Ghost's Fury Chapter 28: Conspiracy by Candlelight, a How to Train Your Dragon + Big Hero 6 Crossover fanfic

Chapter 28, everybody! Sorry for the spotty updating this month—decorating has been more extensive this year (but it's pretty!).

So…in the extensive writing for this fic the past couple of months, the latter half of this chapter blindsided and surprised me, but definitely made for an awesome subplot that kicked the larger part of the fic into gear. It's not like Obake was having an easy time of it, after all….

Helga is paraphrasing Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove, if anyone was wondering. The torii, by the way, are those Japanese gates, and are usually linked with the spiritual—although one of the sources I consulted when looking up the name did name one of the crossbeams as for hanging (although probably for lamps).

"Now let's see how your comprehension is going."

Hiro huffed, wrote down Obake Hiro fish give, hesitated before making the question mark Obake had showed him.

"Hmm," Obake noised. "Close." Wrote it in the correct order. "At least you're in the neighborhood now."

"Hff," Hiro noised, copied what Obake had written, looked up at him.

"Very good," he said, giving Hiro a fresh fish he had lifted from the village. "Now let's see…how far into abstracts should we move today?"

Hiro huffed, watched as Obake went over the rune for fire, figuring he'd start with more solid concepts first—still debating on what he could do with those dragons in the kill ring. Couldn't exactly convince someone to let them go, whether as a favor or a bet—dragon parts were a key part of the village's income, alongside raiding and mercenary work. No one would willingly let go of a third of their income. Not without a good reason.

Unfortunately, spiting Yama wasn't a good enough reason.

"Okay," Obake said, once Hiro got that rune down—it was a few simple strokes, so it was easy enough once you got past the part about a dragon learning how to write. "Maybe we try going over question words again—"

Anything else was cut off by the sound of scrabbling and squawking and growling—stand up, reaching for the little knife he had been keeping in his belt—

Blinked at the sight of the Gronkle coming into the cave, kicking out with its back paws before turning around and growling as it backed in—

Why became clear when a troupe of Terrible Terrors followed it in—judging by the markings, colorations, and scars, he was thinking that most of them were the ones he had freed, with at least a handful of the others being the ones that had visited in the cove.

Noting how swelled the little flock was, he was starting to regret letting those in the kill ring go.

"Oi!" he barked finally, causing one to glance over—

Which caused a nice ripple effect when they all quieted, staring at him—

Except for the cove bunch, which chirped and scuttled over to Hiro, bobbing their heads and generally acting excited to see him.

That was secondary to noting the smug look the Gronkle gave the other little Terrors before trotting over to deposit its fish by the fire. Sit, lick its paws as the two groups of Terrors started chattering at each other—

"Ugh—here," he said, grabbing a larger fish and flinging it as hard as he could. "Anything to shut you up."

The Terrors immediately dove after the fish—focus on spearing some of the smaller ones and putting them in the fire….

Notice the look the Gronkle was giving him, somewhere bordering comically dismayed.

"What?" he asked. "Oh no, let me guess, if you feed them they never leave."

Yes, that was exactly the problem.

Momakase wasn't sure what to make of the little scrap of paper slipped under her door—for one, that meant someone had tailed her to figure out where she was staying tonight (only Obake was daft enough to stay in the same building for more than two nights in a row).

For another, it was telling her to come to a different building, one on the very edge of the cliff, and to take care that she wasn't followed.

Well let's consider this, shall we? This stank of a setup, was probably someone planning on killing her and throwing her body over the cliff. Probably banking on her being stupid enough to walk in not expecting a trap. Idiots.

It was why she was heading to the location, yes, but bristling with her knives, one hand on a ready hilt in case someone thought to come at her from behind. And yes, she was being cautious, but mostly to avoid getting ambushed on the way to getting ambushed—she just hoped it wasn't too many people, she'd be in trouble for wiping out a chunk of the Yokai's fighting force.

Her first inclination that she was to reevaluate her initial supposition was spotting Felix peeking out of a higher window—not that she didn't think he was easily intimidated into keeping quiet, it was just that there were better options for a lookout.

The next was when she did knock on the door, stepping back and to the side so she could more effectively stab whoever stuck their head out, only for Felony Carl to say, from behind the closed door, "Put it away, 'Kase."

"So I'm guessing this isn't a ploy to kill me?" she asked, prompting Carl to finally open the door and peer out at her. "Pity, I was hoping for a workout."

"You might still die from this, don't worry," Helga said, stepping out of the shadows—eyed the knife with amusement. "Oh put it away—we have better things to do."

"Like?" Momakase asked, circling around the door a little to eye her as she walked in past Carl.

"You'll have to get in here and see, now won't you?"

Momakase glared after her, eyed Carl still standing there holding the door open…finally followed the other Yokai in. If Carl was involved, it couldn't be that bad.

But she had been wrong before.

"You want to do what?"

"Did I stutter?" Helga asked, staring down Audrey, one hand lightly supporting her weight as she leaned over a small table—the building looked like it had been a small barn once upon a time, one that was now used as a place to sleep only when the weather was fine.

The giant hole that a Gronkle had busted through the side overlooking the ocean had made any other use of it very difficult.

Except for now, apparently, when it was being used for just plain idiocy.

"I'm sorry, you called me here to stage a coup?" Momakase demanded, quickly taking note of who else was in the room.

"Coup sounds so vulgar," Helga said, tugging her penknife from the table before circling around it. "Think of it as a restructuring of the corporate ladder, or a reshuffling of the Yokai hierarchy, or that Callaghan will be permanently moving in a different direction."

"Ohh, this is so exciting!" Mole breathed, clapping lightly and causing Vinnie to edge away from him, concerned.

Momakase felt that on a personal level, took in the room. Well let's see, Felix and Ralph weren't quite a surprise, they hated the Yokai—but they also didn't have the nerve to do what needed doing. Audrey, Vinnie, and Mole? Well they had overheard Helga that first night, she needed to continue including them so they were implicated, same as her—same thing with Momakase.

Carl was a question mark.

"And you didn't see fit to include Dibs in this?" she asked him.

"Dibs has many strengths," Carl said, ignoring her disbelieving snort. "Discretion is not one of them."

"Uh-huh," Barb said flatly, before looking at Helga. "And do you have a plan for this restructuring?"

"I have a few," Helga said, leaning back against the table. "But first I'm going to be wanting an idea of how many Yokai would be in our corner. I'm sure at least a few of you have skills in ferreting out information."

"Uh, question," Felix posed hesitantly, gingerly raising a hand. "How uh, how dangerous is this going to be?"

"All of us dead if this falls through," Barb shot at him, before glaring at Helga. "And I'd rather not put my daughter at risk. Now, forget the numbers for a minute—what is the plan?"

"Numbers are important," Helga said, circling the rest of the way around the table. "If we have the numbers, then the inevitable rash of infighting after Callaghan is dead won't be as devastating."

"I'm thinking we make it look like an accident," Vinnie volunteered, one arm crossed, the other gesturing a little.

"We dig a hole for him to fall in," Mole volunteered.

"Eh, that doesn't sound as accidental as I'd like."

"If you think you can pull it off, start brainstorming," Helga ordered. "We need backup plans."

"You haven't even said what the primary plan is yet," Barb said flatly.

Momakase had an idea. "Don't tell me—you're hoping that Obake actually does challenge Callaghan? He'd never be able to take him in a straight fight!"

"Obake wouldn't take Callaghan in a straight fight," Helga countered, pointing her penknife at Momakase. "He'd come up with a clever trap and take him out that way—probably would succeed at making it look like an accident," she added, glancing at Vinnie.

"Uh, s-so why isn't he here?" Ralph asked, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as he glanced around, like he was expecting Obake to just materialize out of nowhere.

"When was the last time you saw him around the village?" Audrey asked him. "Obake's a literal ghost right now."

"Which is what makes me think he's planning on making a move," Helga said, digging the tip of her penknife into the table thoughtfully. "He moves, we move afterwards once the fighting starts."

"So this is the plan?" Barb asked—when it was confirmed for her: "Then I'm out."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," Barb said, already heading for the door and giving Carl the evil eye. "This isn't a plan—this is you playing revolutionary and hoping—hoping—that a boy who has never cared for the Yokai or the village it used to be would actually care enough to do your dirty work. Move it, Carl."

"We don't need him to care," Helga countered. "You and I both know Obake has no interest in being chief. All we need is for him to take out Callaghan."

Barb turned her glare on Helga, although this time it was tempered with something that was almost amusement. "You didn't know him back then—Callaghan gave him the one thing he wanted. He won't bite the hand that took the leash off."

"You seem rather sure of that."

"Like I said, I knew how he was like back then." Turn back to Carl. "Move it before I make you cough up a kidney."

Carl glanced up at Helga—sighed and stepped aside—

Helga was right there, yanking the door back shut and getting nose-to-nose with Barb.

"Fine," she spat. "You say that—but the fact remains that we need Callaghan gone."

"And who's going to do that for you?" Barb demanded. "Anyone who takes Callaghan out will be taken out by the next Yokai with aspirations of grandeur—the next chief wouldn't last a week, if they survived taking him out in the first place!"

"I know that," Helga said, voice rough and trembling. "So. If Obake doesn't make his move…I take Callaghan out."

Dead silence followed that declaration.

"Helga, that's crazy," Audrey said.

"No, what's crazy is continuing to follow a leader whose sanity started slipping years ago," Helga shot back. "I won't make it, most likely—if Callaghan and I don't take each other out then Yama will step in and kill me right after. But it triggers what we want." Give Barb a level glare.

"Whatever happens will happen in the days following Callaghan's return," she continued slowly, cold steel in her voice. "We have until then to root out supporters and find a hiding place away from the worst of it. Surely, you can get behind that?"

Barb held her ground for several painful seconds….

Did finally step back, relenting.

"You still have too many holes in your plans," Barb said sullenly. "But if I can keep Juney away from the worst of it…I'm in."

"That's why you lot are here," Helga said, smile triumphant. "We're working out the kinks. And we'll be needing ideas for that hiding place."

"One of the other islands would be best," Carl offered. "Slip through the woods, sneak away in the dead of night while everyone's fighting. I know some guys in the fishing crew who'd be willing."

"See? Our numbers are growing already," Helga said, tapping Carl before moving back to the center of the building. "If you know of someone who'd be interested in joining us, let me or Carl know and we'll move from there—no spreading this around. I'd rather not be hanging by the torii." Turn, evaluate them all. "For now, focus on potential escape routes through the village and the rest of the island, places we can hide, paths we could even manage in the dark. I want us to be ready the moment blood hits the ground." Give them one last long look. "All right, that's it. Dismissed."

"Hold it," Audrey said, when Helga headed for the door, Barb already with a hand on the handle. "Why are you doing this? This goes wrong we're all dead—you're planning on dying for this to work! Why?"

Helga's face was in shadow, but Momakase could see her expression, the pain and determination in it—wasn't surprised at the way she turned to face Audrey, so fast her braid whipped around her neck.

"The man I served before Callaghan told me we had an equal partnership," she said, tone even, fury simmering. "He lied, obviously, left me to die. I swore I'd never make another mistake like that again."

Silence met that declaration, and Helga left unopposed, Barb following with something approaching newfound respect for the woman. Quiet murmuring after they left, debating on leaving for different sleeping locales, reasoning that there might not be a raid tonight, or rain, a few finally retreating to a corner under a loft or the loft itself. Audrey picked herself out a corner, sat there with her knees drawn to her chest, obviously debating with herself over this whole thing. Momakase felt that.

"Now here's my question," Momakase said quietly, looking at Carl. "What's your stake in this?"

Carl stared at the lantern sitting on the small table, lost in thought.

"We weren't always a tribe of killers," he said finally. "Maybe some of us are too far gone, but…I'd like to change that, rescue those who can still be saved."

She laughed at that, went to the table. "You are a fool then."

"What about you?" he asked her. "If we could change things…would you go for it?"

Would she? She had a lot of pent-up rage, fury at the series of events that saw her with the Yokai, had turned it and tempered it and sharpened it on dragons and humans alike. Was she too far gone, or was there a chance? Did she want to take that chance?

"I don't think I have a choice," she said finally, picking the lantern up. "I overheard Helga make the first statement, she brought me here so if I try to finger her she has leverage on me. That's how the game works."

"Maybe it doesn't have to be that way."

Scoff. "Go to sleep, Carl—you're dreaming."

And with that she blew the lantern out, plunging them into darkness.