We may be nearing the end for real now, but trust me, there will be a sequel. And its gonna be even better than this story, and no one can stop me :)
Also, the last chapter kinda sucked. So I went back and made some minor changes, so if you have read it once before, go reread it before reading this one!
Chapter 34: Stitching the Balance
Alex flew above the city. Smoke clouded the air. Everywhere, ant ghosts were fighting soldiers and friendly ghosts, and turrets fired constantly. Alex was now there to stop it.
With the Gauntlet, he rounded up each and every one of the ant ghosts. They gathered in a massive pile, too many to count. Alex opened a portal to the deepest, darkest depths of the Ghost Zone, below even the mega-island of the Surface. That would keep them busy.
Next, Alex fixed the buildings. One by one, each brick, each chunk of concrete, each speck of dust went right back to where it was supposed to be. He also made sure to check for trapped people, healing their injuries and going as far as to bring back the dead. This was definitely not abuse of power, he determined. This was just helping people.
But now, he had a promise to keep. He had to fix the Rift. First, he flew back to where his friends were standing, back down on that rooftop.
Heather looked out over the city. "That's it. The battle's stopped. It's crazy how after all this, it stops, just like that."
"That's life. Well, at least if you're the wielder of the most powerful object in the universe," Alex said.
"Well, I guess you gotta go do some Rift repair now, huh?"
"Wish me luck!"
"Good luck, dude," Ray said. "We'll be waiting for you."
Heather looked to the sky, and saw the ghost shield shut down. She looked down in the streets, and saw the underground ghost attack shelters open up. People slowly stepped out of them. "We'll have a lot to do when you get back, but I'll make sure everyone's all right while you're gone."
Alex nodded. "Thanks, guys. I'll see ya."
Alone in the middle of the Ghost Zone were Alex and Clockwork. This barren section was the epicenter of the Rift's activity. Green energy, like lightning or auroras or a strange mix of the two, crackled and flowed from one spot.
"All you have to do is ask the Gauntlet to fix it. That's what it's here for. But the Rift is powerful, too, so make sure to hold your ground."
Alex activated his ghost form. He needed all the strength he could get. He raised his gauntlet-ed hand towards the Rift and wished the Rift to close.
The Gauntlet glowed and crackled with green energy. The Rift was fighting back.
Clockwork raised his staff against the lightning shooting everywhere. It didn't do much to defend him, but it wasn't all harmful. With each strike that reached him, he got flashes of the past and future. "Hold your ground, Alex! My power is returning!"
Alex put all his strength into it. The Gauntlet not only knew what to do, it was practically telling him what to do. The Rift got brighter and brighter and streams of green energy came flowing into it. He didn't know how cracks in reality worked, but he could only assume they were all getting sucked back into the Rift. Or something like that. He could hardly think of anything besides fixing the thing.
Then, three more ghosts appeared, all wearing cloaks just like Clockwork. Two arrived through teleportation, but one came right out of the Rift. There was a green ghost in a purple cloak, a blue ghost in a grey cloak, and a red ghost with a black cloak.
Alex had only a short moment to look at them. "Who are those ghosts, Clockwork?"
"That's Otherworld, Bluesky, and Harmony, they're my siblings. They'll help you contain the Rift energy!"
The green one took a bow. "Otherworld, at your service. I'll be able to help on this side of the realms," he said. "Bluesky will head to Earth and contain it there."
Bluesky nodded. "Only the Gauntlet can close the Rift, but we're able to hold it back a bit. We have your back, Human." She teleported away.
All that was left was the red one, Harmony, who came out of the Rift.
"So who's that?" Alex asked.
"That's Harmony. They're the oldest of the Eternal Spirits. The leader, the one keeping the balance, living in between worlds. They couldn't do anything about the Rift alone, Because Earth disrupted the balance and with the unbalance our powers were disrupted," Clockwork answered.
Harmony rose above the Rift, and spoke in a distorted, otherworldly voice that sounded like thousands of voices at once. "My powers are my siblings' powers, and their powers are mine. With the balance between worlds disrupted, they lost their balance and I lost mine. I honor your efforts, Human."
Alex kept fighting the energy growing brighter and brighter. "That's great, can you do anything to help though?"
"With the Spirits of the two worlds sharing their power, I can help balance the inner Rift." They flew into the bright green void and vanished into it.
Clockwork flinched at every strike of green lightning that flashed his vision with the future and past. His power was coming back in balance. "Alex, I know you're probably wondering why Harmony couldn't fix a thing. They're our leader. They're the weakest of all of us, but also the one that can give us our power through the Rift. I couldn't see this timeline. In every single one, Harmony kept the balance. Except for this."
The Rift was fighting harder and harder, but getting closer to snapping closed again. The Gauntlet was starting to get hot, and Alex's hand was starting to burn. "Hold the story, Clockwork, I have to focus on this!"
As the Eternal Spirits used their mysterious power, the Rift started to close faster. With Alex's great effort, it finally happened. There was a great flash of light that blinded them all. A few seconds later they saw it was gone. The Rift was gone. Alex went back to his human form.
Harmony appeared once again. "Balance has been restored." With a wave of their hands, a few green portals opened. Six ghosts came out of them. Alex didn't recognize most of them, but Bluesky was there, and Karma too, still caged up. They gathered in a half-circle facing Harmony. "The Rift has closed, and we are now balanced. We shall convene for the trial of Karma. Illusion, gather the evidence."
Otherworld created a couple portals, and Heather and Ray were brought to hover next to Alex. An orange ghost in a purple cloak, the aforementioned Illusion, tapped each of their heads. Her purple eyes flashed each time. "Heather Fenton. Raymond Foley. Alexander Weston. Do you consent for your memories and mindprints to be used as evidence in Karma's trial?"
"What? What's happening?" Heather asked, confused at her sudden teleportation.
"I think Karma's getting what he deserves," Alex said. "I'll consent, and I think you should too."
Ray looked uncomfortable with just hovering there. He was the only one who hadn't truly flown now. "Yeah, I consent, just get me some solid ground to stand on," he said. Illusion looked to Otherworld, and a purple rocky platform appeared for Ray, who was glad to put his feet on the ground.
Heather took a look at caged Karma. "You have my consent. You definitely have my consent."
Illusion nodded. "Thanks, you have plenty of evidence for us. We appreciate it."
Harmony raised their arms and grew to twice their size. "We shall convene." In a flash, all the ghosts were gone, and so was Alex's Gauntlet.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" Heather asked after a moment of silence.
"We go home, I guess," Ray said.
Alex raised his hand instinctively, but without the Gauntlet nothing happened. He facepalmed at that. "Heather, mind flying us home?" Alex could now fly himself, but not only did he not tell his friends he hadn't removed his ghost powers, but he never even told them he gave himself the powers in the first place.
"Oh yeah, sure." She picked them up by their arms and started flying towards her lair, the only place she could find from anywhere in the Ghost Zone, and when she found it she could find her way to the home ghost portal.
"Well, now we gotta deal with the aftermath, huh?" Ray said nervously. "Our parents will be so mad."
Alex sighed. "My parents are gonna freak. They already didn't like me hanging out with you guys, of course I never knew why until I heard of your families' ghost history, so if I never speak to you again just know it's cause I've been sent to a boarding school in Antarctica."
"Just keep in mind, I can make them all forget our involvement at a moment's notice," Heather said. "Especially if I get locked in my house again and have weird tests run on me."
"No, we should face this. We need to face this," Alex said. "We can do this, guys. We'll work it out."
"I hope so," Ray said. "I might get all my computers taken away from me after this. Now, to change the subject a bit, your full name is Alexander?"
The rest of the flight was supposed to be peaceful. But of course, this was the Ghost Zone, and ghosts aren't that polite.
"So you are the meddler?" The voice came from nowhere.
Heather turned around. It was a massive ant ghost. "Who are you?"
"I am the Queen of the ant ghosts. My children are lost. And it's all because of you."
"You tried to take over Amity Park, so I think it's fair for us to stop an invasion."
The Queen hissed. "It is the natural order for kingdoms to take other kingdoms. When one kingdom is strong, they must create an empire."
"It hasn't been like that for hundreds of years," Ray said.
"Fool human. You do not realize that the defeated have a right to revenge. That is what I intend to do today, unless you surrender your Earth to my kingdom."
Heather set her friends down an a nearby floating rock platform. "Sounds to me like you're just a sore loser."
"We will duel for your kingdom!" The Queen roared. "I will crush you and take your foul kingdom as my own!"
"Strong words for a giant ant!" Heather charged some purple energy balls in her hands. "I will crush you like the bug you are!"
The Queen charged. With her large claw, she swiped at Heather.
But Heather was too fast. She slung the charged energy at the rushing Queen, striking one wing, making it fizzle into dust.
The giant ant roared. Her hand glowed, and a dozen small ant ghosts shot out. With another, ghost rays struck Heather.
She charged another energy ball in retaliation. She charged more and more power into this one, so much that the core of the purple ball went black. She rushed forward despite the ant ghosts grabbing at her and trying to drag her back. She managed to slam the ball directly into the Queen's stomach. That launched her backwards, and her ant minions faded away in her distraction.
"You beast! You disgrace the mighty Ant Queen!" In all four of her arms, she charged energy balls of her own.
Alex could have helped. But even if it wasn't a duel, he still felt he had to hide his powers. He watched on as the Queen threw a barrage of ghostly plasma at his friend.
Heather brought up her hands to make a bright purple shield. It held... until it didn't. It soon shattered under the blasts, and then Heather also got caught under the barrage. The hits stunned her.
The Queen took this opportunity to snatch her in one massive claw. "Halfa. You think you are so strong. You have lost! Your kingdom will be mine."
Shadows grew on Heather's arms. The rest of her body glowed purple. Her arms slithered out of the ant's grasp in shadow form, then blasted a beam of black-and-purple energy directly at the beast's face. The Queen was sent flying once again, dazed and blinded by the shadowy attack.
Heather's shadowy arms stretched out and grabbed the Queen. "Someone, open a door!"
"Above us," Ray said. There was a door floating not far above their heads. "I'll give you a boost!"
Alex nodded. "Ok, boost me!" He took a running start, was boosted up into the air, and with the help of the Ghost Zone's wonky gravity, was able to reach the door without a touch of his flight powers. He opened the door, revealing an odd, distorted landscape. A moment later, Heather sent the Ant Queen through, just barely able to squeeze the giant in. The door slammed shut.
"That's that, then," Heather gasped out between exhausted breaths.
Ray sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I'm tired of ghost problems. Can we go home now?"
Heather laid down on the platform. "Yeah, let's leave. Just give me a minute to catch my breath."
She looked up at the green sky. Alex and Ray lied down next to her.
She sat, and did nothing but think. Home is the last battle now. Even after all this, she felt this one would be the hardest.
Once again, sorry for the wait. Life gets in the way. I hope I don't take as long to update again next time but... yeah. Adulting. :(