So, thank you to everyone who reviewed and read and everything, you give me motivation, especially when you yell at me to continue with this, so thanks for that. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this lil thing and have a great day.

I slumped into the rickety wicker chair. The backrest of the chair had been mostly burned away by experiments gone awry and the usual wear and tear. In front of my seat, a plate was filled with eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. Beside my plate, a glass of some sort of glowing green substance, ectoplasm, bubbled softly, the smell soaring through me and making me feel fuzzy.

Mom was bustling around the kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of lunch and breakfast. "Go ahead and drink the ectoplasm. You need it." She smiled at me as I reached for the glass and took a sip.

The taste felt like it was dancing down my tongue and throat. The bubbles popped and tickled my mouth. The lemony flavor almost sizzled across my tongue. My eyes drifted shut and I let the sensation of flying pass through me, lime-flavored pins and needles racing through me, electrifying my nerves. I moaned in delight at the feeling. It felt like something inside me had been filled. Something I hadn't even realized was missing. I was starving.

I came back to reality when I heard Mom chuckle. It sounded warped and distant, but I opened my eyes and focused on my surroundings.

"What?" She stopped laughing, and looked at me, a knowing grin on her face.

"Is it good?" My eyes opened wider and I blushed.

"It's alright." That only made her laugh more.

"Do you want more?" My eyes shifted downward, I nodded. She giggled and poured another glass of ectoplasm.

"Where did you get this?"

"Oh, the ghost you attacked earlier. It destabilized and liquefied. We were able to save a lot of it so we can feed it to you." I bit my lip and drank the rest of the ectoplasm.

"Sooo, you wanted to talk?"

"Oh, yeah. Uhm…" She paused for a few moments, thinking about what she would say. "Your body has changed. It's different now, so there's a few things you need to do….differently."
"Oh my god is this the Talk. Again?"

"No, this isn't the Talk. Well, I suppose it is, but this one's new. You're half ghost, and were meant to be a predator to ghosts. That means that you have special… features. You digestive system is different. You have two stomachs. One human, and one ghost. Your ghost stomach is phase-proof, meaning that ghosts can't escape it. At all. Unfortunately, this also means you can't throw anything up from this stomach either. That would be a way for a ghost to escape. If your ghost stomach gets human food inside, we just have to dilute it with probably a gallon of ectoplasm. If ectoplasm gets into your human stomach, you can just throw that up."

"Wait- but, how do I control that? I mean, do I have to think about which stomach I want to use before I swallow anything?"

"No, no. Your sense of smell and taste can detect what it is you're eating, and your epiglottis in the back of your throat can cover up the right thing so it doesn't fall down the wrong one. It'll be like choking"

"If the food can't be diluted with ectoplasm, we'll have to surgically remove it. Luckily, we've got the proper tools right in the basement to do that. " she smiled warmly at me. It was unnerving, given what she just said, but I shakily smiled back.

"Now, we're going to want to keep you full of ectoplasm so you don't want to go off and hunt for yourself. But the urge to hunt and the need to eat are different. So you'll want to go hunting, even when you're full. It's like a cat chasing a string. You don't need to, but you do anyway. But being full will probably stifle that a bit. Any questions?"

I shook my head, feeling numb. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to be a normal teenager, go out, have fun, ignore the world, but no. I get to eat ghosts and enjoy it.

"Let's go down to the lab, I've got some tests I need to run."
"Painful tests?" I asked worriedly. Mom shook her head vigorously.

"No. We'd never hurt you intentionally, Danny. Never." She stood and helped me up, dragging me down to the lab. The metal steps echoed beneath our feet with each step. The lemony smell of ectoplasm from the portal filled the air. I sniffed the air, breathing in the magical smell.

Mom sat me down on a lab table and plopped herself down in a rolling chair.

"So your claws, can I see them?" I glanced down at my hands, flexing the first knuckle and allowing the long, scalpel-shaped claws to stick out.

"Your claws are designed for slicing and cutting, not for grabbing and pulling, like a cat's claws are. They aren't hooked or anything, so you can't just dig your claws in and drag the ghost around. They're like fingernails, so they'll keep growing. We're going to have to cut and file them down so you can still hide them in your fingers. They're pretty fragile, so they might fall out or break. They'll grow pretty quickly. You can retract them."

I winced a little as the claws slid back into place in my sensitive fingertips. "The sensitivity should wear off pretty soon. You'll be able to use them without any pain then. Fangs please."

I opened my mouth and flicked my fangs from their folded position on the roof of my mouth. "Your fangs are similar to a snake's fangs. They're designed to hold venom. They're designed for injecting venom rather than actually biting, so I would avoid trying to drag your prey around by your mouth-"
"Wait- I'm venomous now?"

"Yes… It's only effective on ghosts. It's just a tranquilizer. You're more or less immune to it in small doses. If you do start being affected by how much venom leaks out of your fangs, we might have to milk you…" she stared at my fangs with a pensive look on her face.

"What?!" My yell startled her out of her thoughts and she shook her head.

"Sorry. Snakes are usually milked of their venom so if they bite anyone, the person isn't poisoned and the snake isn't drooling venom everywhere. There's a chance that you might make too much on accident and it'll just end up everywhere and you might fall asleep."
"Why is it called milking though? It makes me sound like a cow." She snorted and giggled.

"I don't know why. Ask snake owners. Anyway, the venom isn't instant. It'll take a few minutes for your prey to fall asleep, depending on how much you dosed them with and the ghost's power level. Both your claws and your fangs are phase proof, so you don't have to worry about your prey escaping because of that."

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "How are you feeling? Overwhelmed yet?"

"Mom, I've been overwhelmed since you started talking, but I think the whole venom thing really pushed it." She chuckled and patted my leg.

"Do you want to stop? We can just relax for the rest of the day, pick this back up tomorrow."

I sighed loudly, nodding in agreement. "Yes please. I've had enough life-shattering news for one day, thank you very much."

Her eyes shifted downward guiltily. "I-I'm sorry this happened, Danny. I know you're scared."

It was silent for a minute. I opened my mouth, hesitating to ask the question and hear the answer. "You- you said that a condition of you being able to raise me was- was that you could keep me if I stayed human. I'm not human anymore. So, what-" I was cut off by Mom wrapping her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry, Danny. I'm sorry this whole thing is happening, I'm just-" a sob caught in her throat. "We're your parents. You're our son. We'd never give you up. But this means-" she took a shuddering breath. "-it means that you can't let anyone you wouldn't trust with your life know about you. If you want to stay with us, no one can tell. Alright?"

"So I take it that means I can't tell Jazz…" I smiled slyly and looked up at Mom.

"Danny!"