Moonie's Legacy Challenge

As for Michiko’s family – her mom and dad, instead of continuing a life of crime, decided to start running an investigation service to make money.

They donned fake names while conducting business and hired Ako as their lead investigator, as well as Michiko as the head of the paranormal division!

They had both reunited with their parents, letting them know that they were actually alive, which thankfully didn’t send either Bee or Masumi into cardiac arrest.

However, something else Bee saw one day while visiting the village almost did kill her…

Michiko turned around at the sound of Kent’s voice. He stopped by every so often to check in on everyone, and to see Sol. His presence wasn’t a surprise, but his reaction to seeing Bee and her reaction to him was.

Thankfully with the combined efforts of Michiko, Kent, and River, Bee was safe from cracking her skull on the stone floor.

They left her laying there and fanned her face until she came to a few seconds later. And when she was finally ready to stand up, Michiko and River led both her and Kent to the nearby table so they could explain themselves…!

As it turns out, Kent was about to say “mom”. He’d known his whole life who his mother was and what she looked like, but she had almost forgotten his existence completely.

He’d been given up shortly after birth to his father’s family, who didn’t want “someone like Bee” raising one of their own.

The Capps were a powerful family, both politically and financially. Despite Bee’s mother being an actress, they still didn’t have enough of a social pull to make it worth leaving one of their own with her.

He became aware that he had a sister, or two rather, when he heard news of River’s kidnapping years prior.

He’d seen pictures of Bee and knew right away that she’d had more children. Ones she could keep.

Of course, that meant he already knew who Michiko was even back when Sol brought her over for the first time. He never felt like it was his place to tell her they were related, so he kept his distance and decided to be there for her if she ever needed him.

As a child Kent realized he was a spellcaster pretty young. He decided to forge his own path, away from the Capps, and at 14 he ventured into the Magical Realm to seek training from whoever would give it to him.

“I’m imagining you inherited the magical abilities from your dad’s side?” River pondered, wishing she had magical powers.

“No, actually, it definitely came from yours.”

Bee and River’s eyes widened.

“Your mom didn’t just play a witch on syndicated television back in the day… She really did have some powers! They were a bit weak, but it’s because she didn’t hone them…”

“That’s also why Mercy and Michiko here can communicate with the dead! That in itself is a special ability!”

“Ugh!” River threw her arms into the air, feeling left out, “Why wasn’t I born with any cool abilities?”

Unfortunately for River, the only “ability” she’d been born with was the survivability of bad situations, which she’d had plenty of in her not-so-long life.

While the years went on and the group lost Cassandra and Bella, River suddenly felt like she was about to lose something too – she wasn't sure what, but she had a horrible foreboding since that something bad was just around the corner.

Being cooped up in the village, and only ever being around one another put a damper on things. River liked being out in the world, having adventures, and doing her investigations through the computer was about to drive her mad.

It was too mundane.

River had almost begun to embrace the sweet thought of death. If she were dead and gone, she wouldn’t have to be stuck in the village! She wouldn’t have to be stuck doing a boring job forever! She could be free!

Of course it wasn’t a secret. Everyone around her could tell she was on edge and upset about something. Her overly optimistic husband loved being in the village, so he never got her sarcasm and didn’t see that there was an issue.

Unfortunately, being a member of the undead, Ako could sense that River was having some bad thoughts... He could tell that she was depressed and suffering.

He wanted to be there for his friend, but he wasn’t sure how he could be. But at least he hoped that letting her know he was there for her would be enough!

River wasn’t the only one going through a tough time…

After the Strangerville Mystery had been solved and the town went back to normal, things were rough for the Comonova family.

Phoenix was the only one out of his group of friends to stay put, which of course meant he spent less and less time with both Michiko and Sol as the years went by.

His mom Yelena had all sorts of a mess to clean up after the death of the Mother Plant. Thankfully, she had no idea Phoenix was a part of the group that took the alien plant down, because that might have really done her in.

She was always mad and said mean things to Roh.

“Oh, so now the robot has feelings?!”

With no one to turn to, Phoenix spent a lot of time alone. He wasn’t really close to many of his classmates, so it was hard for him to make new friends.

However, on one particularly bad day, he did luck out and meet someone that eventually became very important to him.

Her name was Sophie Miguel, and she was just what Phoenix needed in a time when he felt like he had nobody else. He’d visited Michiko a few times in the village, but it felt like her life had gone on without him. She had Ako and Dustin, her actual parents were back, her parents’ friends, and even Sol was living with her…

Phoenix had been left behind.

And so, of course it made sense that he later ended up dating Sophie. Prom was fast approaching, and even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time together recently, he wanted to let both Michiko and Sol know about a party he was having. So, he invited the two of them out to meet up with him and Sophie at the skate park.

Sophie never met a stranger and talked and talked and talked to Michiko and Sol about anything and everything.

Michiko had heard of Sophie, mostly because Sophie's mom was married to Logan, her grandma's cousin. But that didn't make it any better.

Poor Sophie was completely oblivious of the angry looks Michiko was giving Phoenix, who of course was also oblivious as to why he was receiving them.

Michiko had never told Phoenix about the feelings she’d had for him during their childhood. She figured he already knew, and just never made a move out of fear.

However, now that he had a girlfriend that wasn’t Michiko, she wasn’t sure if he was totally oblivious, or if he just never cared to begin with!

When Michiko was able to get Phoenix alone later, she wanted to tell him off for hurting her feelings, but before she got to doing that, she was invited to a party instead…

Prom. A totally normal high school experience that Michiko was missing out on since she finished up home schooling herself early.

And of course, Phoenix was taking Sophie.

The whole way back to the village, Michiko complained that it should have been her going to prom with him instead.

Four years had passed since the group first came to stay in the village. Kent had told them to give it some time before they left, so they could establish themselves as “new people” and keep hidden from the government if they had to.

In the meantime, Ako and Dustin were married.

Of course, the wedding wasn’t without its road bumps…

And as soon as Kent was able to remove the plant-like alien parasite, or whatever was still inside of Bella’s body, she made plans to leave the village.

Upon being found again, she had been gone for 28 years, and that was a lot of life to miss out on living. Now, in the same body she had as a 29-year-old, she was physically the same age as her daughter who had also lost out on seven years of her own life. It was a strange predicament to be in and Bella didn’t want to stay where she would just be continuously reminded of what happened to her…

So, as soon as she was able, she and her son, Alexander, who she’d been reunited with, decided to open a restaurant together in Pleasant Plains called Pura Bella.

Bella Goth now donned the name Belladonna Bachelor and decided to start anew with a fresh perspective on life. Within only two years, her restaurant was featured in magazines and rivaled even that of the famed Bob Pancakes!

Cassandra, Bella’s daughter, had her own issues to deal with. While Bella was purging out any of the alien left inside of her, Cassandra’s body only began becoming more alien as time went on…

One morning she woke up with spots all over her already pink skin, and the next thing she knew, the short antennae she’d grown had tripled in length!

On the advice of Kent, she joined a support group for those dealing with alien encounters. She figured not only would her physical makeup do the other therapy-goers good to see that not all things alien were bad, but it would also do Cassandra good to be around others who could help her with the grief of losing her Simmanity.

Cassandra was shocked to see Fig in group therapy. However, since they were all using aliases, Cassandra couldn’t reveal herself, and Fig had no idea who she was.

Cassandra never went into too much detail about what had happened, or how she ended up the way she did, and she was met with scrutiny during her first encounter with the group, but they eventually accepted her.

Even the most paranoid person in Strangerville eventually warmed up to Cassandra’s appearance!

But it did take him a bit longer than the others…

When she wasn’t in therapy or figuring out ways to make money that didn’t involve physically going to a lab, she spent the rest of her time spending valuable time with her mom and brother.

And eventually, after enough time of warming up to the idea of dating a now alien, Erwin had realized that he’d developed feelings for Cassandra!

He eventually asked her to move back to Strangerville with him, where he had his own trailer (with a built-in lab!) where she could hide away from the rest of the world and do whatever she wanted.

After mulling it over for a few days and discussing it with her friends, she decided to go for it! She had never seriously dated anyone before, and only ever had minor crushes on people like Johnny Zest and Havarti, which obviously never went anywhere…

She felt that it was her time to finally experience love!

Especially if someone was open enough to love her, despite her alien appearance!

Havarti on the other hand hadn’t budged from the village. If anything, she had only become more eccentric since her “rebirth”. Of course, getting bad news, only days after hearing from Cassandra that she was moving out, really took a toll on her mental health…

When she could, she stuck to doing what she did best - building robots. She even had Roh over to visit and help her build a faux-rocket ship “in Cassandra’s honor” she’d said.

River remembered a time when Cassandra had had a little crush on Havarti, and she began to wonder if it was reciprocated, but never vocalized…

Sol continued his magical training and would leave the village to go to Kent’s house quite often.

It was every spellcaster’s dream to make it to the point of meeting the fabled Sages, some of the most powerful spellcasters in the world! Sol knew that if he kept at it, he’d be able to train under them very soon!

After leaving the lab, Sol led the group to Kent’s place. He’d already made contact with him about the group of survivors who had come from… somewhere within the plant, or a hidden reality created by the plant.

Kent was more than happy to house them, after all, he knew exactly who they were and what sort of people would be on their trail if they were to go out in the public’s eye again…

Thankfully, Kent was blessed with authority in Glimmerbrook, and along with that came a large piece of property. He’d obtained an old village years back, that had been abandoned after some war between spellcasters and vampires.

Many of the villagers died, and the rest moved away to other parts of town, in case the vampires ever came back.

This would be the perfect place to house them and run tests on their condition!

Especially the Mother Plant, Bella Goth, ex-wife of Mortimer Goth who had gone missing nearly 20 years prior. Her disappearance had been a hot topic across the land and conspiracy theories about her whereabouts were aplenty.

Now Kent actually had the opportunity to meet her face to face! And figure out what had happened to her all those years ago…

There was also Michiko’s mother who he’d learned the existence of after her abduction years ago as well. He had known River’s mother, Bee, way back, many years ago, but he wasn’t going to mention that to any of them…

Not yet at least.

On the top of the hill, in the village, was a church. The place was pretty much cleaned out when the remaining villagers left town years ago, so Kent created a makeshift testing facility.

“I’m sure you all saw the houses as we came up the hill to this church, yes? You’ll be living in those from now on… That is, if you want to. I own this entire village, and I think it would be in your best interest to lie low for… well, a long time. The lab has been completely destroyed, and the Mother Plant is gone. The people that are really behind those experiments will come searching for you eventually, and at least here, you’re protected by a spell. No harm will come to you inside this village…”

Everyone whispered among themselves. Some were hopeful, others seemed a bit suspicious.

Havarti and Cassandra were big fans of staying put. As long as they could run experiments in their new home, they would be happy.

River and Ichiban were somewhat suspicious, but did enjoy the idea of lying low. Especially if it was going to keep Michiko safe. They had already learned of her mishap with death and had given both her and Ako a stern talking to.

Michiko had informed them that if it weren’t for Ako and his boyfriend Dustin, she would still be dead, so they should thank him instead of being angry. But River still felt the need to be mad at someone over the whole ordeal.

Bella wasn’t sure how to feel. After all this time of being gone, she couldn’t quite figure out whether she should be happy to be back, or to be sad and mourn the years that she’d lost.

She was still in her 30-year-old body, which was now the same age as her own daughter. She had no husband, not that he really mattered in the end since she’d planned on leaving him anyways. Outside of this place, she had no home to go back to. Therefore, she had no idea what to do with herself…

It was strange. Everything was strange.

Ako, on the other hand, was both happy and sad for the turn of events. Of course, he was glad his friends were alive, that much was true, but he was depressed thinking about how their return spelled disaster for the family unit he had created with Michiko and Dustin…

He was practically Michiko’s new mom, or dad, or whatever she wanted him to be… Now he was just going to go back to being Ako. It wasn’t fair!

But, of course, it wasn’t fair to be upset about the return of River and the others, because it meant he was being selfish.

He wasn’t quite sure how to think or feel either…

“What are you doing staring out the window so sadly for?”

Michiko had arrived and plopped down in the bed across from him. He tried to put on a smile for her but failed.

She knew what he was upset about. She’d seen it in his face in the Mother Plant’s lair in the lab. She knew he was worried about her leaving him… But she wasn’t going to let that happen, as long as he agreed to a few suggestions.

“You know there’s a house in the village big enough to house you and Dustin, right? I think it’s safe to say that Kent wants to do more experiments on you as well, which is why you’re here, in the pajamas I helped him pick out.”

“You picked these out?”

“I thought they were cute!” She shrugged. “Anyways, you can’t leave Dustin alone in that haunted house for forever… And since I’m staying here in the village as well, it only makes sense that my family stays with me.”

If Ako could blush, he would have. His eyes widened and he suddenly felt like he was going to cry. She’d known why he was upset, and she wasn’t judging him for it!

Even though he’d been reluctant to play “parent” to her years ago when they first met, he was proud to say he took part in raising her to be the person she was today!

“I would love that…” He pulled her into a hug, “Even if I have to live in this vampire-hating spellcaster village!”

Later that day, Kent allowed Michiko to take Ako and her parents with her back to the house, so they could pack and move their lives back to Glimmerbrook.

He put a protection spell on them, one that would only last three days, so that’s all the time they had to get their affairs in order.

Even though Michiko was excited to live in Kent’s quaint village, which she figured they would have to name at some point, she was still sad to leave Strangerville. Even though she didn’t have any friends at school, she did have Phoenix, and he was staying behind, since his moms lived there. She wondered if that would mean anything for their friendship…

She was also sad to be leaving her chaotically haunted house.

She’d made frenemies with the spirits and wondered if she’d ever encounter any of them again…

Dustin was wholly confused when two strangers showed up at his door alongside Ako and Michiko, who had been gone for days. He wanted to be mad at Ako for not telling him where he’d been, but when he was introduced to Michiko’s mom and dad, she kept his mouth shut.

They were supposed to be dead! Could he see ghosts now?!

They explained the situation to him and while he wasn’t sure he understood everything that happened, one thing did stand out to him – they were leaving Strangerville and moving somewhere else.

He was okay with that. While he couldn’t see ghosts, he could certainly feel their presence, and despite being a thrill-seeker, he was tired of being harassed by them daily.

During packing breaks, he happily showed River and Ichiban their old home, and hoped they weren’t too mad at he and Ako for changing things around.

“Oh yeah, I think it was Havarti who bought this place, so it’s not even ours… Even if this place had fallen into the ground, I honestly don’t think she would have cared.” Havarti had previously had so many side hustles and insanely pricy engineering contracts with companies that she would probably never run out of money. Losing a house? That was the least of her worries.

Thinking of all that money, River figured she would ask Havarti what had happened to it while they were “dead”. Hopefully, she still had access to her accounts!

Dustin, not wanting to leave any part of the house unshown, also gave them a tour of the “cemetery” they’d built around the original Michiko’s tombstone.

Looking around the yard and off into the distance, Dustin realized he was going to be sad to leave the house. It was the first place he’d lived away from his overbearing mother, and it was his home with his new family.

The night before the final move, he and Ako went for a walk around the yard, reminiscing.

“Of course I do! You did a lot of work for me then. I have a black thumb, so we wouldn’t have gotten her back if it weren’t for you…”

“Well, thanks.” Dustin blushed, “I really felt like, even though I’d lived with you for years, that was the first time I felt like I really mattered to you guys. It was what made me realize that you guys really mattered to me! I didn’t want to lose either one of you!”

He suddenly dropped down to one knee and pulled out a ring.

“And I never want to again.”

Ako gasped and grasped his chest.

“Well, as permanent as it can be… I know I’ll probably die way before you, but at least for the rest of my life I’d like for us to be together…”

Ako pulled Dustin back up onto his feet and pulled him into a hug. “I would love that…”

The past few days had been really emotional for him, so he held back the urge to cry. He was still getting his proper family! Nothing was being taken away from him!

The next morning Michiko dragged her feet at packing up the moving van. Her parents had already taken one vehicle to the village, leaving her to finish up with Ako and Dustin.

Once she’d finally put everything she could fit in the back, she knew it was finally time to say goodbye.

“You’re right…” She sighed, looking back at Guidry, who stood on the porch, waving farewell.

“I’ll keep this place as safe as possible! And I’ll run off anyone who tries to tear it down! That way we’ll always be here if you want to stop for a visit!” He hollered. “Even Temperance! She didn’t want me to tell you, but she says she’ll miss you too!”

Ako and Michiko smiled. Only they could hear him.

When the adrenaline from the fight had subsided, and the giant vines disappeared into the ground leaving their captors free to roam the ground, Michiko finally took notice of who stood towards the left of the room.

Mom and dad?!

She couldn’t believe her eyes! Was it really them? Or was it some type of hallucination caused by the giant Mother Plant? Had they actually lost the fight and she died in the process?

She started running towards the people who looked like her parents.

They stood together, arguing amongst themselves, confused and angry about where they were and what had just happened to them.

“What do you want?” Her mother barked at her.

Michiko was taken aback, she hadn’t really been yelled at much by her mother during her childhood, so seeing her so angry almost made her want to cry.

But she stopped herself and remembered that they had been gone to who knows where for six whole years! Something like that was bound to upset anyone!

She stared into her father’s eyes. They had always been close, she and Ichiban. If anyone was going to recognize her, she figured it would be him.

“I don’t… know.” He crinkled his nose. “You look familiar, like someone I might be related to, but…”

“What? Seriously? How is it that you can’t even recognize your own daughter?”

“Excuse you!” River snapped, “Our daughter is six years old!”

However, after the words left her mouth, River leaned in closer to Michiko and studied her face. Her expression. Her eyes.

Realization dawned on River’s face.

It really was her daughter! Michiko was standing right in front of her. She had grown so much! What had happened to them?!

“There was a giant plant called the Mother Plant! I’m pretty sure it was created by the military, or the government or something, and it was poisoning the town… Anyways, I was told by a ghost that I was supposed to save the town, and some other spirits and a magical guy told me that your deaths were linked to this plant. So, so, anyways…”

Michiko stopped to take a breath and when she did her dad pulled her into a big, tight hug.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you. My little girl is so big now!”

River joined the hug.

They let go, and River continued kissing her daughter all over the face. That’s when Michiko realized Ako was standing there, staring at them.

River stopped kissing Michiko and let out a high-pitched squeal. Ako nearly jumped out of his skin.

Ako looked over to Michiko, and what he said sounded happy, but she could see in his eyes that he was sad.

“But now you guys are back… So, my services probably won’t be needed for much longer…”

He approached River, with his arms outstretched.

River watched sadly as Ako hugged his mom, but kept his eyes locked on Michiko. She knew what Ako was thinking and she agreed – now that they’re back, they’ll want to raise me again!

She would have to figure something out, she loved Ako and didn’t want to grow up without him or Dustin. But that would have to be figured out later. After all, everyone was going to need lots of rest after a day like this one.

On the other side of the room…

Phoenix had seen a metallic looking woman roaming around, but wasn’t quite sure it was who he thought it was until he got a bit closer…

Havarti jumped for joy.

She pulled him into her body with her inhumanly strong robo-arm, nearly crushing him in the process.

And towards the front of the room there was Cassandra…

She started walking towards the front of the room, where she figured everyone else would gather, but could hear the sobs of a woman sitting on top of the platform nearby.

She looked over at the woman and stopped in her tracks.

Suddenly, it dawned on her who that woman looked like.

She ran towards her. Her heart beating so intensely she nearly passed out.

The woman stopped sobbing for a moment and stood up, her eyes cleared up immediately. She looked shocked.

Before she could even process what she was doing, Cassandra flung herself onto the woman and pulled her close.

The woman, once Mother Plant and now Bella Goth, glowered down at the strange alien woman hugging her. She went to push her away, and as she did, her mind FLASHED.

A memory appeared.

There she was, kneeling on the floor of an ornate room. It was her house. The one she shared with her estranged husband Mortimer. She was holding onto the arms of her daughter, Cassandra.

Cassandra was sad because Bella was going away for a few days and she couldn’t go with her. Cassandra was too young to hear why Bella was going away, and Bella didn’t want to drag her daughter into divorce drama.

It was going to be bad enough for her as it was.

The memory ended there.

Bella came to and looked at the weird alien woman she’d just pushed out of her arms. She stared at her intently, looking her up and down. Staring into her eyes.

Cassandra’s eyes had been brown, but now they were purple. Her skin had once been a pale color and was now a strange light candy pink. She also had antennae! What had happened to her daughter?

She didn’t care though. It had been a long time since she’d seen her girl. She pulled her back into a hug and whispered…

After the rest of the party were vaccinated from the infection, they too could make it past the spore-filled walk way into the lower bowels of the laboratory.

They'd brought containers of poison with them, unsure of what else would kill a plant of that caliber. They hoped it would be enough!

"It's normal to be scared, but we have to stay on guard! I don't know what sort of things this plant is capable of!"

Michiko scanned her key-card to open the door, and as it slid open, she was faced with something different than before!

"What the HELL is that?!" Ako screamed.

"Don't know! Let's get it!" Michiko grabbed her canister of poison and went at the creature. It appeared to be an alien, but it was coming out of the Mother Plant. Was it... the Mother Plant's true form?

"Watch out guys! She's going to hit us with something!"

The other three flanked the creature and began spraying her as well.

She let out a wretched screeching noise that nearly burst everyone's eardrums. Then a bright light erupted from her body.

She flailed a bit, then began to fall from her floating position at the head of the plant.

She landed, crumpled up on the ground.

Then suddenly, as the actual plant behind her shriveled up and pulled in on itself, something about the creature's appearance changed...

And behind the crumpled up flower, four giant vines appeared. They were seemingly coming out of the ground, and they contained the bodies of some very familiar faces...!

The creature, now woman, began to stir.

She pushed herself off the ground and into a kneeling position.

Then it was as if, all at once, memories came flooding back to her. Her face contorted and her eyes widened. She clutched at her chest and wailed.

After coming face to flower with the giant plant, Michiko ran to the Curio Shop to talk to Erwin before he closed up for the night. She told him what she found and asked him for advice. She needed to be fully educated on what the next steps were going to be before telling the guys of their future plans.

Erwin was astounded to learn of the giant plant, but almost seemed to have known about it already.

"Mother Plant..." He whispered, "I'd only heard whispers of its existence. Of course, with all the conspiracies going around about the lab and this town, I wasn't sure which was true. But wow! You saw it and lived to tell the tale!"

"Yeah, but seeing it isn't good enough! I need to destroy it! How do I do that?"

Erwin had no idea, of course, but suggested that Michiko work on the vaccine for the infection first. If she could successfully create one, then when she went in to actually fight the Mother Plant, she'd be safe from infection.

"Good idea!" Michiko knew she could ask the scientist she'd worked with before on how to develop it, so she called him up. He explained the process and that she would need spore clusters and a bizarre fruit, which comes from the strange plants all over town.

Easy enough! She thought, she knew someone who was an expert with plants thanks to his Death Flower growing quest he'd embarked on only months ago...

"I'm, uh, thinking about joining the botany club at school. I know you know a lot about plants, and I figured I'd be a shoe-in for the club if I came with a fruit from one of these freaky plants. Do you think you can help me get one?"

Dustin, ever-so-sweet and gullible grinned and got to work showing Michiko how to coerce the strange plants into giving her fruit.

Suddenly... it dawned on Dustin... Out of all the plants Michiko could bring in to show her botany club, why did it have to be this one? He knew he'd heard her on the phone late at night with Phoenix and that older boy talking about the lab and spores and vaccines and plants...

Michiko had already pocketed the fruit that the strange plant had produced, as she sheepishly backed away towards the house.

"Thank you for your help!" She yelled before swiftly turning around and bounding into the house.

Dustin wasn't old, but he'd packed on more than a few pounds over the years and running was not his forte. He figured he'd just tell Ako what she was up to and that would nip it in the bud.

Although nip it in the bud it did not. Ako threw a fit at the thought of Michiko getting herself killed again. He didn't exactly know what was in that lab, but he figured it was dangerous. If it did have something to do with her parent's deaths, he didn't want her messing with hit.

Michiko pulled him into a hug, which he accepted. He wasn't normally touchy-feely, but he blubbered into her shoulder for a solid minute before he let her explain.

If it was the only way to ensure her safety, Ako was going to be there.

Phoenix and Sol showed up as well, totally un-phased by the weirdness of the place.

"How many times have you guys been here?!"

"I don't know... Maybe a dozen or so." Michiko shrugged while leading him into a section of the lab full of machinery.

If Ako actually had a heartbeat, he might have suffered from a heart attack at that moment.

Michiko told him to calm down while she got to work.

He wasn't doubting her, he was just surprised! She was so much like her mother and her mother's friends... They would all be so proud of her if they could see her in action!

"Now, I'm not sure exactly how this is going to work..." Michiko mumbled as she poured the vaccine into a cup.

Ako's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Phoenix spoke for him, "What do you mean you don't know how it's going to work?"

"Well, I'm not a scientist, and this is my first batch. Ako's hard to kill normally, so if the vaccine doesn't work, I'll just make another one."

She grabbed Ako by the shoulder and told him to brace himself. She splashed a strange smelling liquid all over him and nothing much seemed to happen at first.

Michiko tried to argue with him, despite the fact that he might be right. Temperance had told her it was her job to save Strangerville! Who else was going to do it?

Sol, who was off to the side messing with some of the machinery, turned towards the commotion and arrived as Phoenix stomped off.

"The spellcaster's right." It's almost as if it pained him to say that, "I feel fine. Phoenix will just have to get over himself. You can always try again!" Michiko was right, it would take more to kill him. Hopefully her next batch would actually work though. He was tired of losing control of himself every night.

Michiko gave Phoenix some time to cool down and worked on another batch of the vaccine. When she was done, she figured she'd go check on him.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Phoenix mumbled, clearly embarrassed by his freak out.

"I made another batch of the vaccine. I'll test this one on Ako too, and if this one doesn't work, I'll keep trying! We're not giving up until we save Strangerville."

In the meantime, Ako had joined them at the table, but he wasn't really Ako... He jerked and twisted, contorting his body painfully, looking like a messed up marionette doll.

This time, the vaccine worked! Ako stopped twitching and twisting and his eyes went back to normal. He felt all over his body and took a deep breath, then hooted and hollered into the air.

"That's it! You saved me!"

He pulled Michiko into a big hug, this time without the sobbing, and spun her around in the air.

Michiko landed on the ground and looked back to see that Phoenix was standing in place, a smile had returned to his face, and Sol had joined them.

Sol texted Kent that they would be at his place shortly. He seemed okay with that, and told them to let themselves in when they arrived.

He looked at Michiko's hat suspiciously, with a smirk, "Have you been talking to that strange boy who runs that stand near the bar?"

"Uh... maybe?" Michiko shrugged, bashfully.

"He's the only reason we've made it as far into the lab as we have! He traded us a key-card for some intel." Phoenix puffed out his chest, but deflated when he remembered what happened to Michiko when she went into the spore-filled walk way.

"But you did say you had something to help us go further... right?"

Kent lead them into a study where he presented Michiko with a hazmat suit.

"It doesn't have a spore filter on it though, so you're going to want to make one. As much of a kook as that kid is, you might want to talk to Erwin about how to procure one. I wasn't able to take mine with me when I left."

The next day the trio returned to Erwin's Curio Shop.

"I heard something about a... spore filter?"

"Yeah, well, that's gonna be a bit of a fetch quest."

"A what?" Sol cocked an eyebrow.

Michiko rolled her eyes, "Ignore him, what's the first thing I need to do?"

"Obtain an infection scanner. I don't have one, so you're going to have to buddy up to one of these military folk in town to get one from them. Flirt, bribe, steal, whatever your method is... They're the only ones that have them. Once you get your hands on one, you'll need to scan a bunch of the spores to collect data on them, then it's up to you find a scientist who can create a filter for your suit. Only then is this thing wearable in an area filled with spores."

"Damn, that's a lot of work!" Phoenix threw his hands into the air.

"Let's make a game out of it!" Michiko slammed her fist into her other palm, "Whoever gets the infection scanner first wins!"

"Wins what?" Phoenix frowned.

"I don't know... I guess we can figure that out."

"Yeah, I don't know how good I'd be at talking to military people." Phoenix shivered. Since his mom Yelena was a politician, he'd met a lot of military officials and they always made him uncomfortable.

"I'm game," Sol smirked, "I love some competition!"

Inside the bar, Sol tried hitting up as many of the female soldiers as he could.

Michiko on the other hand sat outside and watched for any military folks who seemed a bit hesitant to enter the bar. Just because they were soldiers, doesn't mean they didn't suffer from social anxiety!

One such soldier did appear, pacing nervously in front of the bar for a bit before making an attempt to enter.

Michiko cut her off and began a conversation with her, and the woman, with a sigh of relief, sat down and had a friendly chat with Michiko.

They talked about music, cats, and whatever the woman seemed to steer the conversation to. Michiko eventually brought up the infected and how she wished she knew a way to save them.

After a while, she admitted to having exactly what Michiko was looking for!

The infection scanner could be used to not only create the filter she needed to go further into the lab, but apparently it could help with developing a vaccine as well!

Michiko appealed to the woman's sense of justice and yearning to save the population of Strangerville from the strange sickness going around. She must not have been a higher up, otherwise she would have been wise to Michiko's game.

The woman handed over her infection scanner, however, and Michiko graciously thanked her by bugging her, just in case she could learn anything more from her new friend...!

She waved at the woman as she headed back to the barracks, then entered into the bar to find Sol.

The next day, Michiko took it upon herself to go to the lab and use the infection scanner to gather data on the spores.

While she'd only been to the library once, she'd heard that the scientists liked to spend time there, so that's where she headed next.

She researched as much as she could about the spore filter using the computer and any book she could find on the subject! Suddenly, a grumpy looking scientist came up behind her and asked, "What do you need a spore filter for?"

Michiko had been caught! She didn't have Phoenix or Sol here to back her up, so she wasn't sure what to say...

"If you're trying to figure out what's inside that lab, I may have a solution for you..."

Michiko threw her arms into the air and grinned, "But why would you help me? You work for the military, right?"

"Ugh," the man shook his head, "we may have a contract with them, but after the mishap nearly 20 years ago, and the explosion 6 years ago... I'm done with their shenanigans. I'm assuming you want to put a stop to this infection spreading around town?"

Michiko nodded.

"Then I'm here to help. Like I said, bring me the profile data, and I'll make the filter for you."

The next day Michiko was back at the lab obtaining the profile data the man needed.

The man arrived shortly and got to work. Michiko had brought her hazmat suit with her, so he could install it for her. Things were moving much faster than she expected them to!

After the man left, she argued with herself as to whether she should wait on Sol and Phoenix to accompany her the next day, or if she should go ahead and see what was further in the lab...

Unfortunately, the impulsive side of her brain won that battle and she donned the hazmat suit.

Further down past the spore-filled hallway she found another area full of strange plants!

Towards the back of the room, there was a hallway, covered in vines.

At the back of the hallway there was a door.

Michiko took her key-card and braced herself for what might be behind it.

She wasn't sure what to expect but it wasn't that! She saw the giant plant pulse and sniff the air, then when it began to glow a purple color, Michiko quickly closed the door.

She took off running down the hall as fast as the hazmat suit would allow her to go.

"We're not rummaging through trash," Phoenix grimaced, "We're searching for intel!"

"Oh right! For that weirdo Erwin down at the Curio Shop." Sol rolled his eyes, he apparently had heard of Erwin.

"Well, I dunno, but I think we have enough to take to him now! Let's go see what happens!"

"Well, duh, I remember you. You were just here yesterday." Erwin cocked an eyebrow, "I don't remember your friend though."

Sol waved from behind Michiko, "I'm just here for moral support."

"Right." Erwin eyed him suspiciously, "Anyways, do you have the stuff?"

"I have the stuff." Michiko laid out a large manila envelope in front of Erwin, "There are flash drives in there, papers, photos, all sorts of things you might find interesting!"

Erwin rifled through the papers and nodded, "This is awesome! Thank you so much!" He hopped in place and clicked his heels.

"And now, the pay off..." He handed Michiko a key-card. "Guard this with your life, it's the only one I had, so I can't get you any more if you lose it! And I don't know what you're going to encounter through that door, so be careful!"

Michiko appreciated the caution.

Back at the lab, outside of the locked door, the boys opened up about the fears they actually had about what they might encounter.

Michiko figured she'd be the one to go the furthest in the lab, since Temperance had told her it was her duty and all to save Strangerville, so really, the boys had nothing to worry about.

She wasn't wrong, the place was teeming with them.

The group descended into a small waiting-room type place where there was a walk way leading into a foggy, spore-filled area, and another open doorway leading to a hallway.

Michiko immediately took off into the foggy, spore-filled area, but quickly came back and collapsed onto the ground!

With one swift SMACK Michiko shook her head and blinked her eyes slowly.

"What the heck was that?!"

Phoenix sighed the biggest sigh he'd ever let loose, Michiko was okay.

"You are an idiot! You know that! Don't just walk into places that look like that without some protection!" He motioned towards the foggy, spore-filled walk way.

Michiko rolled her eyes, but smiled, realizing how much he cared.

Suddenly Sol came bounding down the stairs, "Hey guys!"

"Anyways, I was just texting Kent about this place."

"That's convenient." Phoenix snorted then turned back to Michiko, "Maybe next time you won't get possessed or whatever, and go all creepy on me!"

"Hey! When it comes to experiments, what better person to test things on than yourself?"

"Ugh, that sounds like something my grandma would say..." Phoenix never spent too much time with his "grandma" Havarti, but he remembered how wacky she and her scientist friend Cassandra were. His mom Roh always said they were like something out of a comic book.

The curio shop's trailer wasn't open until later in the afternoon. Michiko and Phoenix had time to kill so they decided to head to the town's library to see if they could gather any information there!

The two ambled around the shelves, trying to read up on Strangerville's history as much as they could. There weren't many options other than the standard texts they both read in elementary school.

After a while, they went to take a break. On the way there, Phoenix noticed a door which didn't seem to enter into any room, since they'd both been on the other side of the walk way from it. It had to lead somewhere though, and that somewhere was probably into a basement!

Michiko was usually up for some mischief, and since it was now her assigned duty, according to Temperance, to "save Strangerville" she agreed.

As soon as the one military scientist reading in the corner got up to leave, and the librarian went back to their post at the front desk, the two made their move...

"Undetected!" Phoenix whisper-yelled.

"I wonder what this place was used for?" Michiko asked in a somewhat fearful tone. As she looked around she noticed the jail cell and all the military paraphernalia.

"Not sure..." Phoenix didn't seem as perturbed. "Let's go see if we can find any information!"

They split up and searched the small basement - Michiko took the back part of the room where a large pile of boxes were, and Phoenix took the front end where the desk and filing cabinet were.

"Well, I guess we should head out to the Curio Shop then. I think we've killed enough time down here, so they're probably open."

"Good idea."

I myself am strange and unusual... Michiko thought to herself. She remembered hearing it in a movie, but she couldn't remember which one. Too embarrassed to actually say it out loud, she approached the man at the booth and in a straightforward manner asked him for information on the lab.

"What?!" Michiko laughed, "No, I'm not a spy! I want to get in and I was told you were the best person to ask."

"O-ooh." The shop-keep straightened himself and blushed, "Well. I'm not sure who you spoke to, but they are correct. I'm Erwin Pries. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for sounding paranoid earlier. Ya see, I keep this tinfoil hat on so they don't read my mind, but I know they're out to get me. I just figured you might be a spy for them."

"Who is them?" Michiko asked. "The military?"

The man nodded, "Yes, rumor has it, they were running some wild experiments in there almost two decades ago... Something happened though and the whole lab had to be abandoned. Anybody that tried to be whistleblowers were, uh... dealt with."

"Dealt with?!" Phoenix had stopped live-streaming and appeared behind Michiko, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well... dealt with, ya know, like, silenced. That's why we don't have a lot of information on the lab. After a few people were dealt with, anybody else with information got too scared to share it. They didn't wanna disappear as well..."

Michiko suddenly thought about Kent and realized how lucky he was to be a spellcaster where he could set up protection charms. Otherwise the military probably would have come for him already...

"Anyways, what I do know is that there are steps into getting into the actual lab, which is way underground. As far as I know nobody else has ever made it down there. Even though I know the way, I'm too damn scared to try it myself!"

"And that way is...?" Michiko prodded.

"Well, I have a keycard that gets you into the first area, but I'm not giving it to you for free... I want documents. Any information you can get me from out of the first floor of the lab would be great! I know that the military usually keep a close eye on the lab, but there's usually a break between 5:00 and 6:00 PM when they... well, I don't know what they do then, I just know they aren't there. That would be the best time to go in my opinion!"

"Alright then. Bring you information and you'll give us the keycard?"

"Yes. It's a deal. By the way, what are your names?"

"I'm Michiko."

"And I'm Phoenix."

"Alright Michiko and Phoenix, I'll be anxiously awaiting your return!"

The man turned his attention back to the book he was reading, but then jumped and hollered, "Wait! You're going to want to have one of these! I'll give it to you, free of charge. It'll keep 'em off your trail."

He handed both Michiko and Phoenix a tin-foil hat. Michiko replaced her beanie with it, while Phoenix eyed his suspiciously and stuck it in his back pocket.

Suddenly, Michiko realized how hungry she was. She hadn't had anything to eat all day!

"Yeah! He said it might protect me!"

"I can't believe you're gullible enough to believe that..."

"Hey, if it works, it works, if it doesn't, who cares! Anyways, let's go to Ham E. Cheezers!"

The two sat down at a booth and talked about what had just happened.

"So, I think our best course of action would be to meet up tomorrow afternoon at the lab so we can get Erwin his info! The sooner we go deep into the lab, the sooner we can figure out what type of secrets are being hidden in this town!"

Phoenix agreed.

The next day they met up on the grounds of the lab around 5:05. They waited for the military caravans to leave the premises, and then headed into the gates.

"I don't know, but I think we should just be thankful we don't have to break into the place!"

Michiko agreed. They headed in and started poking around all the rooms.

After about 45 minutes of prying they decided it would be best if they left. They wouldn't want to get caught on their first day of intel! They figured they would invite Sol the next day, so that the collection would go faster.

Michiko recorded a stream later on detailing their quest to solve the "Mystery of Strangerville". She didn't give out Erwin's name, or say that they went into the lab, but she figured she'd test the waters a little.

Just to see if her videos would garner any bad attention.

Saturday morning had arrived and it was time to head to Glimmerbrook. Ako figured he would ask Dustin if he wanted to go too, just so he wouldn't feel left out.

But Dustin always worked hard during the week, and Ako knew that Saturdays were his days to sleep in.

Dustin mumbled a response, that Ako took to mean "no", so he told him to have a good day and he left.

On the way to Glimmerbrook, it was finally revealed to Michiko and Phoenix that the town was full of spellcasters. Sol knew that already and had been holding out just in case it spooked them.

Ako knew that too, seeing as how he'd been to the Magical Realm before. He didn't like Glimmerbrook or spellcasters, so just being there made him uncomfortable. But he was doing it for Michiko, just in case something bad were to happen again!

Michiko was a bit annoyed by Ako's over-protectiveness, but at the same time, it was kinda cute. She remembers when she was younger, how stand-offish he was to her, and now he was like a proper parent!

"I'll go get him! Stay here." Sol said, approaching the door. After knocking and waiting a few seconds, a middle-aged man in comfortable homey clothes approached. He wore glasses and seemed kind.

"Michiko is the one that died! Remember? I told you about her..." Ako could hear Sol whispering to the man who nodded and looked at Michiko solemnly.

"Well guys!" Sol turned around, motioning towards the man, "This is Kent Capp. He's my mentor!"

"Mentor?" Phoenix tapped his chin, "In what?"

"Spellcasting!" Sol laughed, "I'm only a novice, so that's why I never said anything. Kent here is the master though. He knows everything, which is why he's a good contact to have."

Ako scoffed, "No wonder I didn't trust this kid, I could smell the magic on him..."

Michiko rolled her eyes, smiling at how ridiculous he was being, and went up to introduce herself to Kent. Something about him seemed familiar. Ako eyed them both cautiously the entire time.

"In the meantime, your friend here is about to burst into flames... Let's go inside and cool down. You can help yourself to the tea pot on the counter, I just brewed some fresh!"

They made their way inside and Michiko headed straight for the tea.

"That is a big ass spider!" Phoenix yelled out, pointing at the corner of the room.

"She's like... my roommate. So, if you just ignore her, she'll ignore you!" Kent seemed completely un-phased by the gigantic creature. He sat down at the table and motioned for the others to sit as well.

They began talking about all of Michiko's recent problems with the paranormal...

"The face!" Phoenix shivered, "The face in the crystal ball!"

"Phoenix and I were doing a séance, since I died and came back, I've been hearing voices everywhere... And seeing more ghosts and specters than usual. While we did the séance, a woman's face appeared in the crystal ball that I use. That's never happened before!"

"Hmmm..." Kent tapped his chin, "It seems like someone is trying to warn you about something. You see, that's usually what specters mean. Something bad is happening, and they usually cluster around the person that the bad thing involves. In reality, it could mean that anyone in your house is the culprit, but it seems more realistic that it's you..."

Ako contemplated this. Kent might be right about that. He could see ghosts and specters too, but they did always seem to gather around Michiko more than anyone.

"But what are they trying to tell me? What's the bad thing that's going to happen? I already died, what could be worse than that?"

"Oh, there are way worse things than death." Kent crossed his arms, "You live in Strangerville, right?"

They all nodded.

"And your parents... they died in that explosion, correct?"

Michiko gasped and looked at Sol, she hadn't told him that, so how did he know?

"Ye-yeah... How did you know that?"

"I keep up people." Kent's eyes darkened, "That was a big coverup... something involving the military and that evil lab in your town. You know the one."

Everyone nodded slowly.

"Have you guys seen any strange plants popping up? Or have any of you experienced any... loss of the control when the sun goes down?"

"Yes!" Ako yelled out to everyone's surprise, "Yes..." He looked around awkwardly, "It started years ago. Every night I lose control of my own body and mind... Which may seem normal for a vampire, but it's not. I don't know what's happened to me."

"That lab, the scientists, the military... There's something hidden inside the lab, and I believe it holds the answers to all your questions. Come with me outside, I have something to show you."

In Kent's backyard there was a scientific chamber that stuck out like a sore thumb among all the natural things strewn about.

"You see, I used to work at the lab as one of the scientists. But once I got an inkling of an idea as to what was going on, I questioned the wrong people and was fired."

"These plants have a soul. They're living creatures, I mean, all plants are living creatures, but these are more like... sentient beings. Or at least what's controlling them is. The mother plant. They shoot off spores and if those spores take hold of your mind they possess you and control your body. What I believe is that the military is trying to use these to turn the entire town, if not a larger area, into their own mind-controlled slaves."

"My god, what for?" Ako held a hand to his chest.

"That's what I don't know. However," Kent turned towards Michiko, "if that's what the specters are trying to warn you about, I have reason to believe your parents were involved with the plants and the lab somehow. Maybe they knew something... Either way, you all need to be careful."

The group decided they had enough information for the day and decided to make their way home. Before leaving, however, Kent made sure Ako and Phoenix were out of earshot, then grabbed Michiko's arm, pulling her back.

"As for your shadow friend... I don't know what that could be. You need to be careful most of all. Something is after you. If you ever need protection or help, Sol isn't exactly strong enough yet to offer that to you. Just know I'm here..."

Something in Kent's expression said he was far more worried about her than he wanted to say. Michiko couldn't understand why, but she did feel some sort of connection to him. Hopefully, she would figure that out later.

That night Michiko couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, feeling restless and worried. When a weight lowered itself onto her bed, she sat up and stretched, thinking it was Ako coming to check on her.

But when she focused her eyes she realized it was a woman! Was this the woman that had been in her crystal ball?

Michiko stared blankly at the ghost who sighed and rolled her eyes, "My name's Temperance. I used to live in this house."

"I thought Guidry used to live here..." Guidry was the male ghost who'd been present, floating around, baking cakes, and causing generic mischief since Michiko was born.

"Duh, he was my husband."

"Oh," Michiko's shoulders relaxed, "Makes sense..."

"Anyways, I'm here to give you a message."

"What about?" Michiko's heart began to pound in her chest.

"The laboratory. It's up to you to save the town from what's inside."

Michiko had just learned about that today. "How convenient! But how am I supposed to do that? I don't know anything about this lab!" Michiko had been stressed all afternoon thinking about how she wasn't just being haunted, but she was also being sent on some mission against the military. How was she going to win at that?

"Is that a hint?"

"Could you at least try to keep the other ghosts and specters out of my hair for at least a little while?"

"No," Temperance said, "The more the natural balance of things get off whack thanks to that laboratory and what's inside of it... The worse it's going to get for you. So, I'd suggest you hurry up!"

She'd given herself a few hours after her resurrection before she asked Dustin to call Phoenix over. Dustin had told her that Phoenix was over at the house almost every day, talking to her grave, so she wanted to surprise him. She was back! He was going to be so happy!

Standing there waiting on him to arrive, Michiko felt nervous. She hoped he didn't blame himself for her death. He had told her, after all, to be careful while swimming. It wasn't his fault or her fault. How was she supposed to know some dark entity was going to drown her?!

When Phoenix walked up to the property, his jaw dropped.

Michiko didn't say anything.

"Well, I'm certainly not a ghost!"

Before she even had a chance to open her arms up for a hug, Phoenix had swooped in and pulled her close to him tightly.

"How? Who did this?!" He was trying to hide the fact that he was crying, but Michiko's chest already felt wet from all his blubbering.

"Ako and Dustin brought me back. Some... potion, or magical food? They called it ambrosia. They'd been working these past few months at putting it together. They didn't want to tell you or anybody else in case it didn't work."

"...I don't think you've ever said anything mean about either one of them." Michiko laughed, "And I'm not going to tell Ako you said that. He might actually take you up on the offer!"

"Whatever! I'm just so happy that you're back! I've missed you so much!! We have so much to talk about!"

"I know!" Michiko grabbed his hands and the two spun around in a circle happily, like little kids. "Being dead has opened my eyes to all sorts of weird things! Speaking of..."

The two went up to Michiko's room, where nothing had changed since her death weeks prior.

They sat down at her "magical table" as Phoenix called it.

"I know I've only been alive for a few hours now, but I can still hear so many voices of dead things... I guess they're dead at least. I've seen more ghosts too! Turns out this place is full of 'em!"

Phoenix fearfully looked around the room, "You mean they're with us in this room right now?"

"Well... I mean not at the moment. But they're roaming all over the house, the yard..."

Phoenix shivered.

She suggested the do a séance, just to see if she received any sort of message from the beyond that would be important to know. Whether it was more information about specters, which they'd been researching before she died, or if anyone knew about that awful dark spirit that drowned her...!

"Michiko..." They were in the middle of the séance when Phoenix began to interrupt. His voice wavered.

"What?" She asked sharply, trying her best not to let her mind wander.

"There's a face showing up in your ball!! A woman!"

Michiko broke concentration and her chair fell onto the ground.

"Who the hell was that?!" Phoenix was terrified. For someone who was really into the paranormal, it had never occurred to Michiko that he didn't have any real experiences with it...

"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we need to go see Sol again. He might not have any answers, but at least he's experienced with the supernatural... Specters start showing up in my house, something in that pool drowned me, now some woman's face is showing up in my crystal ball...! We need to get to the bottom of this."

A few days later, they met Sol at a taco truck near his motel.

"I just... I can't swim." Sol seemed embarrassed by this.

"The last time I checked, his schedule was pretty open. He lives in Glimmerbrook, so it's kind of a long bus ride. Would you guys be up for a visit this weekend?"

"Yes! The sooner the better!" Michiko wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as she possibly could.

"I'm game." Phoenix shrugged.

"Alright! Then I'll let him know. He's a wealth of knowledge, so he'll be a good contact for you to have!"

Back at home, before school, which thankfully Michiko hadn't missed much of since they were out on summer break for the majority of her time being dead, Ako joined Michiko for breakfast.

How did he know that?!

"I like Phoenix and all, but in times of a crisis, he seems like he'd be useless. And that Sol kid is useless. I don't trust him. And besides, I promised your parents I'd take care of you, so..."

Michiko didn't like the sound of that. She'd have to do more of her research and exploring during the day if that meant Ako was going to be following her around.

"We're going to Glimmerbrook during the daytime," she sighed, "so, how do you plan on spying on me then?"

"As if I don't have tricks up my sleeves." Ako huffed, "I have potions that help me handle the heat of the sun... And my parasol of course!"

"So, what does that mean?"

Ako was no stranger to death and rebirth. He was, after all, undead himself. However, once a person's soul was taken to the afterlife, it was a bit more of a chore to successfully bring them back to life.

He'd have to venture off into the Magic Realm to gather some ingredients, and task Dustin with the other half.

What he needed was ambrosia, and it was quite difficult to make.

Ako really hated the Magic Realm. Spellcasters and vampires weren't exactly known for having a positive relationship with one another. The last time he'd had to visit, he was on another strange mission, and he'd nearly gotten himself killed in the process!

"Look here ghost, I'm here to save a loved one. I need ingredients for ambrosia."

Ironically enough, the shop-keep was a ghost, so he should know exactly what Ako was looking for.

"Ah, it's a potion of youth you've come after then, is it?" The shop-keep crossed his arms and eyeballed Ako something fierce, "How much are you willing to pay me to get it?"

Ako rolled his eyes, of course he was going to be conned out of all his Simoleons just for one third of the ingredients needed for the ambrosia.

"I have this." He sat a bag of cash on the counter and watched as the ghost nearly floated away in shock. Thankfully, he'd squirreled away a lot of the cash that River and Ichiban had procured and hidden in the house before their death.

Ako had tons of money, so he didn't necessarily need it, but it would come in handy at a time like this!

"Here you are, just what the doctor ordered!" The ghost handed Ako a potion bottle and then greedily snatched the bag of money away.

"Be careful with that. If you fail at making the ambrosia, your loved one is doomed to stay dead forever."

Ako clenched the bottle in his hand. He knew the risks.

Back home, Dustin was still grieving. He hadn't realized he was going to be so upset over Michiko's death, probably because he didn't think he'd ever have to think about it! She was so young! Why would death take her now?

And by drowning no less?! That was the same way his dad had died. For days, any time he thought about it, it made him cry.

Ako had already put him on the task of growing a death flower. It was going to take a long time, and since Ako couldn't go out in the sun, it only made sense for Dustin to do it.

Dustin knew a lot about cars and mechanics, but not so much plants. He'd do what it took though, especially if it was going to bring Michiko back!

About a week after the accident, Phoenix showed up in the yard looking for Michiko.

Oh shit, Dustin thought, he doesn't know, does he?

Phoenix could automatically tell something was off. Had Michiko decided she didn't want to talk to him anymore now that she'd met Sol? Something deep down had somehow told him that it was a bad idea to bring her to that motel that day... He knew it!

But his assumptions as to why were completely wrong... It wasn't because Michiko was going to fall in love with Sol, it was for something else.

Something way worse.

Dustin stood there awkwardly letting Phoenix cry for a while. But after about three minutes things got too weird and he decided to drag him to the back yard.

"I've been crying back here for days! So, like, if you wanna come back here and cry too, you can!"

He wasn't very good at emotional support. He hadn't had much from his mom growing up, so he had no idea what to say.

"I'll leave you alone for a while..." He wrung his hands and stepped away slowly, "If you need me, you know where to find me!"

The weeks went on, and Dustin grew to love gardening. He had to grow all sorts of things to try to create this death flower. Instead of seeing it as a chore, however, he was learning so much about botany and the environment!

One day, unexpectedly, his mother, Brandi, showed up at the house.

Ako never liked Brandi. Dustin had told him all sorts of stuff about how neglectful she was after his dad's death, and how she'd always favored his little brother Beau more than him.

But it's not like he kept him from visiting her. Dustin was a free man. He was allowed to go where he wanted and do what he wanted! Unfortunately for Brandi, none of those things involved visiting her.

After telling Dustin about his mom's impromptu appearance, he begrudgingly decided to stop by and say hey to his family. It had been years since his last visit.

Dustin's youngest brother Brandon was probably his favorite. He was too young to hate Dustin for "running away". Since he'd only been a baby when Dustin did leave home, he hadn't had the opportunity to make Dustin dislike him yet.

Beau on the other hand was worse than he'd been when he was a child. He'd grown up listening to their moms conspiracy theories about vampires, aliens, some weird clown that used to terrorize her parents... and now he'd grown to be some type of nutjob.

And while he was right that Dustin had been young when he first met Ako, he entered into a relationship with him on his own free will... Right? He had, hadn't he?

Dustin left that day feeling weird and angry. He loved Ako, he loved Michiko, and he didn't want anyone questioning him about it. Just because Brandi wasn't happy with her situation and Beau was parroting everything their mom said, didn't mean Dustin had to put up with it.

He had more important things to do.

Months had gone by, Ako had already procured the potion of youth and the angelfish. The only thing left was the death flower.

Thankfully, Dustin had been busy. Ako was able to whip up a batch of ambrosia, which he left on the table while he went to summon Michiko's spirit.

Michiko's ghost appeared and wandered towards the kitchen.

The whole being dead thing was odd. Michiko just felt like she was in a dream-like state, and that she'd been asleep the whole time.

But upon eating the ambrosia, she felt something rising inside of her. It was warm and weird.

Thankfully, Ako had made the ambrosia correctly and it worked.

Michiko was back and boy did she have a lot to talk about!

"So... where am I exactly?"

Phoenix had told Michiko to meet him across town in the more derelict area of Strangerville. She and Phoenix grew up on the wealthier side of town, so she never came over here out of fear of being met with violence.

She was supposed to be meeting with him at a weird little roadside motel. Apparently that's where their contact lived. She'd never heard of anyone living in a motel before, but thought the idea seemed kind of quaint.

When she finally arrived, she saw Phoenix standing with an older guy, possibly in his late teens, in the parking lot of the motel.

Michiko looked the guy up and down. He was pretty cute!

Maybe it was the way she looked at him, or the way her cheeks had turned pink upon arriving, but Phoenix could tell what she was thinking and he wasn't too pleased with it.

They were there for business! Not for Michiko to develop a crush on their new intel!

Michiko could tell that Phoenix was getting a little prickly and jealous. She'd always thought it was funny that he was so clingy. The boys on TV didn't usually act like that, so in a way it was cute.

The three of them went to the little diner inside the motel lobby and talked for a bit. Sol told the two of them that he would actually have to get in touch with a contact of his own in order for them to gather the most information, but from what he knew, specters meant trouble.

"The thing is, they don't communicate in a normal way. So, you asking them what they want, and why they're following you isn't going to get you anywhere. You have to catch one, and then..."

He placed his finger on his chin and tapped it, "See... this is why we need my friend with us. He knows more about this. There's something you have to do in order to actually get answers from them, but I don't know what it is."

The majority of their conversation ended there. Sol said he'd get in touch with his contact and then let Phoenix and Michiko know.

Before taking off back to his own business Sol let the two know that they could hang out as long as they liked. "While you're here, if you want to swim in the pool, you can! Nobody's gonna yell at you."

"Making them talk seems like a harder task though..." Michiko added, "I don't know if it'll be as easy as you seem to think it is."

"Whatever, I'm just excited we have a plan in action!"

"Be careful, okay? You can call me if you need me."

Michiko pretend-flirted with Phoenix by batting her eyelashes and waving him off, "Always watching out for me, it's almost like, you care about me or something...!"

Phoenix's face turned bright red and he made raspberry noises as he walked towards the door, "Whatever! Just... be safe."

Once Phoenix left, Michiko went into the public restroom and changed into her swimsuit. Lucky for her, she always brought extra clothes in her bag, no matter where she went.

The only other person in the pool was an older woman. She lived at the motel too. It didn't seem like this place functioned as an actual motel anymore, and had instead become a set of affordable apartments.

Turns out, treading water was harder for Michiko than she remembered.

Her legs started to tire pretty quickly, and then before she knew it, something had come over her. Her mind went blank, and she felt two hands pushing her under the water. It wasn't the old woman, she could still see her treading water nearby. It was something else... Something dark and shadowy...

Unfortunately, Sol couldn't swim, so he was completely useless in that sense, but he did manage to call the fire department. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, so had the Grim Reaper.

Someone else quickly ran onto the scene. A panic-stricken Komorebian with long bleached hair.

Before Ako could even think to jump into the pool to pull Michiko out, the Grim Reaper appeared next to him, tapping away on his death pad.

"Look, sorry buddy, you got here too late. I can't do anything for her. Not in the state she's in right now at least..."

Ako could feel his face drenched in tears. It took a lot to make him cry, but this was definitely one of the things that could do it - the death of someone he loved.

Before he could choke out any more pleas, he could feel that awful sensation of one of his "fits" hitting him again. His body began to contort and his muscles pulled themselves in different directions.

Ako was powerless as the thing, whatever it was, took control of him once again. Grim finished up his business of taking Michiko's soul to the afterlife, and Ako was left to roam until sunrise.

The strange nighttime "fits" were still taking over Ako. At around midnight he'd lose consciousness and then before the sun came up he'd wake up somewhere random in town. He had no idea where he'd gone, what he'd done, or why this was happening to him.

The semester was well underway for Michiko. She was in harder classes since she went to the public combined middle and high school and took more advanced classes as well, so outside of social obligations, homework took up a lot of her time.

She didn't have a lot of friends on her campus. But she was a bit of a loner. Most of her classmates didn't even know she and Phoenix had a paranormal podcast that they ran together, or at least nobody ever made any mention of it.

Back at home, each night Ako continued struggling with his "fits", as usual.

And Michiko tried gathering information from the specters in her house as to why they were there. Who had invited them, and what did they want?

If anything, before she met up with Phoenix again, she wanted to try and get some more information so they could compile everything they knew together.

But again, she was quite busy with other obligations.

That didn't stop Phoenix from hassling her about inviting him over, or about Michiko coming over to his house though. She kept having to tell him to be patient though.

She had other plans.

Ako, being the "mother" figure of the house, as much as he hated to admit to it, had suggested that Dustin and Michiko get to know each other a little better.

After high school, he'd gone off to trade school for a bit, but upon coming back he'd gotten into an argument with his mom, Brandi, and Ako allowed him to move in. That was a little over four years ago, and Ako still felt like Dustin and Michiko weren't taking the time to get to bond properly.

"I'm not her dad, ya know." Dustin wasn't opposed to the idea of having a better relationship with Michiko, but he wasn't sure about being a proper parental figure. He'd lost his own dad when he was a teenager, so he had no idea what it meant to be a dad.

"Aren't she and I closer in age to being siblings? I feel like I'm too young to be a dad to a 13 year old!"

"Well, pretend you're her big brother then! You never had any sisters, right?" Ako prodded. While it was still a sore and awkward subject for him, even six years later, since Michiko's parents were dead, he was tasked with raising her so he wanted to be as close of a family as he could be for her.

Dustin's idea of pseudo-parental / sibling bonding came in the form of taking her to a football game on campus Friday night. She usually avoided going to those because she didn't have friends to hang out with at the games, and she wasn't really into athletics.

Dustin had never been much of an athlete himself. His family didn't have the money to pay for any of the equipment. But he did like sports. He owned every basketball and football video game in existence growing up, and he had played little league in elementary.

All in all the night went well. Michiko actually seemed to enjoy herself, and Dustin didn't feel too awkward hanging out with her. After all, they had lived together for a while, so it wasn't that. He just didn't want her to feel like he was overstepping any boundaries.

Back home, that night the specters appeared again, turning the power off as they usually did.

Michiko didn't want to admit that the whole situation creeped her out. But it did.

Even through her research earlier in the week, she still wasn't any closer to figuring out where the specters came from or what they wanted.

And Ako's behavior had been off for the entire time they'd lived together. Michiko was almost convinced it was a vampire thing, but she'd always been too nervous to ask.

The next day Michiko had plans to go with her aunt Mercy to the film museum in the city. Every other weekend or so, she and her grandma or her aunt would get together to do something.

They wanted to make sure she was still doing okay, and that they were there for her if she needed them.

Michiko really liked hanging out with Mercy, since she was the only other family member, that she knew of, who could see ghosts just like she could.

While Mercy's interest in the occult was there, her knowledge of the stuff didn't go too deep. Michiko tried asking her about specters and other types of hauntings, and while Mercy said all of it sounded "super cool", she didn't have any information to input.

The next weekend she and Phoenix were going to meet up though. He told her he had found someone who might have some information that they're searching for...

After six years Ako has gotten used to domesticity. After Dustin graduated high school, he moved into the house and the three of them - he, Dustin, and Michiko have been living like a little family.

Unfortunately for them, lately the ghost situation has been getting worse.

Ako could see them, and he was aware that Michiko could as well, but Dustin was still oblivious to their presence.

As of late, Michiko was encountering more and more of a special type of ghost. One that looked different than the normal Sim ones.

Sometimes they were mean to her and played tricks on everyone in the household, but sometimes they seemed friendly, and would sprinkle some type of glitter on her that made her feel super happy and carefree.

Michiko was warned not to mess with them, however, because their presence spelled trouble!

Of course, that probably wasn't the right thing to tell an aspiring paranormal investigator...

Michiko and Phoenix, while not popular yet at all, were developing a video podcast series on the paranormal together. Phoenix had always been into aliens and conspiracy theories, while Michiko's life was literally embroiled in mystery - what with her parents mysterious death in the lab explosion (that the military still wouldn't release files on). She could also see ghosts, so it only made sense for them to turn their interests into something that could potentially earn them money!

She and Phoenix did hang out as often as they could, but since they didn't go to school together, it was no longer an everyday thing. Yelena's job as a high-priority politician always kept her family in slight danger, so Phoenix went to a private academy, while Michiko was still at the public school.

"Anyways," Phoenix coughed, "We're going to go in my room and do some research for our show! Call us out when dinner's ready!"

He grabbed Michiko's sleeve and dragged her into his bedroom.

"I better not hear anything weird happening in there!" Yelena called out. The two kids could hear her and Roh giggling from the other side of the door.

Phoenix blushed and Michiko rolled her eyes, "We're like... 12. That's gross."

"Whatever, just ignore them. You know how free-spirited they are." Phoenix sat at his desk, while Michiko took the bed.

Phoenix nearly jumped out of his seat, "Specters!? Hell yeah I know about specters!" He quickly pulled his phone out and motioned for Michiko to come closer, "Take a look at this."

It was some paranormal encyclopedia and forum. They saw a chat log of people detailing their experiences with specters.

Phoenix slowly stopped scrolling and looked up at Michiko, "Anyways, why?"

"Well... If you've ever wanted any first hand experience at dealing with them... They've kinda taken over my house."

On the day of the funeral, Grandma Bee wasn't as in the mood for quips as she was before. She kept mentioning River's incident, but Michiko didn't know what that meant. She was going to have to prod Ako later for information.

Speaking of Ako, he was put on coffee duty while he waited on Dustin to arrive for emotional support.

He'd warned Dustin about Cassandra and Havarti's family, and how they were a bit uppity. He'd told him to lie about how he knew the family, so they wouldn't be suspicious of him.

Before the actual ceremony, everyone milled about, eating, talking, and remembering the fallen.

Roh was having a really awful time. Not only had she lost her mother / creator Havarti, but she also lost River. Despite having been married to Yelena for years, she still never got over her first love.

Bee and Mercy had an awful time learning about the alien vines that plagued Strangerville. It was just another part of Michiko's everyday life, so she forgot that others weren't used to them.

When it was finally time for the remembrance ceremony, Ako talked first.

Listening to him give his speech and actually show some emotion made Michiko sad...

She was glad, despite how strange others might view it, that she was living with Ako. He seemed to care more about her mom than he always let on.

Once the ceremony was over and everyone went back to talking and saying their goodbyes, Michiko wandered out into the graveyard, looking at the tombstones.

She was interrupted though, by her grandma, who seemed to be in a tizzy about her being out in the dark by herself.

Michiko knew weird stuff happened in town, but she was used to it! Plus, the military was always milling about, sticking their nose into things. Grandma had nothing to worry about!

The next day when everyone began making their way home, Mercy offered to take Michiko in for a few days just so she could get away and have some fun.

Michiko was quick to agree, since she wanted to talk to her aunt about ghosts. Plus, it would be nice to have some girl time.

Mercy lived in San Myshuno with her roommate and childhood best friend Karmine. They were both in school together, and living their best life.

Meanwhile, back home, Ako was having a fun time as well. With Michiko gone, he and Dustin could wreak havoc on the house without having to worry about keeping her up.

Michiko hitched a ride with Roh and Phoenix. Since they only live a few houses down from one another, it wasn't any problem.

When she entered into the house, she found Ako balled up in a corner. His veins were visible, probably because he wasn't feeling well from being awake during the daytime. That wasn't normal!

Ako was clearly shaken. He had tears in his eyes, and he could barely look her in the eye.

Michiko's worst nightmare was unfolding around her...

The explosion, the bright light, the emergency siren... Something had happened to her parents. Something had blown up the lair they were working on...

They were gone.

Michiko spent the rest of the day feeling completely numb. She'd cry every once in a while, and Ako or older Michiko would try to comfort her, but she didn't want to be around them. She wanted to be alone.

The next day, she finally decided she did want some support from someone. Her best friend. She was going to let Ako break the news to her family. She couldn't bear to hear their reactions.

But Phoenix on the other hand, she wanted to be the one to tell him.

They decided to meet up at the park the next day, but Phoenix was a bit late. That gave Michiko too much time alone to ponder how she was going to tell him. What she was going to say.

Just thinking about it made her tear up. But before she could get rid of all her tears, Phoenix appeared in front of her.

"Are you crying?"

Phoenix could feel his stomach drop. Between the two of them, he was the crybaby. Michiko was tough, she never cried. That meant something really awful was going on!

He lead her over to a grassy nook in the park, so they could be alone and talk about whatever it was that was bothering her.

Suddenly Phoenix felt his stomach do a flip. He just realized that this was the weekend Michiko was supposed to go move in with her parents. But if she was here... And she was so upset... Then that meant...!

Michiko began crying again and Phoenix felt the need to say something. He really wasn't sure what to say though. But whatever it was, it had to be something letting Michiko know she wasn't alone.

Phoenix knew that meant his "grandma" Havarti must've died in the explosion too. He was never all that close to her, but his mom was going to be devastated.

The best he could do was let everyone know he was there for them.

Ako had done his job and let the family and all of River and Ichiban's friends know what had happened. A funeral would be happening soon, and they were bound to have lots of visitors, so Michiko busied herself by cleaning.

Sometimes though, the sadness would take over, and it took her a while before she could focus again.

At the end of the week, the family began arriving.

"Are you serious right now?" Michiko could see Mercy looking nervously in her direction, hoping that grandma wasn't offending her.

Michiko didn't figure she meant anything by it... Everyone reacted to grief differently.

Meanwhile, Ako was busy arranging the arrivals of Jun, Reiko, and Masumi. Mercy had already promised to handle getting invites out to River, Havarti, and Cassandra's Sim Alpha Sigma sisters, and grandma Bee was handling Cassandra and Havarti's family.