Chapter 9
The Haunted Mansion
The next night in the Ghoul Room, Josette was going over the information on her Haunters in her handbook, seeing what new powers she could teach them for all the Gold Plasm they had earned so far. She also thought back on the encounter with the two witches during their last mission, and how afraid she had been that they had lost Jack. Luckily, he turned out to be fine afterwards, he just couldn't help them any more on that particular mission. Regardless, Josette had still been terrified, and with all right.
But unknown to her, she was about to receive another scare.
As she joined her team in the down in the café, a portal to from the Spirit Realm opened, and a ghost of a medieval executioner stepped through, his sharp axe in his hands and a black hood covering his face.
"Ghost Master Josette." he said with a dark voice.
"Yes?" Josette answered, only to the axe nearly shoved up in her face.
"You are relived of your duty. For ending the existence of a mortal, you will face the Haunters Committee and receive your punishment." he said, grabbing her by the arm with an iron grip.
"What?! No, let her go!" Nereid protested.
"Unhand our boss, partner!" Desperado said, pulling his revolver. And the rest of the Haunters formed up around the intruder, all ready to defend their Ghost Master.
"Stop! That is enough!" Josette yelled. "Fighting the Committee will not help anyone. I will go and meet with them, see what this is all about, and I do not want any of you to do anything stupid on account of me."
Her team looked at each other and Josette with a hint of sadness and confusion, and reluctantly stood down. The executioner gave the spirits a final glance to make sure that they were sincere, and once he was certain, he turned back to the portal with Josette. But she wouldn't let him handle her like a common criminal, and pulled herself free from his grip as they both entered the portal back to the Spirit Realm.
Josette stood in front of the Haunters Committee, their faces serious and their eyes locked on her, while the executioner stood right behind her.
"Ghost Master Josette." the Spectral Dragon, Aqupam, began. "It has come to our attention that the actions of you and your team have cost a mortal her life. This is something that is extremely serious and can not be taken lightly."
"I told you she wasn't experienced enough!" Caius Talius snapped, only to be silenced by the Primadonna.
"Oh, be quiet, you, and let the girl speak." she said, nodding to Aqupam to continue.
"The mortal woman by the name of Wendy Weaver, was one of your victims of your mission last night, and earlier this day, she left her mortal existence as a result of you and your team. What have you to say on the matter?"
"It was never our intentions to claim the life of any mortal. I know fully well how we must avoid such things, as it could spark a war with the mortal realm."
"But it has been done, regardless of your intentions." said Saren. "A pity, considering your success so far."
"As much as it pains us, we must punish you for this." said North Wind. But before anyone was able to say anything else, Charles came busting in through the doors.
"Objection!" he shouted, pointing at the Committee. "You cannot punish miss Josette!"
"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Charles?" Aqupam asked, giving Charles a stern look. "Explain yourself."
"Gladly. Miss Josette, and her team of Haunters, are not guilty of this accident. I come straight from the Temporal Agency, having asked them to send me back to this moment after acquiring this information from the Central Mortal Information Bureau." he said, opening his briefcase and presenting documents to the Committee.
"As you all can see, this Wendy Weaver had a fatal heart condition, unknown to the mortals. And she would have perished within a week of said condition, so this outcome is really not much different than what would have happened, aside from the ill timing of the mission, of which everyone in the Committee is then just as responsible."
Aqupam and the others read the documents, and Charles' claims were indeed true, the mortal would have perished shortly regardless.
"So it would seem." the Spectral Dragon said. "However, this is still a serious event, and actions must be taken. We will discuss this, and once we have come to a decision, we will let you know."
"Until then," Nightmare the Sandman cut in. "I say that we let Ghost Master Josette be allowed to continue her campaign in Sunshine Valley. Anyone else agree?"
The other members of the Committee looked at each other, and after a short while, all of them gave their approval, though some were reluctant to do so.
"Then so shall it be." Aqupam said. "Return to your duties, young Ghost Master. We will speak again."
"Thank you, Charles." Josette said as they walked back from the meeting.
"Speak nothing of it, miss Josette. It is my job to assist you, and I promised headmaster Archion that I would keep an eye on you. Plus, it felt good to act as a lawyer again, been a long time since I done that."
"But it can not have been easy to do this. Having the Temporal Agency send you back in time like that. I thought that was only reserved for Ghost Masters if they failed a mission or similar. Speaking of which, why could I not just go back and redo everything?"
"I did have to call in an awful lot of favours for it, but it was worth it. As for your question; it would have been simple to do that, yes, but the mortal would have perished shortly either way, and I'm willing to bet that Caius would have used that against you like now, wanting to rather have you punished instead."
"What does he have against me?"
"From what I have gathered, he has always been like that, being an ancient Roman senator, and just between us, I do not think that he can stand that a Ghost Master so young as you are doing so well. Hopefully the rest of the Committee will see that you were not at fault, and he will have to accept that. But enough about that for now, it is high time for you to get back to work, and I think you will like this mission."
Back in the map room of the Ghoul Room, after having explained the circumstances, Charles began his briefing, the map showing a large mansion of some sort on the edge of the city, overlooking a forest to the far north-west.
"This should be fun and mostly simple. You see, this mansion is one of the oldest still standing buildings in the area, dating back to the mid 1800s, and in that time, it have had a lot of dark events taking place there, one in particular that included the last member of the family that built the house being murdered by his own staff. Feel free to explore this old mansion as you wish, and see what you might uncover, just make sure to drive everyone away in terror before the night is done. Like the last mission, six Haunters should suffice."
After some thought, Josette knew which spirits she wanted to bring with her. Desperado, Skelesaurus, Bobby, Flow, Twitch and Wolfgang. All ready and itching to get to work. But first, they needed to scout the premise, see what they had to work with, and what spirits, if any, that needed help.
And it didn't take long for them to locate their first spirit in need, as it was clearly visible from the air, standing in the backyard, his chain binding him to the earth.
Standing tall was the spirit of a humanoid wolf, his fur black as the darkest night and yellow, glowing eyes. The fur on his chest and around his neck was longer and thicker like a mane, coloured like silver.
"Ah, a Ghost Master. Been a while since I last seen one." the wolf said in a growing male voice. "Care to give a fellow spirit a helping hand? I followed the howling winds of a storm here, like I've always done. But the weather has been so calm here for years, and I long to run with the winds again, to howl in the storm."
"That does not sound too difficult." said Josette, mentally going over the powers of her team. "You will have your storm, but first I will have to search the rest of the area for other spirits that may need help."
"Very noble of you. I will await your return."
"Fräulein, I have located a spirit." said a telepathic message from Wolfgang. "I am in the master bedroom, on the top floor."
"Thank you, Wolfgang. I will be there in just a moment."
Reaching the master bedroom, Josette met up with Wolfgang, and saw the spirit he had uncovered, chained to the room.
He looked almost like a vampire from some of the more modern stories, having pale, white skin, yellow eyes, pointy ears, fangs and slick, black hair that covered his left eye. He wore a black coat with red collar and cuffs, a black cape with red inside, a white, fluffy scarf, grey pants and black boots, a style that would fit people of the nobility from a few centuries ago.
"Welcome to my humble home, or so I would like to say, but it is not exactly mine any longer. You may call me the Count, as my name sadly eludes me. I was the last member of the family that had this glorious mansion constructed, until my untimely demise. Could I ask for your aid? You understand, this used to be my bedroom, but it has since been inhabited by several others, and now it is occupied by a priest of all people. A priest! The gall! I urge you to drive him away, do this, and I will join your cause."
The task presented by the spectre was an easy one, and one that would be fulfilled either way, since the mission was to scare away everyone. But the fact that it was a priest was concerning, as they had the power to banish ghosts, just like the two witch sisters from earlier. Still, he was only one priest, and now the ghosts knew about him.
Promising that he would be free before the night was over, Josette continued her survey of the mansion. As she moved through all the rooms, she noticed some very faint presences in some of the rooms, but no matter how hard she looked, she just couldn't find the origin of them. But she did find another spirit in need of aid.
Bound to a couch in the main livingroom, was the spirit of an old woman, her grey hair reached past her shoulders and her skin was dark purple. She wore glasses with very thick lenses, a long dark green skirt and a knitted, pink sweater, with sleeves so long that they covered her hands.
"Oh, hello, deary. Come to see old nana Netty, have you? How kind of you. I wish I had a cookie for you." the lady said, pinching Josette's cheek, which took the Ghost Master by surprise.
"Could I ask for your help, sweetie? Most of my little kitties have gone and hid somewhere in this house, and I'm so worried about them. Right now, I only have three here with me, Jasper, Frank and Rick, but there are still six little kitties missing. You may have to scare them a little, but then they will run straight home to their nana."
Three small, barely visible orbs came up to Netty, and faint mews could be heard from them.
'This is certainly not what I expected, but it might explain the strange presences I felt earlier.' Josette thought to herself, and started to think on how to scare back the minor cat spirits.
Going over the mansion again, she did manage to isolate the areas with the presences in. The kitchen, one of the bathrooms, two of the bedrooms, the cellar and even the backyard.
With that done, she referred to her handbook, double-checking the mortals to make sure that she didn't make the same mistake as before. Once she had finished that, it was time to get to work, and her team spread out to start working their terrifying magic.
The first thing on Josette's agenda, was to conjure up a mighty storm. Not only would it free the wolf spirit, but a good storm always put mortals on edge, setting the mood for the haunting, and once it has grown to a certain strength, it would continue on its own.
So, taking Wolfgang and Flow with her to the backyard, the Ghost Master began the preparations. An old scythe hanging on the side of the tool-shed had at some point seen a lot of violence, which allowed Wolfgang to use it as his fetter, while Flow used the water in a birdbath. While the Spectre used his Gather Winds, the Water Elemental used Rain and Distant Thunder, and only a few minutes later, a proper storm was brewing, though it would still take a while before it was really strong.
But the rain still had an effect on the team's progress, for as soon as it started, a shrill mew was heard, and a small orb, just like the ones with Netty, darted across the grass and into the mansion. Shortly afterwards, Josette heard Netty's voice.
"Thank you for finding Norman for me! He always was a rebel, going outside despite not being allowed."
Josette could only raise an eyebrow at the event, but at least she knew what to do when next she found one of the remaining 'cat-orbs'. In the meantime, she directed the rest of her team to start working on the mortals, while staying clear of the priest for the time being.
The large amounts of stuffed animals and hunting trophies gave both Bobby and Desperado ample of fetters to choose from, while Twitch had a lot of electronic devices to choose from as well. And Skelesaurus absolutely relished in the many hallways, all of which where Thoroughfare fetters, giving it plenty of places to hunt. They all started rather tame, but quickly worked their way up the tiers of their powers.
As soon as the Plasm had reached a high enough level, Wolfgang unleashed his Typhoon power, and the air was filled with powerful winds, strong enough for the surrounding trees to swing back and forth, while rain and thunder came down en mass.
With the winds howling, the wolf spirit chimed in and unleashed his own howl, sending chills down the spines of all mortal who heard it. And with the storm now raging, his chain withered away.
"Now this, this is a real storm. You are an artist, and now, I, Lonewolf, will aid you."
With the added power of the Wendigo, Lonewolf, no mortals would be able to escape the haunting by leaving the mansion, as the spirits would control the outside as well. Leaving Flow and Wolfgang to continue the storm a while longer, Josette set out to find the remaining 'cat-orbs'.
As Twitch followed a woman into the kitchen, he picked one of the many appliances as a fetter, and unleashed his Wild and Crazy, causing all machines to go nuts, scaring the woman something fierce. And the commotion also caused another orb to mew and dart through the building back to Netty.
"Eugene! I have told you, no snacking between meals. Bad kitty!" Netty said as the orb joined the others. Only four left.
A pair of teenagers left the house after things had started to get too strange, braving the storm to avoid whatever it was that haunted the mansion. Yet, they didn't count on Lonewolf residing in the garden, or on Skelesaurus following them outside, and the two hunters made very short work of the teens, sending them screaming into the night.
"How I have missed the hunt. And there are still more left. This will be a night to remember." Lonewolf said to Skelesaurus, who nodded in agreement.
'Lonewolf, I require your aid.' Josette said through the telepathic link, which startled the Wendigo at first. 'Please come to the west side of the mansion.'
Once he arrived, Josette explained what she needed him to do. On the other side of the wall, one floor up, were two bedrooms, and in those bedrooms were two of the cats that Netty wanted them to find. Being so close to the wall, Lonewolf's howl could easily be heard inside, and two orbs flew out from their hiding places, one from under a bed and the other from a set of drawers, mewing loudly as they did. Shortly after, they were back with Netty.
"Taking a catnap again, Seth? You are such a sleepyhead. And Eric. Still pilfering socks I see."
Down in the cellar, the priest was investigating a presence he had felt, believing it to be connected to the recent events that had already scared away several of his friends. Little did he know that he was walking into a trap, for Desperado was bound to a dead rat in a rattrap, waiting for the old man to come close enough.
"Reach for the sky, partner!" the Mane shouted as he made himself visible, throwing himself at the priest.
The priest barely had time to react, much less defend himself, when Desperado used his Possession on him, taking over his body.
"There we go. Now to find that cat."
Walking into another room in the cellar, Desperado looked for any sign of a cat spirit, and while he didn't see anything, he did hear a few faint mews. Though, he wasn't alone, for two other mortals arrived, seeking shelter.
'Sorry about this, pussycat, but I have to get you back.' he said mentally, his hand reaching out from the mortal body, holding his revolver, all of which was invisible to the other mortals. Firing the gun, streams of fire shot out at them, and lit them on fire!
The raging flames and the horrified screams were more than enough to scare the minor spirit out of hiding, leaving only one left. Once done, Desperado left the priest, who had no memories of what had transpired.
"There you are, Fred! I have told you so many times before, there are no moles in the cellar."
Flow moved into one of the bathrooms on the ground floor, where Josette had located the presence of the final cat spirit, and being a spirit of water, Flow knew that cats weren't too happy to get wet. With the shower as her fetter, she used Flood to fill the room with more water than the drains could handle, and that was more than enough to scare away the little cat spirit.
And that wasn't the only result, for at that moment, one of the mortals were heading towards the bathroom to hide, but instead he was swept across the floor by the mass of water when he opened the door. And since the water disappeared shortly after, leaving no trace behind, the poor mortal just couldn't figure out what the heck had happened.
"Oh, Otto, you always get lost in here." Netty said. "Now all my little kittens are back with their nana, thank you so much, dearest." she then said, thanking Josette as the Ghost Master had arrived shortly before.
The chain binding Netty, shattered and faded away, but that was not the only thing that happened. All nine of the cat-orbs started spinning around in a circle, meeting in the middle and merging into a single cat ghost. The fur was a total mishmash of colours, having segments of black, yellow, orange, light brown, dark brown and red all over, while it lacked both fur and flesh on its tail, across the back and the left side of the face, showing the bone underneath.
"Oh my! Why, I never. My little kittens, they all became one big kitten. Well, I guess it will be easier to keep track of them now."
"This was… new." Josette said, surprised about the merging of the cats. Then her handbook vibrated, and opening it, she saw that a page had been filled in with a new spirit, that of the cats, a Horde ghost. Instead of one name, though, all nine of the cats were written, but in a certain order. Jasper, Eric, Fred, Frank, Eugene, Rick, Seth, Otto and Norman. Taking the first letter of all their names, spelled out the name Jefferson, and as far as Josette was concerned, that was just as good as anything else.
By now, more than half of the mortals had fled, but the priest was still braving the haunting, seeking to end it, even though it had already taken its toll on him. He felt a strange pull towards the master bedroom, though he couldn't understand why, for little did he know that it was the Fascinate power of Bobby, drawing him in.
As he entered the room, he felt Bobby's presence, having honed in on it. But Bobby wasn't alone, the Count was still bound to the room, and he was more than ready to unleash his anger upon the unsuspecting mortal. A Legion of spectral bats flew out from the Count's cape, swarming the priest, and giving the two ghosts enough time to both use Spooky Surprise.
Appearing in front of the priest, Bobby with his head in his hands and the Count with his hands clawed and fangs bared, the mortal's will was finally broken, and he ran down the stairs as fast as he could. Once he was gone, the chain binding the Count vanished.
"Finally, he is gone. You have no idea of how boring it has been to listen to his prayers every night for these last twenty years. Just tell me what you want done, you can 'count' on me!"
The Count's lame pun aside, it had all in all been a successful night, but they weren't done just yet, they still needed to scare away the remaining few mortals.
Any who tried to hide indoors quickly changed their opinion when the electronics started dancing, or rooms were flooded. Horrible wails and shrieks were followed by numerous zombie cats, chasing after mortals like they were mice. Outside, the monstrous duo of Skelesaurus and Lonewolf drove people to the woods with ease, while a lone woman was trapped in a thin, but strong layer of frost. And while it only lasted a few minutes, she didn't need any more incentive to flee, but she got one either way. She and three more mortals suddenly erupted in flames.
As the last burning mortals fled into the night, the light of their flames visible for a long while, a portal opened above the mansion, beckoning the spirits to return home, together with their new teammates.
Finally back at the Ghoul Room, Josette retired to her chambers, it had been a long and eventful night, and she was very glad for it to be over. The rest of her team took it upon themselves to get the new recruits settled in.
Lonewolf, being the wild spirit he was, found his place outside, together with his fellow hunter, Skelesaurus.
Netty, together with her cat-collective, Jefferson, both found a good place in a small hallway of one of the apartments, which had an old rocking chair for the Banshee, while her cat simply stayed at her side.
The Count would normally not have settled for anything less than the best in the building, but seeing that Josette had already claimed that room, he decided to pick another spot to call his own. She had after all helped him in his time of need. So, he instead found an old hunting trophy in the map room, the mounted head of a moose, that he deemed more than enough for him.
And another chapter done! Man, these things take time and effort. But it was fun! Hope you guys liked it!
More is to come, be certain about that! As well as four more pictures on my DeviantArt page.