A/N: I now realize how annoying it is to have three characters in a story whose names all end in '-ker'

/dies laughing/

On with the story then!

Oleander and the kids met up with Walker and Skulker outside the Amity Park Cemetery's gates as dusk started to creep up on the town.

Danny kept shooting glares at Walker and Skulker as the reaper went over the plan for that evening's search, the halfa's gaze being met with similarly menacing looks.

"…Sam and Tucker, I want you two to stay on guard while you're out with us. I'll give you some things to ward off Hibiki if he decides to go after you… which he hopefully won't." Oleander explained.

As she turned to speak with Walker, she noticed the three spirits had moved into a full-fledged stare-down contest.

"Gentlemen…" Oleander cleared her throat. "Hello… fellas… I'd like to get some work done today…"

Realizing that she wasn't getting through to them, Oleander chuckled and turned back to Sam and Tucker. "You two might want to get behind me."

Tucker and Sam exchanged a slight glance, but quickly complied, giving the reaper some room as well.

Oleander removed a short staff from her bag, twirling it slowly in her hand and flicking it open into a six foot long serrated monk's spade, thrusting the large flat blade into the ground between the mercenary, warden, and halfa, breaking their view of each other with the jagged crescent.

"Gentlemen." Oleander's voice was firm to the point of alarming, and raised just enough that she caught the full attention of the trio. "If you wouldn't mind… I would like to delegate your tasks now."

"Sorry about that." Danny shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned to give the reaper his attention.

"I want you all to know that I need a united front on this." Oleander's expression softened. "You are here because I cannot do this alone. If you continue to fight amongst yourselves, it will be like you're not here at all."

Walker and Skulker looked away in separate directions for a moment, before returning their gazes to the reaper.

"Thank you." Oleander pulled out the map that she'd been working on with Danny and Tucker. "Walker, I need you to station your men around the city's perimeter. They are not to engage Hibiki. If all else fails, tell them to act like he wasn't even there. I don't think he'll leave the city until he's acknowledged, so let's make it as difficult as possible for him."

"How are we to catch him then?" Skulker asked.

"You leave catching him to me." Oleander smiled as she leaned slightly on her weapon. "I was the one that took him in last time, so I know what to expect. Your job is to drive him somewhere that will make him powerless."

"You have a trap set up?" Tucker tilted his head slightly.

"Not as much." Oleander shook her head. "If we can get him somewhere that's brightly lit and enclosed, he'll panic because he needs space and darkness to be effective."

The reaper turned to Danny. "Did you bring the Anti-Creep Stick?"

"Yep." The halfa pulled it out of the duffle bag of Fenton tech that he'd brought along.

"Good." Oleander handed it to Sam. "You know what to do with it, right?"

The goth girl nodded, putting it into her own bag.

"Now, before we split up, I want to give the living an edge." Oleander dug around in her bag and came up with three necklaces. "This contains some very powerful wards and talismans. You don't have to do anything while you're wearing them, but if you happen to get into a dangerous spot, smash it open."

"What does it do then?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know." Oleander shrugged. "Azrael gave them to me before I left. He said that they'd come in handy. Hopefully we won't have to find out."

Sam and Tucker put the talismans on, but Danny just looked at the one the reaper gave him.

"I'm going to be a ghost most of the time… why do I need one?" The halfa looked up at Oleander.

"For those few moments that you might not be of the spirit realm." Oleander answered, as Danny nodded and placed the chain around his neck.

"Are you guys all set then?" Oleander asked the group, who gave various positive answers. "Good. Walker, you're with me. Danny and Sam, you two head downtown. Skulker, take Tucker and head back to the school. If anything should happen, contact me immediately. I'd rather not have to do any more paperwork than I need to after this."

Weaponry Note: Oleander and the other Sector Leaders carry a Monk's Spade, rather than the usual scythe. It has two blades, one that resembles a shovel on one end, and a center-mounted crescent on the other. Shaolin monks were among the first to carry them, and the most famous would have to be the one Sha Goyjo carries in Saiyuki.

All the sketches I've done so far can be seen on my profile page. C: