Chapter 5

Toni Stark: Woman of Letters

"…so long story short, there's been a string of mysterious deaths linked to these parties, and you think this ghost or spirit is the cause of it. You shot salt earlier, which weakened it, but mostly served to piss it off."

Toni and Rhodey sat on top of the bridge, feet dangling off as they kept an eye on both entrances. Toni clenched her jaw, fists tightening at her side.

The echoed screams still reverberated in her mind.

Two more people were dead, maybe more, and it was all her fault.

If only she got there earlier. If only she didn't drink that stupid punch…

"Hey, stop it."

Rhodey looked down at her, nudging her with his shoulder. "I can the wheels turning in your eyes. None of it was your fault. You didn't kill them, that ghost thing did."

"If I got there faster-"

"Then maybe you'd be lying there with them. That thing nearly took both of us out, and we got there just in time to save those two girls. It wasn't your fault Toni; you won't be able to save everyone. You'll destroy yourself if you try, and what good would that be to anyone?"

Toni let out a shaky sigh. "You sound like my Aunt Peggy."

Rhodey grinned. "Sounds like a smart woman."

Toni let out a full laugh. "You have no idea." She straightened before gazing back at the still water.

"What I don't understand, is why can't you see it? And why didn't that thing follow us in here? It isn't a normal spirit or ghost; if it was, the salt would have slowed it down at least…"

Rhodey stared at the door and frowned. "Is there a reason that it couldn't, or didn't, want to follow us in here?"

Toni blew a strand of hair out of her face. "You mean it didn't want to swim in the pond here? Very Japanese inspired. You don't see very many rock gardens indoors…"

Toni trailed off as her eyes widened. She quickly leapt up, spinning as she scanned the room. "That's it! Right there!"

Towards the back of the garden hidden behind the alcove, there was an intricate wooden alter. Small circular mirrors glinted in the bright lights, and small offerings of rice, fruit and small cups filled with water sat at the base.

"This garden is protected by the shrine. It all makes sense!"

Rhodey stared up at the alter, eyebrows raising. "It does?"

"It didn't follow us here because it didn't want to, but because it couldn't…"

Toni whipped around to face Rhodey, eyes wild. "Did you have anything to drink tonight?"

"What?"

Rolling her eyes, Toni huffed. "Did you keg it up? Down some shots? Play flip cup? Anything at all?"

Rhodey snorted, shaking his head. "Nah, I had an early test tomorrow, so I was only planning on dropping by for a bit before going back to study. I didn't have any tonight."

Toni let out a long sigh, brow narrowing as she pinched her nose. "Well. that confirms it. This just got a lot more complicated."

"What is it then?"

"It's a Shōjō - a Japanese spirit that loves spirits, so not a real shocker it found its way to this party. Their victims are usually too intoxicated to fight back; not that they really need the help, you saw what it can do."

"So in order to see it-"

"You need to be skunk drunk? Pretty much. That's why you didn't see anything earlier."

"So the problem is?"

"The problem, is that it can't be killed by my normal ghostbusting salt-n-shoot routine. This thing is useless." Toni undid the straps before sliding off the proton pack. "Malevolent spirits usually attach themselves to something, I'm guessing probably a sake bottle somewhere, but we have no idea where that could be. And to top that all off, even if we destroy the thing that ties it, I have no fucking idea if that will actually destroy it for good, or make it angrier."

"So…we're screwed."

"Probably. Maybe…"

Toni slid her wallet out from her boot, slipping out the small scribbled napkin folded neatly inside.

"We might have a fighting chance after all. Any idea where we can find a phone around here?"

"Uh huh….no….yes….got it. No, you don't have to drive all the way out here Bobby, I've got some backup here, just tell me what I need to do…"

Toni twirled the phone cord around her finger as sat at the writing desk, feet propped up on the edge of the corner. Rhodey fidgeted on the uncomfortable fainting couch in the center of the room. Why anyone would actually buy a fainting couch was beyond him. Rhodey stretched out his neck, rolling it around as he closed his eyes.

That girl has no self-preservation instincts whatsoever.

The party downstairs had still been going strong; the music was blasting, and more and more alcohol was pouring every second. Toni motioned the all-clear as they slowly made their way through the living room.

Rhodey leaned in, yelling into Toni's ear. "We have to get these people out of here!"

"I got this" Toni chirped.

Rhodey could only watch in bewilderment as Toni stopped in the middle of the room. She reached up and pulled the plug from the DJ's speaker. A resounding silence filled the room before the yells of protest started. Toni cupped her hands around her mouth.

"COPS! THE COPS ARE COMING!"

The pandemonium was instantaneous. People shrieked as they stumbled to the doors, some unlatching windows as they jumped onto the lawn and into the night. Couples sprinted down the stairs and out the front door as others chugged their drinks, tossing their red cups before tripping out of the house.

Rhodey barely managed to grab a hold of Toni's hand as he pulled her to the side of the room, back into the hallway before they ducked into the parlour.

"Next time, warn me before you plan on unleashing a rampage."

Toni grinned. "Well, it worked didn't it? Hopefully they'll all be out before that Shōjō goes hunting for more prey again." Toni's eyes brightened as she focused on the phone sitting on the desk. "And look, a phone! This shouldn't take long, sit tight Honeybear!"

"…thanks Bobby. I'll call you later."

Toni slid the phone back into its cradle with a click. She then slumped forward in her seat, groaning as she slumped her head forward into the desk with a thump.

Rhodey peered up from the couch. "Bad news?"

Toni melted further into the chair as she lifted her head from her arms, wincing as she felt the growing bruises on her neck. Great, turtlenecks for the next week. "Good news is, we do know how to kill it. Bad news is, we might be dead before we do."

Rhodey sucked in a harsh breath. "Why's that?"

Toni exhaled slowly, carding her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Honestly, I think we might just be out of luck. Apparently the only recorded way that one of these things have been killed is…ridiculously specific."

"Specific, how?"

"Specific as in using a Samurai sword doused in holy water, blessed by a Shinto priest. Which I didn't exactly pack…"

Toni's stomach clenches, a rueful smile on her lips. "I think that you should leave while you can. I already pissed it off, but you still have a fighting chance."

Before Rhodey could open his mouth, Toni holds up her hand. "Thanks for everything Rhodes. Honestly, you saved my life back there, and I can't thank you enough umph-

Rhodey put his hand on Toni's lips, his grip firm but gentle, as he clamped them shut. "Now you listen to me. None of this is your mess, and I'm not leaving you alone to die a martyr. I'm not leaving you here to fight this thing alone, while I run off to save my own ass. We're going to kill the shit of out this thing, and then we're going to go get some ice and some Tylenol for you."

Toni glared as Rhodey's hand still holding her mouth. "mmmph mmmpfh-"

Rhodey's eyes softened; the glare in her eyes couldn't hide the look of relief reflecting back at him, and the slight shaking of Toni's body relaxed as his promise to stay sunk in. "Come on, genius. Let's figure this thing out. We can't die tonight, you still need to show me how you built that proton pack."

Rhodey removed his hand, playfully wiping it on his sleeve before holding it out to Toni. "We're doing this together, no matter what. Okay?"

Toni hesitated, staring at the outstretched hand before hesitantly placing her hand in his. "Okay. Together then."

Rhodey squeezed her hand gently. "So what's the plan?"

Toni stared at their intertwined hands in awe, before blinking and looking back up. "Well, some things worked in our favour tonight. We can probably get some holy water back at the shrine in the garden, and I think I saw a katana hanging above the fireplace back in the living room. But, unless you have a Shinto priest on speed dial, I don't know what we're going to do…"

Rhodey's eyes glinted as he let out an unbelieving laugh. "You know what? Maybe we were destined to meet tonight. I might be able to help us on that end. Hand me that phone will you…"

Toni stared in amusement as Rhodey whooped and ran around the room. He thrust and stabbed at the air without abandon, the newly blessed katana glinting in the air. Honestly, if felt a bit like the end of a bad horror movie; who would've known that Rhodey's friend of a friend, Rumiko, had a brother who was becoming a Shinto priest? Better yet, one who agreed to do a blessing over the phone while Toni poured the holy water with no questions asked.

"You have no idea how many weird requests I've gotten, this doesn't even break my top ten. You've got the water ready?"

The blessing itself lasted only a minute, with Toni flicking water onto the sword as the priest's voice crackled over the phone. Toni jumped to her feet.

"Alright Tom Cruise, let's get this over with. We don't have much time to waste before she shows up again."

Toni strapped on the buckles of her pack and flipped a switch. The pack beeped as the indicator flashed as the proton pack powered on. "So if possible, we'll see if there's any booze left for you so you can at least see what you're fighting. Then, you'll distract it with the salt, and I'll move in with the sword. Hopefully, we'll get her before she disembowels one of us."

Toni paused. "Or kill us I guess. Disembowelment seems to be a favourite of theirs, so she'll probably do that first."

Rhodey snorted. "Great, just what I needed, a disembowelment. You need to work on your motivational speeches, that one sucked."

Toni rolled her eyes as she checked the hallway. Clear. "Next time I'll give the whole graduation speech."

Toni and Rhodey cautiously approached the living room. Hugging the wall, Toni peeked from behind the corner into the trashed living room.

Toni carefully stepped over the red plastic cups as she pushed aside the fallen streamers. The keg was tipped over and Toni sighed as she kicked it. Empty. A cold chill filled the air as Toni shivered. "Do you feel that?"

Rhodey nodded. "You mean like how it suddenly feels like it's winter instead of the middle of the summer all of a sudden? Yeah."

Toni's eyes darted frantically around the room. "That's what I was afraid of. It's here."

A shadow darted past as Toni whirled around aiming her proton pack. The blur punched her in the gut as Toni flew straight into the windows. Glass shattered as Toni slid down the curtains. A giant black blur darted and shrieked as it flew straight towards Toni.

"TONI!"

Toni screamed claws swiped at her face and arms. Quickly throwing up her arms, the salt exploded into the air as a shrill cry filled the air. Rhodey rushed forward but Toni stopped him.

"SWING BEHIND YOU!"

Rhodey stopped mid-run as he twirled behind him, sticking out the sword. The flickering girl screamed as the sword pierced her side. Rhodey swung the sword wildly as his eyes darted at the air in front of him.

Toni shook her head, trying to ignore the spinning room as she tried to focus on the spirit in front of her. Rhodey's eyes darted around as he swung the sword around him, flailing.

"A little help here!"

"To your left! No sorry, my left! Seven o'clock! RIGHT THERE!"

All of a sudden, a huge gust of wind filled the room and Toni swatted at the curtains in front of her. Rhodey grunted as he flew into the table. Rhodey scrambled to get up, but Toni could tell that he was struggling. Another gust of wind, and Rhodey was covering his face as Toni saw the little girl snarl and scream as she attacked.

Toni reached back for her proton pack and fired. Toni winced as the spirit whirled, hair flying. The spirit looked down at the sword poking out of her chest as she flashed, crumbling into dust before disappearing out the window. Toni slumped back against the window with a laugh as the sword collapsed to the ground.

Rhodey's eyes darted from the sword to Toni's look of relief.

"Please tell me that thing is dead. That thing is dead right?"

"As dead as a doornail." Toni chuckled before wincing, the throbbing at the back of her head becoming more apparent as the adrenaline started to wear off. Glass shards slipped out as Toni carded her fingers through her hair, red staining her fingers as she gingerly touched the back of her head.

"Ow."

"Ow is right. It looks like a shallow cut, so you probably won't need stitches, but we'll probably want to get that checked out sooner or later."

Rhodey gently lifted her head, picking out the larger pieces of glass. He stood up slowly, helping Toni to her feet. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and outta here before the cops show up and we have no explanations."

After re-adjusting the pack on her back, she slid her arms around Rhodey as they limped out the front door. They silently made their way down the hill, back towards the university. Rhodey shifted his weight before clearing his throat.

"So, that definitely tops my list of weirdest Halloweens."

"I'd hope so. If anything topped that, I'd be concerned but also very intrigued."

"Let's just say that I've been to some list topping circus parties that even you would call weird."

The entrance to the dorms came into view as Toni slowed down, fidgeting. "So…thanks. For everything tonight."

Toni stared down at her feet, bracing herself for the inevitable goodbye. Hopefully Rhodey would at least wave to her in the hallways, and not pretend not to know her like others before. While she would never admit it to anyone else, it was…nice having someone with her who didn't roll their eyes at the girl who cried ghost.

That didn't stop the tightness in her chest. She really liked Rhodey, and she hated that he was going to leave.

Rhodey stared at her for a while, and Toni started to back away. "Just…forget about everything you saw tonight. If you try to explain it to anyone, they'll just think you're crazy anyways, so forget about it."

Rhodey reached out, gently blocking Toni's path. "Is that what happens with most people? They shake it off and call you crazy?"

Toni blinked up at him, but Rhodey was patient and waiting. "Well, usually people pretend not to notice or know me afterwards. They shake it off as a weird drunk dream since they're usually plastered beforehand anyways."

Rhodey shook his head. "Well, unfortunately for you, you're stuck with me. There's no way I'm letting you get back out there on your own. Besides, you're so tiny that wind almost knocked you over earlier. You're going to need to eat more and some extra muscle as backup."

"I am not tiny! I'm compact!"

Rhodey ruffled her hair gently. "Well, compact, tiny, same thing. Come on shortstack, let's go get those cuts cleaned up, and get some pancakes. Ghostbusters eat pancakes right?"

The tightness in her chest disappeared as Rhodey wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked inside together.

Men of Letters
London, England

November 1, 1994

To: [REDACTED]
Mission Report

The potential recruit dispatched a level two Shōjō with minimal casualties. Stark cleared the house of most civilians and the Shōjō with the help of another civilian, name currently unknown. Before the house was cleared, there were two witnesses that left the house.

Both witnesses were intercepted before they could call the police, and were taken care of.

After Stark and the civilian had left, the Shōjō's victims were removed from the scene and the house was swept clean.

Both Stark and this civilian seem to be promising, and with further training may be useful to the organization. Further surveillance is recommended.

I await further instructions.

A.K.

A/N: Wow, it's been a while, sorry that this part took so long! I got distracted with writing my Winteriron springfling gift that quickly spiraled out of control to 23k. If you like Firefly, explosions and Winteriron, check it out! It's called Boil and Burn (Through the Skies). Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!