Face The Beast
Hope didn't know what to do next. Once again they returned from the greenhouse back to the big house or now the cursed house and sat down in the old chairs.
Syaoran sat on the steps of the porch and watched Hope be sad and in despair.
"Come on. At least we know that there's some cool history to it." He said.
"Nothing referring to Clow Reed." She said in a mumble.
All Hope wanted was something to start her off for her future Clow Reed museum for everyone to enjoy. But it turned out this was nothing to do with Clow Reed at all.
Syaoran didn't know what to do. But call the one other person who might be able to help cheer her up.
He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.
Letting it ring a moment before a voice came up. "Hello?"
"Hey. Can you talk to Hope please?"
"Sure."
"Hope. For you." Syaoran handed her the phone.
Hope took it and put in up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey Hope. It's me. Sakura. I was told to talk to you."
Hope smiled. "Oh Sakura. It's terrible. This whole trip was just a waste of time. It's nothing to do with Clow Reed. A demon is cursing this house and the family members. This little girl is a full ghost and won't help us save her mother, her father is trapped in some portal, and I just don't know what to do. Should I give up? Or should I try to figure this out? I just don't know Sakura." Hope let it all out.
Sakura just listened to her till she was done.
"Hope. I'll say this, even if it's not about Clow Reed, then make it about him. You said a demon is possessing the mom right? And she's dead?"
"Yea." Hope said.
"Eriol has explained the magic spells about many different creatures. A demon inside a dead body is a soul seeker." Sakura said.
"What?"
"The Souls Seeker is a sort of lost spirit that is absorbed into something and then takes over the other person, mostly summoner or whoever is closest in the room or house, and lives itself out of the decomposing body. Living or dead. But the fact it's lived this long...it shouldn't be possible. All you need to do...since you can't kill the body because it's dead-"
"What about setting a trap and burning it?" Hope asked. While she's not one for violence this might be a no brainier.
"You said the dad went into the portal?"
"Yup."
"I think I know what's going on! Get that little girl and find that rock. She might be alive again and get her dad back." Sakura said.
"What?! Why?"
"Because, Hope. The dad is the one alive. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's the one going around and scaring you. He's controlling his dead wife's body."
Hope heard what Sakura said and everything made sense. Boys find stone, use it on dad as prank. Prank turns real, mom tried to stop them, messes up ritual, dad doesn't completely vanish, mother get's flunk back and is killed by head trauma, boys are in the way and dad kills them as he's taking over mom's body, Ana, the girl run for her life, eventually goes back and hides the rock.
It was clear. All they had to do, was reverse the spell and they can get the dad back, and Ana will be alive and not a ghost anymore.
"Sakura! Thank you so much!"
"Anytime. Take care. And good luck. Tell Syaoran to call me when your on the way back." She said before hanging up.
"Syaoran. I've got it. We need to go back. Now! Ana needs to give us the rock."
"What?"
"I'll explain on the way." Hope said taking off in a dash right back to the greenhouse one last time.
"What's going on?"
"The father is the one in the mothers dead body. The boys pulled a soul stone."
"What? Those are in the movies!" Syaoran shouted.
"They exist! They were sued to keep those legendary souls trapped so that they would be remembered forever and live on in an immortal way. But, it's also used in rituals like the one the boys pulled. It's to summon a soul seeker and kill it's summoner but it needs a sacrifice. So, the dad get's pulled in, mom interrupts, and the dad isn't fully in the hole. He takes over mom. And-"
"Ana takes the stone and hides away with it. Her being a ghost is-"
"Her soul is really partly in the stone." Hope finishes his thought.
"So, if we get her to tell us where the stone is, what do we do about the...dad?" Syaoran asks.
Hope hadn't thought of that. She opens the book and finds the ritual and looks up how they can reverse it.
"We need a second souls stone." Hope said.
Syaoran sighed. "And where do we find one of those?"
Hope only had one shot. "We might just have to deal without one." She said shrugging.
She headed into the greenhouse again.
"What on earth are you two doing-"
"Ana! We know how to save you! And your father!" Hope shouted.
Ana was quiet.
But it didn't matter. A huge shadow figure came up in blazing fire, the body revealed to be the body of Ana's mother.
"Oh no! Any ideas on how to get ride of him NOW?!" Syaoran asked.
Hope had nothing. she couldn't think of any plan.
"I told you to stay away." Ana yelled. The beast roared right at her.
"It can see her?! Syaoran shouted.
"Because, it's bond. Father and daughter." Hope said.
But one thing did stick out, what was around the mothers neck. "Ha! One of Clow Reeds healing stones!" The mother had a healing stone. Which means, this could be a Clow Reed story after all.