I watched so many witchtok compilations for this chapter. You have no idea how many healing properties of crystals I know now. Also, lots of Shadow lore coming! Be prepared.

Reviews!

MoonTheMagical: Very mysterious…yeah I like how the website emails me whenever I post a new chapter. Like wow really, LittleGhostCat just published a new chapter? I had no idea! Also before I had this account, I was a guest reader for like four years, with my name being the very creative Guest. I mostly read warrior cats stuff lol. And for the music question, really anything! I'm looking for new songs anyways so it'll be cool if it's different from my usual taste.

Lydia-From-Limmet: I could never leave our amazing animatronic gang! Until post-pizzeria simulator. I'm still trying to figure out how to bring them back for that, or if I even should. I've got three years to figure that out though haha. Also omg I love that song! I hear it all the time on the radio lol, I'll add it to the fanfiction playlist.

Penguimom: Omg goosebumps! (Why do they call it that?)

Qxr: Yeah I'm not sure! I've had this idea for a while haha, hard to tell though.

Ok and for the song i literally could not find the name anywhere, so i guess the official title is 'among us ritual music' on youtube? If any of you guys know the name please let me know, otherwise thats our song LMAO

Enjoy!

Chapter 87

Shadows and Spells

It took Ruby waking up grumpily, responding to each of her friends' greeting with a grumpy grunt, sitting at the counter and eating her cereal grumpily, and reading a tawdry magazine grumpily, before any of her friends said anything about it.

"I don't want to poke the beast or anything," Tulisa began, sipping her peppermint tea that Ducky had brewed for the both of them. "But what's up with you, Rubes? I know you hate mornings and stuff, but you've never finished a cheesy teen mag without making fun of how…cheesy it is."

And so Ruby turned to each of her worried friends and explained, in great, mournful detail, what had happened in her dreams the previous night. What Ruby expected them to do was drop their jaws to the floor, listen intently, nod sympathetically and maybe be surprised, or at least try and act that way.

Instead, Ducky returned to scrolling through his news feed, Myah didn't look the least bit surprised but at least had the decency to do the second and third actions. And Josh had let out a groan, fished around in his pocket, and slapped a green twenty-dollar bill on the table, which was quickly grabbed by a very smug Tulisa.

Ruby stared at the pair, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Wait. Oh my God. Did you two seriously bet on me?"

"Not on you, just on whether or not your merry band of furry roleplayers would come back to life." Josh trilled, to which Ruby had to stop herself from throwing the bowl of soggy Gloomy-O's into his face.

"And they did!" Tulisa chirped, waving the crisp bill over her brother's head. "I'm going to buy myself sooooo many useless keychains with this."

Josh let out a mournful groan, head on the table and face buried in his hands.

Myah, ignoring her friend's torment, clasped her hands together with eyes shining. "Ooh! Can I help? I've been wanting to pick out some for my backpack."

"Sure! Josh, you wanna come with us?" Tulisa asked. Josh just made a sound that sounded like urrrrghflergmmmpff.

"I'll buy you prezzieeees…!" Myah bribed, sticking her lower lip out and stretching her bare arms out, forearms covered by an oversized gray graphic tee.

Josh signed heavily, lifting his head from his hands. "Fine. But you have to buy me something cool. No cutesy plushies."

"I swear to only buy you the manliest and toughest of presents," Mya promised solemnly, hand over her heart. "Fishing rods, Axe body spray, and American flags that you can put on the back of your truck that you got dirty building your house, hunting bears with your bare hands, and fighting in the Great War."

"Glad you get what I'm saying, My." Josh muttered sarcastically, pulling his light gray hoodie over his head and taking a quick swig from his green-and-orange water bottle. He cast a quick glance over at Ducky and Ruby. "You guys coming with?"

"I feel like a sea cucumber." Was Ruby's emotionless response, her gaze fixated on her cereal.

"I'll stay behind with her, you guys go ahead." Ducky said cheerfully, sipping his tea out of a mug which read '#1 Dad!'.

Tulisa grinned, grabbing her violet-patterned purse and unlocking the front door, letting in rays of sunlight that burned Ruby's hermit eyes. "'Kay, see you guys later! We'll be back by lunchtime."

And with that, the three of them left, leaving an exhausted Ruby with a scarily energetic early-bird Ducky. "So, what do you wanna do?"

When Ruby responded with her usual grunt, Ducky figured he'd have to prompt her. "We could play Uno, do some video games, bake some cookies…?"

Ruby suddenly sat straight up on her stool. "Can we have a seance?"

"Um." Whatever Ducky was expecting her to say, that was not it. "I mean…sure? Do you want to summon your friends? Can't you just fall asleep?"

"Yeah, but I suck ass at falling asleep during the day. Can we? Pleeeease?" Ruby widened her sparkling eyes, jutting out her lower lip and leaning close. "We can sacrifice my arm instead, if you want."

"Who's arm were you going to- never mind. I've got some stuff in my room. We can perform it now, if you want." Ducky decided, standing up and setting down his steaming mug. Ruby bounced up, eyes bright as if she'd just drank hundreds of cups of black coffee. She followed him down the hallway with generic tourist-y signs covering the walls (with the obligatory Live Laugh Love, of course), until they entered his room, a simple sage-green room with clean white sheets and little crystals sprinkled around his nightstand, a lavender diffuser plugged in beside his desk lamp.
Now, when Ducky had said he had 'some stuff', Ruby had assumed a couple scented candles, maybe some salt to cleanse the bad spirits or whatever. What she did not expect was for him to pull a massive suitcase out from under his bed, open the buckles, and reveal the red velvet interior, crammed with mason jars filled with water, vials of herbs, and Ziploc baggies of bark and leaves.

"Jesus, Ducky, did you clear out a forest or something?" Ruby said in a hushed tone as he pulled out a package of coloured candles.

He selected a few orange ones, followed by some white ones. "Orange is for attraction, and white is for purity." Ducky explained, standing them up in a small circle. He dumped out a small mesh bag tied with a lavender ribbon, tiny crystals spilling out onto the floor. After a quick scan, he grabbed three stones. One was a dark gray-purple, one was long and white with royal blue stripes, and the last one was…an aqua earring?

"Oh, I stole that from my sister Heather." Ducky said with a slight giggle. "She never wears them anyways, and we need aquamarine for this spell. It's for communication and confidence."

"What are the other two?"

"Kyanite for psychic abilities, communication, and lucid dreaming, and labradorite for intuition and journeying." Ducky said, pointing first to the white-and-blue stone and then to the shimmery gray-and-purple one. He placed the three gems into the center in a triangle formation, then took out a sage incense stick and waved the bitter-smelling smoke above the circle.

"Shouldn't you use salt or something? To get rid of evil spirits?" Ruby asked. She wasn't super knowledgeable on the whole witchy culture, but she'd seen that in a ton of movies, and if it was such a running theme then it must have some sort of truth in it.

"Well, the sage incense cleanses it," Ducky began, then looking down at the floor where he was sitting on his knees. "And, well, I don't mean to be rude, but don't your friends…kill people?"

Ruby bristled. "Who told you that?"

"Bonnie mentioned it once, and Josh told me about the whole deal last year. And I get they were forced to do it and stuff, but if Shadow's some kind of in-between place, then they can't be…all good, right?"

"Yeah, and they also aren't evil spirits." Ruby snapped. "I've known them far longer than you have, so maybe don't rush to judge them so fast?"

Ducky averted his gaze, glancing down at the wooden floor. "I know. I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"Nah, it's cool." Ruby knew he meant well, anyways.

Ducky glanced back up at her and smiled. "Cool. Uh, can you turn out the lights?"

"Sure!" Ruby flicked the light switch off, plunging the room into darkness. Using his phone flashlight, Ducky lit each of the candles, doing the orange ones first and then the white. He turned off his camera, and his face was suddenly lit up with a creepy golden light, with certain features shadowed.

"Okay, sit on the floor and grab my hands." Ducky instructed, tapping the floor. Ruby sat down on her knees, grabbing his surprisingly warm hands in hers and meeting his gaze.

"Now, I want you to think about your intentions. Make sure they're positive and specific, and keep your thoughts in check. Only focus on them, you can repeat it like a mantra if you want." He said, tone deadly serious. "I'm going to chant something, 'cause I saw a video that said it could help."

Ruby nodded, squeezing her eyes shut until her vision was nothing more than pitch black and the stray phosphene. She settled her mind, luring all random thoughts about chicken cutlets or blackberry pie into a sack and tying it tight, focusing only on her intentions. Teleport me into the Shadow dimension to see my friends. Teleport me into the Shadow dimension to see my friends. Teleport me into the Shadow-

"Escucha las palabras de las brujas, los secretos que escondemos en la noche. EL MÁS ANTIGUO DE LOS DIOSES SE INVOCA, EL GRAN TRABAJO DE LA MAGIA SE BUSCA!" Ducky yelled, and Ruby opened one eye.

Ducky's brown eyes were wide and alight, shining bright in the golden flame. The glossy crystals in the center started to tremble and glow like there was some sort of earthquake, and Ruby's heartbeat picked up in pace as the flames went from quiet amber to violet and loud.

A massive purple beam shot out of the center with a crack like lightning, going right through the ceiling like a beacon of light, and Ruby's eyes involuntarily flung open. "Um, is this supposed to happen?"

Ducky just laughed giddily, illuminated in purple energy. "Heck if I know! Rubes, the most spirit work I've ever done was an Ouija board when I was nine, and even then I think my sister was cheating. That chant was an ancient Among Us trend I saw on TikTok. I literally just Googled this stuff a few months ago, it is ridiculous that it worked."

And then, as if things couldn't get more ridiculous, a girl stepped out. She had short, spiky bleached-blonde hair with dark roots and a pair of black-and-purple bunny ears on top. She wore a purple tutu, a black tank with a mesh top underneath, purple-and-black arm warmers covering the two. She was decorated in jewlery, from chunky rings to layered necklaces to an absurd amount of earrings, and a pair of tall Demonia's to finish.

"Ugh, what is it this time? More kids messing with the dark arts? Swear to God, I'm gonna just start offing you one of these days." She grumbled, her voice somehow melodic and raspy at the same time, and Ruby just then noticed a jagged scar across her neck. Apparently the girl also noticed Ruby noticing her, and she met her gaze with a scowl. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"S-sorry. I didn't mean to stare." Ruby stammered, still fixated on the girl. This is so weird.

The girl squinted, giving Ruby a quick once-over. "Wait. Can ya stand up for me?"

Ruby shakily detached herself from Ducky's poor hands, realizing she'd been gripping on for dear life. The girl nodded, motioning for Ruby to spin around. Then her gaze morphed from scrutiny to delight.

"Well, shit! You're Ruby Roxanne, aren't you?" She clapped her hands in excitement when a perplexed Ruby nodded. "You're the talk of the town 'round Shadow these days, with you being a new victim and all! I'm so excited to finally meetcha! Hey, can you tell my buddy Will that I said hi?"

Ruby blinked, glancing behind the girl to Ducky for an explanation, only to see him looking at her with the exact same intention. "Uh, do you mean William Afton? Because he's…kind of dead."

"Oh." The girl pouted, crossing her arms. "Damn. Well, that's too bad. He's something of a legend in the afterlife-worlds, you know. Great customer too. Funny guy. Nice voice."

"...Child murderer."

The girl nodded, rolling her maroon eyes. "Well, we've all got some flaws. That's what makes us human! Or ghosts, whatever."

"I think the psycho's got a little more than flaws." Ruby muttered dryly. Then she stopped, shaking herself and straightening her posture. "So who are you? And what did you mean when you said I was a 'new victim'?"

"So many questions!" The girl laughed, hands over her mouth. "Well, you can call me Katy, and I'm the fastest person to ever get the Bridger job in the history of…well, forever, I guess!"

Ruby stared at her. "With all due respect, that just leaves me with even more questions. What the hell is a Bridger?"

Katy giggled, the noise like chiming bells. "You're so cute! A Bridger is something like a mediator, I'm like a bridge between Earth and Shadow. There's one for heaven, one for hell, and one for Shadow - me! I just got this job two days ago, passed all the tests easy as pie. And now I'm a part of the Death Row Breakfast Club, as I like to call it."

"The Breakfast what?" This was giving Ruby a headache. "Okay, just…start from the beginning. What is Shadow?"

Katy let out a throaty giggle, turning menacing as she narrowed her eyes with a crooked grin plastered onto her face. "My my my, for someone with so many ghoulie friends, you sure don't know shit about the afterlife! Well, tell you what. Since you're the Ruby Roxanne that I've heard sooo much about, I'll do one favour for you. Anything!" Then she held up her hand, bracelets jangling. "Within reason. I'm not going to play God or anything, don't wanna get fired on my second day!"

"Right." Well, it would be great to get some more information on this place. After all, it's where my friends are staying…oh right, my friends!

"Hey, can I visit some of my friends? They're in Shadow right now, and so far I can only see them when I fall asleep." Ruby asked, wringing her hands and giving her what she hoped was a charming and pleasing smile.

"Eugh. Stop baring your teeth like Will-burt, it's creepy." Katy shuddered. "And yeah, totally! So how many are there?"

Ruby quickly counted on her fingers. "Nine. And they're all staying together. Uh, I only know their first names…there's Freddy, Bonnie, Chica-"

Katy snapped her fingers. "Oh, them! Yeah, no, you can totally visit them. Though, I'm a little confused as to why you'd want to visit your tormentors, but hey, I don't judge."

Tormentors? Ruby thought. What does she mean by- you know what, not going to question it. "Alright, take me there!" She announced, turning back to Ducky with a mouthed I'm Sorry.

"Can do!" Katy replied, snapping her chipped black-painted fingers. A portal appeared, framed by orchid and opening into a black abyss. Ruby was about to step inside when a hand stopped her, cool breath blowing on her ear. A chill slithered down Ruby's spine, and she swallowed thickly.

"If you even think about trying to glitch the system while you're in there, you'll get a very realistic feel of what it's like to live in Shadow. Don't think I won't just because you're a kid. I need this job, and I'm not going to let you screw it up." Katy hissed, her sharp fingernails digging into Ruby's shoulder.

"I'll try not to, but no promises!" When Katy didn't move, Ruby realized that that was probably the wrong thing to say. "Uh, I mean, I promise."

"Great!" Katy clasped her hands together with a radiant grin. "Well, off you go! And if you ever want to visit them again, instead of them visiting you, just set your intentions before you go to sleep like your brightly coloured friend taught you!"

Ruby's brightly coloured friend waved from across the room. "Hi. I'm Du-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Katy waved him off. "Now hurry up, you're wasting bandwidth."

Ruby grinned, casting a final look back to Ducky. And with that, she stepped through the portal.

~lll~

"Where did you go, Katy?" The booming voice echoed from the creature of shadows far above her. "We were all so worried about you."

Katy smirked, brushing some purple stardust off her shoulder as she stood on chunky boots in the black void. "It was Ruby, if you can believe it! Conducting some kinda witchy seance thingamajig." When she was met with quizzical looks, she rolled her eyes. "Ruby? Our customer's target? It was literally two days ago, how do you losers not remember?"

"That wasn't the name our customer gave us." The voice said with a frown. Red eyes shot towards the sandy blond typing on a computer, leaning against a stack of pastel pillows that contrasted with the empty black space. "Jeremy, was the victim's name Ruby Roxanne?"

A bead of sweat dripped down Jeremy's neck and down the light blue collar of his shirt, and he swallowed. Fingers moving a million times slower than usual, he typed her name into the database: no matches. "Er, no. Sorry."

The massive shadowed creature cocked its head to one side, taking on a mildly amused expression. "Is it not your job to organize cases like this, Jeremy?"

Jeremy's white fox ears flattened. "I'm sorry, sir, I guess I slipped up-"

"Now Jeremy, you didn't mix this up on purpose, did you?" The nightmarish creature asked in a lilting tone, voice dripping with honey and venom. "Because if you did, things may turn out very, very poorly for you."

Jeremy shook his head vehemently. "No, sir, I didn't. I can assure you, it was just a mistake. I'll correct it at once-"

"No need. I'm having fun." The demon hummed, a smile forming on its twisted lips. "Jeremy, Katy, I want you two to keep a close eye on that case. Things are starting to get interesting…"

A/N

Katy is back? Jeremy is back? There's a mysterious demon thingy that is really not very mysterious if you rewatch fnaf 4? Who could have seen this coming? Not me, the author.

Also after this, Ducky started looking up a lot more spells. He's turning into a very good witch, all he needs is a black cat.

Question/Challenge: I don't think I've asked this one, but what is your favourite holiday? Mine's Halloween…obviously. Candy, scary things, and dressing up - what's not to love?

Have an amazing day/night!

~Ghost