Chapter 3 – Planning a Ghost Hunt
Ringo's POV
"Bouclier de Ange!"
*PING*
"Phew…that should be enough light for now."
"Thanks, Ciel. This should help a lot." I said to her after she had used her magic to restore light to the gym.
"I had to use a lot of power in order for this to work. All of that left me extremely drained…"
"Well…if you so wish to accept it, Ciel…I do know a spell that replenishes your magical energy." Klug said. "It…should help with your predicament."
"I see now. Thank you so much for the assistance, Klug." Ciel said with a small smile.
"W-Well…*clears throat* o-of course, I'm only doing for a fellow acquaintance! Nothing too grateful!"
If I wasn't scared out of my mind right now, I would be teasing Klug about his obvious crush on Ciel so hard…
"Klug and Ciel sitting in a tree~! F-U-C-K-I-N-G!"
*POW*
"Sh-Shut up!"
Thankfully, Peruvis can do that without any issue…
All of us were now trying to fix up what was left of the party. Picking up tables, sweeping up shards of glass, treating the injured people…it was truly a mess that was left behind.
Speaking of left behind…it didn't take long for us to notice that both Amitie and Arle were gone. Our guess being that whoever (or whatever) was possessing Amitie kidnapped Arle and took her somewhere else.
Problem is…we don't know where they went.
"Gugu! Gugu! Gu…Gugugugu."
And even worse, it seems that Carbuncle was left behind. So, any chances of understanding the little guy were now out the window.
But I'm positive that he's freaking out just like the rest of us…
"*agitated groan* Damn…that ghost or whatever really did a number on me…"
"Rivitie, please stop moving." Ally said to her as she was treating her head wound from earlier. "The gash in your head will not heal if it is not covered up correctly."
"Tch. Well, hurry up with it. I gotta go after that damn thing and get Amitie back."
"You're really going after her?" Maguro asked.
"Why the hell wouldn't I? Not only is my idiot sister's being possessed by a paranormal nutcase…but catching people like her is my job! She clearly escaped from Puyo Hell at one point and now I gotta throw her ass back there! So, move out of my…GAAAAH!"
*THUD*
"O…Ow…" We all watched as Rivitie tried getting up…only to fall hard on the floor from her head wound making her dizzy.
"Rivitie, just stop." Raffina said. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll go after her."
"Wh…What? You'll really…g-go after her?"
"Sure, why not? Kicking a ghost's ass will be one thing crossed off my bucket list."
Why is that on your bucket list, to begin with? I gained a sweatdrop.
"Th-The hell kind of experience…d-do you even have…i-in fighting a ghost?"
"I don't. Which is why Raina, Witch, and Ringo are coming with me."
"Yay, meow! I get to fight with Sis, meow!" Raina cheered as she hugged her "sister".
"Hell yeah! I'm ready!" Witch cheered. "Let's go save Ami!"
"W-Wait, what the hell?! Wh-Why do I have to come?!" Meanwhile, I was not excited at all about being dragged into this rescue mission.
"Because this ghost clearly figured out how to use Amitie's Light Soul powers. And without Arle around, us four are the only ones that's fought against them before."
"E-Even though that's true and all…th-the fact that Amitie is possessed by a ghost…th-that's just something I can't comprehend! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I then went into a panic attack by simply thinking of encountering a ghost on Halloween night.
"Get a grip, Ringo…" Raffina said with a sweatdrop.
"You sound SO confident about beating this ghost…yet, you have no idea where it went." Klug said. "Going at things without thinking as usual…"
"Well, do YOU know where it is, Klug? I don't hear any suggestions coming from your smartass mouth."
"He don't know where it went…but I sure as hell do." Phoenix gloated. "I can detect that tiny soul's energy somewhere in the school. Roaming around the halls and such."
"It's still in the school? Well, that's convenient." Witch said. "Maybe some of the others witnessed some weird stuff or even saw Ami somewhere."
"Hopefully, the rest of the festival's not in any kind of danger." Raffina said. "Where's the last time you felt the thing's presence, Phoenix?"
"Hmm…somewhere near the library." Phoenix answered. "It stayed around that area for like a minute or two. Probably was looking for something."
"Oh." Sig spoke out of nowhere after waking up from one of his random naps. "That's where Feli's booth is at. I think."
"Feli's booth?" I asked. "What's she doing?"
"She and Futaba mentioned something about fortune-telling. So, it's probably that. Maybe."
"Maybe?" Klug asked. "Are you even sure that's the case, Sig?"
…
…
…
"Sig!"
"Zzz…"
"Yep. Fell asleep again." Peruvis said with a sweatdrop.
"Son of a…" Klug pinched his nose as hard as anyone could at this moment.
"Well, let's just go ask Feli if she's seen anything." Witch said. "The more eyes the better."
"The only thing to do at this point." Raffina said. "Come on, let's go. The rest of you can stay here and help clean."
"Since when did you become a leader?" Klug asked in an annoyed tone.
"H…Hey." Rivitie said as she was still struggling to stand. "D-Don't…t-take this ghost lightly. I-If she's able to…c-control Amitie's soul, there's no telling…wh-what she can do."
"Will you quit your worrying already? We'll be fine." Raffina said. "I mean…if we can take down a giant bleeding fallen angel…"
"That was Amitie…" I said with a sweatdrop.
"Stop a demented clone from destroying the world…"
"That's Lidelle's job…" Witch said with a sweatdrop.
"And even defeat an inter-dimensional snake monster from stealing all of Primp's magic power…"
"Sis, we had no involvement in that, meow…" Even Raina gained a sweatdrop. And that's RARE coming from her.
"…Then beating a simple ghost will be no damn problem! Oh, La-Ti-Da!"
"Ugh. We're so screwed…" Rivitie said with a ginormous facepalm.
Arle's POV
"Arle…Arle…"
"*moan* Wh-Wha…?"
"Arle…please wake up, Arle…"
"*groan* Five more minutes, Carby. It's just too early…"
"ARLE! WAKE UP! PLEASE!"
"H…H-Huh?!" I suddenly woke up in a dark empty depressing void. Scared from hearing a voice calling out to me. I thought it was Carby…but then I remembered that he doesn't say anything other than "gugu".
I feel a little embarrassed for forgetting that…
"Arle…thank goodness. You're still alive." My eyesight was still a little foggy from being choked earlier…but I was able to barely see a silhouette of a person floating in front of me.
And that person was…
"A…Amitie! It really is yo-GAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I tried to lunge forward to hug Amitie. But a huge sharp pain around my neck stopped me from doing so.
That's when I noticed the dark purple chains wrapped around my neck. Choking me just as violently as when "Amitie" did before. And there were even burn marks around it, too. But I guess I was too unconscious to feel the what would've been unbearable pain.
"Wha…Wh-what is this?! Wh-What's going on?!" I asked in a panicked state.
"Arle…that ghost girl…she really is trying to kill you. She possessed my body…and took control of my powers. And now she's using them…combined with her own power…to get revenge on you. For what happened to her years ago."
"R…Revenge…o-on me." I went silent for a bit. "I…I-I should've known…th-that my past would…c-come back to haunt me."
"Arle…did you really kill this girl?" Amitie asked with a scared look on her see-through face.
And as I was about to answer…
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"A-Amitie?! Wh-What's…g-going on?!" I asked after she started glitching out in front of me.
"N…No! I-I'm losing…c-control! Sh-She's…c-coming back!"
"C-coming back?! Fr-From where?! Wh-Where…i-is she?! A-Amitie!"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Amitie kept screaming in pain as she held her head tightly. Continuously glitching as if she's in a badly-made video game. Her screams of pain slowly getting quieter.
Until…
…
…
…
*SWIPE*
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I hope you had a nice chat, Arle Nadja~. Because it shall be the LAST one you will ever have~!"
"Wr…Wr-Wraith…" I barely spoke. Suffering an extreme amount of pain from the severe scratch marks Wraith made on my stomach with her sharp fingernails. "Wr-Wraith, please…I…I-I'm sorry. J-Just *cough* *cough*…l-let us go…"
"Let you go~? Let you go~?!"
*SWIPE*
"GAAAAAAAHHHH!" Wraith swiped at me again.
"Why~? Why the hell would I do such a thing~?!"
*SWIPE*
"GAAAAAAAHHHH!" She attacked me again.
"Why do you believe that I am a girl filled with pity~?!"
*SWIPE*
"GAAAAAAAHHHH!" She attacked me a fourth time.
And when I thought the torturous pain was finally over…I felt the chains around my neck get tighter. Choking me hard as they even began to burn. Making me cough up blood just so I could gasp the little air I had within me.
And just before I passed out once more…Wraith lifted my head to face hers. It was a face filled with anger. A rage-fueled anger that's been boiling inside of her for years.
And it was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.
"Now you listen to me, Arle Nadja~. I will NEVER forgive you for what you did to me~. I have wait far too long for this moment~. And tonight~…on this night you call "Halloween"~…I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER~!"
*STAB*
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
That semi-long speech was the last thing Wraith said to me before stabbing me through my stomach with her nails. The pain was so unbearable…heavy tears ran down my face as blood splattered all around me.
I then fell to the floor hard. I couldn't move…both from the massive pain and the intense fear I was having. My past had finally caught up to me. And it was punishing me in the most brutal way possible.
But what was worse about the whole thing…was the fact that my friends…the people who I cherished the most…were unwillingly being dragged into it all.
"I-I'm so sorry…e-everyone…"
This was my last sentence…before I passed out once more.
Author's Note: As Ringo and the others begin planning their rescue mission, Arle continues to physically suffer as Wraith's prisoner. The vengeful spirit refusing to let her go until she dies or her friends come and rescue her.
Whichever comes first.
Chapter 3 up and ready. I don't know yet how long this story's going to be. I want to have this finished by Halloween. Otherwise, it'll be left alone for yet another year. And that's going to bother me like hell, honestly.
Thanks for reading. Later.