Mutated Ectoplasm

8. One of a Kind

....And, peacetime over.

Karkat felt himself growl as the smoke exited his mouth once again. He learned how to not cough while it happened, but that didn't mean having it stream out of his mouth at inopportune times was something he enjoyed. He started floating gently downward to the floating figure. Reaching a safe enough distance, he looked over the figure and... honestly couldn't believe it.

Was he made of metal?

Vantas assumed it had to be a ghost since it set off his ghost sense, but it honestly looked more like a robot. The entire thing was made out of metal, something glowing and unidentifiable. It had the form of a bodybuilder, extremely top heavy and makeshift armor making him only look bulkier. There was also the fact it was wearing black pants, a black tank top, a utility belt, and flaming green mohawk.

Frankly, it was weirder than the lunch lady ghost. And of course, he had to investigate it.

He did his best to avoid the robot's field of vision, moving slowly towards its back. He noted that one of the cages he could look into had some ghost animals within it, which explained why there was a lack of them earlier. He could also see that the robot was typing something into its arm.

"An abundance of animal ghost congregating in this area, otherwise known as Amity Park. Known portal seems to be attracting attention, might become a problem later on." He spoke in a deep voice, most to himself. "Might have to investigate scientist later. Spend time in the lab. Otherwise, write up the report and leave."

Karkat honestly had enough eavesdropping for one day and decided to move back before speaking. "Having a nice night, stranger?" He said sarcastically.

Predictably, the ghost robot swung around in alarm, reaching for a pocket on his utility belt before stopping. His face was vaguely skull like, lacking a nose, but had visible green eyes and a mouth. The teen couldn't help but notice that his belt had a zigzag 'S' on the front of the belt.

This thing had really tacky fashion sense.

"Who in the hell are you?" The robot asked, eyes narrowing at the unprecedented guest. "You weren't in any of the reports. I certainly would've remembered hearing about a brat wearing a hazmat suit."

"Bold words from someone dressed like Iron Man cosplaying as Dog the Bounty Hunter." Karkat figured he shouldn't have made that crack, but it was too tempting. "And I'm pretty sure I asked you a question first, pal. Never seen a ghost like you before."

"There's no other ghost like me." He seemed to have relaxed a bit, though he didn't take his eyes off of Karkat. "If you must know, whelp, I'm known as Skulker. And I don't exactly have a lot of time to be dealing with younglings, so I'd suggest moving along."

"It was just a question, man." The teen raised his hands defensively. He motioned to the cages, shrugging. He still couldn't see what was inside the other one. "I'm not looking for a fight. Just haven't seen that many ghosts in the human world that can actually hold a conversation. Especially ones with cages."

Skulker growled but didn't make a move to force him away. He looked at the caged animals with narrowed eyes before shifting his gaze back to him. "You know what? You think you can tell me some things about this place? I don't necessarily have a lot of intel."

"Answer some of mine and we'll have a deal." Karkat felt himself smile under the mask. Getting some answers would be fucking excellent right now.

The robot didn't seem that enthused by the opportunity if the way he rolled his eyes was any indication, but he didn't bother to argue. "Fine." He grumbled, getting slightly more relaxed. "Would you happen to know anything about the portal that was constructed in this area?"