There were many plates lying around the floor and beds after Luke, Flora, and Brenda finished eating. To be precise, there were two plates next to Flora, one next to Brenda, and a staggering eleven next to Luke.

The professor wasn't hungry at all and spent his time trying to connect as many small details as he could at this time, "Let's see here... Now, we both saw this spirit with our, or should I say, my own eyes at approximately 2:30 PM earlier this afternoon."

"During the brief encounter with the malicious soul, I took that little time to sense it's aura in detail. I can safely say without a doubt that this soul is a genuine disembodied soul that was consumed with posthumous feelings of vengeance and hate after its death."

"The most likely theory is that this spirit was once known as Stanley Hertz, the man that was sentenced to death after the abduction and uh... 'desecration' of Cattleya Auric about two weeks from now."

"That would be the simplest solution. A kidnapper and rapist gets convicted, put to death, and harbors bitter feelings after death."

"Unfortunately, I have no absolute proof that this spirit truly is Stanley Hertz. If it turns out not to be him at all, then this puzzle immediately becomes more intricate. To make things more difficult, I cannot simply confront this spirit. Whenever Travis attempted to do so, an innocent bystander would meet their grisly demise."

"Still, learning this soul's true name may be useful later on."

"Why? I know it would answer some questions, but why would its former identity help me stop its rampage?"

"Ah! I sometimes forget you still have yet to completely grasp spiritual extrasensory. Spiritual power derives from our ability to focus and channel our thoughts and feelings. I know that you are aware of the phrase 'Knowledge is power'. In this case, the knowledge of someone's true name can allow a soul, such as myself, to hold power over that person. Although learning more about this malevolent soul is not absolutely necessary, it is much easier to focus on the things that you already know."

"I see. You also noticed that it spoke, but in a higher frequency than what human ears can detect. What was that message again?"

"'They stole everything from me! My life! My hope! Everything! Now I will take everything from them!'."

"That only reinforces the possibility of Stanley Hertz taking posthumous revenge against the living. What about the Auric messenger, Sparrow? You also noticed his aura earlier as I recall."

"Yes. His aura had appeared like a dark-colored flame. I don't know if that's relevant to this investigation yet, but it was just different from the vibrant colors of auras from most living people. One thing I do know is that the auras of the malevolent soul and Sparrow do not match whatsoever. The spirit's aura was colorless and filled with rage, but Sparrow's was quite calm and pleasant despite its darkness. There was almost no malevolence within Sparrow at all. They both simply cannot be the same entity."

"That is all we have learned then... Few answers and numerous questions... Well, I suppose it is time to resume our investigation. Everyone else has had plenty of time to enjoy their meal."

"While you continue your investigation, I'll adjust your eyes to perceive the two new aura colors: crimson for Sparrow and colorless for the malevolent soul. Just like before, if you want to change their color, save your progress and return to the main menu. You can select 'Aura Colors' from the 'Bonuses' option."

With that, it was time for the professor to resume his investigation, "Is everyone else prepared?"

Flora nodded immediately, "Yep!"

Brenda was still nervous to let Luke go after what happened with the malicious spirit earlier, "You promise me you'll stay safe, right?"

Luke, on the other hand, had consumed so much food that he did not even comprehend what either his professor or his mother had said, "I looooove this food!"

The professor tried to get Luke's attention again, "Luke? Are you prepared?"

Luke stretched his limbs out and yawned after his enormous feast, "Just a few more minutes, Profaaaaablaaaaah..."

The professor stared awkwardly at Luke, "I suppose if it is only a moment or so..."

()

Meanwhile, Travis was found walking outside by himself in the middle of a city full of people staring and pointing at him because he's a bear. Normally, this would have bothered him.

However, he was still embittered after having lost his job so quickly to care about that right now, "I don't believe this! I didn't even go a full 24 hours before I got fired! It's official, Travis... You've hit rock bottom. Honestly, it's not my fault that this ghost would kill someone every time I hit it! Sigh... Stupid PDA..."

While Travis was still attempting in vain to blame something else that wasn't himself, he came across a newspaper with his face on the front page, "Huh?"

He read the newspaper title out loud, "Battle of the Ages: The Fiery Rage of Nature vs. The Cold Embrace of Death!"

Now Travis was really interested, "Huh..? Wait, if this is a German city, then why is this story written in English?", and he read the story out loud, "At 2:15 PM yesterday, the citizens of the German city of Aurich was treated to a once-in-a-lifetime battle between a small panda bear and what could only be described as a genuine ghost! The battle took place on top of the mansion that's home to the baron of the city himself! The panda bear was noticeably intelligent from its use of specialized glowing weapons, armored scaled hide covering his vital areas, and his ability to walk on two legs. After a few clashes, the ghost fled the scene with the panda in pursuit all over the city. The photographs printed below this article on this page as well as the ones in pages A2 through A4 depict the entire duel between nature and death!"

Travis looked through all of the pages and witnessed the detail of every photograph printed on the paper, "All of the humans I saw fled for their lives while I was dealing with the chiindii... Who actually had the balls to get close enough to take these?"

Travis turned back to the front page and read the date on the paper, "Sunday, March 25th, 2018... Today's Saturday, so this is tomorrow's paper.", and then read the title of the paper, "The World Times?"

Travis knew immediately who took these pictures, "Wait a second..."

A confident female voice could be heard behind Travis, "Did you enjoy the sneak peak of tomorrow's headlines?"

Travis turned around to see the same familiar World Times lady, "You took these pictures?"

Emmy silently, but smugly held the same camera that Travis destroyed earlier, except that it was completely intact. Travis noticed this, "How did you..?"

Since Travis couldn't completely finish his question, Emmy answered for him, "Take the pictures with my sleek and expensive camera that you shattered into teeny-tiny pieces?"

Emmy opened the left side of her coat to reveal that she had eight completely identical cameras in her coat's hidden pockets in addition to the one she was holding in her right hand, "Looks like I did have a practical counter for you after all?"

Travis was not amused, "You came here to gloat?"

Emmy closed her coat, "Not really, though I admit seeing that stupid look on your face after what you did to my camera earlier is a pleasure in itself."

Travis silently glared at Emmy, but she was only amused by it, "That's it! That's the look!"

Emmy explained the real reason that she was there, "Actually, it just so happens that I know about another paranormal haunting. I was actually wondering if you wanted to come along."

Travis was naturally disbelieving of her offer, "You got to me kidding..."

Emmy wasn't kidding, "No, actually I'm not. It's happening right now in London of all places."

Travis wasn't convinced, "And you're telling me all this because..?"

Emmy explained her role in this, "Well, as it turns out, stories of paranormal hauntings are on the rise and the World Times needs someone to cover the action. All of the other photographers are actually too scared to do it themselves. The idea of innocent victims and unnatural phenomena can do that to a lot of people. But for those with a little daring do, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Travis was beginning to understand, "So you want to use me to get yourself to the top, right?"

Emmy pointed her finger upward in a force of habit, "Well, I wouldn't say 'get myself' to the top. I mean, I'm already the top photographer, remember? But, I go where I'm needed. Just think of it this way, we're helping each other out. I get my next biggest scoop and you don't have to stand there with no paying job looking like a tool!"

Travis was wondering how she knew that he was fired, "Wait, how did you know about that? That only happened around ten minutes ago."

Emmy gave a cryptic response for her own amusement, "Oh, you'll find I can do a great deal of things when I'm motivated."

Travis wasn't satisfied with that answer, "That doesn't answer my question."

Emmy was enjoying this, "I know. Oh! And if I were you, I would take my offer while you still can. It's only a matter of time until the tourists come here to see the amazing bear in person."

Travis was visibly paranoid, "What tourists?"

Emmy explained what she meant, "Families on vacation, circus performers, government officials... You know, the usual. You have no idea how hard it is to round up so many people in only seven minutes."

Travis was surprised to hear that, "Wait, 'round up'? You brought a bunch of people here just to annoy me!?"

Emmy avoided that question just to annoy Travis some more, "By the way, it was seven minutes. Not ten. Look, I can prove it!"

Emmy showed Travis five photographs of the precise moment that Cattleya told him that he was off the case, "The dates on the back of these photographs say 'Saturday, March 24th, 2018, at 2:51 PM' which was exactly seven minutes and twelve seconds since you first saw tomorrow's newspaper article."

Out of the five photographs, Emmy pointed at the fourth one which had Travis's detailed facial expression after he lost his job which portrayed his eye twitching, "This one's my favorite."

Travis's eye began to twitch just like in the photograph...

Emmy walked to a nearby sleek yellow car and opened the passenger door on the left, "I saved a spot just for you. You might want to take it soon. There's an old woman wandering around town looking for a panda bear that looks just like you."

An old woman's voice could be heard behind Travis, "Is that you, Barbara?"

Travis turned around to see the same woman in a wheelchair that he met earlier, "This again..?"

The old woman just silently approached Travis, which made the passenger seat of Emmy's car more tempting, "Oh god. I don't believe this..."

Travis finally took up Emmy's offer and climbed into the seat. From his point of view, he could see a small sign in the front of the passenger seat with an engraving on it that read 'That Bear'. This was the same engraving that he saw at the Auric Mansion earlier today.

After Travis shut the passenger door, Emmy entered the driver's seat and handed Travis a card, "Here's my card."

Travis read the card out loud, "Emmy Altava: Photographer, Martial Artist, and Heroine at your service! Call 027-5729-0114."

Emmy patted the top of Travis's head, "We're going to make an excellent team! I just know it!"

Travis was not at all content with this turn of events, "Just shut up and drive..."

I have to admit, this was a fun chapter to make. In the next chapter, the investigation should finally continue and I may portray Travis as well. As always, feel free to review!