The Ghost Zone ( Lepa)

[Yuki]

Sophie spent all day getting ready for the ghost hunt at the school. She even was wearing her Spirit Monk robes and let her hair down. She had been studying her spirit monk books to and found the book passage she had been looking for. She quickly memorized what she needed to know and practiced it for a few hours. Its been a while sine she had to purify corrupted spirit so she wanted to make sure she would get things right the first try. When she was ready she had Shadowclaw open a shadow portal and stepped through. Sophie then was on school grounds sanding in front of the main door.

She looked at her watch, " Hmmm.. A little early.. Guess I will just have to wait. Sophie said with a sigh.





Earlier that day Taylor had met up with The Guardians and had told them everything that happened and what he was planning to do to save Sarah. Of course none of them took it very well when they learned Sarah was now in a coma type state. And where just as upset he was going to take on this angry ghost by himself.


After talking about it for what seemed like hours something shocking happened. Taji volunteered to also help. She has felt a deep regret since that day.. She felt like she owed it to the principal seeing she was the reason the Templars where there in the first place. Then Kit also said he would go, he was also there that day and also this would be good chance to meet this Casey. Though he did not say that out loud. At first Taylor tried to object but quickly gave up as Taji and Kit where not going to take no for a answer. The others would go to Sarah's house so they would be there when she woke up.


When it was around the time to go to the school. Taylor, Taji and Kit headed to the school and saw Sophie already standing by the main doors.

She smiled and waved, "Hello, I see you brought some friends. Are they going to join us?" Sophie asked.

Taylor nodded, "Y-yeah.. This is Taji and Kit.. They where also there when the templars attacked and they also wanted to help." he replied.

"Hello.. Nice to meet you.." Taji said softly. She had not been here since the attack.. So Taji was doing her best not to tremble.

"Yo! I'm Kit nice to meet ya." The kitsune said with a small wave and a smile.

Sophie smiled and nodded, once again she was not going to try and talk them out of it.. It seemed like they all really needed to do this, not just for the principal's sake but theirs as well.


Now the last two that needed to show up where Casey and Levi.

[Lepa]

What a night.

It started as a challenge that ended in disaster. Thankfully, neither Casey or his friends were hurt, but he couldn't say the same about Taylor's friend Sarah. She'd gone on ahead and got her soul damn near severed by the corrupted ghost of the school principal - all in a last ditch effort to protect them. Casey honestly still couldn't believe it, but when they learned that she could still be saved, a plan was formed and Casey made a promise to help Taylor out. He still wasn't looking forward to dealing with that damn ghost again, but the man wasn't about to back down from his promise.

As he made it onto school grounds and drew close to the entrance, he tensed up a bit when he saw that Sophie and Taylor weren't the only ones there. The hell...? Was there trouble?

"Change of plans...?" Casey asked as he approached with a raised brow. He frowned, looking to Taji and kit. He didn't look or sound too happy, but for good reason. "Dunno how I feel 'bout puttin' more people at risk..." He muttered, looking aside.

[Yuki]

Kit's ears twitched at the sounds of Casey walking up. He turned to look before the others even noticed the man walking up. He did not seemed pleased that he and Taji where here and muttered under his breath. "Well if it makes ya feel any better we did not exactly give Taylor much of a choice in the matter." Kit said looking up at Casey. Soo this was the guy that Taylor started secretly training with. Why did he have to pick such a street punk looking dude? Well... Taylor was pretty good at judging people's character and the man did agree to come help after all when he could have just walked away. Sooo he must not be all that bad.

Taylor gave a weak smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey Calhoun.. T-these are my friends Taji and Kit. They umm... where also with Sarah and I that day when... You know."

Kit nodded, "Yeah so we have the responsibility to be here to. We also owe Sarah a lot too, she is our leader after all."


"..... I was the reason the school was attacked.. I owe it to the principal to help him." Taji said her voice filled with sadness but her eyes where filled with determination. In truth if they where able to fix him she wanted to apologize to him. He... He lost his life because of her.



Sophie stood there watching as they spoke, however when Taji came out and said she was the reason the templars attacked her eyes widened a little. She was the dragon they where after? No wonder she wanted to be here... The poor thing, all the guilt she must have been feeling all this time. Hmmm... She would have to get to know Taji after this, after all she knew more about dragons then anyone here in the city. Being a former Templar and dragon rider, thinking about her dragon partner made Sophie miss him.. She hoped he was doing well in dragon valley. 

[Lepa]

"Well if it makes ya feel any better we did not exactly give Taylor much of a choice in the matter."

"Mh," was the acknowledging noise Casey said in reply. He still wasn't sure about it, but...

"Hey Calhoun.. T-these are my friends Taji and Kit." Taylor stammered. "They umm... where also with Sarah and I that day when... You know."

Ah.

"Yeah so we have the responsibility to be here to," the kitsune added. "We also owe Sarah a lot too, she is our leader after all."

Leader? Casey wondered. The shift in his expression was subtle, but it seemed to be more understanding. "I see..." He gave a small nod.

".....I was the reason the school was attacked.." The timid girl spoke up. "I owe it to the principal to help him."

Casey raised his brows slightly. He seemed puzzled more than anything. What'd she mean by that? Weren't those weirdos after a dragon...? In a school, of all places...? As far as he could see, she clearly wasn't one... Had she accidentally helped them in some way? Whatever it was, Casey didn't feel it was his place to question it. He just figured she had a similar case to Taylor and was letting the guilt get to her. "Don't be too hard on yerself," He said in a small effort of consolement, then looked aside again. "...But thanks fer comin' along. The both of ya."

[Yuki]

Sophie watched the interaction between them all and it was clear Casey only seemed to be comfortable around Taylor. Haha a tough looking guy like him with a shy side? That was kinda adorable. Though it also made it clear how the teams should go. Though be for they fully jumped into this Sophie needed to tell Casey about how if it came down to it he could possibly startle the ghost with his flames.

"Calhoun.. Can we talk for a sec?" Sophie said as she walked away from the group, though she had a feeling Kit would be able to hear what they spoke about thanks to his sensitive kitsune ears.

She waited for Casey to follow her over.
"I'm just going to get to the point, those flames of yours... They are no normal flames are they. Not gonna ask how ya got them but, if it ever comes down to it you may be able to startle the ghost with those flames. Just thought I should let ya know." Sophie said as she made her way back to the group.

After that brief chat Levi's car pulled up, he stepped out and walked over to the group. He looked rather nervous as he held the keys to the school in his hands.


" Ok.."" He said with a nervous sigh. He was 100% not thrilled to be sending these kids to take care of this ghost... Even though one adult was going with them and this Sophie girl seemed to know what she was doing. He was worried about Taylor and.. He blinked when he looked at Taji, he had a feeling he has seen her before... But he could not place her. As for Kit he had never seen a Kitsune in person before. Anyway he may not know who those two where but he did not like the of sending anyone in with the angry ghost...Levi then held out two keys. " These are master keys to the school.. Use these to get out if you need to. I.. I will stay and stand by the entrance of the school." He said. He cringed inwardly as he said that. It was like a voice in his head was screaming at him to go in there with them...

Sophie nodded and stepped forward grabbing one if the keys. Taylor would step up and take the other.

[Lepa]

"Calhoun.. Can we talk for a sec?"

"...Hm?" He glanced her way. For a moment, Casey couldn't help but feel like he was in trouble. He followed her aside with the puzzled look still on his face.

"I'm just going to get to the point, those flames of yours... They are no normal flames are they."

Casey tensed up. Damn, maybe he wasn't in trouble, but for someone to recognize that his fire power was different? He might as well have been. He'd always been careful about the usage of his abilities and who'd see them, to the point where someone like Chiyoko hadn't even known about it in the three months he'd trained her.

"Not gonna ask how ya got them, but, if it ever comes down to it-"

Casey felt another small pang of dread. Knowing his power wasn't natural to begin with was another cause of alarm.

"...You may be able to startle the ghost with those flames. Just thought I should let ya know."

...What?

Casey blinked. It was always terrifying when someone knew the details about the Azure Flare, but that wasn't something he'd expected. Honestly, when it came to his power, he didn't know it too well himself; all he had to do was think it, feel it, and he'd make fire. Simple as that. Did that mean the ghost was averse to fire in general...? That's what Casey liked to think, but the fact that Sophie had brought up the specifics of his power to begin with made him think there was probably more to it than he realized... He almost wanted to ask how, why or even what she meant, but they had a more important task at hand to worry about...

After he followed Sophie back to the group, Levi arrived with a pair of school keys. He seemed a bit hesitant. Casey didn't blame him. Hell, he still wasn't too sure about this himself, but... knowing that his fire could deter the ghost eased his worries a bit. After obtaining the keys, Casey let out a puff of air and pounded a fist into his other palm.

"So..." He looked to Sophie, cracking his knuckles. "How we doin' this...?"

[Yuki]

Sophie looked at Levi when he came over, it was easy to tell he was not trilled about this at all. Though she was glad he was willing to trust her enough to help the principal. Now she just had to make sure none of these guys got hurt like Sarah did. Looking at the key in her hand she formed a fist with the had that held it. Yeah Sophie did not take this responsibility lightly.. She would help put everything right, so the principal could rest in peace and the students had a safe place to come to.

"So..." the sound of cracking knuckles could be heard.. "How we doin' this...?"

Sophie looked at Casey with a smile, " Well first we set up the trap.. I was thinking about doing that in the gym." Sophie said.

Taji tensed up a bit when Sophie said that, she started to tremble a little and rubbed her arm as she stared at the ground. She soon felt a fuzzy hand holding hers and looked to see Kit looking up at her with a smile. Yeah... She had her friends here... She... She could do this, no she had to this. She then relaxed and looked over at Taylor. He seemed unfazed the trap was being set up in the gym. Well.. He came here almost everyday after all... He has most likely dealt with the anxiety sooner then she has.


Soon all them would enter the school and made their way to the gym, when there Sophie made her way to the middle of the room and took out paper talismans. She then placed them on the floor and took a stance as she then made hand signs with her fingers. She then closed her eyes and started to chant in a strange language, Sophie and the paper talismans started to glow slightly with spiritual energy. The paper talismans started to lift into the air, Sophie opened her eyes and stared to point and one by one the paper talismans darted to where she would point. Once in their places they started to glow more and lines of spiritual energy started to form till they formed some sort of pattern in a circle under Sophie. When finished Sophie stopped glowing however the glowing circle remined.

With a smile Sophie walked back to the others and took out two wooden talismans. " Ok, next we should split up in teams. Taylor and Calhoun will be a team and Ina will be following you guys around to make sure nothing happens to you. And this, Sophie said handing a wooden talisman to Taylor. " Wear this around your neck and it will glow whenever he is around. So you wont be caught off guard." She said and handed the other one to Kit. " And I will be teaming up with Taji and Kit, my Mom will be the one with us watching our backs. Does this work for everyone?" Sophie asked.


Taylor looked at Casey giving a small smile and nodded

Taji and Kit nodded in agreement too.

[Lepa]

Again, Casey found himself wondering how he'd managed to survive his first year in the city without angering someone like Sophie. He'd watched her set up the tags with a series of movements he'd only seen in movies or anime, feeling the slightest bit of awe at the spectacle. Once she was done however, he glanced down at the glowing circle with a distant look in his eyes. It'd been a long while since he'd seen one of these up close...

"Ok, next we should split up in teams. Taylor and Calhoun will be a team and Ina will be following you guys around to make sure nothing happens to you."

Casey nodded, relieved he'd be able to keep an eye on Taylor. And Ina... was the small glowing girl from last night. A day was still too short to process everything that had happened, but it was enough for Casey to accept that she was an ally. After all... he seemed to recall her banishing the ghost away, even if it was only temporary.

Taylor was then entrusted with a talisman that was able to detect the ghost. Thank god, Casey thought. As the preparations came together, he grew more confident with the plan. They knew what they were up against. Sophie had done most of the heavy lifting, and now it was up to them to do the rest.

"Does this work for everyone?" She'd asked.

Everyone nodded, Casey included. This was their last chance to back down, but no one faltered.

"...Yeah. Looks like we're ready as we'll ever be."

[Yuki]

Sophie observed everyone just to watch for any signs of anyone changing their minds. She would not blame them if they had. But it seems everyone was standing firm in their choices. Sophie then nodded, "Ok then, lets split up. I'm not sure where the ghost has made his hunting room at.. So we are going to have to look around a bit. And when he does show up we gotta try and lure him to the gym. So call out to him insult him if you have to. Just don't say his name unless its a last resort. Oh! Almost forgot... Sophie took out some hand held handheld radios and gave one to Casey and held onto the other. " We can use these to talk to each other so when one group does find the ghost we can tell the other he showed up." Sophie said with a smile. " Alright lets go."



And with that the two groups would split up and thankfully the lights of the school where still on so they would not be wondering around in the dark.

[Lepa]

Casey folded his arms as he listened to Sophie's instructions. It seemed simple enough. it almost felt more like they were about to corral a wild animal than a ghost - another means of easing his worries. Sophie then handed a small radio device to Casey. He glanced down at it as she mentioned it as a means of relaying ghost sightings to each other. Dang, he thought. Dangerous as it was, all of it started to seem more exciting than terrifying...

The groups then split up, and Casey found himself walking alongside Taylor. "Hm..." He glanced around at the interior as they moved. "Place sure is different with the lights on..." He commented. Ignoring yesterday, it'd honestly been a long time since he'd been in high school... He wondered how much had changed since he'd left his.

They'd walked for a bit longer before Casey spoke up again. "Oh, yeah. I just realized somethin'." He glanced in Taylor's direction. "I'll try n' stick close, but if we gotta run, you might hafta lead. I figure ya might know the quickest way back to the gym." He shrugged.

[Yuki]

Taylor was most silent as everyone split up, he was doing to his to remain calm but he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. When Casey made the comment how different things looked with the lights on the young boy nodded as he looked around and kept looking at the wooden talisman to see if it started to glow.



"Oh, yeah. I just realized somethin'."


Hm? Taylor looked up at Casey. "I'll try n' stick close, but if we gotta run, you might hafta lead. I figure ya might know the quickest way back to the gym."


Ah... Yeah Casey did not know his way around the school. So that meant it was all on him to make sure they got to the gym again without the ghost catching up to them.. Haha no pressure. "O-ok." Came Taylor's soft reply. He has glad Casey was here, he most likely would be more freaked out if he was alone.

Little did the two know Sarah was walking next to them in spirit form. She had been experimenting since last night, she could still use her powers. So even though Ina was also watching over Taylor and Casey she was not just gonna sit back and do nothing as they put themselves at risk for her.


After walking around a while they where now close to the principal office.
Soon the lights started to flicker, Taylor stopped as he quickly looked around and held the wooden talisman up. It had started to glow slightly.
Taylor gulped and looked down the hall that lead to the principal office. " The principal office is right down that way..." Is that where he had been hiding?

[Lepa]

Taylor accepted the suggestion, stammering a bit. Casey didn't blame him for being nervous. but... it was the most reasonable move. Casey's flames might be able to startle the damn thing, but if that's all it could do, then it wouldn't do any good if he'd gotten himself cornered. Sure, maybe he could feint his way to safety, but where would that leave Taylor? He really didn't want to be responsible for something happening to him...

Casey glanced in Taylor's direction when he caught the talisman's faint glow in the corner of his eye. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been checking as often as Taylor, though he'd been trying to be subtle about it. He didn't want to escalate their fears any further.

"The principal office is right down that way..."

Taylor looked down the hallway as he said this. Casey craned his neck to get a better look. "...Think he's there?" He frowned. He took a step forward, hesitating when the lights flickered. He waited another moment then began to walk in that direction. He clasped the radio in his hand, holding it close to his chest. "If yer thing is reacting... I couldn't think of a better place fer him to be," he muttered to Taylor in a low voice as he continued onward.

[Yuki]

Yeah it would make make sense if he was in the principal office.. He most likely spent most of this time there. Casey started down the hallway while Taylor stayed where he was. His heart started to beat faster as memories of last night started to flash through his mind. Could they really do this? What if they failed? What if..

"You can do it Taylor.. I believe in you." Came Sarah's voice in his ear. Taylor gave a startled gasp and looked around but did not see her.
Haha oops she startled him. Sarah gave a weak smile and scratched her nose sheepishly.

Taylor quickly calmed down though and nodded.

"Thanks Sarah.." he said softly with a faint smile as he moved to catch up with Casey.

The two would soon be in front of the office. Taylor took out the key Levi had given him and unlocked the door.
The door would swing open and a cold air could be felt coming out of the room. But so far the ghost was not showing himself.
Ok... It seems like they found him... Now just how are they going to lure him to the gym?

" Any ideas?" Taylor asked Casey.

[Lepa]

"Any ideas?"

"...Hmm."

If Casey hadn't been clutching the radio so damn hard, he probably would've rubbed his chin. He was still trying to remain cool despite the fact that they'd more than likely found the ghost's favorite hiding spot. He frowned as he mulled over Taylor's question. Okay, so the ghost was probably here, but saying his name seemed to be off the table... So how else do you provoke a ghost...?

A memory of Ricky taunting him quickly passed through his mind.

Casey blinked.

Well... It was worth a shot.

"Okay, I think I got somethin'." He glanced back at Taylor with a nod. Oooh, he might hate him for this later - if not in the next 10 seconds, Casey thought. He motioned for Taylor to step back several paces. "Get ready to run," he warned before turning back to face the room. He took in a deep breath, then let out a sigh. For a moment, it almost seemed like Casey knew what he was doing.

He betrayed that when he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"STOP HIDING, DUMBASS! IF YER SO MAD, THEN COME ON OUT 'N FINISH THE JOB YA TWO BIT SONUVABITCH!"

The second he finished hurling his insult, Casey turned on his heel and bolted after Taylor.

[Yuki]

Taylor stared at the dark empty room before them as Casey thought of what to do. He then held up his talisman, it was glowing brightly now. Yeah this was the room alright.. Taylor's heart beated nervously. This was scary.. But he had to do this... For Sarah.


"Okay, I think I got somethin'."

Taylor looked at Casey and nodded backing up when he motioned him to. Haha they where going to have to run in just a sec huh...

"STOP HIDING, DUMBASS! IF YER SO MAD, THEN COME ON OUT 'N FINISH THE JOB YA TWO BIT SONUVABITCH!" Casey would shout at the top of his lungs.


YEP TIME TO RUN! Taylor then took off as fast as his legs could carry him down the hallway. Behind them footsteps could be heard behind them. A shiver would go down Taylor's spine as he ran. Now was not the time to let his fears get the better of him! Casey was counting on him to lead them back to the gym. Thank god the lights where on or that was be very difficult! "Calhoun! Call the others!" Taylor said as they ran.


Then the worse happened, Taylor tripped over his own feet falling flat on his face. "Owwww...." Taylor said as he lay there stunned for a few seconds.

The ghost was coming down on them both, but suddenly,


" Hey you bastard! This way!" Levi shouted. The ghost then turned away from Casey and Taylor and started to head to Levi, who was now running. This was not the plan... But Levi was unable to just stand on the side lines.. He had to help in anyway he could.


Taylor quickly got up and was shocked that Mr. Garcia had saved them. " No this way!" Taylor called out and started running again. Owww now he was sore from falling on his face.. But he had to help keep the ghost off Mr. Garcia!

Mean while Ina had come out when it seemed Taylor and Casey where going to get caught by the ghost just to be surprised when Levi showed up. She pouted a little, "That was so reckless..." She mumbled. But she was glad that no one had been hurt She now kept her glow dim so hopefully the corrupted ghost would not sense her.