living creatures… I just wish Danny's hadn't come so soon…

I remember Mom and Dad testing the Ghost Peeler and completely destroyed a table, but I just walked up to my room… I wanted to be left alone for the time being… I wanted to let it go before my dead brother comes up and sees me like this… he wouldn't want me to be sad in his passing after all.

I put my face down in the pillow, not really sure what to do. I've been repeating that haven't I? I can't help it! I'm just so desperate and lost! Should I mourn for his passing? But he's still here… isn't he? I can talk to him, I can touch him… and yet… he's a ghost…

… I'm not sure how long it's been but it was starting to get dark. I sat up and went to the computer on my desk. I don't know if I should cry, scream, or be relieved my brother is even still here, but… I want to do a little more research about ghosts and how they can appear human and still be in this world.

The pages themselves talks about ghosts as being spirits of people who have passed on, others say they're demonic spirits that haunt this world and its people… some even say they're actually pure energy over matter and that's why they can fly and go through things. There are a lot of different theories and I'll spare you the long and boring details of them all. But the main thing is my brother's a ghost and it means… he's dead.

Once someone's dead they're dead, that's it, end of story. But… Danny's still here even if he is a ghost… maybe there's still a chance I could… bring him back? Even if there's a slim chance I want to bring him back, but how? How could one turn a ghost and back into a living being?

"Unless I could go back in time or things like Dragon Balls are real, there's no way I can bring my brother back." I muttered sadly.

I closed out of the Internet… I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Tears kept ushering out of my eyes… the more I think about it the tighter my lungs felt… I still can't make it out… is he dead or alive?

"Andy? Bro?" I almost jumped but quickly hide my head under the pillow, hoping he would think I was asleep. There's no way I want to face him now, let alone talk to him, until I can get my thoughts sorted out after this mess.

"… You're already asleep?" I heard Danny sighing… my dead brother is sighing… he's talking… I'm still in shock, sorry about the repeats folks. "Jazz told me you'd be up here… I was hoping to talk to you about something but… I guess that'll have to wait seeing that you're sleeping."

I waited until I heard him lying down on his bed, turning off the lights. How am I going to sleep knowing a ghost is right next to me, even if he is my brother? Mom and Dad always said that a ghost is a post human consciousness that have no conscience, they do whatever they want and cause trouble for the living because they are jealous that they are missing something that we living beings have… and no matter how nice or kind hearted they were before they will be evil once they're ghosts left behind in this forsaken world.

"You need to let your brother go."

"Maybe we need to accept him as a ghost… maybe it's time to let him go."

"Your brother is destined for great things, Andrew. Can you keep up with him?"

Those voices… they're right… I do need to let him go… and I can't keep up with him if he's dead… but I don't want to let him go… he still means too much to me.

"… I'm sorry about keeping you in the dark… I wish I didn't but I don't know how to tell you, bro." I heard Danny speaking, though I think he thinks I'm asleep. "I mean… you'd probably do more than just freak out and… I don't know, but just give me some time… I'll tell you someday, bro."

After what felt like hours to me, I heard Danny's soft breathing… he must be asleep… can ghosts sleep? I have so many questions… I'm not sure if my brother's dead or alive now. I decided to test it… if he is dead then he doesn't need to breath and his skin would be pale, he would be very cold and no heart beat. I slowly turned to him on his bed, I slowly sat up and walked as quietly as I could over to him. Thankfully the floor isn't squeaky so it wasn't too hard to sneak over him. Danny is sort of a light sleeper, or at least he has been lately, I just hope I can do this without waking him.

When I was finally close enough I decided to check for any signs of breathing. I can see his chest moving up and down… it's clear that he does breathe… and his skin hasn't changed that much though he does look a bit pale… now for the hard part; seeing if he's really cold and listen for a heartbeat. I had to touch him and hope he doesn't wake up, or this will be a very awkward situation and really hope he doesn't get the wrong idea.

I slowly brought my hand closer to his forehead… he rolled over and that almost made me jump! Okay, just calm down… Try again. I slowly put my hand over his forehead… yes, he's cold, very cold. That's not a good sign… I took my hand away… now how to listen for a heartbeat without waking him? That's gonna be a bit… tricky. I could try to listen for it by ramming my ear on his chest but… that would probably wake him. I need… something like a… stethoscope.

… Do I even have something like that? Hmm… I guess I could try to feel for a pulse. I put my fingers on the back of his neck… good, he's not waking up… okay I could feel a heartbeat, that's good, but it's slow… it indicates he's alive but… how can he be a ghost yet still be alive?

I looked at him for a couple of minutes longer before shaking my head and turning to the door and walking out. I head straight for the lab downstairs and looked over at the portal… it's what took my brother away from me. I stared at the portal for a while… not sure how long but I just couldn't look away. I found myself replaying the accident in my head, I may not have been there to witness it myself but I had dreams of it through Danny's eyes… he walked in, tripped on a wire and pushed a button against the wall and turn it on… it zapped him and… k-k-killed him…

But wait… could he really be dead? He still had a pulse… he still breathed… but then again what if he could make it look like he could do that in his… human disguise? What if he really is dead but could somehow still take the flesh form of my once living brother? Is such a thing possible? Perhaps his body dropped dead and his spirit is still able to possess it like a meat puppet… but then he still shouldn't be breathing or have a heartbeat… argh! This whole thing is too confusing for me! I know I said I love a good mystery but this is beyond anything I've ever seen or heard of before!

I traced my hand on the outer shell of the portal… Danny's skin was unnaturally cold… and his pulse was a lot slower than what's considered healthy, especially for a 14 year old boy like him… just listen to me! I'm speaking like I'm not even his age! Okay… tomorrow I'm going to wear a hoodie and cover my face with it… perhaps if I just follow him discreetly and observe his… ghost form… like a stranger I could understand more of what he is, whether he's alive or dead. I just hope… I don't end up regretting it in the end.

Don't ask me how I was able to get any sleep at all last night… I just remember getting back to bed and… I guess I blacked out, probably from all the stress from that day. The next thing I knew; Danny was waking me up.

"Yo bro! Wake up! Geez, I never knew you could be such a heavy sleeper." he joked as I blinked opened my heavy eyes and almost jolted when I saw him just hovering over my face, remembering that he's a ghost, but managed to hold myself back.

"D-Danny?" I really hope what I saw yesterday was only a dream and that he is not a ghost but still alive and human. "What… what time is it?"

"It's about 7:00, if we don't book it soon we're going to be late for school!" he said and I sighed and nodded… right… school. More of that Spirit Week that's turning into a Depressing Week for just about everyone in school.

I mean seriously, Dash is falling back into depression quicker than I can bring him out of it! Valerie is now self conscious about herself worrying too much about material possessions, Kwan believes he'll grow up old, broke and alone and even Paulina has me feeling sorry for her; she's wearing way too much make-up! Sad to say even I'm starting to feel… depressed myself… but it's mostly because of the possibility my brother is dead! That's not something that's easy to stay happy about!

"Uh… is it me or is this the worse Spirit Week of the Casper High Spirit Week?" I heard Sam say… huh… when did we get to school? I must've spaced out… Did I even walk? Or maybe I was just taking the bus… whatever, everything is just a blur now. I could only focus on my brother right now… and I hope he hadn't noticed.

My body was on automatic as it opened the locker and picked up my textbook

"Andy… are you okay? You don't… seem like yourself." Sam said and almost made me flinch… I had forgotten that I was here with them since I'm use to hiding and eavesdropping on them.

"I'm fine… I think." I said, though to be honest I felt… scared, worried and very anxious, for what I don't know, but I don't like it. "I just feel a bit… numb is all." I finished.

"Numb? As in you can't feel anything at all? Then how are you standing?" Tucker joked.

"Very funny." I grumbled.

"Bro… you have been acting kinda down lately… is something wrong? You seemed okay yesterday. Okay I know I pushed you onto Tucker and Sam like that yesterday, but that shouldn't upset you too much, right?" Danny said to me… my dead brother said to me.

"…Nothing's wrong… you just go on about your business while I just carry on." I said finally, not wanting to tell them what's been troubling me, no need to rain on their parade when it's my problem…

"Bro… I can tell when you're upset…" Danny said softly as he put a hand on my shoulder… his skin still felt cold.

"I'm fine… I just need to be alone right now."

"Dude, you've been alone for about three months, are you sure?" Tucker asked.

"I'm sure… there's just… something I need to think about right now." I said weakly.

"Alright bro…" Danny finally said and I walked away. But in truth I just hid behind the wall… I need to know… just what he does. What have he, Tucker and Sam have been hiding from me… I put my hood over my face as it makes it easier to get around if people don't know who you are.

"Geez, compared to Andy and everyone else around here I'm the goth bird of happiness." Sam said.

"Yeah, and to make matters worse we still have to sit and listen to Jazz's idiotic speech when she puts the 'I' back in spirit, what the heck is she so happy about?" Danny grumbled… yeah, Jazz does look pretty happy, but why? I mean yesterday she was as troubled as I was about it! What changed her mind?

"But… don't you think it's odd? I mean Sam and I were the only ones who didn't have a session with Dr. Spectra and we're pretty happy compared to everyone else who did." Tucker mentioned.

Then Danny suddenly figured something… please, I hope so, somebody kick that witch out of the office already!

"Wait minute! Let me see something." Danny took Tucker's PDA from his pocket and turned it on… apparently Tucker took an embarrassing picture of him.

"Um… I was going to delete that." He said sheepishly.

Danny frowned a bit but said, "Glad you didn't, look at that. I kept thinking I was seeing my own breath, that it was cold, but what if it was my ghost sense? What if Spectra knew this and always made everything cold so I wouldn't figure it out? What if she's making people more miserable on purpose? What if… she's a ghost?"

… Why I never thought Spectra was a ghost was beyond me. Of course! It all makes sense now! Why she feeds on misery, gah I'm an idiot! But… this is the perfect opportunity to watch what my dead brother does that he keep leaving me out of.

When Sam and Tucker went to have an appointment with Spectra they came out looking miserable… yup, that about clenches it.

I would watch, but Danny's going to be invisible and I rather not watch Spectra and possibly Bertrand eating their… misery. That is gross… anyway, I just kept walking. I probably should head for the auditorium right now, but I really don't feel up for the spirit speech. Still… I have to talk to Jazz… how could she be so happy knowing our brother is dead?

I brought down my hood when I saw her in the auditorium, the place was still getting students in there but they all looked so… lifeless. Yikes… Spectra really did a number on this school, not that I have any room to talk, can't say I'm feeling 'pumped up full of spirit' right now.

"Jazz, we need to talk." I said and she looked over at me.

"It's about our brother, right?" she asked and I nodded.

"Yeah… Jazz I-" her watch suddenly beeped.

"Oh, we'll have to talk later. I have to get ready, we can talk about it after this is over, okay? Just enjoy the Spirit Sparklers." She said to me and she almost seemed… distracted and I don't mean about the spirit speech she's about to give. She seems to be… thinking about Danny too, but in a different way than I am… something's wrong with that girl.

I sighed as I sat down on the bench and waited. I sat beside Tucker and Sam but these two looked pretty much as lifeless as everyone else here.

"Hey, are you two okay?" I asked them, bored and didn't want to be alone with my thoughts right now.

"My technology… is controlling my life. I'm gonna become an old man with nothing left… no friends… family… nobody but a small piece of metal will care about me." Tucker said miserably.

Aww… poor Tuck, being hurt by his own love. I turned to Sam and she frowned, "I must always live the life in the shadows… my parents don't care about me, they only care about a role model perfect little child."

… Yeah, Spectra really got them good. What am I supposed to do? How can I cheer them up? I don't like seeing them like this. "Hey, cheer up already, nobody knows what the future holds for us and Sam, of course your parents love you, why do you think they're always so overprotective of you?"

Sam shook her head, "If they really loved me they wouldn't constantly suffocate me like that!"

"My future is down the drain, I know it is." Tucker cried.

… What am I doing? How can I cheer either of them up when I can't even cheer myself up? My brother's dead and my friends are wallowing in self pity. This does not bode well.

Jazz finally walked over to the podium… after Lancer took pom-poms from the cheerleaders to try in a failed attempt to bring spirit back to us… yeah, like I said FAILED attempt. I couldn't help but notice the 'Spirit Sparklers' all looked like they were pointing at Jazz…

I tuned out what Jazz was saying but I did hear her mention about the dominoes. I don't know why but I felt… anxious, like once that last domino falls something bad will happen. I restrained myself though, just as the last domino fell and hit the button, and suddenly the 'Spirit Sparklers' were glowing red and were still pointing at Jazz… that's no sparkler… THOSE ARE LASERS! JAZZ! I was about to jump down at her but I won't make in time! However she suddenly vanished… I mean into thin air, just before the lasers vaporized the podium.

"JAZZ!" I yelled.

Everyone else was looking around in confusion, what just happened? I ran to the burnt ashes of what's left of the podium… I saw her just… wait… I think she… is it possible that the ghost of my brother saved her? So… he still has his hero complex even in death. But… where did he take her? He's not… taking her with him to Heaven is he? I don't want to lose both of them… then again… why would he save her if he was planning on doing that?

"Calm yourselves! I'm sure Jasmine is just fine!" Mr. Lancer shouted across the noisy Gym, I guess everyone got worked up over this. "It was her disappearing act!" he blurted out.

Everyone stared at him for a minute before they suddenly smiled and started cheering and chanting her name.

I blinked when I saw Danny suddenly on the bleachers beside Tucker and Sam… and Mr. Lancer came back with Jazz, she smiled as she waved to everyone. I was just relieved she was okay. And… it almost seems like everyone's spirit came back, they all seem so joyful again… well… everyone except me. I was happy Jazz was safe but… that doesn't change the fact that my brother is a ghost…

Later, that night, when we were back home, I found Jazz looking out the window in her room. I walked over and saw she was watching Danny flying through the sky looking carefree. Jazz looked pretty content too and even… a little proud.

"Jazz…"

"Oh Andy, I didn't hear you come in."

"… How can you be so happy that our brother is flying out there as a ghost?" I demanded.

Jazz frowned, "Andy… just because he's a ghost doesn't mean he's dead. He's still here, he's still alive, and he's still our brother. He's just a brother with… ghost powers and he uses them to protect the city, like a super hero."

I shook my head, "A super hero is usually mutated or born with different kinds of powers. But… Danny is a GHOST, a spirit from the human body that leaves the body once they are dead. That portal accident killed him Jazz!" I didn't mean to yell but I was on borderline of hysteria.

"Andy, just calm down."

"No! Our brother's a ghost, Jazz! DEAD! He may still be here and he may still talk to us like he's actually still alive, but he's not Jazz, not anymore." I turned away and walked out. I hadn't mean to yell at her or sound harsh, but I couldn't understand why she was so happy about this… I walked outside, putting my hood back up. I wanted to watch him fly freely while I'm trapped here, wondering how to plan his funeral.

"Why didn't you tell me before, bro?" I asked myself. "I was forced to find out myself… and now that I do… who can I talk to about it? Jazz doesn't seem to understand the grave situation anymore… and I can't talk to you about it… unless you want to talk to me about it. I already made that promise." I kicked a pebble on the side-walk. "I… I don't want to let you go, bro… we've always been together… there must be some way to bring you back…" I didn't tell anyone… but I cried that night and kept silently crying all night, my dead brother remaining blissfully unaware of my discovery… and suffering.

Author: Poor Andy... the boy's just suffering a lot isn't he? ... Speaking of which, he uh... had to go home early. Yeah, I think this chapter really made him sick. So uh... Yeah, so Andy finds out his brother's secret... doesn't mean he's all that willing to accept it. He now feels nobody truly understands anymore, not even Jazz, so he feels alone and abandoned. The poor boy... will things go better for him? Or... will he end up doing something drastic? Please leave a comment on what you think is going to happen with Danny and Andy, I would love to hear your ideas. Until then... I'll see you next time!