Vlad Master was sitting in his study. He was trying to get some of his paperwork done. This was only but one of his mayorly tasks, a job that requires the attentive focus of a well-rounded individual. This is usually how he spends his weekdays along with his weekends. That is when he isn't doing experiments in his lab or watching soap operas with his cat, he calls her Maddie. Normally his mildly brilliant mind was racing around, playing with schemes that he could one day, and trying to get his ordinary responsibilities out of the way as quickly as possible so he could implement spend more time with his 'important jobs.' This was not the case on this particular pleasantly warm summer day. His focus was waning and he had no desire to be cooped up in a room on this beautiful day. Although, what else could he do? He didn't have a family or a life or anything that would set him apart from a pitiful man. So, he was stuck, putting no effect into his mundane tasks while stroking the fur ball that burrowed its way onto his lap.
His fuzzy lap cat's ears twitch, appearing to have heard something. She decided not to stay long enough to figure out what the noise was, so she scampered out the door.
Eyes still on the desk full of paper, Vlad groaned while rubbing his temples. "You better have a good reason for interrupting my work, Skulker." He rasped through gritted teeth.
"You were the one who told me that if 'anything eventful ever happens in the ghost zone to report it to you immediately,' so I don't see what you're complaining about." quoted a voice from below stated matter-of-factly. "I am simply here to fulfill that request." The face of Skulker poked his head up through the floor, soon to be followed by his bulky body.
Vlad looked up from hunching over his desk. He wasn't going to lie; his sense for curiosity was leaving him intrigued. Usually nothing out of the ordinary ever happens in the ghost zone besides the usual strangeness because the ghost only pay mind to their own business. "And?"
"Well, I don't really know how to put this. I was just on my island, and then this giant black hole started to form. . ." Skulker announced now fully emerged from the floor.
"Did this black hole resemble a portal in any way?" Vlad questioned.
A puzzled look rested upon Skulkers face. "Now that you mention it, it kind of looked like it may have been, but it was just too big."
"And how many natural portals have you witnessed before?"
"Umm, 'bout . . . Three maybe."
"Three! You must be an expert then." Vlad's tone was dripping in sarcasm. This news was, it seemed to Vlad, very anticlimactic. "A portal? That is the reason you had to come here unannounced, for a portal? Skulker, you do realize that there are hundreds of portals that open and close every day? They all range in different sizes and classifications. Natural portals are so rare and diverse that even I don't know much about them. I have more important things to do than investigate random portal appearances." No he doesn't.
"Plasmius! This is no random portal."
Vlad paused. He looked at him questioningly, "Then what is it?"
"I'm trying to tell you." Skulker sighed. Sometimes it was a pain working for someone so short tempered. "It was bigger than any random portal I've ever seen and it hadn't disappeared like it was supposed to. It didn't even resemble a normal portal. Don't you find that a little odd?"
The billionaire still wasn't sold on the whole of it. "I'm not going to waste my time chasing portals, even if this one is different in some way. I already tried that once and it was not worth it." he replied to the bounty hunter.
"You don't understand." Skulker said, "If you had been there at the time then you would understand. It just didn't feel right. I was scared. Me. The ghost zones greatest bounty hunter and I felt irrational fear hit me in my core." He slammed his fist into the center of his armor for emphasis. "I believe that this portal could be a possible threat to our realm."
"Based on what means?"
"My intuition."
Vlad had to admit, Skulker wasn't the most devious ghost around, but his instincts were pretty sound. Little did he know that Skulker's 'intuition' would result in a full blown war. In fact, a lot of things could have been avoided if he wouldn't have told Vlad right away. Never mind that though, there is no point in supposing. The events that will follow have to happen in some universe or another. 'Tis the way of life and decisions of all shapes and sizes.
"Just humor me. You're the only one I can think of that knows about portals. If it turns out it's nothing then I will apologize and you can come back to your work."
"Who else did you tell about this?"
"Only you, but the sheer size of the thing caught the attention of some of the ghosts nearby, so I told them to not go near it for the time being."
A good answer.
Perhaps it was different. Perhaps it could be an interesting field trip.
Vlad stood up, pushing his chair back. All the while glaring daggers at Skulker, a black ring appeared at his waist, broke into two and started to travel up his body as the other went down. As the rings traveled they changed his well-groomed, sophisticated look to a more sinister, vampiric image complete with a cape.
He stepped forward through his desk to face Skulker face to face. "You better hope I find it interesting then." he smiled at the end of his comment, and then motioned to the floor. "Shall we go then?"
Skulker was thrown off by the friendliness in the half human's last sentence. "Ok."
Gazing over the landscape of jet black rocks and the crashing waves of the dark waters, C.L.U. usually felt absolutely empowered. He had no idea what laid ahead though. This made him feel not quite so empowered. On the contrary, he was quiet scared. There was no way of knowing what kind of threat loomed beyond the green gateway. Just looking at it was blinding. After all, they lived in a dark world with light sources that were purely artificial.
"What is taking so long?" he spat. An unnecessary question, he knew, but he was getting tired of staring through the clear floor of the ginormous lightship. If he didn't yell at someone his growing anxiety would only get worse.
"No need to worry sir," the program perked up. "We are almost to the entrance of" he made a wide hand gesture in the general direction of what lay before them, "that."
C.L.U. glanced at him for a second. "Good,"
The program relaxed at this.
Apparently C.L.U. wasn't the only one who was anxious. Although, he thought, we're probably not worried about the same thing.
Vlad looked at the full extent of the 'damage' as Skulker put it. The 'portal' looked almost natural. So, it didn't necessarily look damaging but Skulker insisted that there was sure to be some sort of dark force operating behind it. If someone were to visit the zone for the very first time then they would probably assume that it was supposed to be there. Of course, they would be wrong, but how would they know? The ghost zone is a very strange place; they would be ready to believe anything. Or so they would tell themselves.
On the opposite side of the portal, they would think the same thing; whoever 'they' were. Regardless of what they would think, this is not a normal matter. I can assure you that this is a very bad thing.
Many ghosts were piling up in front of the portal. They all seemed to want to go through but no one would dare to go first. They all noticed a ship looking thing almost as big as the portal itself coming towards the island they were all floating above.
"So, you told them not to go near it, did you?" Vlad noted. Statements like this usually make Skulker scowl. So, he did.
Vlad smirked. "Well, I guess you can't really blame them for their curiosity."
One question seemed to be on top of both their minds. Why was this portal so different from the others? Their instincts told them that the portal was normal but common sense had labeled it an abnormality. That in itself would hold the portal as a strange presence looming over your chest. Of course, this was the biggest one ever to be witnessed in the ghost zone. There was something about it that didn't seem right. They had a strange feeling that this portal wouldn't vanish anytime soon like most natural portals were supposed to. There's no telling what the overall outcome of having this portal could bring. This portal was eerie, like most things in the ghost zone except more unsettling than usual. It's true that the eeriness of the portal was not unlike anything else in the ghost zone but it was much more unsettling.
"I must assess the situation." Vlad declared as he floated down to the island where the ghosts were congregated. They parted to let him pass.
Skulker rolled his eyes but didn't follow, he much preferred to relax and observe. He often does this when he stocks his prey, only the prey usually ended up on his wall afterward. Dead. Well, more dead than usual.
Vlad felt his feet hit the soft surface of the tropical island a good 10 meters away from the other side and could see the big craft approaching. He could also make out a thin glowing white line in the ground separating the two very different landscapes. The line moved like a shimmering snake along the outskirts of the dimensions. Always shifting.
It was then that he realized that the invaders could bring along with them new opportunities. Something told him that the ghosts wouldn't be too keen on welcoming new life forms into their environment. Just look at how some of them protect their haunts in the human world.
It would be a cryin' shame if they couldn't get along with the other entities. It could cause something terrible. Like, for instance, a war where the ghosts would be disorganized and chaotic like always. If they were going to win something that big they would need a strong capable ghost to bear the burden of leading.
Despite the excitement that was building inside him with each scheme he was automatically thinking of, a rush of nervousness brushed over him as the ship stopped to hover near the entrance of the portal. It was quite hard to see past it now to gaze at the landscape. Despite the crafts size, it could probably easily blend in with the jagged cliffs. The only thing that was setting it apart was the beams of light artfully streaking across it in all sorts of directions and the smooth aerodynamic texture of the craft.
A platform started to protrude out from under the ship dramatically. Five figures dressed in all black with lines of orange lights were standing on top of the platform as it was descending slowly. Everyone started staring at them. Silence fell, the only sound to be heard was the occasional moan from an ectoplasmic cell sack sown together with biology floating on by.
The person in the middle obviously considered himself superior to the others behind him, standing slightly more forward. He had brilliant bright orange strips running around on his black suit and had a pitch black helmet so no one could see his face. Standing to the right of him, stood the only one without some sort of a helmet. His thin, dark hair plastered to his scalp and the orange on his suit was slightly duller then the superior one, but was still brighter than the lights on the suits of the other three. These organisms all had staffs that glowed brightly with helmets that only covered the top halves of their faces so only the mouth was visible.
Judging by the look of the uniforms and postures, I think it's safe to say that this was the leader, his advisor and three guards that had accompanied them. This was a suitable welcoming party, considering.
They all looked human. For some reason this was surprising. He continued to wonder if the authoritative one looked that way too.
With a confident, in control face, he continued to stand there. These types of situations always seemed to call for putting on a performance. That's how people make it in the real world, to make yourself seem bigger than the person next to you. Although, he found that this technique also works in different worlds.
The dark figure really seemed to want to make an impression. You could feel the nervous energy that was coming from all the ghosts behind Plasmius as the leader started to walk forward, his posse scurrying quickly behind.
Vlad was fairly intrigued by the new arrivals. They were a little too imposing for his liking, but all the same, intriguing. Not entirely sure what he was getting himself into, he took a step forward. You never know what could happen. If he plays his cards right, this could work out in his favor. He certainly didn't want to pass up any opportunities to gain a little bit of power or any other little goodies that come his way.
The two entities, both unique in their own ways, could be seen walking towards each other. Both were barely realizing how this moment could change both of their worlds forever.
AN: OK, I would like to say that I probably won't update regularly, but hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than this one was. Anyway, if you review that would be great; I really do want to improve. Say what ever you want to me, I don't care. Just remember that no matter what you say, I will still love you. Plus, if you don't review, that's fine too. I would just be happy that people are actually reading this.