Chapter 9

Suddenly, Stan heard something. He looked over and saw a thick wall of fog rolling in. He yelled as he made to run away, but was quickly overtaken. The fog danced and swirled around him, making him look around in confused fright. Then, he saw a figure, standing in place as if he had always been there—a figure dressed like a Noir-style detective, from the black overcoat to the white fedora perched on his head. But the most striking part of all was that he didn't seem to have a face. Instead, he had a strikingly white skull for a head. Stan gulped, surprised by this…scary new specter.

"Are…you the Ghost of Christmas Future?" Stan asked. The spirit nodded, "And are you…y'know, like the other guys? Got another name?"

"Skull." He said in a low, distorted voice.

"Skull? And…and you're here to show me what will happen, eventually?" Stan asked. Skull nodded, "I've been afraid of you more than the other two…"

Steel peeked out from the church, looking scared, "Okay, this is way too scary."

"Yeah, I don't want to see what happens next." Meteora said, ducking into Hikari's jacket

"When you're right, you're BOTH right." Hikari said before looking at the readers, "You're on your own, folks. We'll meet you at the finale."

Steel retreated in, ushering Hikari back in and shutting the door.

"Spirit…I'm ready to go with a thankful heart. Teach me what you need to." Stan said. Skull remained silent in the dancing mists, "Are you only gonna tell me your name?" Skull reached out and put a hand on Stan's shoulder, gesturing out with his other hand, "Yeah…I get it. The night's not getting' any younger. Lead the way, Skull."

Skull ushered Stan toward the graveyard. The mists began to swirl, almost looking like a gateway. As they passed through it, they wound up in the town square in the midst of a rainy day. Skull pointed over to three vultures.

"I don't know much about it. All I know is he's dead." One of them said.

"When?" another said.

"Last night I believe" the third said.

"Wonder what he died of."

"I thought he'd never go."

"None of us know why he died. I just wanna know what he did with all his money."

"Wouldn't we all"

"Well he didn't give it to me"

"Probably be a cheap funeral."

"I don't know a single soul who would go to it."

"I would…if lunch was provided. And I'd better be well-fed for it." All three vultures began chuckling at that.

"Hey, I know those stinkin' vultures. What jerk are THEY talking about that THEY'RE talkin' smack about him?" Stan asked.

With a loud flutter sound, Skull turned and led Stan into a dark alleyway. He grumbled and followed the spirit. There, he saw a red van filled with a darkness and with three people surrounding him.

"So, back from the house of sadness?" said the driver, who appeared to be a mass of darkness with two eyes in the midst of it. Stan got closer to see who these people were—one was a stout dog woman, another was a gangly gray parrot, and the last was a short, fat duck with a short beard.

"Sad that he didn't die years ago, the cheapskate." The stout dog woman said.

"Ya know THAT!" The parrot said.

"Aye, it's one down and one to go!" The duck laughed.

"So, whadda ya got? Something for the Awesome Store?" the shadow asked.

"Well, I swiped his buttons! Mother of Pearl! Selfie!" the parrot said, snapping his phone as he handed them to the .

"And I got his bed curtains! Good damask, too!" the duck said.

"Good, CHEAP damask. Eh, still worth something." The shadow said.

"I got his blankets!" the dog woman said holding up the blankets.

"His blankets?!" everyone said, shocked.

"Hey, these are still warm…hope he didn't die of anything contagious." The shadow said, taking them, "Whatever. Don't pay extra for warmness."

"You should!" The dog woman scoffed, "It's the only warmth he ever got!"

Stan watched as everyone began laughing at that. He looked at the new ghost and said, "Okay, Skull. I get it. This poor sap's fate'll be what I get. I…I've got the picture. Think you can show me something a bit more…y'know, happy?"

Skull remained silent as he just snapped his fingers. A burst of mists formed and the scenery changed. He now found himself in front of a familiar house.

"Oh, yeah! This is better! Sai Sayers' house! How could this be NOT somewhere happy?" Stan asked. He then realized that there seemed to be a dark cloud over the house, "Wait…why's everything so quiet there?"

He walked up to the window and peered in. There, he saw Misa crying as she cooked.

"Mama, please don't cry…" Noriko said

"I'm okay, sweetie. It's the lighting." Misa said trying to wipe her eyes free from tears.

Stan slowly shook his head as he said, in sorrow, "No...no, not Lorelei…"

He noticed only Adam and Kion were with Misa, meaning Marco was with Sai.

"Here, Misa." Adam said, handing her a tissue.

"Thanks Adam. I wouldn't want to show weak eyes to Sai and Marco. When they get home. Not for anything in the world." Misa said.

"Shouldn't they be back now mama?" Yuriko said

"I think Sai's gotten a little slower the last two nights…" Kion said, trying not to show tears as well.

It was then that a somber-looking Sai entered the house. Next to him was Marco who stood next to him.

"Hello, everyone." Sai said.

"Papa…" Yuriko said as she and Noriko went to their father to hug him and comfort him.

"Hello, girls." He said, petting their heads.

"Girls, go sit at the table." Misa said as the twin went to the table.

"How was the churchyard?" Misa asked Marco.

"It'll be lovely, Misa. " Marco said "I thought it would do him some good to see how green the place is…"

"I picked a spot for Lori where she can see…it's a spot on the hill." Sai said, trying not to cry, "You can see the swans on the lake…Lori…"

But Sai began to break down as Marco and Misa held on to him letting him cry he lost only sister.

"Skull…why's there gotta be a Christmas with something as awful as this?" Stan asked, tears in his eyes. He looked back through the window at the family, "How can they take it?"

Sai regained his senses, seeing his daughter had seen him crying. He had to be strong. Just for them. So, he spoke up, "It's all right, girls. Life's full of meetings and partings, that's how it goes."

The twins began to cry, quickly followed by Kion, Adam, Marco, and Misa.

"We won't never forget Lorelei…" Sai said, sadly. In the corner of the fireplace, as predicted, was an empty chair with a sword sheathed in its scabbard.

Skull only snapped his fingers. There was another burst of mist. The Sayers' house dissolved as they returned to the graveyard. Skull wandered around, but appeared to be looking for something.

"Do we HAVE to come back here?" Stan asked, "Skull…there's something I gotta know. I…I'm afraid to ask, but who was that guy who died, makin' those jerks so happy?" The Skull remained silent, but seemed to find what he was looking for. He motioned at one particular headstone, "Okay…okay, so could ya answer me this? Are these things what WILL happen or only what COULD happen? This…all this stuff can be changed." Skull motioned at the headstone more firmly.

"A guy can turn his life around." Stan said, walking over to the headstone.

Stan went to the headstone wiping off the snow. As he did, I found the name…

"Stanford Pines!" Stan shouted, "No, Skull, please! I'm not the guy I used to be! I…I'll honor Christmas all year! I'll remember what you three taught me! Tell me that I can change the writing on this stone!"

He looked at Skull, who looked down at him almost in pity. Stan grabbed onto his coat and buried his face into Skull's waist-coat.

"SKULL! JUST TELL ME THAT!"

He faintly heard an answer, but couldn't make out what it was.