Author's note: If you've seen it on Danny Phantom, I don't own it. Here's to you, Butch!

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

darkflame1516- Thanks for adding me to your favs list. And yes, you did spell Tir's name right.

the sleep warrior- Once again, thank you. When I wrote that twist I was hoping for a reaction like yours. That and it's critical to the story. Kudos!

Chapter 3 (Life and Death) I wasn't sure where I was when I woke up. It was quiet, and I was lying on something soft. I could dimly feel something poking into my arm. I reached over to grab it when my hand was grabbed in turn.

"Ronnie?" I asked hoarsely, "Is that you? Where am I?"

"Tirrell, relax honey. You're going to be in the hospital for a few days, okay? I'll go get you something to eat."

"Okay mom," I replied, recognizing the voice as I lay back down on the bed. I tried opening my eyes, but either they were unresponsive or I had a blindfold of some sort over them. Either way I couldn't see.

I tried to rest for a bit, but for some reason my mind was restless. I felt like there was something that I'd forgotten, something that I'd missed. Then it hit me. My father was dead.

Gone, finito, caput, dead, six feet under, morbid, picking up daisies, au revoir de terre, whatever you want to call it. He was gone, and I would never see him again. I screamed.

I screamed in pain and grief, pain for my family's loss, and grief for the kind, loving father that was no longer upon this mortal coil.

I howled my agony to the high heavens, begging them to take me as well. I roared and shouted and cursed the name of "Danny Phantom," swearing that I would hunt him to the ends of the earth or die trying.

I must have howled pretty loud, because several people, I assume that they were my mom, sister, and any number of doctors and nurses came in to see what on earth was going on. After I had calmed down somewhat and the doctors and nurses had left, I laid down on my bed again.

I heard someone sit down in the chair beside me, and a tray and fork were placed in my hands. As I ate that disgusting hospital food it would dawn on me every few minutes that my father really was dead. And I screamed and hollered every time. I really don't blame the medical staff for not bothering to even enter the room the last couple of times.

"You were barely alive when we found you, Tirrell," mom said in a quiet voice, "I could hardly hear your heartbeat, and your breathing was shallow as the grave." She continued, "We got you here as quickly as we could, which even at the speed we were moving took about four or five hours. Long story short it was dark when they finally got you into this bed."

"Was there some sort of damage to my eyes?" I asked innocently, "Is that why they're covered with this blindfold?" I held a finger to my right eye, and was surprised when I touched bare skin.

"Sweetie, I hate to be the one to tell you this, I really do," she began as a huge knot began to form in my stomach.

"I'll tell him mom. Go have a rest outside," Veronica said. I heard light footsteps leaving the room, slightly muffling the sounds of barely suppressed sobs.

"This might be easier if I tell you. I don't know why, but it might," she paused, not sure of how to say what she was going to say. I have never blamed her for a second for that.

I guessed, "I'm blind, aren't I?" I asked, gently running a hand across my face, feeling warm, tender flesh instead of the gauzy blindfold I had thought I was wearing.

I heard a slight intake of breath, then she replied, "Yes. And I'm afraid it's probably permanent. If you're ever going to gain back any sight at all, it will be very limited."

"I'm sorry," she said, grasping my hand gently, "I know how you must feel about dad dying while you're still alive."

"No, you don't," I replied icily, wrenching my hand from hers. "No one knows what it's like but me. People always tell me that the mother is the parent that induces guilt, while fathers make us feel like idiots."

"Well they couldn't be more wrong. I'm feeling mighty guilty about what happened, even though my presence in that cave when he was murdered probably would have resulted in my own death as well."

"You probably don't know about this, Tir," she began a few minutes after I had finished, "But I've always been an atheist. I never really believed it when people told me that there was a higher being, a life after death."

"Yesterday that all changed. Every second I've been awake since we found you I've prayed and I've prayed that you'd be alive. I still feel really bad about dad's death, but the fact that you're still alive is proof enough for me that there's a higher being."

I was silent as she continued, "Life is a precious thing, Tirrell. Be thankful that you still have it." With that she gave me a kiss on the forehead and left. Normally I would have uttered some sort of rude comment and wiped it off, but in that instance I just lay down and started crying.

In all my fourteen years of life I never cried until that day. I just tried to get all the pain and misery and anger and grief out of my system. If I'd been using a punching bag, by the time I was finished it would have been reduced to a pile of rags.

I must have cried myself to sleep, because when I awoke I could feel sunlight warming me up. I lay there for a few minutes, basking in the warmth of the sun.

After a little while someone, I assumed it was a nurse, came in. "Morning, Mister Morgan," she greeted me. No one had ever called me that before, unless they were ticked with me, and it really didn't feel right.

"Please, just call me Tirrell, or Tir, ma'am," I replied, extending my hand in the direction of her voice.

"And you can call me Miss Suzuki. I'm the emotional and psychological nurse at this hospital." she answered, taking my extended hand and shaking it gently. "So, Tirrell, how are you feeling this morning? Pretty bad? I wouldn't blame you."

"Actually, compared to yesterday, anyway, I'm not feeling half bad. I got most of my anger and frustration and grief out of my system yesterday. I still feel bad, but I still got the majority of it out of my system."

"That's good. The best thing is to always get it all out," she began. "Believe me I know. My favorite uncle was murdered by his wife and her lover nine years ago. I was quite young then, and I believe that the younger you are the easier it is to get rid of all those bad feelings."

"Sorry to hear about it," I replied. I remembered something and said, "Hey wait a minute, I heard about that on the news. Sorry to hear it. It must still hurt though, huh?"

"Yes, but not nearly as much as it did when I first heard about it. Trust me, the pain will never go away, but it will diminish over time. If your father was as good a man as your family says he was, then he would be happy that you've put at least some of that pain behind you."

"Yeah, that sounds like dad," I said, chuckling, "You know he once threw himself in front of a charging bear just to protect his family."

"Really?" she asked wide-eyed, "He sounds like a very brave man indeed." There was a light knock on the door, and the nurse rose from where she had been sitting. "The doctor wishes to see you now. Goodbye."

"sayoonara," I replied as she left the room. Her light, quiet footsteps were soon replaced by heavier, somewhat louder footsteps.

"Konichiwa, Morgan-san," he greeted me, "How are your eyes feeling today?" "Well, they don't hurt at all anymore," I replied.

"Very well then, let us take a look at them shall we?" he began, as I heard the rustling of a lab coat and the slight jingle and clicking of medical equipment.

Mom and Veronica came in again around lunch, with some very important news.

"I'm going to stop with this whole ghost obsession, Tirrell," she began, "Not only did it get your father killed and you permanently blinded, but long before that it was pulling this family apart. I wouldn't be able to keep at it knowing that I was doing that to you two."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked curiously, "From what I remember you've never done anything outside of ghosts."

"You've never heard about what I studied in college, have you?" she asked. "Before I met your father and I was ever even introduced to the concept of ghosts, I was really into the history of the world. The Sumerians, Egyptians, even the Norse, I knew them all, and I admired them. I also studied more recent history, from the American Revolution to the departure of the Voyagers I and II space probes. Those last ones may not seem like history now, but in ten or twenty years that's just what they'll be called."

"To answer your question, I'm thinking of taking up a career as a history teacher, be it Japanese history or otherwise."

I turned in her general direction for a moment before yelling, "Yes! Yes! YES! I have a normal mom with a normal job! Yes! Somebody pinch me I must be dreaming! OW!"

A lone giggle sounded through the room as I ranted, "I didn't mean that literally!"

"Sorry," Ronnie apologized. "I'll go and check with the front desk to see if you can be released anytime soon." I heard the door close as she left, leaving me and mom alone. I could feel tension building as mom fidgeted in her seat.

"Tirrell, I just wanted to apologize," she said, guilt and sincerity obvious in every word.

"No big," I replied, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "I'll get used to being blind. It might just take a little while."

"It's more than that, Tir," she continued, "I wanted to apologize for how I've acted for so long. I was just so engrossed in my research that I never took the time to see how my family was doing and how you all felt. I realize it now, and I realize what I've done wrong."

"Mom," I cut in, not wanting to hear her bull herself into the ground any more. "I don't care about the past anymore. What matters is now. And now is when you've realized what you did. So long as you learn from your mistakes, I won't be mad at you."

"Thanks, sweetie," she replied, kissing me on the forehead just as the doors swung open and, judging from the voice, Veronica burst into the room.

"Tirrell, I just got through with the front desk, and you can leave the hospital today! Also, she wanted me to give you this. We didn't have enough time to search for your dagger." she handed me a small tube with a round ball at the end. I gave it a flick of the wrist, there was a light "shoonk" and I was holding a stick about three feet long.

"So, now I get to carry around a stick everywhere I go, and my blindness will stick out like a sore thumb?" I hesitated a moment, taking in the unease of this situation before saying loudly, "Cool! I get to carry around a stick wherever I go! So when do we leave?" They both breathed a sigh of relief as they got up. I got up, a bit slower, and followed them. I could actually sense them beside me as I walked down the hallway of the hospital and outside.

It was refreshing to have live air moving through my lungs for a change. Ronnie led me to the car, where I know that I surprised her by finding the handle, the right spot to duck my head without hitting the top of the car, and my usual seat.

Actually, just as I was reaching for the handle, I felt as if my hand sort of phased through it. I quickly withdrew my hand, then found the handle and opened the door.

The drive home was more on the uneventful side than the last few days had been. We talked about this and that and the other thing.

When we made it home I found my way up to my room, where I changed into another set of clothes. My head was a bit loopy, so I sat down on my bed and tried to meditate.

There was still something in my head that blocked out my focus. I set my mind on it and concentrated. My focus was intense, because at one point my sister must have entered the room without my knowledge.

Finally, my mind penetrated whatever it was that kept me from focusing. I could feel some sort of strange energy right in the center of my gut. It radiated out from there to my entire body. And then my mind was calm. So calm and quiet that I could actually hear someone else's heartbeat in the room.

I opened my eyes, and I could see! I could see Veronica standing in front of me, slack-jawed. I could see the bathroom door on the opposite side of the hall. I could even see a fly buzzing around just outside my window.

I turned back to Ronnie and asked, "Isn't this great! I can see again!" I stopped dead after I finished saying that. My voice sounded like it had an echo to it. "Did you stick a toilet paper tube down my throat again?" I asked scrutinizingly.

She shook her head, her mouth still hanging open. "You've got a little spittle running down your chin, by the way. What's with you? You look like you've seen a ghost! Wait, did you actually see a ghost?"

This statement seemed to snap her out of her awed silence. "In a manner of speaking. Come with me, and if mom comes, throw yourself in the nearest closet." I looked at her strangely as she said, "Don't ask. Just do it."

I nodded, and she led me to her room. As I entered she closed the door and locked it. She then sat me down in a chair and started rummaging through her junk. After a short while she passed me a mirror.

"This may come as a bit of a shock, so don't scream too loudly." I nodded, then turned the mirror towards my face. And I screamed. I screamed loud and clear.

Eventually I ran out of breath, just as, to my horror, there was a knock on the door. "Tir, Ronnie, is there something wrong? I thought I heard someone scream."

"It's nothing, mom," she replied, "I just got a paper cut, that's all."

"Well, remember to get it bandaged up, okay? Paper cuts are usually non-lethal, but they sting." Ronnie turned back to me, my face still glued to the mirror. My face had gone white, although that may have just been from sheer surprise.

My eyes were a bright gold, with flecks of light green running through them. My skin was pretty much the same, maybe a bit lighter, but my hair was an electric blue. I looked down at the rest of me. I was dressed in a rather cool-looking white ninja guise, with the fabric held tight at my wrists and ankles by strips of white cloth, gloves and skin-tight shoes for an enhanced grip.

I looked at my waist, which was bound by a black sash, and saw a sheathed blade thrust through it. I withdrew the weapon, sheath and all, from my sash and held it for a moment.

"Could it be?" I thought to myself as I looked along the side of the now white sheath, and saw my name written in Japanese, though now in blue. The pommel of the weapon had changed from ruby to sapphire, and the pattern of the sharkskin had reversed out.

"Well, this is interesting," I said almost indifferently. "The only thing that I need now is-" My sight was momentarily stifled as I felt something slide up over my head and cover my face.

Then I was looking through large eye-holes. As I lifted the mirror to my face again Veronica said, "a ninja mask?"

"Exactly," I replied, looking at my now impressive reflection in the mirror. "Man, if I wasn't so freaked out by this, this would be pretty cool."

"But what am I?" I asked out loud.

"I don't know," Veronica said, looking at me curiously, "But I think it may have to do with whatever happened to you in that cave. What happened in there? Tell me everything that you remember."

"Okay, let's see..." I began right before I heard dad's screams, and ended after I lost consciousness. "So, you never actually saw where you ended up when you fell, right?" she asked.

I shook my head, and she continued, "So by accident you could have ended up landing in the ghost portal, right?" I nodded again, though somewhat hesitantly this time.

She walked over to one of her dresser drawers and withdrew a small volume. I walked over as she sat down on her bed and started flipping pages, until she came to a page marked "The Ghost Portal: Fact or Fiction?"

"I've been reading up on some of this stuff, despite how I feel about it. This is it, Tirrell," she said seriously, "It says here: "A ghost portal is, theoretically speaking, a link between this world and the Ghost Zone, an ectoplasmic opposite to ours. It is not known what would happen to a human if they were to travel through a Ghost Portal, but ghosts appear to be able to travel through these portals to our world unaffected. Results remain inconclusive."

Tirrell, whether you like it or not, I think that you are the result of the crossing of a living person into a ghost portal. It is possible that the part of you that's active now is actually one of the living dead."

I just sat there, stunned. At one point I seemed to be growing shorter, then I looked down and realized that I was actually phasing through the bed. I pulled myself back to my feet as Ronnie started giggling.

"I have got to learn how to control these "ghost powers," or whatever they are," I said, "Starting with trying to change back to how I was before. By the way, who wrote that book anyway?"

"That section at least was written by... Vlad Masters, about five years ago. Well, how did you change into a ghost in the first place?" she asked, now momentarily startled as I disappeared entirely from sight.

"Well, as you saw, I meditated. I tried to calm my mind but there was this tiny bit of unrest in my head that I just couldn't get out until this happened."

"Well, try meditating again, that might do it," she offered. I nodded and sat down on her bed. I tried clearing my mind again, though this time it took much shorter for me to find that slight unease. As soon as I struck it I felt that same surge of energy, and when I opened my eyes again, everything was dark.

"How are your eyes?" she asked curiously. I waved a hand in front of my face. Nothing. Not even the slightest flicker.

"Non-functional, as before," I said, my voice back to normal, lowering my head in depression. "Think I should try practicing my phase-shift for the rest of the day. Is that such a bad idea?"

"No, of course not," she replied, taking me by my shoulders and lifting me to my feet, "So long as you do it in your room and lock your door."

"Wait," I said, stopping in my tracks, "You mean that I shouldn't let mom know about this now? Then when?"

"After you've gained better control of your powers," she replied, shoving me out the door.

I went to my room, and spent the entire afternoon phase-shifting between my human and ghost forms. After a few hours I didn't even need to meditate in order to shift. I actually looked down at myself after a little bit to see what the change looked like.

First, a little electric-blue and white ball formed around my middle, then it shifted and expanded outwards in a ring, sort of like a star going nova.

It was then that I realized that what I had put on was hideous, even by my standards, so in ghost form I found a good pair of green slacks and my almost trademark black hoodie with the red skull on the front.

One good thing about Ayamatzu High was that they, unlike many Japanese schools, do not have set uniforms. Not that I'd be complaining if they did. The skirts that some of those girl uniforms have, nice! Plus, I've tried on one of the male uniforms before, and I look pretty good in one.

Anyway, just as I was slipping on my hoodie, mom called me and Ronnie down to the dining room for supper. We had a meal of foot-long, BBQ-style tender spare ribs.

Just before the meal, mom raised her glass and tapped it gently with some sort of kitchen utensil. The slight ringing caught our attention, and she rose. "I would like to propose a toast," she declared, "To new beginnings, and new possibilities." Ronnie and I exchanged glances as she continued, "To a wonderful late husband, a kind, loving daughter, and a loyal, tolerant son. Also to life, life which we once took for granted. Life which has passed from our knowledge. And the life that we now so deeply cherish."

"Cheers," Ronnie and I replied, lightly clinking our cups against mom's. We ate heartily, talking animatedly the whole time.

We must have sat there and talked for some time, because long after we finished we were still talking. Eventually, mom gave out a hearty yawn, then told us to go to bed.

I went up to my room, finding my way there quite easily, even without the use of my staff. I was asleep within a few moments.

Note: I know that when one is first struck blind, it takes possibly years to gain the heightened senses we all hear so much about. This was no normal incident however. Some of Tirrell's ghost powers seeped into his human form, excluding sight, however.