Here's the next update everybody! Prepare for some more lore in this and the next chapter. Not to mention some very fascinating story bits.
I'm finally moved into the new place, but I've yet to get into the job. As said before, updates are still going to be weird, but still ongoing. Things should get back into a new routine by the end of next month at worst.
Without further ado, go ahead and enjoy the chapter!
The Ghost Zone was thankfully calmer today than it usually was, though Karkat did keep an eye out just in case. Having Eridan with him was a dangerous factor, especially since it was basically confirmed his dad was wanted here. He couldn't risk someone recognizing him and making assumptions, especially if it happened to be one of the Pyropes.
He still kept a death grip on his phone, checking it occasionally. He made sure that Sollux and Aradia kept a clear eye out on what was happening in Amity Park while he was doing this.
CG: ANYTHING HAPPENING OVER THERE? I'M GETTING CLOSE TO HORUSS'S WORKSHOP.
TA: nothiing yet. all the 2en2or2 are comiing up empty, even iin tavro2'2 area.
AA: i'm keeping an eye 0n the news, but i haven't heard anything. i'm still patr0lling the sch00l hallways t00.
TA: kk, are you 2ure we can tru2t thii2 equii2 guy? thii2 could be ju2t 2ome weiird prank he'2 tryiing two pull on a new gho2t or 2omethiing. and not exactly a good one.
CG: HE DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THE PRANKING TYPE WHEN I TALKED TO HIM. NOT TO MENTION NO IDIOT WOULD RISK BEING CAUGHT AND DISSECTED BY A GHOST HUNTER FOR A SIMPLE PRANK.
AA: i think y0u're f0rgetting ab0ut that gh0st c0uple that decided t0 vandalize a sch00l in br0ad daylight. clearly, being dead releases y0ur inhibiti0ns.
CG: WELL, EVEN IF THIS IS SOME STUPID PRANK, IT'S STILL WORTH CHECKING WITH HORUSS FIRST. HE'D KNOW HIS BROTHER BETTER THAN WE DO.
AA: p0int. but remember, just because we kn0w h0russ d0esn't mean we kn0w his br0ther. he c0uld've handed y0u a flashdrive full 0f s0llux level viruses f0r all we kn0w.
TA: ...you know, maybe iit ii2 a good thiing we don't te2t iit on one of my computer2 then. two rii2ky.
CG: NICE TO KNOW YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT OUR FRIENDS, CAPTOR. YOU IDIOTS HAVE FUN. I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THIS SHIT ISN'T DANGEROUS.
Karkat sighed, putting the phone into his pocket. He regretted having to split so soon with Feferi and Kanaya, but they thankfully had some stuff to do with Mr. Lancer anyway. Feferi looked happy that Eridan was hanging out with, actually, and which would've been nice if it didn't remind him of his situation with Dualscar so much.
"So, what should I expect with this Horuss guy exactly? You haven't really said much about him or whatever." Eridan shrugged, most likely to fill the silence. The Ghost Zone could be unnervingly silent to anyone who wasn't used to it. "Hopefully a bit less mysterious than his brother. And less sweaty."
"I can't promise anything on the sweaty part, but he is nice. Pretty much the exact opposite to Equis, honestly." Karkat ran over the meeting in his head. The situation wasn't any less ominous than it was hours ago. "But I don't think you have to worry about him. I think the Leijons are going to be there, and they're pretty chaotic."
Karkat figured he should elaborate, but the questioning glance he got from Eridan was funny. That and he could see Horuss's home in the distance.
He never really considered where the ghost would live, but the sight of a two story building surrounded by meticulously organized junk was a fitting place. He could see various machines surrounding the place, all at work doing something or another. The building itself was plain, entirely nondescript except for it's deep purple coloring. It honestly did fit Horuss to a T.
"Alright, let me head up there first. Like I said, Horuss is nice, but I don't know how he'll react to someone intruding on his lair." Karkat floated up to the door, Eridan close behind. "And god can Nepeta be excitable sometimes. She might pounce on you for all I know."
He wasn't entirely sure if he was serious or not. He knocked quietly before the other boy could change his mind, waiting for a response.
They didn't have to wait long, as Horuss opened it up pretty much immediately. Despite being a little disheveled, he still seemed pretty cheery, already having his tools in hand.
"Vantas, it's been too long! I was wondering when you'd show up for today." Horuss grabbed Eridan's hand quickly, his handshake nearly causing the boy to be thrown about. "And it's excellent to finally meet you too, Mr. Ampora. I was surprised to hear you'd be joining us for today."
"I-It was a bit of a snap decision, honestly." Eridan tried to hide the fact he was cradling his hand after Horuss let go. "Just wanted to talk about a few things, if you're available."
"I have plenty of time! Feel free to come on in, Nepeta and Muelin are already here." He went inside, expecting them to follow. "I'd say to watch your step, but I don't think you'll have to worry about that."
The inside was surprisingly messy, with even more machines littered across the area. These ones weren't as complete as the ones outside were, each in their own stage of development. Karkat was kinda glad ghosts could float, seeing as it was almost a minefield.
Nepeta and Muelin seemed to be playing some form of game with one of Horuss's inventions, though he couldn't necessarily say what. It was keeping them highly amused, though, so maybe the halfa didn't need to know.
"And, I win this round! Better luck next time, Nepeta." Muelin rubbed the top of her fuming sisters head, a cocky smile on her face. "Maybe you need a little more practice."
"I'm pretty sure you just have house advantage." Nepeta stuck her tongue out at her sister, though it wasn't really serious. The accusation didn't even make sense anyway. "You're deep in cuddlepiles with the owner, so I wouldn't talk too much shit."
"Please stop talking about this, Nepeta. We've got guests." Horuss was instantly embarrassed, trying to get this conversation over with. "Muelin, could you get Karkat into the changing room. And Karkat, could you also leave your sickles in the room too? I have an idea for it you could probably use."
Muelin was already up and about, grabbing onto Karkat and pulling him where he needed to go. Karkat remembered being told that, yeah, he can actually change his clothes in his ghost form, which was a bit of a shock to him. He was glad he did, since that allowed him to actually repair the damn thing after his fights and get it washed. He was almost embarrassed he didn't figure out sooner.
Before Muelin moved him into the room, she did slow down, looking behind her real quick. She signed at him a quick message.
"Is it safe to bring him here?"
Karkat nodded, though he did his best to weakly sign back a quick yes. He was pretty glad he started to learn when her face lit up a little at that.
Karkat quickly went in, changing out of the hazmat suit and into some of the backup clothes Horuss provided. It felt weird being out of it while he was in his ghost form, but it was necessary for everything to work. He floated out, handing the clothes to Muelin before heading toward the others.
"Good, it looks like you're prepared. As long as Muelin puts the suit out correctly, one of my inventions should be able to implant some simple upgrades." Horuss moved onto a table, sitting on it as he fiddled with something. "Anything more specialized would take more time and would require a more personal touch."
"It is surprisingly weird to see you without the suit. I mean, it makes you look more like your human form, I guess." Eridan looked him over, a little put off. "Honestly, it almost feels like your naked to me."
"Funny, coming from the actual nudist in the room." Nepeta smiled cheekily, watching as Eridan's faced turned purple at the jab. "I know you don't actually have legs in your ghost form right now, but you aren't exactly wearing a shirt either."
Eridan sputtered, looking down at himself and trying to come up with an argument back. When he couldn't, he stared into the air for several seconds. "Oh god, am I nudist?"
"Let's leave that question unanswered for now. Horuss, Nepeta, I need to ask you a few questions." Karkat didn't know how to start, but he figured that getting into it now rather than later would work better. "What can you tell me about Equis?"
"My brother? What do you need to know about him?" Horuss actually stopped from messing around with the little gadget in his hand, attention abruptly on them. "I'm not even sure I ever mentioned him before. Is he in some form of trouble?"
"Actually, he was warning us about trouble for some reason. Made a big show of it and everything." Eridan waved his hand, as if that explained everything. "Showed up at the school and started monologuing. Which was kind of cool, but pretty dramatic."
"Wait. He showed at your school. In the human world?" Nepeta didn't seem to believe that, good mood entirely gone. Equis was technically her moirail, so this was probably very strange behavior for him. "That can't be right. I never really told him where the portal was, even after the Fright Knight thing."
Karkat raised an eyebrow. The warning had been one thing, but noticeable strange behavior belied a very serious problem. "Is he not fond of humans or something?"
"It's not that he's not fond of humans, it's just that," Muelin had arrived back while the conversation was underway. "…okay, I'm not going to lie to you here, but he's kind of a Darwinist. No offense, Horuss."
"None taken. That's the most apt description considering what my father has taught him." Horuss lifted his goggles up, rubbing at his eyes briefly. The goggles were back on before anybody could see them. "Equis isn't a bad person, per se, but he carries some very outdated values. Most of them taught by my good for nothing father, mind you."
The insult was unexpected enough for everyone to take pause. Muelin went over and kept close to her moirail, patting him on the back. It seemed to be appreciated, judging from his relaxed posture.
"You said he was warning you about something. He wouldn't do that normally, especially since he consider humans to be weak." Nepeta bit her nails, trying to think of any reason why that would happen. "What was he even talking about?"
"He didn't actually say. All he did was give Kar some kind of flash drive and then disappeared into the nothingness." Eridan scratched his chin, thinking it all through. "All he said that he was only warning us because he figured it would upset you two if he didn't. Nothing else."
"Which leads me to this." Karkat threw the flash drive at Horuss, which he used his technokinesis to grab. The older ghost looked at it thoughtfully. "Whatever is supposed to happen, it's because of something on here. If you have a computer you don't mind turning into a glorified paper weight, we should look through it."
"I'll get that clunky one we brought from the human world. It looks like it can take the hit for us if it needs too." Muelin was already moving into the back, muttering about where it was. "You think it might involved your dad, Horuss?"
"Most likely so. That means we definitely need to be prepared." Horuss got up as well, moving towards where a machine was working on Karkat's hazmat suit. "I'll see if I can make the upgrades quicker."
Karkat sighed, watching as Muelin hauled in a computer carefully. She was able to set it up fast, turning it on as she plugged in the flash drive. With trepidation, he moved towards it, thinking things through.
Just what was Dualscar planning here?
Aradia was slowly becoming really bored of patrolling the school hallways. Despite the fact it was necessary, the act was starting become grating since the dread of another ghost attack was starting to fade.
She'd mostly kept herself occupied by messaging Sollux, who was in a similar state as he kept an eye on the portal.
AA: please tell me y0u're at least getting s0me kind 0f visi0n 0r s0mething right n0w. even if it's a small 0ne.
TA: nothiing. have you got anythiing from your future 2elf yet?
AA: nada. i'm either keeping quiet ab0ut all 0f this 0r i'm having a t0ugh time sending messages right n0w.
She really has been trying to figure out how to do that consistently, but she hadn't had a lot of luck. The occasional one would go through, and those usually weren't super helpful or descriptive. It was a start, and certainly better than Sollux.
He was doing his best to learn lucid dreaming, which hadn't provided too many results thus far. But considering his powers seemed to deal with dreams, it was the only lead they had.
TA: ii'm 2tartiing two thiink we got 2cammed. the2e power2 haven't worked at all liike we wanted them two 2iince we got them.
AA: it's a learning experience. besides, we weren't even sure what we'd get, much less anything at all when we did that pledge.
TA: faiir enough, ii gue22. look, ii'm gonna check the 2canner2 agaiin. have fun wiith your extracurriicular actiiviitiie2.
AA: ha ha. y0u're taking the next shift just f0r that c0mment.
Aradia chuckled, getting out of Ghostian. She really didn't know why she had a crush on that lunatic, but here she was. She really had to start seeing how he felt when things officially calmed down enough for them to figure things out.
She looked down the hallways, frowning gently. No time to think about the future, need to keep focused on the present.
Aradia did see a door open, nearly making her take out an ectogun on reflex, but relaxed when she saw it was Mr. Lancer, Feferi, and Kanaya. Her phone buzzed, causing her to take it out again.
FAA: Follow them.
…Okay, that was a bit rude future Aradia. Not like she wasn't going to do it anyway. She was already moving closer when she heard Lancer talking to the two of them.
"Are you sure you want to take up a teaching assistant position so soon after moving here, Ms. Maryam?" Mr. Lancer didn't seem to actually mind, considering they did need some aides at Casper High. But he did feel the need to ask. "I did hear that you didn't exactly have the warmest welcome when you arrived."
"It's quite alright. I'm really just looking forward to doing something while my family is in town, especially with everything happening here." Kanaya brushed off the concern fairly easily. Aradia sensed she had practice. "Ghost attacks or not, I'd rather keep myself busy."
"Still, you got to see two ghosts in one day. I'd almost call you lucky if it wasn't for the whole Spectra thing." Feferi waved at Aradia as she caught up to them. "Hey Aradia! Is everyone else nearby?"
"Nah, the guys are all busy with something right now. I don't know when they'll get off, but if they're done soon, I think we can take a stop at the Nasty Burger after this." Aradia squinted at the two new girls weirded out expressions. "Have I never mentioned that place before? We definitely need to go there."
"As happy as I am that you've rolled out the welcome wagon Ms. Megido, I really hope you aren't traumatizing the new students already." Mr. Lancer meant it good naturedly. At least, he mostly did. "Things have been mostly quiet around here, though. Almost peaceful."
"You wound me, Mr. Lancer. You really do." Aradia was ninety percent sure he just jinxed them. "By the way, have you seen anybody hanging around here? I'm pretty sure I heard some new guy is on campus looking for the front office."
"Another one? I haven't heard about anymore students." Lancer frowned, looking through his clipboard. "As much I understand the news coverage Amity Park has been getting, I really don't understand why we're taking on so many new students."
The lights immediately flickered at that, almost as if to prove his point. A loud ringing soon followed, coming from farther down the hallway, electronic in nature.
"That sounds like it's coming from the computer lab." Feferi covered her ears, cringing at the sound. "Is that supposed to be an alarm?"
"No." Mr. Lancer groaned, already heading over there. "Probably Mrs. Lark trying to get onto her email again. The woman is half my age yet doesn't know how handle a computer. It's a wonder she hasn't added viruses onto the entire school's server."
Aradia had a feeling that wasn't the case. Her future self did want her to follow them, and this didn't seem like coincidence. She followed behind as they moved to the lab, wondering how she'd explain an ectogun to Mr. Lancer. It probably wouldn't fly.
"Is everything alright, Aradia? You look like you've seen- no, not finishing that sentence." Kanaya mumbled the last part, nearly kicking herself for jinxing them. Like they weren't already. "You look upset. Is there anything wrong."
"Not really. Just have a feeling about something." Aradia joked. She debated bowing out now and calling Karkat so he could deal with this quickly. "You know when you have a feeling something is about to go terribly wrong?"
"Great Expectations!"
The girls watched as Mr. Lancer, who had opened up the computer lab door suddenly leap backwards. Aradia was able to look inside, seeing several computers glitching out and literally rising up.
"Like that." Aradia couldn't help but wonder what would make this worse.
That was when Karkat, in full Phantom form, burst through the window to the computer lab.
It hadn't taken long for Horuss to find out what was on that flash drive, and more importantly, what the program on it could do. It took longer for him suit back up and get back to the human world, a fact that grated on him when he was flying over.
It turns out Equis had given him a virus that was meant to turn every electronic appliance with a WIFI signal to slowly come to life and try to hurt the nearest living thing close to it. It would be able to send emails out to other devices and eventually try to spread it further and further from the first computer.
Figure that out had been a scare and a half, but considering the computer it was tested on was surrounded by ghosts, a halfa, and Eridan, it hadn't taken much to defeat it. Which was probably why Equis told him to go to his brother.
Karkat hadn't remembered much about the conversation after, but he decided that Eridan and Horuss would be the only ones to join him. The first was so someone could trip an alarm to evacuate whoever was in the school, while the latter was to help contain it.
While they were on the way here, Horuss had given him a very ominous warning.
"If my father is here as well, then you won't be able to find him. My family's aspect is Void, and that makes us surprisingly difficult to track." While they'd been invisible while flying over here, but he knew Horuss must've had a scowl on his face. "Like my brother, he won't be found unless he lets you find him."
Karkat would look for Horuss's dad after this anyway, but right now he needed to focus on the more immediate threat of several computers moving on wires. Right towards some humans that didn't seem to know what they were looking at.
"Hey!" Karkat kicked one of the computers into the ground before it could properly rise up, smashing it to pieces. He didn't think it would be a good idea to risk throwing ectoblasts while there were other people in the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm pretty sure the only reason computers should kill anyone is if someone sits at one for more than twenty-four hours. Other than that, I'd say it isn't fair game."
"You again?!"
Karkat blinked, looking over at the human's present, the distraction giving him time to actually recognize them. He wasn't surprised to see Aradia, but Feferi, Mr. Lancer, and Kanaya were certainly a shock.
"The hell- okay, this is the third time something supernatural has happened around you. Are you cursed or something?" Karkat knew it was just coincidence, but seriously, what the hell? "And I thought I attracted trouble."
"Excuse me, but what in the world is going on here? Is this a senior prank?" Lancer looked at the living computers, and then to the glowing team. He repeated this action several times, enough for Karkat to wonder if he was about to have a heart attack. "I will hand out detentions for this unless you tell me what's happening here."
"You seriously must not have seen a ghost before." Karkat ducked as one of the computers got brave, swiping at his head with crackling wires. He could hear the fire alarm start ringing out. "And I'm thinking that's your cue to go. Mind escorting him out, ladies?"
"Don't mind if I do!" Aradia grabbed Mr. Lancer, along with Feferi, who had remained silent as she watched the insane exchange. "Make sure we don't have any computer overlords, please? I've always hated those types of apocalyptic scenarios."
"Wait, who is that?" Feferi sadly wasn't going to get any answers as Aradia was already dragging them out the door, followed by a bewildered Kanaya. She saw Karkat get attacked by two computers, causing him to fly towards the ceiling. "What is going on here?"
Karkat sighed, noting that the computers that started rising were growing at an alarming rate. He could already tell this was going to be a very exhausting fight considering there was about twenty of these things, with seven of them already up and ready to kill.
Without any further ado, he fired an ectoblast at two computers in front of him, destroying one and only grazing the other. A slash came from his right, which he dodged before firing at it, destroying it too.
Another computer rose up while he was dodging one from his left, slashing at his back hard. Karkat felt the force of it, but the suit took the brunt of the damage. He could already feel the damaged body armor heal up, forming back to its original form.
Horuss hadn't made any spectacular modifications to the suit, but there were two main additions to it. Not only did it provide a hell of a lot more armor that didn't impact his flying speed, but it was able to regenerate it if damaged. While it depended on the level of damage, the regeneration could be slow, meaning that he couldn't stand more than two big hits before getting hurt.
Karkat made sure to use it to its fullest extent, flying under and grabbing the wires as the same computer attacked. He launched it towards another one, upping his count to three destroyed computers, two of which had already been replaced.
The halfa immediately changed plans, deciding fly out of the classroom and firing ectoblasts at anything that followed. He knew he'd eventually beat them, but considering the respawn rate, it was going to take a bit.
"Horuss, have you made any progress on quarantining the virus? We can't have this spread anywhere outside the school." He spoke into the headset Horuss had added. He destroyed another computer with a careful, another of its brothers taking its place. "If it spread to the other teachers computers, that's fine, but if this gets out…"
"Trust me, I understand the implications of that more than you'd know." Horuss spoke quickly, obviously hard at work. "My father must've put a good amount of ecto-energy into this. It's going to take a few minutes. Can you manage that?"
"Of course I can. I've dealt with worse than a few outdated- shit!" Karkat dodged an arc of electricity, one of the computers seemingly getting wiser. "Great, they're evolving. Just what we needed from a robot uprising."
Karkat didn't dodge the second arc, coming from a different computer. It hit him in the chest hard, sending him back into a tree a few feet back. The smell of burning body armor was unpleasant and the ache in his back would hurt, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Getting up and deciding to keep moving, he pulled out his sickles, activating the new addition to them. Again, it wasn't exactly a spectacular update. Horuss had given him some chains made of ecto-energy to connect to the bottom of them, allowing them to be thrown or swung around at a larger range.
Karkat experimentally threw one toward a computer, hitting it squarely in its screen. It went through it and he swung it rightwards, destroying another and cutting the wires off another. He wrapped the other one around another enemy, firing it up with ecto-energy to turn it to ashes.
With eight of them down, Karkat flew forwards and pulled his sickles back. Nearing the window, he threw an ectoblast at the crippled computer, counting out that five more had risen up in their fallen brethren's place. All of them started firing electricity at once, making the halfa slip through the floor.
He quickly flew back up, grabbing and smashing two computers against the ceiling. A third one grabbed his leg with its wires, unceremoniously slamming into the floor with a grunt. Karkat simply fired and hit one of them charging up an electrical attack before tugging the wires on his leg and sending a slicing it in half with a sickle.
Before the halfa could send a final shot toward the fifth computer, it immediately started to fizzle out and die. Stopping the blast halfway, he watched as it twitched and eventually collapsed onto the floor.
"Phantom, are you there? I was able to finally quarantine the virus before it could spread further." Horuss's voice came in staticky, but the relief was palpable besides that. "I'm surprised it went as well as it did."
"That makes two of us. These things weren't that hard to beath, honestly." Karkat kicked at the remains of one of the destroyed computers, wincing. He was surprised there were even any computers left in the lab, much less the entire school. "I'm starting to think that was a little too easy, actually."
"You would assume correct, Phantom."
Karkat swung around, ectoblast at the ready at the sound of a new voice, smoke billowing out of his mouth. He could hear Horuss start to ask something before the line went dead, sending a large amount of anxiety into his gullet.
It didn't take long to find the perpetrator, and the halfa wasn't surprised that they had a familiar, but different face. Wearing a dark body suit with purple accents that would've come right out of Tron stood a ghostly man looking at him coldly. His eyes were obscured by a helmet and familiar set of goggles, but a tilt of the head made sure that Karkat knew he was being looked over like he was a specimen under a microscope.
Or, if he was anything like his other family members, like he was a piece of machinery he didn't know how to operate on.
"You know, I really got to stop finding friends of mines relatives like this. This isn't exactly a great way to make a first impression." Karkat sarcastically remarked, weapons still out. "I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume you're Mr. Zahhak?"
The older man was silent for a few moments, humming softly to himself. He looked down to the half-finished computer, kicking at it softly with some disdain. Karkat almost felt insulted that he was making him wait.
"That's one thing people within the Infinite Realms call me. I have plenty of other names, to go by, but I rarely get called 'Mr. Zahhak' anymore." The ghost shifted, floating around the halfa slowly. Karkat made sure that he was always in front of him. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know one of my sons. It is within a Blood Aspects nature to find allies wherever they can. Tell me, is it Horuss or Equis that you know? Then again, it could be both."
"I don't think I'm going to explain that, considering who you happen to be working for. I'd rather not let him know who to find." Dualscar didn't need to know shit, especially if he planned on more than one attack. "Assuming you're smart enough to realize how much of a bad idea to let him know about them, that is."
"Believe it or not, subtlety is best when dealing with those that are stronger than you. When pure strength doesn't cut it, intelligence is usually the next best thing." Mr. Zahhak shrugged, a purely casual gesture in what was a tense situation. Karkat realized he wasn't being taken serious here. "I'm assuming you have questions, child. I'd ask that you make them quick. I have a job to complete, whether or not you allow me to do so."
Karkat mulled things over before deciding on his first one. "What do you call yourself, Mr. Zahhak?"
The older ghost paused, as if he hadn't expected it. He recovered quite easily despite that.
"I usually go by Darkleer. At least, that's what my employers call me when they need a job done." The ghost tilted his head, as if to inspect him further. "And I'd suggest that you refer to me as such, child."
Karkat was going to enjoy knocking this idiot down a few pegs.
Yeah, I'm going down a certain road for Darkleer here and hopefully you all enjoy it. He's going to come off as a pretty annoying Darwinist philosopher, but I think you were expecting that in some shape or form.
Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter!