Author's Notes: Since going back to my original plot skeleton things are going far more smoothly than last week. And it's so funny too, I had abandoned that skeleton three parts ago and it mysteriously re-established itself making it work. Sometimes I find it best not to argue with a story. If it wants to go a certain way don't try and fight it.
Ghost Slayers
Chapter Twenty-one
By Relm
Amelia let out a sigh as she finished cleaning the bathrooms. Slimer was still nowhere to be seen so Amelia was cleaning alone.
'Mister Zelgadis hasn't found Slimer yet I guess.' Deciding the break room would be a good place to do next Amelia grabbed her cleaning stuff and headed to her destination.
The break room was a complete mess! Whatever contents the refrigerator had in it were spilled all over the floor with a good amount of goo added to it. That alone told Amelia who the culprit was. "Slimer!" Amelia yelled out.
But if the little green ghost was around he wasn't coming out to reveal himself.
Amelia just shook her head as she went to clean the floor. "Miss Lina isn't going to like this. Slimer wasted a lot of food." As Amelia went to sweep up the floor a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. "AHHHHHH!" Amelia screamed when she saw the face staring back at her.
...
"Zel what are you doing here?" Lina frowned while she turned her gun off and put it down.
Zelgadis shivered uncontrollably feeling chilled to the 'bone'. Whether he was cold from fright or the ghost activity in the house behind him was debatable. "I'm sorry, it happened again." Zelgadis lowered his head in shame.
Lina's frown softened. "You got scared again? What scared you this time?"
"Eyes... I opened my eyes and something was staring back at me!"
"Was it Slimer? He does like to startle people." Sylphiel suggested sympathetically.
Zelgadis shook his head. "No I was looking for Slimer and 'something' was following me. Something with evil purple eyes." Zelgadis shuddered.
"Purple? Don't tell me we have a new ghost haunting our place?" Lina shook her head in disgust. "I'd better call Amelia and warn her." Lina fished out her phone from her pocket and was surprised when it rang. It almost made her drop it. "Hello?"
"Miss Lina we have a problem."
"Yeah a new ghost, Zel told me."
"What? Mister Zelgadis is there with you? Oh never mind that's not important! It's Mister Xellos! He's here."
"Xellos is at Ghost Slayers HQ?"
"What?" Filia exclaimed. "Tell Amelia to tell that bastard that he'd better get his slimy butt out of my place of work before we get back! Or I'll have him arrested for violating the restraining order!" Filia screamed trying to get the phone from Lina.
"Filia!" Lina glared at the blond woman as she shook her off. "Amelia did you hear that?"
"Yeah but I don't think me telling Mister Xellos that is going to matter..."
"Why?"
"Because he's sitting in a chair looking at me and I can see right through him."
"Xellos is a ghost?" Lina, Sylphiel and Zelgadis all looked at Filia suspiciously.
"Hey!" Filia protested. "I may hate his guts but I would never kill him!"
"Has Miss Filia been with you the whole time?" Amelia spoke up.
"Amelia I don't think Filia did it. Are you sure it's Xellos and he's dead?"
"I haven't done any readings yet but I can see right through him. I can see the cracks on the wall behind him! And he's not talking. All he is doing is staring at me. It's really creepy!"
"Do some readings on him and contact the university. If Xellos is dead most likely he was killed at the school."
"And what do I do with him?"
"Observe him but don't do anything till we get back."
"How long are you going to be?"
"Well we haven't started the job yet!"
"You're going to leave me here all alone with it?" Amelia sounded panicked.
"Well does Xellos seem hostile?"
"No he's smiling! It's so creepy!"
"Well I'm sorry Amelia but you're just going to have to tough it out alone. I can't send anyone back; we only took the Ghost Slayersmobile after all. Find Slimmer and he'll keep you company."
"Alright Miss Lina..." Amelia didn't sound happy at all.
"Bye." Lina hung up her phone. "As if things weren't complicated enough already."
"Is he really dead?" Filia mumbled more to herself than to the others. Just a few moments ago Filia had been a ball of rage, but now she seemed... sad.
"Filia we'll get to the bottom of this. Don't get upset until Amelia can confirm Xellos is a ghost." Lina tried to reassure her.
"Upset? Why would I be upset for?" Filia exclaimed defensively. "He can die and go to hell for all I care!"
Lina rolled her eyes. "Anyways we have a job to do."
'What about me?" Zelgadis wondered out loud.
"I have a feeling you won't be able to find your way back to Ghost Slayers HQ on your own. So I guess you'll have to go wait in the car until we are finished."
"Are you sure that's wise Miss Lina?" Sylphiel frowned.
"Well we can't take him in with us. And I don't see what else we can do. So let's just be quick as we can. So let's go."
...
Amelia couldn't look at Xellos. It was extremely creepy. The Sailune University professor was dressed in his dark purple suit like he was ready to teach his class. His eyes were transfixed in Amelia's general direction.
The penetrating stare made Amelia shiver. She tried not to look at him as she got up to leave the room. But as she got to the doorway she just had to look.
Xellos was still sitting in the chair looking forward. He wasn't staring at Amelia anymore but in the direction that Amelia had been in.
'He wasn't staring at me?' Amelia dared to move her hand in front of Xellos' face.
The transparent professor failed to register Amelia at all.
This confused Amelia and she stood there frowning.
Slimer was confused too. But then he didn't know why Amelia was standing around confused. He just floated behind her.
Amelia shook her head and turned to leave getting a face full of slime. "EEEEEK!" Amelia screamed wiping the goo from her face. "Slimer!" She screeched. "Disgusting... Slimer stay here and I'll be right back."
Slimer nodded not really understanding her. After Amelia let he turned his attentions to his new 'friend'. With a big smile Slimer went to give the new ghost a big messy hug.
But Slimer went right through Xellos.
Xellos didn't even seem to acknowledge the green ghost or the goo left on his suit. He just continued to smile staring off into space.
...
The inside of the Parson's house was definitely warmer than outside but not as warm as it should be for the season.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the untrained eye. It looked like a normal family home.
But to a ghost slayers' eye there was things amiss. The cold spots were the first give away. And there were pictures hanging askew and things in wrong places and there was those strange noises coming from the floor above.
Sylphiel scanned as she looked around while Lina and Filia had their guns ready.
Sylphiel's scanner kept beeping making all kinds of noise. The closer they got to one side of the house the more noise it made. But that was because that was the side of the house that was the closest to the ghost magnet house. "Miss Lina it's going to be hard to get any clear readings that aren't from the house next door. But I don't think the ghost or ghosts are on this floor."
"Let's try upstairs in the kids' rooms. Most likely that's where the ghost or ghosts will be." Lina decided.
Upstairs was much cooler than downstairs. More so when Lina, Sylphiel and Filia got to the bedrooms.
Both the kid's room's had name plates nailed to their doors. Joy's room was right next to her parent's room, while Peter's was further down the hall.
Sylphiel's scanner went crazy when she got to Peter's door. "There's at least one in here." Sylphiel announced.
Filia cautiously opened the door with Lina and Sylphiel staying clear of the door way. As expected a teddy bear flew from the room and out in the hall.
"Be careful." Lina whispered.
Peter's room looked like any other little boy's room. It had a race car bed and was decorated in the classic planes, trains and automobiles fashion.
Toy planes were hung from the ceiling suspended with string. Their propellers spun and they flew around in circles as far as their strings would let them.
"Oh yeah we have a ghost." Lina muttered.
"It's there!" Sylphiel pointed.
Lina shot her gun stunning the ghost. The ghost flashed with the electricity making it visible. It was a male in his late forties with four gunshot wounds to his chest. And he looked very cross that he was being shocked.
Filia got the box ready and slid it down under the ghost. "Now Lina!"
Lina guided the ghost towards the open box.
The ghost desperately tried to claw his way out of the box it was being sucked into. But his fight was in vain and the box shut with a hiss.
"Any more in the room?" Lina swung her gun around. The planes had stopped flying and the room was much warmer now.
"No it's clean." Sylphiel concluded.
"Okay let's go to Joy's room."
Joy's room also registered ghostly activity on Sylphiel's scanner. More so even than Peter's room.
"Either there's one than one ghost or there's a poltergeist in there." Sylphiel concluded.
"If they've been away for a while that might have angered the ghost into a poltergeist level." Lina mused as she went to open the door.
More stuffed animals flew out the door. Inside the room there were all kinds of baby toys and baby items flying around in the room. They crashed into walls and other random pieces of furniture. The baby's crib was even floating in the air. Unlike Peter's room this ghost was visible.
It was a little girl that looked like she had been drowned. And she smiled evilly at the Ghost Slayers.
"I don't like the look of that smile." Lina aimed her gun at the girl.
Suddenly everything in the room stopped flying in mid air and then went crashing towards Lina, Sylphiel and Filia. All three veered sidewise to avoid the flying objects
"NOW!" Lina screamed as she and Filia shot their guns are the ghostly girl.
The girl thrashed around wildly still causing mayhem in her rage.
Sylphiel got the containment box ready and slid it down the room.
With the box ready Filia and Lina both tried to guide the girl down toward it. But this ghost was a feisty one and wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Sylphiel! Your gun too!" Lina commanded trying to keep her hold on her gun.
Sylphiel shot her gun and it was enough to regain control. The three of them forced the ghost into the box.
The box shook around while it closed. But then the green light went off signalling that the ghost was caught.
"Anything else?"
Sylphiel shook her head. "Not in this room."
"Okay let's keep searching then."
Lina, Sylphiel and Filia searched every inch of the house looking for more ghosts. But for the moment it seemed like the house was clean.
...
Zelgadis sat impatiently in the Ghost Slayersmobile. Lina and company hadn't been gone too long but he didn't like staying near the ghost magnet house. "I hope they are done soon." He said while looking toward the house. Since his attentions were so focused on the house to his right he didn't notice that he wasn't alone in the car.