Maddie rolled to a stop in front 917 Maple Street. She was worried about going inside alone, but she was relatively confident they wouldn't do anything worse than try to scare her.
Relatively.
She paused at the front door to listen to the cacophony of a band as it warmed up before playing, then stepped inside. Instant silence left her ears ringing, but she only stopped long enough for her eyes to adjust to the gloom before creeping forward. The Fenton Ghost Finder was going insane, but she didn't need it to tell her that something was practically on top of her. The oppressive chill was more than enough.
She stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked around. One of the chairs had been draped with a sheet; unlit, but recently-used, candles were in ample abundance. "I know you're there!" she called out. "Now, show yourself!"
"Maddie..." whispered an unnatural breeze.
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, boys. That's the oldest trick in the book." That sheet really did look familiar...
The sound of scales on a piano was so cliché as to be laughable. The rattling of various artifacts scattered about was just as bad. After a few minutes of trying not to laugh as they tried to scare her, she shook her head. "You're new to this, aren't you?"
Everything stopped. "Good! Now, I don't have time to mess arou-" She stopped again as the sound of growling met her ears. If this was any other ghost house, she would have dismissed it and continued speaking. These haunters, however, were different. These haunters had an alligator.
The ghost hunter jumped out of the way just as the tortured-looking creature lunged out from under the sheet. It whipped around, snarling and snapping in a manner that would have better fit a rabid dog. For whatever reason went through its reptilian head, the alligator was out for blood.
Maddie ducked around a corner and ran. She could almost feel the creature's teeth brush her ankles and somehow managed to go faster. She found a set of stairs, which she took two at a time in the hopes of slowing her pursuer. Fortunately, it worked. Whether it couldn't climb stairs or just didn't realize it could fit if it went intangible, it stopped to stare up at her. After a few minutes, it moved away, and she fell against the wall in relief.
"Now, that was quite a run, ma'am."
She fixed the Ghost Master with a withering glare. "It was totally unnecessary," she informed him. "I only came to talk."
The ghost shrugged, his eyes glittering with amusement. "You think I can control that gator, you got another think coming. He do what he want, when he want." He seemed to laugh as he watched her straighten up to her full height, challenging his authority. He liked a challenge. "So..." he might have breathed if he had lungs. "What's a pretty young thing like yourself doing in a place like this?"
"I want you to tell me where the Paranormal Society has taken all the ghosts." Maddie displayed her Fenton Ghost Bazooka and added, "And maybe I won't send you all back where you belong."
Ghost Master narrowed his eyes. "The Ghost Master got a better idea," he replied. "Maybe I don't know why you want it, but some of mine is stuck in there."
"And you can't get through their ghost shield."
"And we can't get through the shield," he mocked, though whether it was himself or Maddie was up for debate. "The Ghost Master'll take you there, if you help rescue them."
She considered that very carefully. She really only cared about getting her son free, and he was more important than any animosity between Fentons and ghosts. Of course, that meant that she would be willingly unleashing an unknown number of dangerous spirits on Amity Park...
At last, she nodded. She would just have to deal with the ghosts when the time came.
Ghost Master led the way back through the house and fazed through the door of the Fenton RV. Shaking her head at his audacity, she climbed in through the driver's side. "So how many of you are coming?"
"You okay in the head, ma'am? I ain't puttin' no more of mine in danger. You got me, and that be all."
Maddie nodded. "Good, then let's get one thing straight. As soon as this is over, so is this truce. Got it?"
After a few moments' silence, she turned slightly to see her temporary companion regarding her with that infernally amused expression of his. "I love a forceful woman," he all but purred.
"I'm married," she replied coldly.
"And I'm dead, but I ain't letting that stop me."
By the time they reached the abandoned warehouse, she was ready to kill him all over again. "Are you sure this is right?" she asked, cutting off his latest pick-up line.
Finally switching back to business mode, he nodded. "It's where I followed them to, but I couldn't get no further."
Maddie stared up at the broken windows, deep in thought. In retrospect, she probably should have paid more attention to the ghost. She hadn't expected to suddenly find herself smothered with a sheet. "You didn't think old Ghost Master'd let you walk in alone, did you?" he whispered next to her ear. Then she was trying to kick him out of her mind as he moved in to take over.
Her next clear memory was of standing just inside the door of the warehouse. Next to her, the Ghost Master shuddered and twitched as he tried to sort himself out again. "Shaze, woman!" he exclaimed, seemingly exhausted. "You is quite the little fighter, ain'cha?"
"If you ever try that again," she replied, her voice low and full of malice. "I will personally rip you to shreds and send what's left into oblivion."
The ghost chuckled nervously. "Feisty. I think you would, at that."
She smiled a bit evilly. "Count on it."
The huge room was full of boxes lined up in rows. A little investigation found that most of them were completely empty. A few had some kind of equipment hidden within, but she suspected that was mostly for show, as well.
"…Heard something up here…" said a voice. Maddie jumped as Ghost Master settled around her again and tried to fight him off, then both froze as a pair of security guards walked into view.
"Man, I think you were hearing things," laughed the younger of the two, looking directly at them. After some deliberation, the guards went back.
"Now, I know you don't like me," Ghost Master whispered. "But maybe you need me." When no reply was immediately forthcoming, he added, "And maybe I need you."
"You don't have much power, do you?" she asked smugly. She felt him shrug; it was an odd sensation.
"What can I say? The Ghost Master's the brains, here. The gator's the brawn."
Maddie scoffed quietly and crept forward. Personally, she didn't think he was very intelligent. Maybe it was his chauvinism or the third-person speech, or maybe it was simply that he was a ghost. Whatever it was, he struck her as being somewhat dim and overly arrogant.
The two guards sat at a little desk, watching a television as Maddie slipped passed. She suddenly found herself reminded of the movie Men in Black as she pushed a button for the elevator. It dinged in response; she cringed and turned back, but the guards didn't seem to care. They probably thought someone was coming up. At last, the door opened, and she ducked inside.
"Finally!" Ghost Master exclaimed, pulling away again. He gave a somewhat exaggerated shudder and pulled the sheet closed.
"So what happened to your body, anyway?" the woman asked, letting curiosity overcome her.
"It's a long and embarrassing story-" He was suddenly cut off by a blaring alarm. "…That I'll maybe tell you about later!" he called over the noise.
"They must have a camera in here," Maddie huffed. Ghost Master threw himself against the walls, but only succeeded in making himself even more annoying. "Will you stop that? We're still moving…there must be another way out…"
The ghost started to growl; he almost sounded like the alligator, but it hadn't come along. Maddie shoved the thought away and checked the ceiling. Sure enough, there was a maintenance panel. Using the Ghost Bazooka, she was able to nudge it out of the way and jump up.
"Hey, woman! You can't leave me here!"
He sounded desperate…frightened even. She tried to ignore him, but his pleading was so full of hopeless terror. She would have to have been inhuman to ignore it. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" she muttered, dropping back down. "Just make it quick."
He settled around her again, then she was looking at the world through a hazy tunnel. She felt her arms move of their own volition, and it was a terrifying experience. She unconsciously started to fight the interloper and had to force herself to relax again. It seemed like an eternity before he withdrew with a parting, "I knew you loved me."
"Shut up."