VAN HELSING

Day Six. No luck so far.

Cory's once again evolved further into the Ultimate. This time, he's managed to enter his ghost form. Right now he's training with Hannah, who returned from the Shadow Realm. And she brought a friend with her as well.

That's right. Grady Tucker is back as a werewolf-ghost Realmwalker. The reunion with Vandal was…emotional.

Anyway, Cory found out that he was a Banshee Poltergeist type of Spectral Ghost. Telekinesis, possession, and any BOO would come out as supersonic wails. He can even go invisible and intangible as well.

And all this ghost stuff has me thinking about Slappy again. Even AFTER his physical form is destroyed, as seen multiple times, he can enter an astral ghost form and reform his body whenever he wishes. Maybe if someone says the words again, he'll also be revived. After all, his magic is powerful. Right now, he's making even DRACULA look like Count Von Count.

And his evil soul, no matter how malicious it is, is too powerful for the Reapers to claim. He can revive and kill as many as he pleases.

Hold on…back when they met Jimmy, the Waldhorn twins heard about how he was made in the 1800s. Which means that his creator must be dead by now. And thus…a ghost in the Shadow Realm.

I've got an idea. It's risky though. No being can enter the Shadow Realm as long as they're alive. It's a place only for the damned.

But if the Waldhorns could do it, well, so could I. Besides, if I can't find Darkwell, I can at least find a ghost who knows Slappy.

I pop the Spirit Stone into my amulet as Cory, Hannah, and Grady are with me in the backyard of Dead House.

"Are you sure about this?" Grady asks. "You know that the Shadow Realm and Mystic Realm are two different things. The Reapers won't tolerate intrusion!"

"They won't know." I say. "With this Moonstone, I'll blend in perfectly."

I then hold the amulet up, looking directly at it.

"For the realm of shadows, the soul is mine to command!"

The Moonstone Amulet works its magic, and I'm covered in light blue-cyan ethereal armor with glowing white trimmings. I'm even see-through.

"Ready and set." I responded. "Let's go."

Thus, all four of us ghosts enter the Shadow Realm. Figures. Even HERE, Dark Falls is empty. Well…NEARLY empty. I'm picking up only ONE spiritual energy.

We follow the energy to one of many MANY old and abandoned houses. It's coming from the basement. Typical.

Once we enter the basement, I notice a lone figure in white. A girl in a white dress, possibly in her late teens. Her cyan hair floats as if she's submerged. And she notices us with pale glowing cyan eyes. Given my family knowledge on deceased spirits, her looks are all I need to figure out who she was.

"Annalee." I state. "Didn't expect someone like you to be here. Then again…I guess this whole place is a ghost town."

"I had a feeling you would find me eventually." She replied. "You're one of the Van Helsings, right? You're glad the Reapers aren't here. They don't care who you are. NO living being can enter the Shadow Realm when they're still alive. So…do you need my help?"

"Yeah. Do you know a spirit called Ephraim Darkwell? I'm trying to find him."

"Um…no. I've never seen him in the Shadow Realm before…"

"Guess we'll have to ask the Reapers later." Hannah sighs. "Okay, long story short, he's a wizard who created this living ventriloquist dummy named Slappy. Do you know HIM?"

"Oh. Yes. He was the first person to not run away in fear. Unlike Shepard Mooney."

Mooney? I recall two staff members at this place's school, Springdale Riding Academy, with that last name. Now that I think about it, I should check that place out for some further clues. I had a feeling that that last name sounded familiar…

"He must've been afraid of you." Cory says. "But…how was he able to see you?"

"I remained trapped here, in the basement of the house he lived in." Annalee answers. "I was selfish in life, and I had to perform a good deed so I could enter the Shadow Realm. The Reapers said I wasn't allowed in until I redeemed myself. I tried to help Shep, but he always ran away in fear. He wouldn't listen."

"So, what deed did you do to get here?" Grady asks.

"I decided to change targets. I did a good deed for Slappy by tearing up the paper slip with the magic words that could put him to sleep."

"You did WHAT?!" I whirl around at that. "He's DANGEROUS! What you did was the OPPOSITE of a good deed!"

"That's what the Reapers told me!" Annalee protests. "When I realized I had messed up, I tried to head back to save Shep from becoming one of Slappy's mind-controlled slaves, but I was too late!"

That won't stop Slappy. He could just use his magic to put the pieces of the paper back together. By now, he must've already have.

"So why are you here NOW?" I ask.

"I helped you escape. Without you noticing. I cloaked as many of you as I could, but I couldn't get everyone. Thankfully, it was enough."

"Huh. I THOUGHT I felt a supernatural presence." Cory says. "That explains why we weren't chased."

"Alright, we're gonna need you to do some more good deeds." I say. "Ephraim Darkwell knows the incantation needed to end Slappy once and for all. I need you to find him."

"What?! But the Shadow Realm is huge! I don't even know where to start!"

"Ask around. Ask some Reapers. Whatever helps." I state. "The Shadow Realm is home to all kinds of ghosts, and thus, every single soul who died. There's no way he can't be there."

"Okay…I'll try my best."

Annalee fades through the wall, and Hannah takes us back into the living world. It's honestly impressive how Annalee figured out who I was. I guess that when you've been doing things like this your whole life, people tend to know you.

"Well, at least I got to take this thing out for a test drive." I note, dematerializing from my armor. "I should get this back to Dead House. And let my hunting party know we'll be investigating the academy tomorrow."

"Meanwhile, I'll be continuing my investigation on this Lazarus Project." Cory adds. "That way I can at least figure out what happened here."

"Ah, right. You showed me the news article. I guess my old man wasn't so great at hiding things. At least I had the decency to keep them with me."

"I guess your family's not so perfect at times." Grady only says.

"Hey, we learn from our mistakes. That's how we roll."

We only head out of the house. Speaking of which, I should start the daily patrol once I return the Spirit Stone. I haven't mapped out all of this single town yet. Hopefully I manage to do that while the party forges the stone.

I guess tomorrow, the others will have to figure out how to do it themselves. I should leave instructions until we get back…

SLAPPY

I can feel it. My awesome power and dark magic is getting stronger!

How stronger, slave? Well, I've finally mastered the art of astral projection! I can be anywhere all without ever leaving the comfort of my humble abode!

Now to finally locate that secret home of that pesky resistance! And show them that NO ONE escapes from Slappy!

Ah…what's this? Why, it's Robby's little grand-brat! No doubt he's sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, as per usual!

So many ways to scare, so little time. Let's see…I could possess his soul and make him my minion. I could possess the house and lock him in. I could even possess a vase and throw it at him! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!

Nah! His magic wouldn't allow me to peek into that big juicy brain of his! Maybe I'll go with the more…CLASSIC approach…

I materialize my ghost form right behind the boy…and I SCREAM!

Instantly, the kid whips around! Does HE scream? No! He only slams on that white armor and blasts me with some kind of conjured salt shotgun!

"ARRRGH!" I'm knocked back into my physical form. Curse that hunter! I keep forgetting that that kid's no longer a kid. Appearances can be deceiving. I should know. I'm usually a harmless dummy!

Okay, forget that guy. I need to focus on someone ELSE! But all his buddies are out of town for…well, ever. Eh, no matter. I just need to find just ONE of his new ones to creep the bejeebers out of, and once they crack from the pressure of terror, BAM! I'll know where they are!

After all, it's like that old saying goes: You can run…but you can't HIDE! HAHAHAHAHA!