Thanks for the positive feedback so far. I hope it keeps coming as the plot begins to thicken.

Once Adam and Mel had finally eaten, they met Rion and Seth at the bikes as promised. All four were itching for some action, so they sped off without further delay. Adam rode with Mel as they traveled single file to Sumos, the thief's sigil stormer that Erik had been working on having not been completed.

It felt just like the old days.

They arrived in the Sum-Para settlement around noon. The small village erupted in activity as soon as the team stopped their stormers. Villagers filed out of their huts in a flurry of excitement, surrounding the teenagers with enthusiastic greetings. Each face held relief under their happiness as if they had glimpsed their salvation.

A man dressed in garments grander than the rest stepped forward. He wore a large mayoral hat and held a staff in his hand. "Defenders!" he exclaimed. "Thank RaDos you've arrived!"

"What seems to be the problem here?" Seth asked, taking his helmet off as he and the others dismounted.

"Ghosts are roaming the village!" a man said from the crowd.

"They wander around and frighten the children!" said another.

"One looked like my brother! He's been dead for months!"

"What's happening?"

"Make them go away!"

"Do something, Defenders!"

The village leader held up his arms. "Peace, friends! The Defenders are here and a solution shall be found shortly!" he turned to the team. "Now then, why don't we fill you in on the situation? Come. We'll speak in my quarters."

The man led the Defenders through the excited townspeople to a large tented hut. They entered through the flaps and came to simple lounge, with pillows rather than chairs and a single round table in the middle of the floor. The man sat at the head while the others took random seats on either side. A man entered with a platter of water goblets followed by another with bread and assorted cheese.

"Can I offer you some refreshments?" the man asked.

Despite the large breakfast and professional air Seth was trying to hold, his stomach still decided to betray him with a loud rumble. He grinned sheepishly. "I guess a little wouldn't hurt."

Adam shook his head and mumbled under his breath to Mel as the man laughed heartily, "Geez. Does he ever get full?"

The men served the Defenders food and drink and exited the room. They ate politely, waiting for their host to speak.

After finishing a loaf of bread, the man took a sip of water and set down his cup before clearing his throat. "First of all, Defenders, I would like to thank you for coming. I realize our circumstance is not the most believable."

"Who are you?" Rion asked.

"My name is Tomar," the man said. "I am the mayor of this village. I was the one who called and asked for your assistance in this matter."

"And what exactly is this 'matter' per se?" Mel asked. "We don't really know what's going on here, just that everyone's been seeing ghosts."

"Indeed," Tomar said, lacing his fingers together. "For a number of months now, our village has been plagued by supernatural beings. These aren't normal spirits either. They contradict many wives's tale descriptions of ghosts."

Seth quirked his eyebrow. "Such as...?"

"Normally ghosts are portrayed as see-through creatures that float in the air with little to no capability to speak. The beings that have been appearing here are solid, walk on the ground, and talk to the villagers."

The Defenders sent each other sceptical looks. "Don't you think maybe these 'ghosts' are just some kids fooling around?" Adam asked.

"We did at first. The first sighting was of a young girl, aimlessly searching for her lost friends. We thought nothing of it until she vanished into thin air. Then others started appearing... A tall woman, a large man..." Tomar paused, an anxious look creasing his forehead. "After, we started to notice familiar clothing on the wanderers, those of the neighboring villages. Then one woman recognized the face of her son among the newcomers... However the same boy had passed away mere weeks before. We thought her to be mad with grief, but others claimed it was indeed the same child.

"The villagers began to panic and cower as more and more ghosts began appearing. During the chaos with the rampant ethos months back, we had lost many citizens, but day by day they returned. We had seen them pass and had given them all proper burials, yet here they were again, resurrected." Tomar gazed at the stupefied Defenders, concerned. "We do not know what it means, nor why it's happening."

"Has anyone had contact with the ghosts?" Mel asked.

Tomar shook his head. "No. The villagers have all been too frightened to speak to them. Everyone runs to their homes whenever someone unexpected appears.

Seth looked to the wizard. "Any ideas, Mel?"

She shook her head. "No. There's too little information."

"Hey, Tomar," Rion said, leaning on the table with a glint in his eye. "Is there a typical time these ghosts appear?"

"Not exactly," the mayor answered. "However the vast majority have been seen close to sunset."

Seth quirked an eyebrow at the smallest Defender. "Why, Rion? You have a plan?"

Rion grinned. "You could say that."

Everyone was in position as the sun began to set on the horizon. The villagers had retreated to their homes as per the plan and the Defenders lied in wake for the mysterious ghosts. Seth walked the southern part of the village, while Mel took to the west, Rion the north, and Adam the east.

Seth opened his communicator. "Hey guys. You got anything yet?"

"Nothing here," Rion replied.

"Same thing on my end," Mel said.

"Me too. It's a total ghost town," Adam said. "Or I guess not, in this case..."

Seth frowned. "Keep your eyes peeled. The sooner we find this thing, the sooner we can figure out what's going on."

Mel's face nodded in the hologram. "You got it."

Adam saluted. "Aye, aye, cap'n!"

Rion waved him off nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah."

Seth closed his communicator. His eyes roamed the tents and trees but didn't see a single shadow or silhouette. He sighed. Maybe nothing would show. There was no guarantee anything would appear. They didn't even know if these "ghosts" were real or not. They could have just been figments of the grief-ridden minds of the villagers.

The rustling of leaves caught Seth's attention. He whirled around and transformed his mech arm to attack mode, loading some di-gata stones and aiming at the sound. He squinted but couldn't see anything in the darkness of the foliage. "Come out where I can see you."

The bush rustled some more but no one emerged. Seth narrowed his eyes. "Have it your way. Spinning Doom!"

His stones shot from the make-shift canon and hurled toward the forest, his attack forming on the way. The saw spun and whizzed around, slashing the bushes until they were pathetic topiaries. Amidst the hacking, Seth saw a figure running. He sent his whirling blade after the shadow and followed pursuit, digging out his communicator again in the process. "Guys!" he called. "We've got movement! It's headed in your direction, Mel! See if you can cut it off!"

"I'm on it!"

"Everyone else, hold your positions. We can't let this thing slip away!"

Seth closed his communicator but kept it in his good hand as he continued to run after the figure. It slipped in his fingers more than once but he managed to keep a hold on it regardless. Maybe Erik's compact communicators weren't such a bad idea after all.

"Seth!" Mel called from the device. "It got away from me. It's heading into town!"

"That's perfect!" the leader exclaimed. "Everyone converge on the center of the village. We've got it now!"

Seth cut between huts and headed back to the main village path. He ran along, launcher still at the ready, as he headed for the rendezvous. He could hear occasional di-gata blasts as the others took shots at the ghost. Seth wondered for a brief moment if their attacks would even phase the spirit.

"We got trouble, guys!" Adam called. "I think it's figured out what we're up to. It completely evaded me and went north!"

"Rion, you hear that?" Seth asked.

The Ethos-hunter's voice came back. "Loud and clear! Leave it to me!"

Seth did his best to catch up. Sprinting hard, he made it to the clearing that marked the center of the village, almost knocking Mel over in the process. He skidded to a halt just before they collided.

"Whoa!" he cringed. "Watch it!"

The wizard frowned. "You're the one who nearly ran me over!"

"Really guys?" Adam said in exasperation as he arrived as well. "You're doing this now?"

"We were just correcting a technicality," she said. "It's not like we were actually fighting or..." A flash appeared in the north, effectively cutting Mel off. "Rion!"

Seth dashed down the path toward the light. "Let's go!"

The three Defenders hurried toward their teammate as his di-gata attacks resounded and lit up the village. His voice tore through the night air as he shouted at the ghost. Seth picked up his pace, Mel and Adam following suit. They didn't know if spirits could hurt people, but they weren't going to take the chance.

"Rion!" Seth shouted as soon as he saw the blonde Defender further ahead. Rion was whirling around, trying to keep a shadowy figure in his sights as he tossed di-gata stones left and right.

"This thing is way too quick!" Rion yelled as he caught sight of the others. "It's dodging everything I throw at it!"

Seth loaded his stones. "Then we'll have to slow it down. Mel! Adam!"

The two nodded and attacked.

"Power of the Guild!"

"Crystal Casket!"

Adam's move hit first, ensnaring the ghost in a pulsing energy net that was quickly enveloped in Mel's thick ice. Typically, such a combination would incapacitate any foe, but the figure continued to struggle inside.

Seth frowned. "So, you want to play hard-ball, huh? Pandemonium!"

The ice cracked around the ghost as the attack formed in midair. A muffled voice cried from the fissures but was immediately silenced by Pandemonium's mechanical squid arms. They melded together and pulled the figure tight again, but the make-shift cocoon continued to wobble.

Seth grimaced. "Rion! Use Silver Membrane to stop this thing once and for all!"

The boy hesitated. "But Seth, didn't you hear that? It tried to say something."

"You're hearing things," the leader said.

"I think I heard it too, Seth," Mel commented, frowning in perplexity. "Maybe we should consider–"

"We don't have time to consider anything!" Seth insisted. "It's going to break free any second!"

"But I really heard something! What if we trapped a RaDosian?"

"It moved too fast to be someone from RaDos, Rion. Now hurry up and–"

A great flare erupted from the casing, breaking off Seth's Pandemonium. Mel's ice was nearly blasted clear off, only a few blocks remaining on the figure as it trashed in Adam's net.

Seth shouted, "Rion!"

Rion's eyebrows furrowed. He grasped his di-gata stones with conviction before throwing them at the spirit. The move flashed just as the figure did and the Sumosian night sky flooded with light. The Defenders shielded their eyes until the brilliance faded.

The net around the ghost had torn and been cast aside along with the remnants of ice. Where the being stood was a small figure no taller than Rion, completely coated in silver goo. It swiped at itself in frustration, trying aimlessly to wipe the gloop off. Once enough of the substance was wiped away from its mouth, it spoke with irritation. "Ugh, gross! I hate this stuff! Get it off me! I can't see!"

Adam looked at the others, confusion plastered on his face. "Uh, guys. This doesn't seem like a ghost to me."

Rion grimaced. "I told you something wasn't right. We attacked a person!" He hurried toward the flailing being. "Sorry about that! Here, I can get this off for you." His hand glowed as he began withdrawing his attack's energy.

The figure froze, seemingly understanding the process. "You wouldn't have to if you hadn't attacked me in the first place. What were you thinking?"

Mel quirked an eyebrow and folded her arms ponderously. She peered at Seth and Adam as they looked on. "Hey... guys... Don't you think that voice sounds familiar?"

"I'd hope it sounds familiar," the person said. "Have you all forgotten my voice already?"

There was another flash as Rion finished retrieving his di-gata energy. The figure was clean of goop and the team got a good look at them. They all gasped.

Rion had been wrong. It wasn't a person. It was a ghost.

It was Kara.

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