This one went longer than I planned it to, but I guess that's not a problem for any of you. A lot more world building this time around, along with setting up future players. Hopefully you'll all enjoy.
Also, I have an idea you can all pounce on at the end of the chapter.
See you all at the end of the chapter!
Karkat figured that he fucked up. Going into a ghost fight without backup usually wasn't the wisest move, but considering they were drunk, he (technically) had the element of surprise, and they didn't seem to have a wide array of powers, he figured things would be fine.
The addition of a literal shadowy entity was unexpected. At least he knew better for the rematch.
Karkat was able to pilfer what they left behind in the alleyway before eventually heading back to school to inform Eridan of what happened. He was allowed to go home afterward, which he took as an opportunity to not only update Aradia and Sollux, but to call up Horuss after he found a particular bag amongst the ghost couple's belongings.
It didn't take long for the goggled young man to slip through the portal, greeted with a slightly battered Karkat sorting through random objects.
"Is something going on, Mr. Vantas?" Horuss noticed a few bruises lining had formed on Karkat, causing him to worry. "Did another ghost show up?"
"Two of them. Apparently the trend is pairs right now and I'm really hoping that stops soon." Karkat winced after shifting too much, the fight still fresh to him. "You brought some ectoplasm to heal me, right?"
"Yes, of course. I'd suggest you start hoarding some soon if this trend continues." Horuss handed the boy a flask, which the halfa immediately drank. "Other than that, why did you call me here? I'm not usually the first person you would ask for when something like this happens."
"I want you to look over this stuff I was able to get off the ghosts." Karkat shifted the contents of the bag to Horuss, waving at them weirdly. "I was trying to figure out if it was something important, but it looks like random junk to me. Maybe you could use it to help me track them down?"
Horuss raised an eyebrow at the request, though he did give a once over to the items strewn across the table. "These certainly don't look valuable."
And they didn't. Most of the stuff Karkat had found looked like cheap accessories or trinkets you'd find in someone's junk drawer. Lapels or buttons to put on jackets, generic necklaces with cheap stuff grafted onto it, and sunglasses you'd find in any random gas station. The only reason he didn't throw it away was because he figured Horuss might find a way to use it.
The ghost himself didn't seem to expect much, grabbing a random item and adjusting his goggles. A few clicks later and some careful observation later, the boy paused, apparently finding some something.
"That's odd." Horuss mumbled, looking at the lapel he'd picked out closer, lips quirked into a frown.
"What's odd?" Karkat raised an eyebrow as the ghost put the lapel down, grabbing a button next. "Is there something wrong with it? It ain't contaminated, is it?"
"No, but there's something about them that's, frankly, very familiar." Zahhak put down the button, favoring a necklace next. He got closer to it, concentrating fully on analyzing them. "I highly doubt I'll be able to track them, but can you please tell me about them?"
"They looked like one of those stereotypical biker couples, honestly. I don't think they're from the Ghost Zone." Karkat shrugged, thinking of everything he could use to describe them. "One or both of them can apparently control some kind of shadow creature? They called it Shadow. They were even something to disguise themselves into humans too. Aranea recognized them too-"
"Of course!" Horuss slammed his hand onto the table. Both of them winced, stopping to make sure no one had heard it, despite Spades being out right now.
"Mind filling me in, Tesla?" Karkat didn't really know where the nickname came from, but his patience was wearing thin. "Maybe with a little less abuse to my furniture this time?"
"You said the elder Serket recognized them, correct?" The halfa nodded, much to the ghost's excitement. "I think they may have gotten those artifacts from those two, mostly because all of these items here have similar properties to them."
Karkat blinked at the revelation, looking at the random items with a new light. "You're kidding."
"No, why would I kid?" Horuss looked confused at the accusation before picking up a couple more. "From the sounds of it, you might have accidentally run into the Serkets supplier. They most likely know how to make these things, especially on a mass scale..."
"...Meaning more ghosts probably have their hands on these." Karkat felt ecstatic for the jump on a lead, though a feeling a of dread followed his statement. How many of these did they sell before coming to Amity Park? "Fuck. Now I definitely need to find their supplier when I can."
"I'm guessing this bag wasn't the only part of their supply, so maybe I can quickly build something to help track them down." Horuss grabbed the bag and stuffed the accessories into it. "Figuring out an ecto-signature from this shouldn't be difficult. Not to mention this gives me a larger sample size to figure out how they did this."
That was the best news he could get from the techie ghost, which filled Karkat with some relief. Though, that still meant he would have to fight those two again later, with the addition of their little shadow pet.
"I'm assuming you're going to talk to the Serket's about this, correct?" Horuss got another nod from Karkat. "Then I'd suggest doing that post haste. It shouldn't take me long to build something like your fathers own ecto-detectors."
"Good to hear." He didn't look forward to getting the sister's help on all of this, but that wasn't something he could really avoid. "I just need to figure out what to do about Shadow then. Which isn't great."
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Horuss went to the portal, floating through the exit while waving goodbye. "Good luck! Don't be afraid to call me for help!"
Karkat waved him out, frowning deeply. He'd keep him out here longer if only to explain how Johnny was able to control Shadow like that, but he had the detector to make. He really didn't want to head into the Ghost Zone alone, especially if he was going to visit the Serkets.
...Wait. He could probably kill two birds with one stone.
Taking out his phone, along with a particular business card, Karkat typed in a number quickly before putting the phone to his ear. When a click was heard, he spoke up first before they could.
"Oberon," Karkat started, gulping down his spit before continuing. "I'm going to need to your help."
It didn't take them long to come over. Karkat heavily suspected Oberon had been keeping an eye on the phone, not to mention Eridan would tell him what happened earlier. Karkat had kept the portal closed until they got there just in case something tried to slip out.
"I still don't think I'll ever get used to this place." Oberon muttered, having slipped through the ceiling. He was in his ghost form currently, eyeing all the inventions on the wall. "I'm surprised Spades doesn't have any security systems put into place. Or did you disable them?"
"He's working on it right now." The fact that he brought it up rubbed Karkat the wrong way, though he made sure to keep it to himself. He turned to Eridan, who was following his dad like a lost puppy the entire time. "You told him what happened earlier, right?"
"Yeah, about the two people from earlier?" Eridan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "You said those two were ghosts? How the hell did they disguise themselves?"
"I'll explain as soon as my contact gets here." Karkat checked his phone again, the number he texted still remaining dead. "She should be here in about three, two, one..."
On cue, a shadow shifted through the ceiling of the basement, catching the other hybrids off guard. The familiar shape of Aranea's true form, eight eyes and all, withheld a glare long enough to notice them.
"Mr. Vantas, who are these two?" Aranea reached for glasses that currently weren't there, stopping before muscle memory could take its course. "I thought you wanted to talk alone."
"I'm not stupid enough to try that. Trust takes time, Serket." Karkat waved lazily at the two groups, eyebrow raised. "Oberon, Eridan, this is Aranea. Aranea, this is the Ampora's."
"Holy crap, you actually are a ghost." Eridan floated around the shadowy form of Aranea, backing up as all eight eyes glanced towards him. "Kinda surprised you can hold a human look on you, though. How did you do that?"
"I'm more curious that there's a ghost working as your school counselor." Oberon raised an eyebrow of his own. "I'm assuming she's one of the ghosts that slipped out of the portal at some point?"
"No, she's from the human world. And she's on probation, which is why I asked you to be here." Karkat shrugged, giving Serket the side eye. "Among other things. I wanted to ask you some questions about some powers I might get, and I figured giving you a space walk through the portal would be an equal exchange for it."
"You do realize I would've helped you for free, right?" Oberon didn't seem to mind the implied offer, though, eyeing the portal with open hunger. "Though I would like to get to know the other side a bit better."
"We're actually going in?" Eridan tried being reserved about this, but he was clearly excited about the prospect. "Is it safe in there? I've only met four ghosts before this, and today makes five."
"Well, you'll probably get to know a few more after this then." Karkat gave a look towards Aranea, who'd been quiet since he'd name dropped the Ampora's. "I'm going to need you to take us to where you and your sister are staying right now. Might as well see what she knows too."
"You three.... Are they...?" The pretend counselor stuttered for a moment longer before sighing, rubbing her hand down her face. "Who's going to watch the portal, then? Shouldn't somebody be keeping an eye on it?"
"I've got a friend doing that for us." Karkat had called Muelin and she agreed to keep anything from slipping out. At most, she'd have to worry about the Box Ghost or a few ectopuses, but she'd otherwise be fine. "Now let's get this show on the road. Dad's out of the house for only a few more hours and we need to make the time."
He changed forms seconds later, rings of light blinding everyone. He floated upwards, pointing at Aranea. "You're going in first. Lead us to it, Serket."
Aranea didn't bother arguing, especially since she was outnumbered. She dived into the portal, followed closely by the three others. Karkat gave a thumbs up to Muelin, who waved from her vantage point not that far away from them.
It took a few minutes for conversation to start up again. Eridan was busy looking around the Ghost Zone with open awe while Oberon gave it a more critical eye. It was too experienced, like he'd seen it before somehow and he was simply matching it up with something else.
Karkat let them have this time to quietly observe them before Oberon spoke up.
"Is there a particular question you had about powers? I'm assuming it's related to that incident from earlier." Oberon said it casually, taking a glance at one of the larger building in the distance. "Assuming those two were ghosts, of course."
"They were. One of them just happened to have a power I haven't seen before, though." Karkat adjusted the gas mask to hold on tighter. He'd seen how Oberon looked over his ghost form and it made him uncomfortable. "He somehow brought up this weird shadow demon thing. I don't know what it was, though."
"They had a minion?" Eridan snorted at the thought, looking towards Aranea briefly to check they weren't being led astray. "Might be an elemental thing or a unique power. Explains the car crash, honestly."
Karkat raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking them to continue.
"Ghosts, in our experience, do have plenty of common powers to them. Ecto-blasts, intangibility, invisibility, and similar abilities." Oberon counted them off one by one. "Of course, more powerful ghosts can access different powers. Duplication, minor shapeshifting, and telekinesis are ones I've discovered."
"Some ghosts, though, have something completely all their own. One of the more common versions of these differences are elemental powers." Eridan shrugged, holding a hand up. A small, bright light appeared in it, floating carefully in his hands. "We can do a bit of photokinesis, better known as light manipulation."
"Then Johnny or Kitty might be able to manipulate shadows." Karkat thought that over for a few seconds before shaking his head. "That can't be right. Johnny did send that Shadow after me, but it was way too alive to just be a manipulation."
"Then it's most likely not umbrakinesis then." Oberon hummed, thinking it over. "Certain ghosts can develop abilities that are only relative to them. I've found that I'm able to talk to sea creatures, which isn't that surprising due to our unique physiology."
"It's probably related to how they died. At least, that's my theory." Eridan shrugged at the disappointed look sent his way. "Sorry we couldn't help more. Sounds pretty complicated."
"Not your fault. Not like I can just google their names to find out how they died." Karkat had gotten lucky Vriska was too stupid to change her name before starting to perform. He was pretty sure it wouldn't work a second time. "The two are bikers, so I probably wouldn't find anything about their deaths that isn't related to the thousand other motorcycle accidents in America. Especially with the names Johnny and Kitty."
"And they died so young too. What a shame." Oberon clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Maybe this Shadow of theirs was a pet? If so, that's even more tragic."
"Of course you'd think the pet's death is more tragic than a person." Eridan chuckled, though somewhat morosely. "Do you think it was a cat or a dog?"
"Not sure. It sure as hell can scratch like a cat but listens like a dog." Karkat chuckled. He thanked the fact Horuss was able to supply the ectoplasm, otherwise he'd still be injured. "And hey, just because two people died doesn't mean they had to drag a pet into it."
It was a grim joke, but everyone laughed at it. Aranea had barely looked behind her to wonder to what they were talking about before shrugging and getting back to flying.
It didn't take long after that to reach Aranea and Vriska's home. Redglare was able to get them a temporary lair for now until they decided to make their own. It looked like a cozy little house, which would normally be nice. It was only offset by the music blaring from the place as it floated in the Ghost Zone without any foundation.
"This is it. I should probably warn Vriska that you're here, otherwise she'll shoot you on sight." Aranea slipped into the house before they could talk further. It was probably for the best.
"Do you want us to go in there?" Eridan probably wanted to act as backup or study the house from the inside. "I don't exactly have any fighting experience. Haven't really run into a lot of hostile ghosts before."
"I think I'll be good for now. I'll show you guys some places I know after I'm done." Karkat moved to the door with some trepidation. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation. "I'd stick out here and make sure nobody interrupts if I were you. Especially if you haven't gotten into any fights."
Karkat believed Eridan certainly didn't get into any fights in his ghost form, but he figured Oberon would be okay. He did scare Skulker for some unknown reason, so he must be able to fight somehow. Not to mention some of the powers he mentioned.
"We'll hold down the fort. I highly doubt anyone will show up anyway." Oberon waved it off, extremely self-assured. "I doubt your interrogations will take up that much time."
Karkat decided not to ask how he knew that. He figured he'd just take it at face value for now.
Slipping into the house, he hoped that this didn't get to hectic before he got any answers.
"Why the fuck is he here?!"
Karkat figured his optimism was misplaced after Vriska nearly attacked him on sight, with Aranea having to tackle her before she could lay a hand on him. A few things were thrown at him that were easy to avoid, but the sisters hadn't stopped arguing. He hadn't even said a word since he got inside.
"Look, I know it isn't pleasant having him here, but he just wants to know a few things we do." Aranea did her best to placate her hotheaded sister, but Vriska was having none of it. "He'll only be here briefly as long as we answer a few questions."
"About what?!" Vriska's ice powers were going haywire, dropping the temperature of the room the louder her voice got. "It's his fault that our gig got interrupted! If he wants to know anything, he could get it from your bootlicker ass."
"The only reason he stopped us is because you-" Aranea stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She had switched back into her more human form, but the shadows danced around her still. "You know what? I'm not having this argument again. Can you please just cooperate with him?"
"The hell I will!" Vriska turned to face Karkat for the first time since she tried tackling him. She practically growled, eyes narrowing dangerously. The stranger one looked actually intimidating when she did that. "What do you even want? You already screwed things up enough already."
"I'm here for information, Vriska. Two ghosts showed up and your sister recognized them." Karkat remained cool despite being in the home of two somewhat hostile ghosts. He had backup outside if things went sideways. "And after having a friend analyze some stuff they were carrying; it was similar to what you two used to disguise yourselves. It doesn't sound like a coincidence."
"Right, you still have my eyepatch. I do want that back at some point, y'know. Getting some concerts here is pretty fucking difficult." Vriska floated onto a couch they had, plopping down into the cushions. She gave Aranea a lazy glare. "Who is even talking about?"
"Johnny and Kitty." Aranea's voice was full of disdain. Looks like they certainly had a history. "They decided to break a window at his school and sicked Shadow onto him."
Karkat noted a shift in Vriska's focus, her irritation wavering to the mentioned couple. "I'm guessing that rings a bell?"
"Yeah, I remember those two. Real stereotypical biker couple, right?" Vriska received a nod from the masked halfa. "God that guy was kinda creepy. Didn't he keep staring at your tits the last time we saw him, Aranea?"
"Don't remind me. It took so much effort not to kick him where the sun doesn't shine." Aranea crossed her arms over her chest as if Johnny were in the room. "Then again, it looked like Kitty would've done so for me."
"Well, even if he is a dick or not, I'm not telling you shit." Vriska picked up her guitar, strumming it softly. "If anything, I should be rooting for them. Did Shadow happen to kick your ass?"
Karkat fought back an instinctual growl at the show of disrespect. He'd expected it, but he did need information somehow.
"Then you're dumber than I thought." Karkat smirked behind the gas mask as the musician glared at him for the insult. "I would've thought you would want to get back into the human world quicker so you can sustain yourself better."
Aranea stopped, raising an eyebrow at the mention. "Would you mind explaining that Mr. Vantas?"
"You do realize I could not only help you get your sentence lightened by Redglare, but actually help get you gigs to satisfy your obsessions, right?" Karkat tilted his head as irritation changed to intrigue on the Serket's faces. "Redglare might listen to me if I report that you two are on good behavior. Not to mention I could help set up little concerts for Vriska to play at and maybe get Aranea a job where she can reap misery a lot more ethically."
"This can't be that simple. You wouldn't do this for only one fight." Vriska strummed her guitar louder, the ghost sneering at him. "You'll want more than that."
"You're not wrong. This would only be a start." Karkat wasn't going to let them off that easy. But a few more ghostly allies would be a boon. "Of course, the more favors you do for me, the more time you two get out in the human world. I wouldn't throw that option away."
The sister sent a brief glance towards one another that said a lot. They were both clearly contemplating it, though they were being offered this by an enemy.
"What exactly would be an 'ethical' place for me to work at?" Aranea leaned against a wall, hips cocked. "Not to mention places that would support my sister's music career."
"Amity Park may not be that big, but there are plenty of places for her to play at. We can even test what streaming services and YouTube videos do for her under our supervision." Karkat shrugged. He had thought about this before, with this whole Johnny and Kitty situation being a good catalyst for it. "As for you, it might be a good idea to fake some criminal psychology records. Aranea Serket, prison psychiatrist would be a good title to have."
Another glance was shared, but the halfa had a feeling they made up their minds. It was too good of an offer not to take.
"Fine. We'll help you occasionally as long you hold up on your end, no questions asked." Vriska sat up, putting her hand out there. "Is that good?"
Karkat smiled, grabbing her hand with his hand, shaking it firmly.
"We have a deal."
Karkat and Vriska felt a pain in their palms as he spoke this, pulling away instantly. Karkat had enough time to see some ectoplasm mixed with blood to slip off his hand before the wound closed instantly. Judging from Vriska's expression, she was dealing with much the same thing.
There was a moment of awkward silence that was broken by Aranea clearing her throat.
"Well," She said, frowning as Vriska wiped off the ectoplasm onto the couch. "Not sure what that was. What did you exactly want to know?"
Karkat shook his head, deciding to shelve his question on what happened for later. "Honestly, I need a rundown of their powers, their relationship, and whatever you know about them selling those disguising artifacts. Any information you can give me."
"Well, I can easily say those two aren't exactly powerful. Hell, I'm certainly better than they are on that front." Vriska leaned back onto the couch, guitar in hand yet again. "Standard power set and not much else. Really, Shadow's the only thing special about them."
"He's able to blend into the background and such, along with messing with items to cause literal bad luck." Aranea put a finger to her chin, thinking back onto her own memories of the creature. "Though, light is an obvious weakness of his. It'd be better to fight them during the day, or in a well-lit area. Or carry flash bangs with you."
The halfa didn't exactly have those kinds of options unless he got some more help from Horuss. "Any idea on how to attack them a bit more personally?"
"They're both pretty stupid. I mean, they threw a brick through a window and didn't expect to get in trouble for it." Aranea had certainly been annoyed by that. Especially since it drew attention towards her too. "It wouldn't be difficult to outsmart them."
"I'd go for their relationship, though. Kitty is really insecure and Johnny flirts with every girl he sees." Vriska laughed as she thought of something. "Hell, we met them while they were arguing about him talking up a girl working at a gas station. Those two aren't exactly stable."
"What about their little side business? Any ideas on that?" Karkat really hoped this bore fruit. Unfortunately, he could see the confusion on their faces. "I'm guessing that isn't a simple solution."
"Yeah, we don't really know much about the disguise business. We just found them after meeting a few ghosts that apparently bought them from them." Vriska shrugged, not looking sorry in the slightest. "You'll have to ask them yourself."
"If anything, we don't think they made those accessories. Again, not very smart." Aranea didn't seem sorry either, though at least she was polite. "That's all we know right now."
"Good enough. I'll make sure to tell Redglare that you've been on your best behavior then." Karkat made a move to leave before a though occurred. "Oh, and if a guy named Horuss Zahhak stops by, he'll give you some phones with a message app on them. Make some accounts. I'll contact you if I need any more help."
They said their goodbyes, Karkat feeling a bit better about what he'd do know. Now he just needed to plan.
Karkat was able to get him and the Ampora's out of the Ghost Zone without incident. They said their goodbyes and exchanged numbers for further contact. As for what the halfa as doing, he was just checking on the others progress as he laid in his bed, pretending to be asleep.
CG: ROLE CALL! HOW'S EVERYONE'S PROGRESS?
AA: karkat! h0w's everything g0ing? y0u find inf0rmati0n 0n th0se gh0sts y0u menti0ned earlier?
TA: we've been re2earchiing the peiixe2 and diidn't fiind anythiing, fyii. they're clean, a2 far a2 we can tell.
GC: YOU WOULD NOT B3L13V3 TH3 SH1T W3 FOUND. WH4T'S TH1S 4BOUT 4NOTH3R GHOST?
AC: :33 are you seriously fighting other ghosts again karkitty?
CG: IT'S A LONG STORY. TEREZI, WHAT DID YOU FIND ON THE OTHER HALFA?
GC: 4 LOT. TURNS OUT TH1S J4CK4SS 1S 1NVOLV3D W1TH SOM3 PR3TTY SC4RY P3OPL3 H3R3 1N TH3 1NF1N1T3 R34LMS.
AC: :33 he's also connected to skulker. that poachers b33n doing his dirty work fur a while meow.
TA: and tho2e gho2t2 you fought? any word on them?
AA: and th0se tw0 new students, d0n't f0rget ab0ut them.
Karkat felt a stone form in his stomach, causing it to ache. He figured there'd be confirmation of Oberon's guilt, but it still hurt to hear.
CG: ERIDAN AND FEFERI ARE CLEAN AS FAR AS I KNOW. I DO HAVE BETTER INFORMATION ON THOSE GHOSTS AND PLAN ON GETTING TO THEM TONIGHT.
CG: OH, AND ARANEA AND VRISKA WORK FOR ME NOW SO THEY CAN GET LENIENCY FROM REDGLARE. ANOTHER LONG STORY.
AC: :33 j33z, you really work fast.
GC: GOOD TO KNOW, BUT 1 DON'T TH1NK W3'LL B3 4BL3 TO H3LP. MY MOM'S B33N K33P1NG 4N 3Y3 ON M3 4ND 1 DON'T TH1NK SH3'LL L3T M3 OUT TO F1GHT.
AC: :33 mine too. she was not happy to figure out that i lied to her about stuff.
TA: famiily game niight for me. 2orry, but my dad'2 wiill get worriied iif ii try two baiil.
AA: dad's been w0rrying ab0ut the presentati0n stuff, even if heid0's trying t0 calm him d0wn. he's set up curfew right n0w.
CG: ARE YOU ALL SERIOUS? FUCK, IS EVERYONE BUSY TONIGHT?
AA: the presentati0n did cause a stir, karkat. this is just bad timing.
TA: aa'2 riight. don't go fiightiing tho2e gho2t2 alone, though.
AC: :33 maybe you can get the serket's to help? you got them to agr33 with you on a deal, right?
GC: 1 WOULDN'T TRUST TH3M JUST Y3T. VR1SK4 S33MS L1K3 TH3 TYP3 TO TRY 4ND 3SC4P3 4T F1RST NOT1C3.
Terezi had a point there. Karkat had only just set up a deal with the Serket's today and he didn't want to risk Vriska taking advantage of his trust. He couldn't exactly trust Oberon to help, especially since that would mean he's under the man's debt too. Something he wanted to avoid for now.
...He was being stupid again. He didn't just make friends with Oberon today.
Karkat quickly typed into the chat once again, a plan forming in his head already.
CG: I THINK I ALREADY KNOW WHO TO BRING.
The lights within the town of Amity Park's namesake were bright within the night, illuminating it beautifully. Shadows danced softly as the creatures within it passed through, the quiet giving the place a borderline eerie, but peaceful, aura.
It was disrupted almost immediately by the sound of a motorcycles roar and the shattering of glass as another set of streetlamps were broken.
"Johnny, I don't think we need to break any more lights. I haven't seen anyone at all here." Kitty adjusted herself on the seat, the wind not bothering her. She did cringe as more lights were broken. "I really don't think we need to worry right now."
"I thought that too, until a guy had a knife to my neck earlier." Johnny had Shadow shatter a few more lights with impunity, frantically looking around him. "Seriously, where did that guy even come from? I didn't know anyone haunted this place."
"You really think he's going to come after us again? Shadow probably scared him off." Kitty sighed to herself, leaning away from her boyfriend. "Probably shouldn't have thrown that brick into the window..."
"Excuse me?" Johnny stopped the motorcycle, glaring at his girlfriend with narrowed eyes. Shadow continued to gleefully destroy lights behind them. "I remember you laughing your ass off when I did that."
"I was drunk!" Kitty yelled, getting off the bike in a huff.
"So was I!" Johnny used the bikes kickstand, leaning onto the handlebars with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, he moved up again. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm just pissed we had to leave the merchandise behind."
"God, I almost forgot about that." Kitty leaned against one of the lights. She ran a hand down her face. "Our supplier is not going to be happy that we lost that stuff. That guy probably stole it or something just to tick us off."
"That wasn't the real reason, but I'm not against the results."
The couple jumped at the sound of the new, familiar voice. Johnny instinctively raised a glowing hand at it, face set into a scowl.
Karkat, in full Phantom form, only raised an eyebrow. He twirled one of his sickles as he sat on a streetlight. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You might get out of this without any more scrapes if you play along."
"Fat fucking chance. You really think I want to listen you?" Johnny mentally pulled Shadow over to a better place to help surround the halfa. Kitty had gotten to a better position without him needing to say anything. "I'm not exactly willing to trust a guy that held a knife to my throat earlier."
"It's a sickle, but that's not the important thing here." Karkat hopped off the streetlight, floating in the air. He kept his eyes on the two the entire time, only giving Shadow a passing glance. "You were taking about those disguise accessories you had on you earlier. I want to know where you've been getting them."
"Hell no." Kitty crossed her arms, a deep frown on her face. "You really think we want to tell you that? Besides, you have plenty to work with, so I doubt you need anymore."
"It's not really about having more of those. I just need information on who gave it to you." Karkat waved his hand in the air, peacefully. "I'm willing to overlook that bout of vandalism since you two were clearly drunk as long as you don't do it again. Just tell me who made the accessories, and no one has to get hurt."
"And I said fat fucking chance pal." Johnny actually smirked this time, jerking his head to Kitty. "I'm pretty sure we've got you outnumbered now. Shadow was more than enough for you and I think I'd like a rematch."
"We're not drunk either, so I don't it'd be that easy for you this time." Kitty lit up one of her own hands. She smiled too, as darkly as her boyfriends. "So maybe just beat it before we make an example here."
Karkat sighed deeply. Why did he expect things to be different this time around?
"Fine then." Karkat cleared his throat before raising his voice. "Now!"
A pillar of light suddenly shot out of the darkness, hitting Shadow dead on with extreme prejudice. The creature screeched as Eridan suddenly shot forward, hitting it with his entire weight. Shadow was flung backwards, hitting ground with a large thud.
This stunned the two ghosts long enough for Karkat to fire several ecto-blasts in their directions. One of them hit Kitty dead on while the other missed Johnny, who hit the gas on his motorcycle immediately. The vehicle flew into the air, swerving to head straight towards Karkat.
While the ghost tried to run the halfa over, Eridan sent more light blasts in Shadow's direction, making it move back. The creature slowly grew smaller, even when a blast didn't connect, causing it to be even harder to hit. Shadow did swipe a few times Eridan's way, but the teen swiped back just as much.
As for Karkat, he was finding it a little difficult to fight them while they were sober. Kitty was able to fire a lot more shots at him while Johnny only sent the occasional shot while trying to run him over. Karkat dissuaded that by firing very powerful blasts at him when he got too close.
Karkat dodged another attempt on his life as Johnny cursed, deciding to take another course. He flew straight at Kitty, sending blast after blast at her, which she dodged as fast as she could. Hearing a motorcycle rev behind him, he suddenly flew upwards. Johnny had to swerve to avoid hitting Kitty, while Karkat fired a few shots from above them, hitting them both.
Eridan had to change tactics as this happened, going for more melee strikes with his claws when Shadow became too small to hit directly with his beams. Claws coated in light, it hurt the creature even more, screaming hellishly at every swipe. The thing looked ready to run by now, looking towards its master with scared eyes.
Karkat noticed this, dodging another attempt to run him over. An idea formed in his head suddenly, turning to face the two of them.
"You know, I thought you and your sister would put up a better fight than this." Karkat twirled a sickle, smirking behind the gas mask. "Maybe you aren't as good as you think you are at this."
"I'm not his sister, you jackass, I'm his girlfriend." Kitty pointed at herself, offended by the insult and insinuation. "And I'm pretty sure we're putting up a good fight here."
"Same can't be said about you." Johnny laughed derisively, though it wasn't as convincing as he thought it was. The fight was clearly winding them both down, with the young man sending glances toward Shadow fretfully. "What makes you think she's my sister anyway?"
"You aren't?" Karkat faux surprise was pretty convincing, widening his eyes almost comically. "Aranea didn't seem to think so. Said you kept on checking her out last time you two talked."
"The spider bitch?" Kitty looked confused at first before registering the rest of Karkat's sentence. "Wait, he was doing what?! Johnny, you said you were thinking of getting a dress like hers for me!"
"I was!" Johnny looked immediately so guilty and freaked out by the change in topic. "I wasn't checking her out, I swear! I'm not lying this time!"
Karkat smiled as the two began to argue, a few swear words being thrown at each other. The halfa slowly drew back at first before suddenly shooting forward.
"-just like that in Minneapolis!" Kitty didn't have enough time to finish her lecture before a foot was planted in her side, causing her to fly backwards. Before she could register the pain, she hit a streetlight with enough force shake it.
Karkat smirked as he heard a yell come from Johnny, as well as the telltale sign of the engine revving loudly. The ghosts sped towards him, murder in his eyes as the halfa shot up, twisting around to kick the ghost in the face. Johnny flew off the bike, which flew behind the halfa and flipped over crashing to a stop.
Karkat picked up the ghost by the scruff of his jacket, throwing him towards a slowly recovering Kitty before grabbing the thermos. He sucked up the bike and Shadow before the creature could come protect its masters.
Eridan stopped before looking at Karkat quizzically. The halfa gave him a thumbs up before slowly moving towards the couple, sickle at the ready in case they resisted further.
"Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, maybe you two will finally give me something to work with here." Karkat raised a sickle, ectoplasm flowing around the blade as he glared at them. "Who gave you that shit? No bullshit either."
"Fuck you." Johnny spat on the ground, the spit mixed with ectoplasm. "This was a good racket until you got here. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Someone who knows how to take you down and even made sure to get good help for it." Karkat jerked his head towards Eridan to emphasize this. The glow on the sickle grew stronger. "Talk."
The ghostly couple looked at each other for a brief moment, weighing their options. Kitty was the first to break.
"We don't know his name. All we know is the guy is human and working for some other people." Kitty licked her lips, desperately trying to remember anything useful. "Said he gets it from a ghost in Limbo or whatever you call it."
"Big burly guy, had a lot of hair." Johnny tried sitting up but stopped when Karkat's hand twitched. "Said he knew another guy that could track us down if we screwed him over. We just wanted some money for alcohol. Are we done here?"
Karkat tilted his head, thinking it over. He eventually nodded, pulling up the thermos. "Good enough."
He sucked them in before they could protest, capping the thermos. The halfa sighed before hearing a loud cheer come from Eridan.
"Holy shit, I didn't think it would go that well!" Eridan was still trying to sound cool and everything, but the fact he looked ready to do a victory dance ruined that. "Did you see me out there? I kicked that Shadow's ass!"
"Hell yeah you did." Karkat chuckled at the show of enthusiasm. "Thanks for showing up. Sorry I had to call you so short notice."
"Eh, it made sense to bring me. Shadows don't do well against light, so why not call me?" Eridan stretched before stopping. A thought occurred. "Are you sure you don't want my dad to know about this? He'd probably be happy to know I actually can fight."
"I'd keep quiet about it for now." Karkat felt dirty for suggesting it, but he didn't want to owe Oberon anything. He especially didn't need to know about his investigation here. "I'll send him a message telling him the problem's solved and leave it at that. Again, I owe you for this."
"Don't mention it." Eridan still seemed to have a lot of adrenaline in his system, shooting off into the air before waving goodbye. "See ya' at school!"
Karkat waved him off, doing his best to remain upbeat. The fight would've been hell if Eridan hadn't decided to show up, so he was in high spirits. Though the information he just got was pretty worrying, especially on what it meant.
Humans were involved who had at least some access to the Ghost Zone. And judging by who they were giving the accessories to, this was a problem.
The halfa sighed, putting his equipment away. He looked around to check if there was anymore evidence he could hide before settling on a small baggie with some more accessories spilled out. Guess that wasn't the only stuff they had earlier.
Karkat grabbed it, though stopped when he noticed some had spilled out. He grabbed a metal necklace that had the Cancer symbol at its base.
Tilting his head, he shrugged before pocketing it and flying off. He might as well have a souvenir.
Well, hopefully that was a satisfying conclusion. You might recognize some people from the descriptions alone, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it more when they finally appear.
Also, I have an idea for you guys. Since I make so many playlists, I want you guys to suggest a couple to me to make a playlist of involving this fic. You can also suggest ones for the other fic I'm writing if you so please. I can guarantee how quickly they'll be done, but I'll make sure to announce them in later chapters.
Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter!