When Danerik opened his eyes again, the sun was just rising, and Desiree was slowly getting to her feet. He stood as well, then clasped a hand to his head.

"Ahh, Desiree…" He swayed uncertainly as his balance shifted.

"Wait…how do you know my name? Oh, right. Megalomaniac rage, shouting, blah, blah, blah…there is one thing you should know."

"My head…what happened."

"Um…you have black hair. And blue eyes."

"What?" He tried desperately to pull his short bangs down to his eyes, but as usual, they were too short.

"Don't go crazy. Here."

Again, she pulled a mirror from behind her back and handed it to Danerik. He sighed and looked over his now human body, from his eyes down to his reappeared feet. "At least I'm…human again. I think. Am I human?"

"Yes. I'm very certain." She said almost reverently. "That means…you are a Halfling!"

"A whating?"

"Halfling. Half human, half….well, half ghost."

"Ghost?"

"I suppose you deserve to know, now that you are one of us. Some people, when they die, remain linked to the earth. These go to the Ghost Zone, where we just were. Apparently, you created an opening, a link from your world to the Ghost Zone. You, my dear boy, were caught in the energies and now…a Halfling."

"So…how do I be a…a ghost?"

Casually, Desiree leaned against an invisible wall and examined her fingernails. "I suppose I could teach you…the basics, at least. After all, you opened the portal from the Ghost Zone to this world, for which I am extremely grateful. You probably have different powers than I do, but…"

"Does that mean I have to go back again?"

"To ghost? Yes, I'm afraid so. Do you remember, um, exactly how you did…whatever you did?"

"Weren't you watching?"

"Afraid not. I was somewhat weak and tired from expending a gargantuan amount of energy to created a small portal. That tends to interrupt your focus. Oh, and if you haven't realized, this is one of the few things I can't teach you about."

"Duh. But with other…powers or whatever, do you have to concentrate-"

"You are simply transferring, or occasionally absorbing, energy from yourself to your environment. Umm…to put it simply, yes, there is a fair amount of concentration. My power is greatest when someone wishes for an exhibit of power, as a sort of reflex, but you…"

"So I just have to concentrate on going ghost? And then I should just…poof?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It could have been a one time deal, or you could actually be the first Halfling in existence. The only way to find out is to try."

Danerik stood straighter, closing his eyes and breathing slowly in an almost meditation-like state. His breath hitched as a beam of light appeared around his waist, and swept over him. Bright green eyes turned to Desiree. "So, did I do it?"

"Can't you tell?" Her eyes were wide with astonishment. "It was amazing! Unlike anything I've ever seen, and living in the Ghost Zone, that is quite a bit."

Danerik was speechless, looking at his form once again.

"Do you want to try changing back now? Just to make sure you don't have to be…unconscious to return to human form. It could get very annoying if I had to hit you every time."

"I suppose." Repeating the process, Danerik swayed a bit from the change in equilibrium. Accounting for the fact that ghosts were practically weightless, suddenly becoming solid matter left Danerik slightly dizzy. Looking up to Desiree, he asked, "What's my first lesson?"

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This chapter ended up being really long, and in order to update as often as possible I made it two chapters. Please don't die of suspense. That would be sad.