Chapter Three: The First Haunt

Back at the Phoenix, Qwark and Skidd were still arguing about who should go to Hell, and it was annoying Al, Helga, Skrunch and Clank so much, that they all yelled, "SHUT THE HECK UP!" at once. Skrunch would've, of course, yelled it in monkey.

Skidd then said, "Ya'll stay outta this! This is between me and Qwark, and I know that Qwark should go to Hell for, wait, Qwark, what did you need to go to Hell for again? Be honest, please. You might finally acquire at least some form of honour."

"All I did was I had the volume low for Skrunch, who was sleeping, but you got all pissed, and woke him up, you fuck! YOU are the one that should go to Hell, you retard!"

One of the ranger bots broke in and said, "Qwark would you just shut up? Nobody cares about your stupidity. If you wanted the volume barely audible to let your monkey sleep, what's the point of watching it? You're not going to be able to hear the damn thing anyway!"

"Yeah, and the monkey was woken up by the arguing and so was everyone else," said Helga in a stern voice.

"Yeah, that Skidd here started!" screeched Qwark, who was embarrassed.

"Skidd had a point though. If you can't hear it, why watch it? That's the least logical thing I've heard in my life," stated Al.

"Okay, okay, I get it, fine!" yelled Qwark as he stormed off the bridge.

"Now can we all have some form of peace?" Helga asked Skidd, who was still standing there.

"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have antagonized him. I'll let the stupid be stupid."

"Don't forget fat," added Helga. Skidd and Helga both laughed, as Clank and Al headed off the bridge to play some chess together. Skrunch proceeded to try and get some more rest in Ratchet's quarters.

Roger was reading a book in his hotel room on Pokitaru. He had problems sleeping sometimes. Reading great novels always helped him. He always liked fictional novels. The book he was reading was called "Something More." It was about cowboys and gold which he thought was very interesting. He made it to chapter three before falling asleep with the book in his hands.

Roger thought about the lady he met too. He thought she was very pretty, almost like Courtney Gears, but more modest and subtle, which is what he liked. In his opinion, Courtney behaved like a skanky whore. His thoughts drifted to Sasha's mother too, though. He used to love her so much, but she just went crazy. She got addicted to acid and meth, and Roger always blamed himself. Kate (Sasha's mother) was beautiful inside and out when he met her, and when he married her. She wouldn't have dreamed of taking drugs, at least until...those incidents...his thoughts immediately drifted back to Samantha. He didn't like thinking about the past, as it would always make him feel truly guilty and awful.

The drugs had a mind-blowing effect on Kate. They turned her into a monster, quite literally. She was violent, especially when she was at her most high, and although she never physically hurt Roger, as he was strong, she posed a threat to Sasha whom she had actually hit once, and badly bruised during one of her highs. Sasha was only thirteen years of age at the time. That was it; Roger divorced her after that incident. He wanted to protect his daughter from all violence and abuse in the world, especially that of her own mother.

Sasha's dad was at work when it happened, and he came home to see that Sasha was developing a black eye. He also over-heard his wife call Sasha a mistake.

"How dare you call our daughter a mistake, you do not deserve her or me! You take your fucking drugs...AWAY from us! We do not deserve this from you, and I will no longer accept it. I initially paid for this house by the way, so I'll give you back the money for the part of the mortgage you paid, and kick you out!"

"I'm not going anywhere. This is the matrimonial home. You'll have to do better than simply owning it to kick me out. By the way you're one to talk, you..."

"Once I win 'exclusive possession of the matrimonial home', I can accuse you of trespassing," interrupted Roger.

"FINE, save it for the fucking courts! For your information bastard, you do not deserve me! Have fun, both of you. I'll see your asses in court!"

She left and never came back, not even to apologize to Sasha, or check in with her, hence the reason Sasha felt abandoned. Sasha doesn't know the half of it...if she knew about...the incident...she'd have an entirely different viewpoint; she'd understand that her mother really always loved her, but the drugs turned her into a demon.

Roger woke up at 2:00am, and sighed as he lay in bed. He started reliving the past again including...the incident...and he knew he still loved her. He couldn't face his own guilt, he blamed himself for everything. He hoped that once he got to know Samantha a little more he wouldn't have to relive the past, feel guilty and lonesome, or love Kate anymore. He just remembered the Kate he used to know before...the incident...and became very sad for a while before falling back to sleep.

Ratchet and Sasha were still making love. After both of them were finally tired out, Sasha went into the bathroom to clean up a little before actually sleeping for the rest of the night.

Sasha felt totally in love with Ratchet, and willed to be in complete submission to him all her life. She wanted him to feel appreciated, loved and cared about. Sasha thought that she'd never feel this way about any man; she was quite proud of her strong will, and the last thing on her mind was marriage or men. She wanted her own life, but Ratchet seemed to just swoop in and change everything. Sasha wondered how he had so much power over her and her feelings. It's like she was a completely changed woman...engaged...but how? She loved Ratchet so much, but she didn't remember how it happened. How did she end up here, in this situation? Sasha didn't care about her questions really. She just knew that she was completely in love with Ratchet. He made her feel something she couldn't describe in her heart, and she knew that her feelings were mutual; he would do anything for her. Sasha felt lucky and she knew that this would be the best week of her life.

Ratchet came into the bathroom and asked, "Are you okay, babe? Come back to bed." Ratchet then put both his arms around Sasha's torso from behind her, in-front of the bathroom mirror. They were soon hugging amorously in the bathroom, and kissing.

Krueger was still outside the Ritz. He knew that the Ratchet and Sasha duo hadn't gotten to sleep yet, so he was still waiting for the right moment. After about an hour, they were in a deep sleep together, still naked. This meant that they were vulnerable, and Krueger got even more of a pleasure from harming the most vulnerable. He entered the Ritz...invisible. Fred didn't even need an elevator to get up to room 726; he let his soul float to the destination.

Freddy remembered when he lured a girl named Tina outside by calling her name, and throwing rocks at her window. His plan was to lure Ratchet to him in the same sort of way, minus the rocks. He'd just have to say "Ratchet..." and see what happened. He whispered "Ratchet...psst. Hey Ratchet...come to Freddy." Ratchet opened his eyes, he was still sleeping, but he dreamed he opened his eyes.

"Sasha? Is that you, baby cake?"

"No, it's Freddy."

"Who the hell is Freddy?" sleep talked Ratchet.

"Come...come...come...come..." That's all that Ratchet heard as a reply, a whisper, gradually diminishing to no sound at all.

"Come where?" asked Ratchet.

"...To the...bathroom."

By now, Ratchet had no idea what was going on, and was totally freaked out. He froze, he couldn't even move a muscle he was that terrified, and everybody knows how rare that usually is for someone like Ratchet.

"I must be having a nightmare, that, or I'm going completely insane. I guess I should go to the bathroom to clear my head, but seriously though, WTF?"

"That's right, lover boy! Come to Freddy..."

"Okay? I'm coming...I...guess." Ratchet didn't think it was a good idea. He thought of waking up his Sasha, getting dressed, and escaping out the window, but then, Sasha would think he's nuts. Ratchet couldn't let that happen, besides, he was practically being pulled to the bathroom, as if he had no more control of his body. He started to panic, for he literally had no control.

"You're mine!" yelled Freddy. Ratchet screamed helplessly in his sleep, and it woke up Sasha.

"Ratchet, baby what's the matter? Ratchet wake up! Wake up! You're just having a bad dream, hotshot. It's okay, wake up!" He just kept on screaming. Sasha saw his body pulled to the bathroom for real. "You're floating, Ahh! What the hell's going on here!?" screamed Sasha as she quickly threw on a robe, and ran outside the hotel room. Everyone heard the commotion and ran to her aid.

"What? Whatever is the matter, dear?"

"My fiancée is in trouble. His body has been yanked from the bed to the bathroom by some invisible thing. I don't know what's doing it; his body looked as though it was floating on its own; please don't think I'm crazy; I KNOW what I saw!"

"Shhh," said the elderly lady, the lady that asked what was wrong. Everyone on that floor was out of their rooms to see what the racket was about. Everybody was of different species. This elderly lady was an unnamed green, humanoid species.

"I...beg your pardon everyone, but if you don't mind me asking what's going on here? I'd really like to know," said Lawrence, the same guy that checked the room earlier. Ratchet found something familiar in this guy's voice because he used to be Dr. Nefarious' maid/assistant. He had recently quit that job, and started working at fancy hotels because, "They are simply more fashionable."

"This woman claims that she saw her fiancée's body...uh...floating...uh...mysteriously," said a slightly nervous Dallas. A woman named Juanita was standing there too, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh..." said Lawrence, not really believing him. "Well then, I best be on my way, dirty rooms and what not."

"Would somebody please go in there and see if Ratchet is okay? I'm a little nervous to go in there, seriously, I know what I saw. It was scary! Somebody, please! I NEED to know that he's okay!" exclaimed Sasha finally.

"I'll go check for you Sasha," said Juanita.

"Thanks a bunch."

"No problem, it was probably a mere dream anyways; I don't think there's anything to be scared of." Juanita walked in to find Ratchet sleeping in the bathroom...naked. "Well, Sasha he seems to be okay, but he's mysteriously sleeping in the bathroom," said Juanita, who was embarrassed she saw him naked.

"Did somebody have a fight?" exclaimed Dallas, inappropriately. Sasha and Juanita both shot him daggers, and he shut up.

"The bottom line, Sasha, is that he's okay," said Juanita with sympathy in her voice, as she put her hand on Sasha's shoulder.

"How he ended up in the bathroom I have no clue, though, which still leaves me freaked out."

"Well he's okay so I suppose everyone can go get some shuteye now," said the elderly woman.

"It's nice to know the superhero lives," said Dallas, as everyone went back to their rooms. Everyone on the floor knew exactly who Ratchet and Sasha were. They were very important, notable, and known figures of society. Now that everyone on floor seven of the Ritz Carlton knew they were engaged, rumour would travel quickly, especially since Dallas and Juanita are on HV every week.

Dallas and Juanita used to be on "Vox News," but ever since Dreadzone exploded, they started a reality holovision show. It was Dallas' idea to start it, "...for money making purposes only, of course." He "pretended" to marry Juanita, but nobody knows that he swapped the fake justice of the peace for a real one.

Juanita couldn't stand working with Dallas, so she always tried setting deathtraps for him. She's only doing this show, "...until I have found a better, more enjoyable, employment opportunity. Trust me, I am pounding the pavement."

Sasha went into the hotel room, and woke Ratchet up, "Ratchet, baby, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Sasha, but something lured me here in the nightmare I just had. I must've sleepwalked. I'm sorry, babe, I didn't mean to leave you. Do you want to cuddle?"

"Sure I do, but I can assure you, hotshot, that you did not sleepwalk."

"Huh?" asked Ratchet.

"I heard you scream in your sleep, Ratchet, and some...thing carried your body to the bathroom. It looked like your body was floating." Sasha started breathing heavily. "I'm kind of nervous, Ratchet. I know what I saw...it was creepy, something is definitely up, Ratchet."

Ratchet wanted to comfort her. He was sure he just had a nightmare and sleepwalked; he figured this gave him an opportunity to comfort her which is an opportunity he was waiting a long time for. He loved showing off to her; it was good for his pride. He showed off to her once before. That's all he could ever do to impress her, for she never needed support or comfort. She was a very self-willed and independent woman. Now it was like she completely relied on him; she needed him, and this made him feel special. "Oh baby, come here. You don't need to be nervous when you're with me. If there's something up, I'll protect you, you trust me right?"

"Ratchet, I know what I saw, and you should know what you 'dreamed.' It's not something you seemed to have control over, you were struggling and screaming. You were FLOATING, for crying out loud, Ratchet! That despicable thing carried your body to the bathroom. What the HELL happened to your arm!?" gasped Sasha who just noticed a huge claw-like gash on Ratchet's arm.

"Huh? Oh my gosh, I don't know. Oh, my...gosh. Freddy clawed my arm in my dream, it was real Sasha, you're right. Whatever went down, we need to stay together. I think there's a murderer in the hotel. I must've been cut, and then just incorporated it into my dream. Make sure the door is locked, Sash."

By now, Sasha was trembling with fear. She believed in Freddy now, she automatically figured that Freddy was the despicable thing that harmed Ratchet, but she still made sure the door was locked. "Please…I saw what happened. I don't think there was anybody else in the hotel room, at the time, Ratchet. You were literally floating. No crazy murderer was carrying you."

"Babe, you were sleeping too. Sasha, we were both dreaming, and both incorporated real events into our dream. Dreams can't cause a real injury, that's absurd. Dreams are dreams, they aren't real. Now take off your robe, and let's both go back to bed; I'm exhausted."

"Alright, baby." After two hours, the two fell back into a deep sleep.

Freddy decided to leave them alone for the night. He had just instilled enough fear for him to gain power from it. The more power he had, the less chance he had of running out of power, like an incident before, that was so bad, he had to use Jason (another un-dead killer) to cause some fear for him to feed on. That didn't end too well, but he learned from his mistake. "I am so good at managing power, now. My three masters are going to be so proud of me. I would never let them down, and I feel so honoured to have the position I have. AhhhahahahahahaHAH!" said Freddy to himself. Freddy would return the next day. Freddy just couldn't wait to kill.

It was Monday morning, and Ratchet woke up before Sasha. He figured that she could bear to wake up without him there because it was daylight, and everything was less creepy in the day, especially for a woman like Sasha. He didn't want to come off as one of these over protective men who treat their babes like they aren't capable of moving, so he got up to take his morning shower, leaving her asleep. He looked at the clock. It was already 9:00am. That was fine, since they didn't need to be anywhere that day. Ratchet took a shower, washed his face, brushed his teeth and threw on some cologne while in the bathroom. He then exited the bathroom at exactly 9:30am.

Ratchet saw Sasha sleeping in an unusually peaceful manner. She was asleep exactly like Sleeping Beauty; on her back, eyes facing upward, lips in a small smile, not moving one bit. He wondered what she might be dreaming about. Maybe she was dreaming of him.

He decided to go pick a rose from the garden, outside of the hotel, for her. He'd put it on her chest, so she could wake up with it. He'd put a note on it saying, "My baby, I love you," then sit on the bed next to her, and read a newspaper, until she woke. He planned to eventually kiss her awake, "Sleeping Beauty" style if she wasn't awake by 10:00am. He went down and picked the best looking rose there was for her, and put it on her chest with the note saying, "My baby, I love you," as he gently caressed her cheek. He then sat on the other bed and started reading the newspaper he had picked up on the way.

Sasha woke up at 9:45am to find the rose and note. Sasha read the note, and looked over at Ratchet who had his head in the newspaper, not realizing she had woken. She went over, rolled the newspaper down, and started kissing Ratchet.

He reciprocated her movements for 15 seconds, and then asked, "You get the note and rose I left on you, babe?"

"I sure did hotshot. You're more romantic than I thought."

"Is there anything you want to do today? We could watch a movie, take a walk, and see if there are any interesting malls I could take you shopping in, whatever you want baby cake."

"Maybe we could just take a walk. I need a breath of fresh air, especially after what happened last night."

"Okay, honey."

"Just let me get dressed and ready to go."

"Don't take all day," said Ratchet.

"I won't honey, I promise."