Chapter 7
When Gwen looked inside the room was dark with only several candles on the walls being the only source of light in the room. There was a pair of double doors on the other side of the room with a stair case on either side of the door leading up to a floor above it. A grand chandelier hung above Gwen but there were no lights and several small tables were seen around the room. On the floor above was door just like the one below with another door to the left side.
"Hello?" Gwen called out. "Is anyone here?"
There was no answer.
"I am getting a bad feeling about this." Gwen whispered as she looked around.
"I agree; I am sensing something wrong with this house." Andromeda said, manifesting into her spectre form allowing some light to be shown making it a bit easier to see.
"Maybe they're already looking for the prize money." Gwen said as she walked around the foyer. "Hopefully that's all it is."
She walked over the door and tried to open but found it was locked. If something was wrong Gwen normally would use her enhanced strength to knock the doors down but since she might be on camera she decided to not risk it yet. Since this was locked she had to see if the ones upstairs were open. She walked over to the stairs on the left side of the door and walked up to the next floor.
She chose the center door like the one below and checked if it was locked. It wasn't and she opened it. The next room she was in was a living room with furniture, small tables with lit candles on them, portraits hung on the walls with curtains and a soft carpet covered the floor.
"Hello?" Gwen asked, seeing if anyone was in here.
Walking in cautiously she stopped at the center of the room and looked around.
"If Duncan tries to hop out and scare me then he'd better be prepared for an ass kicking." She said out loud.
Something then caught Gwen's eyes. Out of the portrait hanging on the wall in front of her came a soft orange glow. It manifested itself into a ghost with two thin arms, a large mouth with no teeth, and big yellow eyes. It laughed as it flew at her but Gwen, having never taken off her Omni-Glove was able to summon her sword by touching the symbol. She swung it and ghost was sliced in half.
The spirit didn't scream in pain from the hit, it just vanished from the room.
"That was a drone." Andromeda whispered.
Drones were what spirits that had no sign of intelligence or sentience were referred to. They didn't have any unique difference from each other, some possibly having a different color or a small physical difference but most of the time they were simple ghosts, the most basic and commonly seen spirits. Avatars considered them just floating blobs made of ecto-plasma powered by life energy and the weakest spirits ever to be encountered. They had no intelligence, no sentience aside from the need to scare and attack what they see as an intruder into their territory.
Aside from a few basic attacks Drones were no match for a spirit avatar, since avatars could think and plan while Drones just attacked. They had no need to steal life energy since they were not spirits of the deceased that had gone mad or spirits that become obsessed with becoming stronger or developing an addiction. Gwen had seen them haunting Toronto more than once and she always took them out with almost no effort.
"If I didn't think something was wrong before I do now." Gwen said, looking around the room. "I just wonder how the others are handling this. A house full of spirits haunting it...A few of them might be scared out of their minds."
Three more drones emerged from the walls and flew at Gwen, only to be taken out with a single slash taking all three of them out in under two seconds.
"It's like basic training all over again." Gwen said, as she sheathed her sword. "They fly at me I slash and they go bye-bye."
"However if there is no light here the drones will keep on coming." Andromeda pointed out.
Gwen looked at the lights that had not come on. "I got an idea. Willing to give me a hand?"
"Of course." Andromeda released her power into Gwen as she pointed at the lights.
She released several orbs of light that flew at the light bulbs and entered them. All lights in the room turned just two more drones came out. They ended up paralyzed in the light and vanished into their spectre forms, fleeing back into the walls. While some spirits were strong enough come out into the light drones were too weak handle it and would easily lose their forms and fade out easily.
"These lights will keep them from coming out." Gwen nodded. "Can you keep this up along with powering other lights in the whole house?"
"Of course." Andromeda replied.
"Well then all I have to do is find the others and get out of here then," Gwen shrugged. "Assuming they didn't run off into the woods or something."
"This is obviously not the work of that host." Andromeda replied. "Since coming into this house I have sensed something here...Something very powerful."
"Time to give a certain wise ass a call." Gwen pulled out her cell phone.
But when she called Kurt she found there was no signal. "That's not good. I thought these phones worked even when I am out of range."
"There must be a barrier around the mansion blocking you." Gwen got the feeling that Andromeda was frowning from the current events.
Gwen put her cell phone away and walked to the door leading to the next room. Using Andromeda's power she managed to give the lights power and making sure no ghosts could come out. The next room seemed to be a wardrobe room with several closets against the walls. Taking a look inside one of the closets Gwen could see that some of the clothing resembled 17th century style clothing worn by the rich and wealthy.
"This mansion must have been built a very long time ago." Gwen said out loud.
"But the clean appearance suggests that it has not been abandoned." Andromeda replied.
"Yeah but then again if somebody wants to preserve how an old house looks it doesn't take more than some-" Gwen spun and whipped her katana out as she heard a 'thud' from the doors of a closed closet. "Who's in there?"
"Eep!"
Gwen recognized the voice, and slowly put her katana away. "Wait a second..." She opened the closet slowly...
"AH!" Something fell on Gwen, knocking her down.
Looking up she found herself fighting off a familiar blond haired, blue eyed, girl from the same show she was on.
"GetawaygetawayGETAWAY!" Lindsay shrieked.
"Lindsay?" Gwen grabbed her wrists and tried to calm the girl down. "Lindsay stop!"
"G-Gwen?" Lindsay stopped trying to hit her and looked at the goth girl on the floor. "Gwen!" Suddenly she was hugging Gwen and bawling into her shoulder.
Twitching slightly, Gwen patted the blonde's back. "Great to see you too..."
"Oh Gwen I'm so glad you're here!" Lindsay kept on crying.
"Lindsay, I need you to calm down," Gwen said clearly and firmly, pulling Lindsay off her. "Have you seen anybody else?"
"Not since the ghosties started appearing!" Lindsay shook her head.
"Ghosties?"
"They showed up out of nowhere! They popped out of the walls, the floor! Everywhere!" Lindsay cried.
"Where did everybody else go?"
"I don't know!" Lindsay shook her head. "We ran! They chased us all over the house no matter where we went. We tried to get out but they scared us back in! I found this place and hid in the closet! We got to hide before they come back!"
"It's okay. They can't come out in the light." Gwen pointed to the lights. "So as long as there is light the ghosts can't attack you."
Lindsay sighed in relief. "That's a big relief. But what about Beth? Bridgette? LeShawna?"
"Wow. It must be serious seeing as you can remember everyone's names." Gwen smirked as she stood up and helped Lindsay up. "If the ghosts haven't done anything other than scare you it means there's a good chance the others may be safe, they're just hiding."
"Really? B-but they were-"
"Waving their arms and shouting?" Gwen finished.
"...yes," Lindsay admitted, looking down in shame.
"They did it because...that's the show!" Gwen smiled, putting her hands on Lindsay's shoulders. "They're holograms Lindsay! They're just made to scare you."
"B-but they're still scary! I don't wanna play on this season," Lindsay whimpered.
"Ok, ok," Gwen said calmly, assuring her. "Just go outside and wait out front, and the others will be out there soon. Okay?"
"Okay...thanks Gwen," Lindsay nodded. "I'm getting out before any more Ghosty Holo-h-holo..."
"Holograms?"
"Ghostly hollow rams appear," Lindsay rushed out.
"Impressive thinking there." Andromeda praised when Lindsay was gone.
"Nice girl. Not very smart but nice." Gwen smiled before getting back to the job. "She was lucky, none of them actually attacked her but who's to say the others were that lucky?"
"All you can do is track them down and hope they have survived." Andromeda replied.
Gwen nodded and walked through the next door finding herself on a balcony overlooking the back of the mansion with a large graveyard that could be seen from where she was standing.
"So many graves, I wonder just how many people had lived in this house." Gwen whispered.
"The amount of drones here suggests that something powerful is lurking in this mansion. I fear that not even the deceased are safe and able to rest." Andromeda said.
Gwen turned back and exited the balcony heading back out to the foyer. When she came out she turned to the door that was on the left side of the second floor and walked over to the door. Reaching out she found it unlocked and opened it. Looking inside she saw a dark hall with dimly lit candles on the walls that didn't seem help her feel any better.
A drone tried to sneak up on her but she quickly pulled out katana and slashed it apart. When it faded she turned to the nearest door on the right and opened it. She looked inside to see it was a small room filled with shelves that were filled with books. A small fire place at the corner of the room had a fire going while nearby was a desk had a pen and several books.
A rocking chair next to the fire place was making a squeaking sound like...someone was sitting on it. Gwen walked in and looked at the chair seeing...no one. The chair was rocking itself.
"Hello?" Gwen asked, wondering if anyone was in this room.
Walking forward cautiously she looked at the chair, not seeing anyone there but she knew better. Holding up one hand she whispered. "Show me the unseen."
A small orb of light flashed in her hand, lighting the room allowing Gwen to see a middle aged man with blond hair and a moustache sitting on the chair. He had blue pale skin and yellow eyes and was dressed in a blue robe. The most noticeable feature was the fact that he was glowing. He wasn't paying attention to her as he seemed glued to a book he was reading.
"You know it's rude to ignore someone when ask if anyone's home." Gwen said, making the ghost look up.
"You can see me?" The man asked surprised.
Gwen held up her Omni-Glove.
"Ah, just when I thought you were another annoying trespasser it turns out you are a spirit avatar. I haven't seen one in a very long time." The man closed his book. "Are you here to remove me from this place?"
"That depends; when you said another annoying trespasser does that mean you've seen other people here? Living people?" Gwen asked.
"Why yes, actually. They came here looking for some kind of treasure in some contest but they disturbed the resting spirits of our home. From what I know they were chased through this entire mansion until one by one they were either caught or are still in hiding."
"What happens when they are caught?" Gwen reached for her sword.
"Nothing bad. We didn't steal their life energy or kill them. We are not savages." The man held up one hand. "My wife and I gave one of them to our child who is unable to sleep and so we gave him a new playmate."
The man stood up from his chair and glided over to Gwen who stepped back slightly.
"No need to be cautious, avatar. I am not a violent spirit and have little to no powers to combat you. I am more of a spirit of knowledge, I collected these books when I was alive and they have been with me ever since." He gestured to the shelves. "I am Norman."
"When you said that you gave one of the trespassers to your kid as a new playmate what did you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Nothing harmful, just someone to keep the baby happy. Pardon me." Norman looked up and called out. "Oh Rita!"
Gwen heard a voice calling from the walls sounding exasperated. "What is it?"
"We have a guest with us, much different from the earlier ones that I think you should meet." Norman replied.
Gwen watched as a ghost woman with glowing blue pale skin like Norman, yellow eyes, beautiful blond hair, and wore a pink robe appeared out of the wall.
"Just what guest would make you tear me away from my time fixing my hair?" The woman, Rita, said irritably while running a hand through her hair.
She looked at Gwen and scoffed. "I see nothing special."
"Look closer my dear, we are in the presence of a spirit avatar."
Rita scowl vanished as she looked Gwen over. Andromeda made the star necklace glow to show everyone that Gwen was indeed a spirit avatar.
"My apologies!" Rita bowed. "It's not every day we have an avatar as our guest. I take it you are here for the other humans."
"Yeah, your husband mentioned one of them was playing with your kid?" Gwen asked.
"Why yes of course. We shall take you to the baby's room right now." Rita flew to the door and opened it.
Gwen followed her back out into the hall and Rita and Norman led to her to the door on her left.
"The baby was always such a handful; not being able to sleep kept him crying until we found someone to play with him." Rita stopped at the door. "He's taken a liking to his playmate ever since."
She opened the door and Gwen walked inside, looking around. However the second she was inside the door slammed and started glowing blue.
"What the-"
"A restriction method, designed to trap humans and even avatars." Andromeda said.
Gwen touched the door but she retracted her hand when she was shocked a bit. "Ow! When I get my hands on those two-"
"Never mind them. Look." Andromeda said quickly.
Gwen looked around the room that resembled a nursery but the walls were pink with a heart shaped pattern. There was a rocking horse, a ball, and several more toys scattered throughout the room. To her right was a crib with a...ghost baby with the same skin as Henry and Rita floating a few feet above the bed, looking it was sleeping.
"One ghost baby but no playmate in sight." Gwen looked around, seeing if they were hiding somewhere.
"Prepare to die you giant ghost baby!" A high pitched voice declared.
"Huh?" Gwen looked at the shelf-which was full of fairy tale books. "What the hell?"
"Aye-yayayayayayaya!" Izzy...who was about the size of an action figure let out a battle cry as she swung on a chain of paper clips connected to the ceiling light swung across the room.
"Well this is new," Gwen muttered as Izzy released the chain and flew through the air, taking a pose to kick the baby.
"Haaaaaaaai-uh oh," Izzy flailed as she passed through the ghost baby.
Gwen caught her before she could hit the floor. She landed in her hands, rubbing her head and looked up. "Gwen? Is that you?"
"What are you doing Izzy? You're trying to kick a baby," Gwen said, holding up Izzy in both her hands. "Not mention you're smaller than a chipmunk! What happened to you?"
"Gwen that is no normal baby! It's dangerous!" Izzy called back up. "It's possessed! Get me some holy water and a cross!" She shook one fist at the baby. "The power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you-"
"Moving on!" Gwen cut her off. "What happened?"
"That thing's parents locked me in here and told me I'm their kid's new doll!" Izzy whined. "Then they shrunk me!"
"Doll, huh?" Gwen nodded, snickering.
"Hey! Can you at least call me an action figure?" Izzy demanded.
"I-I'll try!" Gwen said, trying not to laugh. "Did anybody else come in here?"
"Justin did, but he ran off screaming like a little baby!" Izzy shouted. "I swear the demon baby is more mature!"
"Well that's just great," Gwen sighed. "Just hold on Izzy, I'll get us out of here."
"Alright!...oh and nice coat!" Izzy pointed to Gwen's dark blue coat. "Makes you look real bad ass!"
Gwen sighed as she put Izzy on her shoulder and looked around. The baby was still asleep despite the noise in the room.
"I think the only way to get anywhere in here is wake up the kid." Gwen said.
"Bad idea, the kid's a nightmare when he's awake." Izzy protested.
"There's no way out with that barrier on." Gwen pointed at the blue glowing door. "Trust me on this."
"Okay." Izzy pouted as she sat on Gwen's shoulder.
Gwen walked around the room, taking in all the features and suppressing a shudder at how much pink there was. The baby was a boy but she doubted the parents even cared.
"If I wanted to wake up a ghost kid, what would I do?" She asked out loud.
"Use the wooden horsey!" Izzy pointed rocking horse. "The kid never lets anyone touch it."
Gwen walked over to the horse and touched. She made it go back and forth making a squeaking noise. The baby whined as the noise disturbed its sleep. After moment of none stop squeaking the baby vanished and reappeared on top of the rocky horse. Gwen stepped back as the baby started playing with the horse.
"Yay, someone else to play!" The baby squealed. "You like games?"
"Some games." Gwen replied, trying to look friendly.
Even if it was ghost it was still a baby and Gwen really didn't want to fight it.
"You play with me?" The baby asked.
"How about we make a deal?" Gwen asked, smiling. "We play a game but when one of us wins the winner asks for something."
"Like what?"
"If I win, you let us go and turn my friend here back to her normal size." Gwen pointed to Izzy. "And if you win you get to ask almost anything from me."
"Like staying here to play with me?" The baby asked.
"If that's what you want. Deal?" Gwen asked.
"Deal!" The baby floated in the air.
Teddy bears floated in the air.
"I don't think that was a good idea, Gwen." Izzy said.
"We play now!" The baby said and the teddy bears flew at Gwen.
She dodged them easily but the bears flew around and straight at her again.
"That's not the kind of game I had in mind." Gwen ducked as another teddy bear flew over her head.
She might have to risk revealing her avatar powers in front of Izzy but she was starting to see no other way out. Just as another teddy flew at her she kicked it and sent it into the wall, breaking it. The baby cried when the teddy bear fell to the ground.
"You break my teddy, meanie!"
"I think you've done it now!" Izzy hid behind Gwen's head.
"Oh how can it get...worse?" Gwen swallowed as the baby suddenly grew in size. "...aw snap."
"You're a big meanie! I don't wanna play with you!" The baby wailed.
"Andromeda!" Gwen swallowed as the baby began to stomp towards her, now towering over her. "I need ideas!"
"I have a Seal of Constriction," Andromeda replied. "It can hold a number of lesser spirits like this one for a while, perhaps long enough to break this curse!"
"Show me how to use it!"
Andromeda projected the image of a seal into Gwen's mind. The avatar promptly began to draw the seal with her Omni-Glove, trying to not mess it up despite the strain of a killer ghost baby closing in on her. When it was finished the baby raised one fist and reared it back to hit her.
"You go away now!" The baby snarled, throwing a punch at her...only for his fist to sink into the seal. Before the baby could scream, complain or struggle he was gone. Gwen looked around as the room turned silent...and looked down as something fell on the floor before her. It was a card...with a picture of the baby ghost on it.
"Sweet..." She picked it up. "That's one way to put a baby to bed."
The spell on the door faded, and Izzy reappeared on her shoulder.
"Yay! We're saved!" She hopped up and down, waving her arms. "But...wait, I'm still small!"
"Maybe the parents will know what to do," Gwen suggested. "And they'd better help out or they're joining their brat in a deck of cards."
She kicked the door open and stomped out into the hallway. "Alright you two double crossers! Come out!"
Rita and Norman appeared, looking nervous.
"Oh...you got out?" Rita chuckled nervously.
"You left me in that room with your kid wanting to turn me into his next doll!" Gwen snapped. "Apparently you're not very smart if you thought some kid could take on an avatar."
"Y-you didn't hurt him did you?" Rita whimpered.
Gwen showed her the card. "Seal of Constraint, now you're kid is asleep until I let him out. And if you want him out you're going to help me for real this time."
Rita gasped. "Jamie! Oh no!"
"Calm down dearest," Norman said calmly. "Alright Avatar...what do you want to know?"
"See this girl here?" Gwen pointed to Izzy on her shoulder. "Put her back to normal, now."
"That...might be a bit hard," Norman admitted.
"What do you mean? You did this to me!" Izzy yelled.
"Yes but it's not a simple spell...it's a curse," Norman said. "It can only be reversed if the Master is defeated or he willingly removes it."
"Master? Is that like an Alpha Spirit for this house? The leading ghost, the main villain?" Gwen demanded.
"Yes he is," Norman nodded. "It is because of him that we are all stuck like this."
"Well that's a damn shame," Gwen sighed. "Alright where's this Master?"
"He is down...down below," Norman pointed down. "In his sanctum."
"Well I guess I'll have to pay him a visit then," Gwen nodded. "As for you two, I don't want you causing me any more trouble while I'm here."
Rite began to back away. "N-no! Don't-"
Gwen finished the seal, and both ghosts were sucked in, screaming. Two cards appeared in mid air, and Gwen snatched them up.
"Nice," She pocketed all three cards. "That's a good start." She looked to Izzy. "Izzy I think you should wait outside with Lindsay. I found her earlier in the wardrobe room, she's fine and I think everybody else might be for now."
"Alright," Izzy nodded. "I'll let you do your thing girl!"
Gwen took her outside and gave her to a very pale Lindsay who sat on a bench, shivering in fright. It only got worse when she saw Izzy...she fainted.
"I'll keep an eye on her Gwen!" Izzy said, hopping onto Lindsay's stomach.
"Alright, take this so she doesn't catch a cold," Gwen took off her coat and draped it over Lindsay. "I'll send the others out every little while, whenever I find them, alright?"
"Gotcha! Go Ghost Busters on that creepy joint's ass!"
Xxx
Gwen used Andromeda's power to turn the lights on in the Foyer and headed for the double doors. Since she knew this was no contest she didn't have to bother holding back and allowed Andromeda to enhance her strength so she could kick the doors open. Inside was a dark hall with only several candles lit on the walls. Stepping inside Gwen pulled out her katana when drones came out of the walls, floor, and ceiling and headed straight for her.
She quickly slashed them apart, taking them out easily as she headed down the hall.
"This is great." Gwen muttered as she slashed another drone, this hung down from the ceiling and tried to scare her but she slashed it in half.
The drone's remains vanished as Gwen walked through, not looking back as she continued her search. As she looked around she decided to take her chances and see if anyone heard her. Gwen held out her hand allowing Andromeda to send light into the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling giving some to the hall, keeping anymore drones from coming out.
"Hello? Anyone here?" She called out, hoping that someone living heard her voice.
No answer which didn't help Gwen feel any better in looking for the others.
"No! No! No!" A voice yelled stopping Gwen in her tracks. "That is not how you do it! How can you kids call this dancing? We should drag you back to the Master and just let him deal with you!"
Gwen ran over to the door where the sound came from. She opened it slightly and looked inside. The room was some sort of Ball Room with two humanoid ghosts standing in the center surrounded by drones. One was a male dressed in a tuxedo with neatly combed white hair and glowing eyes while the other was a woman with a green dress and blond hair that fell over her shoulders.
The drones were all over the room, watching as the two danced elegantly and then turned to...
"LeShawna? Harold?" She whispered in shock.
"Like gosh, we've done this for three hours!"Harold whined.
"Yeah give us a break!" LeShawna called as she and Harold tried to dance...only to do something Gwen was certain came out of a satanic ritual of some sort.
"Dancers never need breaks! They can go on for days!" The lady scoffed. "We should just send them to the Master and let him dump them on someone else."
The door swung up open and with a slash of a sword the drones guarding the entrance were sliced apart.
"Okay Romeo and Juliet let them go, now." Gwen snarled as she walked in.
"Gwen!" Both Harold and LeShawna exclaimed.
"Who is this?" The woman frowned at Gwen as she and her husband stopped dancing.
"Another protégé?" The man proposed.
"No, she's dressed even less appropriately than these two!" The woman shook her head. "Why would the Master dump her on us?"
"Norman, Rita and Jamie might have had a similar question." Gwen drawled.
"What? Those three didn't do their job right?" The woman laughed. "Oh when the Master finds out-"
"Let's say if he wants to punish them then he'll have to tear them from my cold dead hands," Gwen showed the three cards holding the ghosts.
"W-what did you do to them?" The man demanded. "You're not a contestant, what are you?"
"Take a guess pal," Gwen held up her Omni-Glove.
"Avatar!" The woman squealed. "Get her!"
The remaining ghost drones flew at her but with a few swings of her sword Gwen had taken them out.
"That the best you got?" Gwen glared at them.
"No. This is. Take her out!" The man pointed at Harold and LeShawna who stopped dancing and charged at Gwen.
"What?" Gwen moved her head back, dodging a punch and a karate chop. "What are you doing?"
"We can't control our bodies!" Harold replied, sending a kick which Gwen dodged.
"How?" Gwen jumped back as LeShawna tried to punch her.
"The collars." Andromeda whispered.
Gwen saw collars on their necks that were glowing.
"Hang on!" Gwen charged forward.
"Wait a sec, do you even know how to use th-" LeShawna stopped as Gwen swung her sword and the collar was cut off.
She spun around and sliced Harold's collar off leaving him to fall to the ground, free of the Dancing Couple's control. When LeShawna and Harold fell to the ground free Gwen turned to the two ghosts who stepped back in fear.
"Run darling!" The woman screamed.
"I think not." Gwen activated the Seal of Constraint, which proceeded to suck both ghosts towards her. They clawed at the floor and furniture, but within seconds both of them were reduced to a single card of the couple slow dancing.
Harold and LeShawna fell to the floor, exhausted as the drones all fled the room to avoid getting sliced apart by Gwen. She ran over to them and knelt down to see if they were all right. "You all right?"
"I am now." LeShawna sighed in relief. "I have never felt so tired."
"What happened?" Gwen asked.
"We followed the map to this house and came in looking for the treasure but all of a sudden these...ghosts pop out and start chasing us. At first we thought it was all a big prank by Chris but then they started attacking us, even managing to hurt us a bit. LeShawna picked a fight with one but her fists went right through it and it slapped her down." Harold explained. "We tried to run but they were everywhere and one by one we started to disappear. Me and LeShawna ended up trapped in this room with that dancing couple forcing us to dance for three hours straight!"
"You two should get out of here. I'll go ahead and find the others." Gwen said.
"Are you crazy? Those ghosts will tear you apart!" Leshawna protested. "What was that light show anyways?"
"Look, LeShawna, as much I'd like to explain what's going on the longer you're in here the less of a chance you have at getting out before they catch you again." Gwen stood up. "Get out of here and don't come back."
"Come on, girl! I can't leave you in here with tho-" LeShawna tried to get up but she fell over.
Luckily Harold and Gwen caught before she hit the floor.
"No arguments with me, LeShawna. Get out." Gwen said sternly.
"Come on LeGoddess, I think we should take Gwen's advice on this one," Harold said as he helped LeShawna stand up. "She seems to have this one under wraps."
"Yeah...alright Gwen but if you take too long I'm comin' in here bustin' heads." LeShawna said.
"I'll try not to take too long with this then," Gwen nodded. "Who was the last person you guys saw?"
"I think after we left the foyer I saw Justin take a left, screamin' his pretty lil' head off," LeShawna replied. "He said something about 'Mini-Izzy' and 'big babies'."
"Sounds like Justin alright," Gwen sighed. "I'll find him, you two get outside and make sure Lindsay is alright."
"You found Lindsay?" Leshawna blinked.
"And Izzy, but...Izzy isn't in the best condition to help Lindsay. Try not to overreact when you see her." Gwen cautioned them both.
"Let's get goin' before more ghosts show up!" Harold insisted, managing to lead LeShawna out of the room and down the hall to the foyer.
Gwen followed them until they entered the foyer and took a right down the hall Justin had been seen heading down. She walked to the door at the very end and cautiously opened it, peering into a laundry room.
"Justin?" She looked around once before she saw another door on her left. "Nowhere for him to hide in here...he must have kept running."
She opened the new door and stepped into a room that was even less inviting than the other rooms she had visited. It had a large tool cabinet set up against one wall and an ironing board with a small bucket next to it on the opposite side of the room. There were toiletry supplies stacked along one wall along with a sewing machine.
At the ironing board was Justin, who was sniffling as a figure watched over him.
"As the Master said, if you walk into this house your life belongs to him," The ghost drawled as Gwen saw it clearly. "Seeing as he assigned you to me I should make sure you're useful at least."
The ghost looked like a stereotypical butler. He had thinning hair and big eye brows. His eyes were glowing bright as he stared at Justin intently. He had his hands folded behind his back. He wore a double tailed coat to finish the appearance.
"How many more of these do I have to iron?" Justin asked meekly.
"As many as I say, now keep going!" The Butler snapped.
Gwen cleared her throat, knocking on the open door. The butler spun. "What?"
"Gwen?" Justin smiled.
"Am I interrupting your new career Justin?" Gwen asked sarcastically.
"Get me outta here! Please!" Justin begged. "My hands feel like they got rocks dropped on them!"
"Oh relax pretty boy I'll get you out of here," Gwen said dismissively. "Alright then Alfred-"
"I'll have you know my name is-"
"Yeah on second thought I don't care what your name is," Gwen cut the ghost off. "I stopped caring when you so rudely interrupted me actually. Now here's the deal, you let Justin go or I'm locking you away."
The butler scoffed. "Who do you think you are?"
"I don't know really, ask these ghosts here." Gwen held up her four cards of captured ghosts.
The butler sputtered. "W-what?"
"Don't think about it too hard, Jeeves," Gwen said. "Justin, head outside, you'll find a few of the others waiting there."
"Thank you! Thank you! I am so sorry for what I did to you on Total Drama Action!" Justin was kissing her feet. "I will never be mean to you again! I'll make it all up to you I swear!"
"Uh...you can start by not kissing my boots and just get out of here!" Gwen insisted.
Justin ran out without pause, and the Butler growled. "The Master will be most displeased by this!"
"Oh don't worry I'll be seeing him to discuss what he's doing real soon," Gwen cracked her knuckles. "Time to join your pals Jeeves, if you're lucky I'll let you out later instead of keeping you trapped like I would have if you put up a fight."
"You little-!" The Butler held out both hands, and several packages of toilet paper in the corner ripped open and tendrils of white paper shot out.
"...oh you have got to be kidding me," Gwen said before her right arm was caught in some of the strands. Ripping it free as the bucket flew at her, hitting her knee she got her katana out and sliced through several more objects the butler sent hurtling at her. Finally the butler picked up a set of candles and blew on them. They somehow lit of their own accord...and a stream of fire was spat in her direction!
"Whoa nelly!" Gwen held out her hands and whispered. "Fortify!"
A seal appeared in front of her hand and expanded. It was a circular shape that soon was 6 feet across. It absorbed the fire entirely, leaving Gwen unharmed when it vanished.
"Big mistake, Jeeves!" Gwen held out both hands. This one wouldn't give her time to use the Constriction Seal, so she had to weaken him a bit first, and what better way was there than...
"Spectral volt!" Energy crackled at her fingertips and shot across the room. The electricity generated by her life energy shocked the Butler, making him writhe and drop the candles. As he began to twist and fall, Gwen took the time to focus on the Seal of Constraint.
The seal appeared before her hands and began to pull the Butler towards her. He desperately tried to grab for his candles, and managed to send off a small spat of fire that hit the ceiling harmlessly, but eventually he vanished into the seal and came out as a card. Gwen picked up the image of the butler holding his candles.
"A true work of annoying art," She pocketed it. "Six ghosts down, five friends saved...a whole mansion to go...wait, damn it I should have asked Justin if he saw anybody." She stomped back out to the hallway. "Alright maybe if I pop outside I can-"
Thud!
"Heeelp!"
"No leaving!"
Thud!
Gwen rushed down the corridor and took a left towards the back of the hall, opposite of the foyer door. She then took a left towards the source of the noise and heard muffled shouting behind a door halfway towards the end of the hall where it took a right towards the very back of the manor. She approached the door on her right and opened it a bit.
"You are not leaving until you get the Moonlight Sonata correctly!" A young woman scolded.
"For the millionth time I hate the piano!" Geoff snapped. "Look, just let me go and tell me where Bridgette is!"
"You won't see your little girlfriend for quite a while Geoffrey, especially if you don't continue your practice!" A female ghost in a red dress with long platinum hair said as she forced Geoff to sit at a piano again. "Or do you want another paper cut?"
Geoff swallowed, turning pale as he stopped his struggles.
"Geoff!" Gwen forced the door open completely.
"Gwen!" Geoff spun. "Gwen get outta here this woman's a psycho!"
"Ah good, another student!" The woman said with a grin.
Gwen took a moment to observe the room in case there were any more ghosts in it. There were musical instruments set about, but otherwise there was nothing else in the room aside from a few old shelves of books and music sheets.
"Impressed?" The ghost asked as she floated around over the two humans. "I've spent years maintaining the conservatory and its contents; I like to think that when I finally get enough students I will have a prize winning orchestra in the making."
"Yeah, your friends had similar ideas," Gwen didn't bother taking out the cards to intimidate this one. "One warning, let Geoff go and get out of here or I'm going to-"
The ghost laughed shrilly. "Oh the human is threatening me! Probably watched far too much television and thinks she is a heroine now."
"Not exactly," Gwen flexed the hand with her Omni-Glove on it. "But something along those lines."
"Gwen I'm serious! She makes the music sheets come alive and fly around! And man they're sharp!" Geoff rubbed a hand over several bleeding cuts on his right cheek. "She's a real ghost!"
"Oh I know Geoff," Gwen nodded. "And I don't care, I've had my fill of ghosts already and I've got plenty more to take care of after this one."
The woman's smile vanished when she had seen the Omni-Glove. "So, you're an Avatar. No wonder you've managed to get all the way to this room. But no matter, I'll blast that glove and the connection to your spirit apart when I am done."
Music sheets came into the air from various places in the room as the woman floated in the center of the room.
"I am Catherine, the Mistress of Endless Melodies and this room is the last one you'll ever enter." The woman said as the sheets flew at Gwen.
Gwen however unsheathed her sword and quickly slashed each music sheet that flew at her in half. She charged at Catherine but a violin flew at her and knocked her on the side of her head.
"Gwen!" Geoff called out.
Gwen rolled out of the as the violin slammed down where her head was. Just as it came at her again she sliced it in half. Catherine shrieked in outrage.
"Do you have any idea what you have done? That instrument has been here for centuries!"
"So stop using them as weapons and fight me the old fashioned way!" Gwen snapped.
Catherine growled as more music sheets appeared and flew at Gwen. The young avatar sliced through them with ease but now Catherine was using books as a weapon. They flew at her like speeding bullets trying to knock her down. Catherine laughed.
"There's nothing you have that can stop me. Here I am untouchable, surrounded my by art." Catherine laughed.
Gwen sighed as she looked around. Just about everything in the room was a weapon for her to use except...
"Geoff, get away from the piano!" Gwen shouted.
Geoff jumped back, not understanding what she was doing but thankfully didn't bother to ask.
"What are you-"Catherine started as Gwen aimed her hand at the piano.
"Spectral Volt!" A blast of electricity blasted from Gwen's hand and hit the piano.
"NO!" Catherine shrieked as the piano was blown apart.
The pieces flew across the room, with the remains where the piano once stood burning from the blast.
"You...you...I'LL KILL YOU!" Catherine flew at Gwen who quickly drew the Seal of Constraint.
The symbol appeared in front of her and Catherine flew straight into it. She vanished in a flash of light and a card with the picture of her fell to the ground in front of Gwen.
"Consider this orchestra over." Gwen picked up the card and walked over to Geoff. "You okay?"
"Yeah..." Was all Geoff could say trying to understand what he saw.
The events that had happened tonight were beyond anything he had ever seen. The ghosts, the crazy ghost lady who imprisoned him and now Gwen showing up like a bad ass super hero.
"It's okay; you're not the only one with questions." Gwen smirked as she helped Geoff up. "But right now we need to make sure everyone else is okay."
"Oh right, Bridge!" Geoff tried to run but Gwen held him back. "I've got to find her!"
"Geoff, calm down!" Gwen tightened her grip in his shoulder. "Rushing off with ghosts lurking around isn't going to help!"
Geoff stopped struggling and Gwen released him.
"All right, we're all calm now." Gwen asked, smiling as Geoff nodded. "All right, first off did you see anyone else before you got stuck in here?"
"Well I saw a couple ghosts dragging DJ and Heather into a room on my left right after we left the foyer, it was in the hall right outside the foyer door." Geoff replied.
"Across from that dance studio," Gwen muttered. "Alright Geoff head outside and stay with the others, I'll find Bridgette for you and explain everything."
'With a nice little Seal of the Veil to make you all forget this ever happened.' She thought.
"Alright, thanks Gwen," Geoff said, leaving the room with Gwen behind him.
As they walked down the hall toward the foyer Geoff tapped a door on his right. "This is the door I saw them take DJ and Heather through. Good luck." He darted out into the foyer and was gone.
Gwen took a breath and tested the door. It was unlocked, thankfully, but there was a smell coming from behind it.
"That smells like...DJ's cooking?" Gwen remembered the times when DJ would cook meals to avoid Chef's cooking on TDI and TDA.
She opened the door and peeked in...and almost vomited. She shut the door and put a hand to her mouth.
"Well that was a Kodak moment," Andromeda said.
"My god..." Gwen looked back in. "Owen's on a diet compared to this!"
The ghost inside was bloated and still stuffing itself with food from the table in front of it. Its pudgy hands greedily snatched up food that it gobbled up. Bits of food flew all over the room...including onto Heather, who was dressed as a French maid and was shakily cleaning up scraps for it. Through the door on the other side of the room Gwen saw DJ urgently cooking more and more food.
"D-DJ hurry! He's almost out!" Heather said, looking pleadingly at DJ.
"I'm trying!" DJ replied.
Gwen sighed and whispered a Method as she shut her eyes. "Veil against the material."
Instantly she became invisible, essentially using a Camouflage Method to go halfway to becoming a spirit. It was a medium level method that Avatars used if they could not make humans forget seeing them and had to avoid being seen the old fashioned way. Gwen slipped through, not being noticed thanks to Heather being so busy cleaning and the ghost stuffing its face. She tip toed into the kitchen and took a look at the mountain of used dishes stuffed into the sink. It was slowly building up on the floor too.
She looked to DJ and thought about contacting him, but knew he would scream and alert the ghost. She needed a way to take the ghost by surprise...but how?