CHAPTER 30!
Yeah, I know. It's been a while. My last chapter was posted in October 2020. Oof. I got a job (in nov. 2020) and haven't had much inspiration for a while 0.0 I'm now getting my inspiration back after quitting my job (in nov. 2021). I've always been prone to writer's block but that job sucked the soul out of me. I'm not gonna say what it was straight up, but I'll give you this: stay away from the big smiley.
Chapter 30: Payment
"What was that?" Ray asked.
"I... I don't know," Alex said.
"What if he did something to us?" Heather asked.
Dust fell from the ceiling. There was a cracking noise, and the roof collapsed.
Alex rose his hand and stopped the debris in midair. "Either we shouldn't trust ghost real estate agents on their lair inspections, or Karma is giving us karma." He tossed the roof debris outside.
"How do we know this is Karma?" Heather asked. "Every time something started to go wrong, we'd just blame it on Karma until things went right again."
"Can we just stop talking about Karma? I want to save the world before it, you know, blows up," Ray said.
Alex paced around the room. "Typhon didn't know how to manipulate Rift energy. Not directly, at least. We need to figure out how to access that energy."
"I have an idea," Ray said. "It's risky, and dangerous, and we'll need to return to the human world, but I might be able to find a way."
"What's your idea?"
"If I can get all of my tech from my house, I might be able to make something that can detect Rift energy. I'd need some high-end stuff though. That might mean breaking into my dad's lab and stealing some stuff."
"Wait, you knew about him being involved in the ghost portal stuff?"
Ray shook his head. "He only ever told me he had a high-end tech lab. He never mentioned it being anti-portal tech. If I can take some of his stuff, though..."
"Ok, good," Alex interrupted. "Let's get to it, before something bad happens."
"No, Alex, you stay here. If something bad decides to happen, I don't want it happening to you," Heather said. "You and the Gauntlet will be the safest here. This little pocket realm of mine can only be entered through that indestructible door. Just keep it locked and I'll go with Ray."
"I have the most powerful weapon in the universe! I can do anything. Why don't I just teleport to the lab and grab the stuff myself? Wait, why don't I just create the device right here and now?"
"You don't have much practice, and with Karma as a threat, I don't want to take any risks right now."
"Fine. I'll wait here."
"Thanks, Alex. Ray, let's go."
Things were smooth sailing until they got to the ghost portal. Yoltrun was there waiting for them.
"What are you doing here?" Heather asked.
"I don't know what to expect out there. Things could be bad. You should stay here," Yoltrun said.
"What are you implying?"
"Ant ghosts. You've seen them before. A swarm of them might have got through. Or maybe they were disintegrated by the Rift, not sure. It might not be safe out there."
Heather remembered fighting an ant ghost. "Those things? They're weak, I can take them!"
"No. Their power is in numbers. Our first thought was only a hundred got through. We were wrong. These ghosts can shrink to the size of ants. The ones that got through were all wearing belts with some sort of pocket. We captured one that didn't get through. When we opened his belt's pocket, hundreds of tiny ant ghosts flew out."
"So you're saying there could be thousands, or tens of thousands," Ray said.
Yoltrun nodded, a grim look on his face. "It's impossible to tell. You'd need an army of your own to beat them, if there's as many as we think there are."
Heather closed her eyes for a brief second of thought. "Then let's get an army. Yoltrun, gather up all the ghosts you know, try to get them to help us. We'll go to the Far Frozen. They like me, there's no way they won't help. Maybe we can recruit Typhon, and I guess it won't hurt to try the kingdom of Aragon either."
"Wait, why not get Alex to use the Reality Gauntlet?" Ray asked.
"No. We do this on our own. If he screws up, he could lose the gauntlet and then we're all screwed."
Yoltrun gasped. "Dude, you got a freaking Reality Gauntlet? How'd you find it?"
"Long story short, we went to a strange library on the Surface and made friends with Typhon," Heather said.
"The Surface? Not impressive. It's not even solid ground, just a few islands so big and so far down under a huge chunk of the populated Ghost Zone that it seems like land. Total misnomer. But, it does contain some of the most deadly creatures of the Zone. If I can get a beast-speaker to command them, maybe we might have even more soldiers in our army."
"Perfect. Let's go on our way."
Things used to go to plan. Sometimes, a little too perfectly.
This time, it didn't.
The Far Frozen was destroyed. All that was left was blackened rubble. There was no signs of life. It was completely silent, save for the wind blowing by.
"This isn't good," Ray said to break the silence.
"It's gone. All gone," Heather whispered.
"Are they all dead? Or did they escape? Do ghosts even leave bodies?"
Heather shook her head. Not in response to Ray's question, but in denial of the sight before her eyes. "This is impossible. This can't happen. This was an army!"
"Karma. I bet it was all him."
In the sky, flashes of bright green, so bright they were almost white, rippled across the sky almost like an aurora. An aurora made of lightning. And they were coming near.
"Karma, and maybe the Rift," Heather said, taking a few steps back as the flashes got closer. "Let's get out of here!"
She snatched up Ray and flew away at top speed. The sound of crackling thunder came nearer and nearer, and Heather couldn't go faster. One of the waves snatched them up.
It felt like they were getting burned alive from the inside out. It was hot, unbelievably hot, but it also felt like their skin was being stabbed with ice. Their vision was that same green-white that swallowed them up. They were being torn apart, atom by atom.
But then they were alive. It was one single second of the most intense pain they ever felt in their lives. And then they were alive.
It was the outskirts of town. Air raid sirens were going off. The sky was obscured by dark clouds and black smoke, so thick it was almost night.
The sky was dark, but the city was lit green by laser fire.
Darting in and out of the clouds were ant ghosts. So many ant ghosts. Green bolts came from turrets mounted on rooftops, blasting lasers at the ants. The ants returned the favor.
"We need to get to my dad's lab, and fast!" Ray yelled over the sirens and lasers.
"Run! I'll cover you!"
It worked for a short while. The streets were empty of everything but rubble. When ant ghosts swarmed down, Heather was able to blast them away. Things got worse once they got close to the city.
Heather blasted some more ants. They faded into a green puff of smoke. But then, she was blasted.
This blast felt different. It felt less like a burn, more like an electric shock.
She was blasted again, and it felt the same. She turned to the source. One of the rooftop turrets was aimed right at her.
Zap, zap, zap! The blasts started to make her go numb.
"Stop shooting! I'm on your side!" She yelled at them. But these turrets were computer controlled, ordered to shoot at sources of ecto-energy.
Zap, zap, zap! "Stop! Stop..."
She slowed down. The world around her was getting fuzzy. Her whole body was numb. Her vision faded to black.
"Heather? Heather!" Ray yelled. It was the last thing Heather heard before the darkness took her.
"Ah, look at you, my pretty. You did a good job!"
Karma was talking to a fuzzy ball of purple energy.
Clockwork gripped the bars of his cage. "You can't keep doing this! Just let them use the Gauntlet so we don't all die!"
"Do you know the best part of war, Clockwork? It's the story. The hopelessness, and the hope alike. It's the heroes and villains, two powers against each other. But you know the best part?" He conjured an energy knife and stabbed it into Clockwork's hand. "The screams of those who suffer. The blood dripping down the faces of the injured. The satisfying crack of bones. Ghosts don't have bones to crack. They bleed the same color as the sky. They heal their wounds fast, and fade into nothing upon their demise. Human blood flows fast, like thick water. Their bones hold their form. They make a real mess when you open them up!"
"You're insane, Karma."
"I am only having fun. They will get their chance to fix the world. I'm just going to have fun first." Karma pet the little energy ball. "Yes, little wisp. Keep her overshadowed. Make sure she won't use the Gauntlet."
"How did you even manipulate the Rift to destroy the Far Frozen?" Clockwork growled.
"The Rift is attracted to large sources of ghost energy. I recently got plenty, so I helped it along a little."
"You're a monster," Clockwork whispered.
"I'm no monster. I'm just a ghost that wants to have fun."
Again, I'm SO sorry for the wait. I got my inspiration back, at least enough to finish this chapter. I hope to publish more real soon!
