Here it is! Another part of this messed up story is coming into play, needed to let it go forward. Let's get it started!
See you all at the end of the chapter!
Karkat stared into the gaping maw of the ghost wolf and wondered why the hell his life was like this. Going on a trip to a cabin in the woods was only meant to go wrong in horror movies, not in real life.
"Oh, right," Karkat dully thought, rearing his legs up, placing them beneath the wolf's chest. "I'm half dead. This already is a horror movie."
Karkat kicked his legs straight out, knocking the wolf away from him immediately. As it launched away, hitting the ground hard, he rolled backward, landing on his feet. The wolf recovered slowly, fur bristling as it got up to glare at him once again.
Karkat took a look to his right, noting the back of the car was open now, weapons ready to be picked up. He could hear his dad and Crocker rushing, most likely to check on what was going on. Feferi was watching, still in shock at the quick turn of events.
"Get a weapon from the trunk!" Karkat turned his eyes back to the wolf, red eyes meeting its scarred ones. He'd have to keep its attention on him until they could properly fight back. "And hurry! This thing really wants to take a bite out of me!"
Karkat had to force himself not to use his ghost powers right there and then. Too many witnesses, and he didn't want his dad to see. He did wave at the thing, though, making sure it didn't stray.
"Hey, ugly!" Unoriginal, but it made sure to catch its attention. "Not sure where your pack is, but I'm pretty sure they left so they couldn't see your mug. Your breath might have helped with that too, though."
Again, not exactly profound, but he didn't need his best material to catch the wolf's attention. It growled loudly again, rattling his bones to their core, before charging headfirst at him. It leaped, trying to tackle him again. Karkat rolled to the side, the thing landing beside him.
Karkat was able to whirl around, punching the animal in the face before it could recover. Stunned, the wolf couldn't counter the kick to the stomach he gave it to it, causing it to skid backwards.
Unfortunately, Karkat wasn't as adept fighting on the ground as he was in the air. He stumbled after the kick, the wolf taking the opportunity to slash at him with its claws. It missed the first time but slashed at his jacket during the second attack.
The wolf lunged forward, attempting to capture one of the halfa's arms in its teeth, but missed by inches as Karkat jumped back. The halfa reach into a pocket, waiting for the beast to strike again. He didn't have to wait long as it tried to bite at him once more.
Karkat pulled an ecto-knife out of his pocket, slashing it across the wolf's snout. The thing howled again, the sound pinning Karkat where he stood as its pain filled cries nearly deafened him.
He didn't have to wait long for the thing to quiet down, as several shots from an ecto-gun rammed into its side. Karkat put some distance between him and the wolf, sighing in relief as he saw his dad and the Peixes shooting at it with wild abandon.
The wolf figured it was time to move then, the numbers being shifted out of its favor. It howled again, causing the shooting to stop before retreating into the forest. Karkat could hear his father curse loudly, putting the gun down before heading over to him.
"Kid, are you okay?!" Spades stopped, checking over the boy. He looked relieved when he didn't find any serious injuries. "Jesus, I don't know who taught you to fight like that, but it sure as hell wasn't me. I can't believe you punched a wolf."
"Punched and slash at it." Karkat looked over the knife, doing his best not to touch the blade directly. It dripped ectoplasm, which he was afraid of. "I don't think that was a normal wolf. This sure as hell isn't blood."
"Really?" Spades looked over it himself, eyes lighting up a little. "Ectoplasm? You got attacked by a ghost wolf? I didn't know animals could turn into them."
"Yeah, me neither." Karkat lied, not willing to explain the fact he'd run into smaller, less threatening ghost animals already. "Well, you might have to adjust some theories then. Animals do have souls."
"Tell that to cats." Spades could see a truck coming in. He gave his son a playful shove, pointing at the car. "Baggie that thing and hang out with the Peixes. You did good at there, but I'm gonna check you out properly after we get that tree moved."
"Got it." Karkat was already moving towards the car, handling the knife carefully. "Make it quick. I don't know what to say to them."
Spades just nodded, heading over to Feferi and her mom. Crocker was busy looking over one of the weapons with some visible interest, while Feferi was on the balls of her feet. When he got close, she moved forward, looking him over.
"That thing hit you pretty hard. Are you sure nothing's broken?" She didn't seem convinced by his shrug, frowning slightly. "At least you were able to get it away from here. That thing looked ready to bite your head off."
"Where the fuck did that thing even come from?" Crocker turned the ecto-gun off, putting it back into the trunk. "I'm gonna guess that whatever it was, it wasn't native around here."
"It sure as hell wasn't. Literal ghost dog." Karkat grabbed a plastic bag, putting the knife into it. He made sure to replace it with an untouched one immediately. "I'm not waiting for it to come back, though."
He was certainly going to figure out where the hell it came from. No way in hell that thing appearing was just a coincidence.
The local forest service was able to move the tree with little effort, meaning that they could finally move forward. Other than a warning that they heard something howling in the area, they didn't say much about what happened. Admitting that they fought a wolf ghost probably wouldn't fly, even with the world's only ecto-scientist to improve it.
Once they got that out of the way (along with a quick physical done by Spades), they were all allowed to move forward. Something Karkat was glad to see, as he dying to actually make it to the cabin.
When they finally did, though, it was very clear that it wasn't a small one.
Karkat was ninety percent sure that it was a mini resort, standing at about three stories and with plenty of windows. Fashioned to look mostly like a log cabin, it was connected to several outer buildings in a similar fashion.
It was certainly a place that they'd never been to before. It was a cool looking place, but he wasn't sure how to feel about this show.
He didn't have time to think on it more. Oberon was finally making his entrance, moving out the front door with apparent worry.
"I got your texts. Is everyone alright?" The concern was obvious, though not entirely warranted. "I honestly didn't know there was any wildlife around here, especially something as dangerous as wolves."
"There shouldn't be. This place can't support anything like that." Spades waved the baggie with the knife in it somewhat proudly. "Whatever it was ain't alive. Or maybe it never was. Which only raises a lot of questions."
"Wherever it came from, it's long gone, though." Feferi punched Karkat in the arm lightly, smiling. "Karkat kicked its ass before it got too close."
"It attacked you?" Oberon's face twisted into something unreadable for a moment before settling. "Well, that's unfortunate. It doesn't look like you got hurt."
"Nothing except my jacket. Damn thing tore a small hole into it." Karkat fiddled with it, annoyance clear on his face. "One of my favorites too. At least I got my shots in."
"I think I'll feel a bit better when we get inside the cabin." Crocker moved forward. She still had one of the guns for safekeeping in case that thing came back. "Feferi, keep a gun on you. I'd rather not have that thing try to chew us out."
"I will!" Feferi patter her own ecto-gun, grabbing onto Karkat's arm. "C'mon, let's go find Eridan. He might start sulking if we leave him alone for too long."
"Roger that." Karkat sent a look his dad's way, giving him a nod. "Don't overwhelm Oberon with tech talk too much, okay dad?"
"No promises!"
Karkat rolled his eyes, figuring that Oberon was safe enough for now. Feferi tugged him away, which he only followed willingly because he needed to find Eridan. He'll need to know about this ghost wolf thing immediately, along with his dad.
Despite the size of the place, it was pretty easy to find him. He was just playing on his phone, most likely waiting for them to get here. He'd probably be doing the same thing in his position.
"Thank god, finally you guys got here. I've been wondering what the holdup was." The rich boy put away his phone, annoyance turning to confusion when he noticed Karkat's torn jacket. "Trying out a new style there, Kar?"
"Nah, we just ran into a ghost wolf. And yes, I just said that with a straight face." Karkat shook his head, mentally reassessing his life. "I beat up a ghost wolf today. What is the world coming to?"
"Something awesome, apparently. I still can't believe you were able to keep that thing back." Feferi noted the kitchen was nearby, heading towards it. "I'm going to get us some drinks. Today was stressful and we haven't even got to the business stuff yet."
Feferi did head on into the kitchen, letting Karkat breathe out a sigh of relief. He gave the other boy a serious look, arching an eyebrow. "I probably shouldn't need to tell you we might have a problem here."
"Getting attacked by wolves usually isn't something you do for Saturday nights. Much less an undead one." The Ampora did look disappointed at the prospect, though strangely excited too. "Are you sure it's really undead? Could've been some weird genetic experiment."
"It bled ectoplasm after I hit it with a knife, so I'm pretty sure it's a ghost wolf." Karkat wasn't sure if he should confiscate the knife later or not. Probably shouldn't, especially since his dad looked ready to frame it. "We weren't able to capture it, though, so it's just running around in the forest right now. Not sure if it'll attack anything else."
"Well shit. That certainly isn't good." Eridan's eyes wandered to the nearest window, as if to find it. He didn't see any sign of it just yet. "Do you think it attacked you because of the whole… well, y'know."
"I have no idea, but I'm hoping that's the case. At least we'll know where it's coming from if that's it." Karkat wasn't really happy about that, but it did make sure nobody else got caught in the line of fire. His dad certainly had plenty of weapons if he couldn't tie this up before the weekend was over. "Feferi and Crocker armed themselves at the very least. Looks like my dad is going to get the investment from her after all."
"Joy to the world." Eridan moved back into his seat, frowning softly. "Are we going to do anything about it? I don't exactly want to wait for that thing to attack again."
"I'll try and catch its attention sometime tonight. You stick around here just in case it decides that I'm not a good enough target." Karkat wanted to ambush the thing as soon as possible. The less damage it could do, the better. "It shouldn't be any different than any other ghost so far. At least this one can't think too much."
"You just jinxed yourself. Do you always do that?" Eridan did seem happy to know that there was a plan in place. He fully relaxed by then, tapping his fingers on the table. "At least that's covered. Anything I should look out for?"
"A big, black, hairy wolf with glowing eyes. Has a scar over one its eyes and probably a new one on its nose. It can thank me for that one." Karkat chuckled, though it died down when he noticed a strange look flit across Eridan's face. "Something wrong, Ampora?"
"Nothing. That kinda sounds familiar, honestly." Eridan's look of confusion was a little concerning. He was doing his best to remember something but wasn't sure what. "I've never seen anything like it before, but that really does sound familiar."
"What sounds familiar?" Feferi finally came back in with their drinks. She picked out a strawberry soda for herself, grape for Eridan, and cherry for Karkat. "Still focusing on the ghost attack?"
"Yeah. Hope that doesn't become a trend around here." The irony of the words wasn't lost on Karkat, especially since they were becoming common. "My dad would be busy putting in security systems if they did."
"Wouldn't that make him rich? I'd think ghost attacks would be good for business." Eridan dodged a swat coming from Feferi, snickering. "Hey, I'm right! Supply and demand are a thing, and you know it."
"Don't remind me. I get enough from those economy lessons my mom made me go to." Feferi huffed, hair ruffling up. "I have to go through another one of those lectures, I swear I'll explode."
Karkat watched the two banter quietly, sipping his soda cautiously. The moment was nice, and he didn't feel like ruining it, so he kept to himself as he thought over what he'd do tonight.
…He was probably going to make some calls later.
GC: SORRY, W3 H4V3N'T H34RD OF 4NY GHOSTS W1TH TH4T D3SCR1PT1ON B3FOR3.
AC: :33 my family usually doesn't deal with animal ghosts unless we're protecting them from skulker.
Well, the ghosts were a bust currently. He honestly didn't expect much, considering this could be just some random ghost, but some kind of information would've been nice.
AA: i'm still h0lding 0n t0 the the0ry that it's a church grimm. then again, there isn't a graveyard in that area.
AG: Shocker, the goth girl had a Wiccan phase. Anything else you want to share with the class here?
TA: fuck off, vrii2ka, nobody even iinviited you iinto the group chat. what are you even doiing here?
AG: It's either this or mess with Tavros. And since he wouldn't stop whining to Aranea, I can't do that anymore.
AT: i WASN'T WHINING, i JUST ASKED YOU TO STOP THROWING ME AROUND AND TELLING ME TO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES,
Adding the other ghosts was possibly a mistake, especially with Vriska around. He seriously wondered why he let her have a phone if this was what she was going to do with it.
Karkat had been patrolling the area surrounding the cabin to see if the wolf would appear again, using Ghostian to keep himself entertained. He hadn't had a hit yet and he was hoping someone would find useful information before he saw it again.
So far, it was just bickering and some interesting chatter from everyone else. Which wasn't exactly the most useful thing in the world.
CG: YOU DO REMEMBER THAT I'M OUT HERE RISKING MY LIFE FIGHTING A DEAD WOLF, RIGHT?
GC: WH3N 1S TH4T 4NY D1FF3R3NT TO 4NY OTH3R D4Y FOR YOU?
CG: NOT MUCH, BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO REMIND ANYBODY.
AC: :33 we kmeow, we kmeow. it's just kind of a normal thing by meow and we've gotten good at kicking random ass already.
AG: Fright Knight was a lot more interesting than some dum8 dog. 8esides, I want to hear what you have to say a8out the whole Aspect shit. Any weird cult stuff following you around?
AT: i'M ACTUALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THAT TOO,
TA: nothiing two diifferent, hone2tly. 2tiill waiitiing for 2omethiing two actually kiick iin.
AA: i'm alm0st disapp0inted, h0nestly. i was h0ping f0r s0mething m0re than just being able t0 read s0me text.
AT: yOU WANT WEIRD CULT STUFF TO HAPPEN TO YOU,?
AA: n0. but at least it w0uld warrant the drama 0f the cerem0ny and everything.
AC: :33 you guys are weird. then again, you do hang out with dead people.
GC: B3 C4R3FUL WH4T YOU W1SH FOR. YOU N3V3R R34LLY KNOW WH4T'LL H4PP3N WH3N YOU DO. :]
CG: :]? IS THAT HOW YOU MAKE SMILY FACES?
GC: H3Y, DON'T M4K3 FUN OF M3? 1T'S FROWN3D UPON TO M4K3 FUN OF 4 BL1ND G1RL!
AG: Yeah! Don't 8e a jerk Phantom!
AT: oH GOD, tHEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER NOW,
Karkat rolled his eyes, turning his phone off for now. He'd get back to that mess later if he couldn't find anything out tonight. Maybe he could get Tavros out if the weekend passed with nothing happening. The guy did mention that he worked with animals when he was alive at some point and maybe that would help them out later.
God, he had weird friends. He wasn't sure if some of them could be called that yet, but the fact he even chose to hang out with them certainly made him question his own sanity.
Then again, most of them had started out of convenience, need, or made using a devil's deal. So really, the world was just weird and pushed him into making strange friendships with people due to being a Blood Aspect.
He was still waiting on some weird powers to start developing based on that. Hopefully Sollux was wrong about the bloodbending thing and he'd be able to avoid having to use that. He was already half dead; he didn't need any more edgy powers at his disposal.
There was the fact that Blood Aspects were basically about relationships in a way that made those fears go to rest. Did that make him better at making friendships than a normal person would? It'd explain how he's been able to keep any the past couple of years. Though that was hard to translate to powers. Blood Deals are a thing, but what else?
…Maybe he could tell who was related to who?
Karkat decided to stop then. He wouldn't be able to figure shit out just by doing nothing. He actually needed to experiment.
He closed his eyes, doing his best to clear his thoughts. It wasn't meditation, but the quiet of the forest made it feel like he was. He didn't know what to look for, but he started counting in his head like his heart was still beating. Keeping up the rhythm, he focused mainly on that, hoping to get some kind of reaction.
…Nothing.
Hm, maybe he should change course. The halfa floated closer to the ground, lifting, and opening his palms. Ecto energy began to flow freely, expelling softly into the air around him. Keeping up a decent flow, he figured it would coax out something. If anything, it let out the nerves he'd been feeling since the wolf's attack.
…Again, there was nothing. Karkat kept it up longer, wondering if he should just ask the others for help. It would probably be easier than just throwing things at the wall, waiting for something to-
Ba-BUMP
Karkat's thoughts stopped instantly, the feeling in his chest causing him to quiet. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like his heart had violently started once again. It was powerful enough to hit the back of his eyes, the energy stopping its flow.
Ba-BUMP
Hitting again, Karkat's breath hitched. The beat caused something to flash across his eyes, something extending across his vision. He couldn't necessarily tell what it was, looked almost like strings stretching across the sky, moving far past the forest, spread everywhere. It pulsed to the sound of the fake heartbeat.
Ba-BUMP
And just like, the strings began to solidify, quitting the blinking. Multiple colors stretched across his vision, each string having something unique to it. Some shone with two, others shimmered and changed before his eyes, but neither two copied the other. There were many that stretched across the sky, thousands upon thousands. For each string, there was an aura of a different color surrounding it.
And some of those very strings were connected to his wrist.
Karkat blinked at them curiously, surprised but somehow not alarmed by this. The strings weren't connected to anything physical, but they were definitely there. He would've been more concerned if they weren't seemingly stretching out to other places around him, which took up more of his attention.
He was a little weirded out at first until he noticed several of them were going through walls, some of which were where the others were sleeping. It took him a few seconds to realize what they were.
"Red strings? Seriously?" Karkat stared at them with a tiny glare. "That's one of my new powers?"
Karkat did read some fanfiction from time to time, even it was sparingly. Red strings were usually a sign of soulmates or something, or at least signified a deep connection. It actually did make a little sense due to Blood being a relationship-based power set.
He could actually tell where some of them led to. A purple one tinged with pale white floated closer towards Eridan's room, still new and fresh. A pink one, this time with a hint of red, was hovering around Feferi's. A very thin one, one so tiny that the color was impossible to tell, floated next to Feferi's. He assumed that was Crocker's since he didn't know her that well yet. Two strings leading to Amity Park, purely yellow and rust colored, were probably Sollux's and Aradia's. As for the two leading into the forest…
…Why were two of them leading towards the forest?
The two strings were a dark purple with dark blue and red one hinted with green, floating slowly farther away from the cabin. Karkat instinctively knew these two were Oberon's and Spades. He didn't know why, but he just knew.
He also didn't have any idea why those strings were leading into the woods. His dad didn't mention anything about heading in at dinner and he certainly would've remembered it. And what the hell was Oberon thinking? He should know better.
Karkat noted that most of the strings disappeared, but it was in the back of his mind as he followed the other two. He had to make sure those two weren't getting their asses killed.
[LINE BREAK HERE]
"You know, it's been a while since we've done anything like this. How long's it been?"
"About twenty or so years? The time really has gone by now that you mention it."
Karkat didn't know how long he had been flying, but their voices were the first thing he could track. He slowed, turning invisible. Despite the cover of trees protecting him this deep in the woods, he wanted to make sure his glow didn't give him away.
Taking some cover, he looked around the tree to see a somewhat familiar sight. Spades was currently setting up some surveillance equipment, putting up several sensors for the ghost wolf. The weird thing was watching Oberon fumble with the equipment himself, most likely not one for manual labor.
"I'm a little out of practice, I'm not going to lie." Oberon grumbled as a sensor continued to not comply with him. He sighed loudly, doing his best to not punt the thing across the forest. "That, or your equipment has gotten too advanced."
"I'd prefer the latter. At least that shows I'm getting better." Spades cackled, fixing up his equipment with practiced grace. It was clear who had been in the game longer. "Better than an old camcorder and some salt, that's for sure."
"I really don't remember why we thought that stuff would work." Oberon muttered to himself before clapping his hands together. "Okay! You're saying that all of this should help you find that wolf ghost, right?"
"Should be. I've tested out all of this equipment before and it's always responded to the portal from miles away. It should find a wolf." Spades bragged. Karkat was once again happy he grabbed that cancer sign necklace when he did. "If it doesn't show up again, I might just have to suck it up and camp out here."
"God, I remember trying to camp in that old, haunted forest back in our hometown. Worst night to pick too since it was raining." Oberon did appear to remember it fondly, despite some obvious complaints about it. "At least it's dry out here."
"What was our last hunt, anyway?" Spades scratched his head, trying to remember all of it. "I think it was when we found that ectoplasm for- oh."
The tension got awkward after that neither of them said anything for a few moments. Spades especially seemed guilty about it, trying not to look at Oberon directly. He did stop, as if he wanted to ask something before the other man finished up.
"I think I'll head back in for now. I know everyone's armed, but I think I'll feel better if I'm there for the others." Oberon started heading out before Spades could say anything otherwise. "Call if anything comes up. Can't have that thing getting too close to the cabin."
Spades did look put out by that but let him go anyway. He sighed, pulling out a magazine from a coat pocket and started to read. A plush seat awaited him so he could have time to relax.
Karkat winced, the atmosphere having gotten to him. He guessed that the topic of Oberon's accident was still an awkward one. He had been meaning to ask his dad about it, to finally get his side on it. Maybe even get Oberon to talk about it too. However, he simply never found the time because of the other shit going on around him.
Honestly, if it weren't for the wolf thing, he would probably get those two to talk it out too while they're here. If it went well, they could get to talking about the halfa thing. Maybe even have it end up with all three of them knowing what had happened and get things back on track for them and himself. Then they could keep the town safe with each other's help, not have it all placed on him.
It was a happy thought. A puff of smoke helped make sure that thought didn't stay.
Karkat didn't hear the sensors go off, meaning that the wolf ghost was still out of range for them. The halfa figured he should get out there before his dad got to it. This time, he was ready to take it down with all he had.
Flying quickly, phasing through the trees, he followed his ghost sense until it led him to another clearing. He was able to see the wolf treading softly, smelling the air from a distance. It hadn't noticed him yet. Reaching for the thermos, he attempted to undo the lid slowly to make it quick.
The damn thing squeaked, and the wolf had its eyes on him instantly.
Fantastic.
Karkat was already shooting before the wolf could react, pushing it back from the perimeter of his dad's sensors. The wolf was barely able to respond with, tanking a few hits before attempting to flee. Karkat gave chase immediately, blasting at it before it could get too far.
While some of the shots did seem to hurt it, they barely stopped it. One shot was able to hit the thing on a back leg, though, causing it to stumble. It crashed into a set of trees, causing one of them to buckle.
"What's wrong? Didn't want to go another round?" Karkat pulled out a sickle, twirling it before letting ecto-energy flow through it. "Surprised you even recognize me."
This was weird. The first time the thing tried to attack, it didn't mind going after him. Now it was running away? Something was up.
The wolf didn't respond to his taunts as it got back up, glaring at him. It opened its mouth, howling once again, making the halfa dodge. Its head followed his movement, waves of sound hitting and ripping branches off the trees.
Karkat kept moving, firing off several more shots in quick succession. After getting into a pattern, he immediately disrupted it by diving for the wolf. The halfa swung at it broadly, hitting it with the butt of the sickle. It sent it skidding back, wind getting knocked out of it.
The wolf simply growled, launching forward to tackle him. Karkat took the brunt of it but pushed back with all of his strength. Palms forward, hands on its face, he blasted it with even more.
This caused some significant damage; the fur being singed from the attack. The wolf stumbled, barely getting up onto its paws. Karkat figured it was close to being beat, pulling out the thermos again. He raised it to end the fight once and for all.
That was before the wolf stopped, ears raised, eyes widening before dashing off in another direction.
Karkat cursed, running after it again. He was still weirded out that it didn't try to kill him again, but that didn't make it less dangerous to let it run about. The damn thing was fast too, meaning that he needed to finish this now.
He didn't know how long the chase went, but it went on long enough to tire him out. The wolf was almost getting away and he couldn't let that happen now, never let it happen. But his feet were beginning to figuratively drag, and it was nearing the edge of his vision.
"…Noir? Noir!"
The voice stopped the wolf, along with the halfa, dead. The wolf itself moved once again, though calmly this time.
Karkat followed it, hoping that voice wasn't who he thought it was.
"Noir!" The wolf had made it to another clearing, the voice harsh and angry. "Dear lord, did you seriously get hurt again? Did you at least make it to the ghost hunter first?"
The wolf, Noir apparently, shook its head. It didn't look disappointed or fearful, even if it sounded like it was going to be punished.
"Damn it, of course not. What did you run into? The ghost kid again?" The voice growled as Noir nodded, a rise in power felt in the area. "I told you to keep him out of it! Hurting him is not on the table. Do you understand?"
Noir nodded a third time, the wolfs features still neutral. A light enveloped it, having it disappear instantly. The voice grumbled before starting to fade away, as if flying off.
"Can never get good help these days. Not even if they're dead."
Karkat could hear him fly off but didn't bother looking. He normally would've checked to be sure who it was, but the voice was enough. He couldn't help remembering the night that he met him again, hearing the same voice from the radio on Skulkers arm. And like that night, it was pointless to deny what was happening here.
Oberon was trying to kill his fucking dad.
Well, here it is. While all of you were expecting it, Karkat now knows the ugly truth. We'll have to wait to see his reaction though. Hope all of you can handle the wait!
I'll see you all next chapter!