Haunt | Chapter 4

Chapter 4, We Know It's "The Thing" That We Need

Blue and Mad both called out the ghost's name but Techna was too entranced by the patch on his skin that she didn't hear Blue and Mad. She could make out by the movement of his mouth that he clearly said, "After all these years, it's good to see you guys again", shook Mad's hands and Blue hugged him.

Techna watched as Blue and Mad conversed and made sure he was caught up within the events and mission they were on, relieved and thrilled to have him back in their lives again. However as Tech looked closer at him while he was distracted from seeing old companions, his hair was jet black and messy, his skin was bruised and purple in some parts of his arms and face. His eyes. One a deep blue and the other, a bright aqua, sharp pupil, and a black patch surrounding the area. He was a human-Enderman.

"Snake, this Techna Three, she's the one that'll help us out of this mess-"
"You're part Enderman."

Taken back by her blunt statement, Snake stuttered out a yes. Though in the dataBASE, Enderhunters' jobs were to rid of human-Endermen hybrid abominations, she saw his behavior towards Blue and Mad. He seemed… friendly. With personality and kindness. Like he was still human, with friends, like a normal person. Unlike the reputations and image that they've been taught growing up in the dataBASE, human-Endermen were portrayed and depicted as cruel, inhumane abominations of the world that needed to be rid of.

Tech has considered it, but never took time to notice that they were just ordinary people who happened to be different to them. Hell, if anything the people living in the dataBASE could also be considered abominations due to the fact they grew up and evolve around glitches and partially are one themselves. So why are human-Endermen the only ones getting the mistreatment when in reality the citizens of the dataBASE to anyone in the outside world could be considered dangerous or abominations?

"Mad, Blue, is it just me or does she look familiar?"

Snake's question broke Techna away from her thoughts and witnessed Mad's eyes widen, "I knew it wasn't just me who noticed!"
"I don't.…recognize her. Then again my memory isn't quite up-to-date as I would like it to be." Blue shyly added.
"Well, I don't recognize any of you. I've never been here before and have never heard of them."

Mad, Blue, and Snake figure they wouldn't give up hope. It was the first time in two decades they could see each other, there had to be something special about this new person.

"So Snake, what did you exactly do to that red spirit?"
"Oh, I simply used THIS bad boy!" Snake exclaimed as he displayed a large rocket-launcher styled weapon to the ghosts and Techna. It glowed an aura of his color which explained why the spirit was consumed by yellow when it was shot, and it was a physical weapon.

"I've been working on this since those spirits decided to make this house their property."
"So- wait, if you've been working on this since those spirits came in, then you've been working on this for nearly a decade!"
"Shit is that really how long I've spent on it? I lost track of time…"
"How does it work?"

Techna asked as she stepped forward to join the other ghosts by their sides, also becoming intrigued with the creation Snake has presented before them.

"Well, all you simply do is aim, and then push the large button right here," Snake pointed to a red button in the position where the trigger should be on a regular gun, "And that's all it takes! The launcher will shoot out a special essence that spirits can't handle!"
"Isn't it a little dangerous to have a giant-ass trigger that can be pressed WAY too easily? I mean, does it even have a safety trigger or anything of the sort?"
"Well, this is a mere prototype and the first test run-"
"You JUST used that gun now for the first time!?"

Snake shrugged, "Well yeah. It took me ten years to make this, I never got a chance to test it until now. But so far it's been rather successful."

Blue, Mad, and Techna watched as the gun slowly slipped inch by inch down through Snake's hand, and before they knew it was going to hit the ground, they jumped back just as it fell to the ground and landed directly on the launch button. A large yellow blast erupted from the gun, the fire hitting the mirror cabinets placed directly opposite of the room before being sent back to where it came from and hitting the weapon. Snake's eyes widened as he instinctively warned the others that they may want to hide as he dashes back down the staircase.

Blue and Mad followed, Techna made sure both ghosts were inside before entering and slamming the door behind her back, pressing her body against it. She heard rapid beeping and mechanical parts creak and crack before she heard and felt an explosion, the door bursting open at the impact but Techna made sure to keep it closed.

Techna kept her body pressed against the wooden surface for another minute before slowly creaking it open and witnessing the damage.

Yellow essence was all over the room, against the walls, floor, even the damn ceiling had some of the substance as well as bolts, screws and metal panels scattered everywhere, a crude smell of burnt metal invaded Techna's nostrils.

"Is it safe?!"
"Uh… it should be, unless you guys can't touch the essence."

Snake, Blue, and Mad slowly reappeared from the staircase entrance and peered their heads around the corner to get a better look at the damage done. Snake silently cursed under his breath as he eyed down all the parts, contraptions and essence that was practically wasted. The ghosts hovered out of the staircase, Techna closing the door behind them and glancing around, "Well, I guess there were a few mechanics that needed minor adjustments…"

"You can work on it after we find everyone else Snake."
"Wait, everyone else?"

Techna maneuvered around the room to get to an area that was clean of this mess, making sure not to step in any of the essence or on any burning, hot pieces of metal, "The key for you guys to become human again is to first find everyone that once lived in this mansion, all eight of you guys."

"And THEN we find the 'thing'."

Mad added to Techna's explanation, Snake's eyes lit up, "Wait Mad, are you talking about… the 'thing'?"
"Yes, I am. Do you know what I mean when I say the 'thing'?"
"While my memory isn't doing so well I think I know exactly and don't know at the same time with what the 'thing' is!"
"That's exactly how I see it too! I know it, but I DON'T know it!"
"What the fuck are you idiots going on about?"

Blue stopped the two men from going on for any longer about the 'thing', it was driving her to the brink of insanity and continued to struggle not being able to understand or remember what they were talking about. Techna was just confused and was judging the pair of them immensely.
 
"Snake and I, are talking about the 'thing' that is also another fundamental key to returning to our humanly form. We just, don't know or remember what it exactly is, we just know the 'thing' is going to help us."

Techna sighed, "So if you don't know what the 'thing' is, then how are we supposed to find it?"

"If our memories aren't great, there's always a chance that other members have better memories than us, maybe they'll remember more," Snake suggested. The other ghosts shrugged, not really sure if the theory would work or not, but it was something they were going to eventually find out when they found everyone else.

"Have you checked the backyard yet?" Mad broke the short silence, "There's a chance someone could be out there."
"Tech found me in the West garden, we have yet to check the North and East garden areas and the barn."
"Well, the barn sounds the most promising, we should search there first," Snake suggested,
"Good idea."

Blue confirmed the decision and the ghosts proceeded to the barn, Techna following shortly, making sure she had her SpiritHoover ready to go. They walked through a few hallways and rooms before reaching the entrance to the garden with the barn in sight. As the ghosts excitedly exited and headed towards the barn, Techna's eyes caught a small glimmer and turned her head to it.

It came from an open room with the door ajar, pushing it open and allowing herself to enter. The room was what looked to be a small relaxation room, with small couches and cushions in the corners, a small shelf in the middle against the back wall with candles, incense, and items that looked to be of mediating purposes. On the shelf, perched behind a group of candles is where the glimmer came from.

Techna eased over to the shelf and bent down to her knees, gently moving the unused candles out of the way to reveal a crown. Pulling it out of its hiding place, she blew the dust off the item and saw the colors in the dimly lit room. It was a mustard-gold color for the base with a purple gem in one of the spikes with two red diamonds on either side.

Two words to describe this crown to Techna would be 'cute' and 'powerful'.

Without acknowledging anything else, she opened her satchel and placed the item inside, making sure it was somewhat hidden with the current items inside before standing up and dashing out of the house to catch up with the other ghosts. As she witnessed the barn grow larger as she got closer, she could only feel a gut-wrenching urge to turn around and leave. But realistically, it was a barn! A large red and white structure that holds animals and sometimes farming equipment too, a traditional building style and idea that has been around for decades.

What could be so bad about a barn?