Part 0: Beginning of the End.
Arc 1: The New Reapers.
(Inside a cafe next to the shoreline of Karitori Chiku, Kane and Able sit in front of one of the windows.)
Kane: So you're telling me the car... came alive and started driving on its own.
Able: (He starts drinking his coffee.) Yes.
Kane: So you're telling me, my car is possessed?!
Able: Well... yeah? (He puts the coffee cup back down and sits straight up.) Give me your phone!
Kane: Don't you have your own?
Able: (Shrugging.) I dropped it in the car, alright!
Kane: You dropped it- (Head shake.) Fine! (He reaches into his pocket and starts unlocking it.) What do you wanna-
Able: (He yanks the phone out of Kane's hand.) What's your pin?
Kane: (He reaches for the phone, but Able pulls his hand away.) *Gah* 82090. August 20th, 1990.
Able: Thank you. (He unlocks the phone.) Oh, ho ho!!! That's why you wanted to keep it away from me. You were on a Dating Site!!!
Kane: C'mon man...
Able: Nice online name, "Boss429Eternity88."
Kane: (Bitch face.) I am going to kill you.
Able: You've matched with someone, huh?! Barbara doesn't sound like my type of name, but sure... maybe you can try and impress her with your LEGO collection!
Kane: Is there a reason why your invading my privacy or is this just for shits and giggles?
Able: Relax. (He starts typing something on Kane's phone.) What's with your search history?
Kane: As if yours is any better! What're you doing?
Able: Research. Cases of possessed cars all over the world, "The Little Bastard", Franz Ferdinand's car, "The Golden Eagle", "The Black Volga". In 2004, a family in Cape Town, South Africa had a decidedly odd problem with their car. After dinner with some out-of-town guests, the family had gone to bed as if it was just any other usual night, but their sleep would be interrupted by a thunderous roar and crash from outside. The startled family ran to their backyard to find their Renault Megane roving and hopping around the yard smashing into bushes, trees, and fences, all the while making a horrific roaring noise. It seemed to be an attempt to steal the car, but a look into the driver's window soon showed that there was no one behind the wheel. When the car stopped as suddenly as it had sprung to life, it was found that there were no signs of a break-in, the windows were intact, the doors were still locked, and even the parking brake was still engaged. "The Jumping Car of Cape Town" as it came to be known.
Kane: I would've paid to see that. So what do we do?
Able: (He hands the phone back to Kane.) Simple, we sell the car and the story to some wealthy collector and make millions from our conning scheme, you like a good con job, don't ya Kane?
Kane: I do. But I'm not selling my car!
Able: Fine! Fine! If we can find the car again, find out who or what is possessing it. Demon, we perform an exorcism. Ghost, we find the bones and a personal belonging of the spirit and burn it. Simple as that.
Kane: (He slowly reaches for Able's cup of coffee.) And how do we exorcise a car? We kinda need holy water.
Able: I see you, Kane. (Kane takes his hand away.) Well, we could pour it down the exhaust pipe. Or the water pump.
Kane: I'm not letting anything unauthorized go into my car.
Able: It's water blessed by a priest, what do you think will happen?
Kane: It might... ... ... chase... young boys...
Able: (Able_Pendragon.exe has crashed, please restart.) What?!
Kane: It's 2007 Able, live in reality. (He takes Able's coffee and sips it.) That's decaf.
MEANWHILE
(Sam is sitting outside the Eating Hall, staring aimlessly at the ground, he looks as if he was traumatized by something.)
Sam: (He sounds shaken and takes deep, heavy breaths.) Those girls. Are going? To kill me. (A man sits down next to him, sweating heavily and taking hard breaths in. Sam turns to him.) Long day, huh?
The man: *Panting* For you it might be an average day... for me, the longest day of my life.
Sam: Why so?
The man: Well... I'm a bit on the lazy side let's say.
Sam: Oh, (He reaches out for a handshake.) Samuel Reyes, just call me Sam.
Angelo Reggio: (He is wearing a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, slopingly tucked into his black pants, he isn't even wearing socks with his dark grey shoes. His dark brown hair is wild and uncombed, he also has an unshaved stubble. He speaks in a thick Italian accent.) Angelo Reggio, you can call me-uhhh I have no idea, just whatever.
Sam: Are you a Reaper?
Angelo Reggio: Senior one actually, meaning I kinda stay here and make sure that you fulfill your training duties. Alongside Anderson. (He darts his head towards Sam and gives him a blank, emotionless stare, capable of making a statue sing its secrets.) Say, are you *pause* angry?
Sam: (He slightly looks at Angelo, wondering if he did something wrong.) Not right now, no. Wh-why?
Angelo: What's your type?
Sam: Blood type oorrrrr? B-because I think it's AB, I think it matches my personality the most. (He stands up and slowly backs away while looking at him.) I'ma-I'ma (He hesitantly points backward.) just... g-go.
Angelo: Well... he's a dud, too soft, he's probably scared of butterflies, although... his Magica smells of sawdust.
Sam: (As he walks backward he bumps into Kane and Able.) Oh, guys, you're back! Where's the car?!
Kane: Car's haunted. (He and Able walk past Sam.) Car's haunted.
Sam: Excuse me?
Able: What he said, ghost in the car.
Sam: Like Fear Street?!!!
Kane: (He turns his attention to Angelo as he walks past him and takes a step forward.) ...You...
(Angelo merely waves at Kane while having a smug smile on his face)
Able: (He touches Kane's arm.) Come on, I got the backup hunter gear in my bag.
Kane: Give me a minute, Able.
Able: Sure.
Kane: (He walks over to Sam and stands right in front of him.) Sam... you see that guy over there.
Sam: (He stands on his toes and looks over Kane's shoulder.) The idiotic German, the overly-buff Englishmen, or the Italian who asked my type?
Kane: The Italian.
Sam: What about him?
Kane: Never talk to him, NEVER!
Sam: Why?
Kane: He's just bad news, if you see him walking towards you, you walk away. Got it!
Sam: Y- yeah.
Kane: (He turns away from Sam.) Good.
Able: (He looks at Kane as he walks past him.) What was that about? (Kane says nothing to him, and he just shrugs it off.) Hey Kane, when I was in the car, something weird happened.
Kane: Like it driving by itself.
Able: No... it... talked to me.
Kane: (He turns his head to Able.) Talked to you?
Able: Yeah... well not the car, more like my phone, it said something about "Zachary" and "where are you."
Kane: Interesting.
Able: And remind me again, how ghosts communicate.
Kane: Electrical devices, EVPs, and...
Able: Phones, if it catches the signal.
Kane: This gives me an idea. I'll get the ghost hunting gear, then I'm going to the town hall. You ask around here and go to the graveyard, and ask the locals too. Meet me at the restaurant when you're done.
Able: Who made you the leader?
Kane: ME!
Able: Ahh fine!
(The black-haired woman from before is talking on the phone to someone, as she looks at Sam who is awkwardly sitting next to Isabel, trying to hide the blush on his face from her.)
The woman: You sure this is him? He can barely handle the stress of sitting next to the cute popular girl, let alone what you want him to do. (She looks through the file she has in her hands.) Samuel Logan Reyes, birthdate 20 August 1990, his mother was Hannah Reyes, father was one Elkanah Fuke, died not long after Samuel's birth, his mother died when he was only 3 years old. From there he was raised in Redhill Orphanage, where his name was strangely changed to Jin Daisho on the Government's database. The Pendragons adopted him at 10. Quite a lot for a 17-year-old... I'll see what I and the rest can do. (She hangs up the phone, Isabel teases Sam about something and he gets up and explains why he needs to go.) *Sigh* Why couldn't I just go to Heaven or Hell?
(Able knocks on the door to Suzuki Yamada's office.)
Suzuki: (He is writing inside his book, using his fountain pen.) Come in! (Able walks inside the office.) Ahh, Mr. Pendragon, are you here to discuss geopolitics or how to perfectly cook a medium rare steak?
Able: We'll discuss both of those at a later point, right now I got a question.
Suzuki: Well... go ahead.
Able: Do you know of someone called, Zachary?
Suzuki: (He takes off his glasses.) I do.
Able: (He sits down in front of Suzuki.) Well, buckle up, Mr. Yamada.
(Kane walks into the town hall of Karitori Chiku, with the hunting gear on his back in the backpack. He walks towards the reception desk and talks to the man there.)
Kane: Hello sir, I have a question. Does this place have a citizen archive?
Receptionist: For what purpose?
Kane: I'm a Monster Hunter, and we're currently working on a case of the forest hauntings.
Receptionist: The Reaper Haunter, glad someone's finally putting an end to that. Come with me.
("Zachary was a Reaper. However, while he was training, he had the ill luck of falling in love with the most beautiful woman in town. Only thing was, she was the daughter of a rich man."
The Receptionist sits Kane in front of a desktop and enters the password. Kane searches in "Zachary" but finds nothing.
"They kept their romance a secret, hoping that their father didn't ever find out. He considered the Reaper's as 'pests' and only let them train here because he was under the Court's payroll."
"What was her name?"
"Annabelle. Annabelle Freegur."
Kane types the word "ghost" into the search bar and finds the page about the Ghost of the Forest. He enters it and reads the description of the entity as well as the image included in it taken by a few kids as they were camping in the forest. The transparent haunting figure of a young, thin woman, with her neck bent at a 90-degree angle to the left, no facial features are recognizable, it stands underneath the tree where the car was found.
"Unfortunately secrets, are never kept quiet. When the news broke out that this farmer boy turned Reaper was dating the mayor's daughter, he immediately ordered the Court to do something about him, the Court, fearing that he might reveal the secrets of Karitori Chiku sent him on a death mission. Knowing he won't return, he barely escaped with his life. He came to Annabelle, bleeding, with him even missing one of his eyes and hands. He told her in his dying breath that the Court sent him to face the creature. Later that evening she hung herself underneath the tree where they married in secret, hoping to be together in death. A true case of Romeo and Juliet."
"Ghosts are the spirits of people who have unfinished business here on Earth. What does she want then?"
"Maybe she's still searching for someone to truly love."
Kane walks out of the town hall with all the knowledge he learned of the ghost and a printed photo of it.
"Well, Mr. Pendragon, you can do two things, burn the bones if you can find them and have her suffer eternal damnation in hell for suicide, or... keep her in the car until she fulfills her business.")
Able: (He gets up from his seat.) I guess that'll be up to my brother to decide.
Suzuki: If I may have some input here, Annabelle was a good girl, do the right thing and give her a second chance.
Able: I'll see what I can do sir.
(Later that evening, Kane and Able are sitting in the restaurant, telling each other what they discovered.)
Kane: Annabelle Freegur. So this is why they warned us not to bring the car.
Able: Kane... I know you love your car, but this girl deserves a second chance.
Kane: A second chance being a 1969 Boss 429, given to me by dad.
Able: Kane, killing monsters, helping innocents. That's what we do, we don't accuse those who have done no wrong.
Kane: About that... (He takes out a few photos from the jacket pocket.) Look at that.
Able: (He looks at the photos, images of Reapers who were attacked by the ghost, bruised, cut, maimed, and two were even killed once.) This is-
Kane: What if Sam gets into the car and that little missy has a freakout and kills him, again?
Able: Listen alright, let's make a deal. If we can get her to calm down then we go through with my idea and keep her in the car, there are a lot of benefits to it. But if she doesn't calm down, then we burn her bones, alright?
Kane: (He thinks for a second.) *Deep sigh* fineee...
Able: We'll go at Twilight when the spiritual and physical world merge.
Kane: You learned that from an anime didn't you?
Able: Yes I did.
(Kane and Able spend the rest of the day just messing around in the town as they prepare, while Sam continues making new friends at the Training Grounds. Until time passes to exactly 17:50. When they enter the forest again.)
Kane: You sure this is a good idea?
Able: Better than when you jumped off the roof when you thought you were Superman once and broke your arm.
Kane: I was six, man. We all had that moment in our life where we thought we had superpowers...
Able: *Chuckle* Yeah, we do.
(They reach the clearing in the forest where the car is still idling under the tree.)
Kane: Alright. (He pushes able forward and pats him on the back. He holds the EVP analyzer in his hands.) Go speechman!
Able: *Clears throat* ANNABELLE!!! (The car turns on.) You might not know us, but I'm Able and this is my brother Kane!!! We're here to help you, we know of Zachary and we know you loved him!!! You blamed the Reapers for his death, and took it out on yourself, believing that you can be reunited in death!!! But now you're stuck on the Earth!!! And we're here to help!!! (The car starts reversing.) Any EVPs?
Kane: Nothing.
Able: We have a device here to help you talk with us, try your hardest to!!!
Kane: (The EVP starts producing some static.) Oh-ohhhh! We got something coming through here.
Able: Annabelle! Zachary wasn't killed by the Court, it was your father!!! He didn't want a Reaper peasant dating his daughter, but clearly love felt different, you were drawn to each other like a magnet to metal!!!
(A voice starts speaking through the static of the EVP analyzer. "Z-chary, I-love-im.")
Able: I know you do!!! Perhaps the reason why you're stuck here is that you can't find it in yourself to forgive the Reapers, my adopted brother is a Reaper now, and he is the best man I know. He'd do everything to defend the people he loved, Zachary was doing the same, he was hunting that monster to protect you. He didn't know he was being tricked, he wasn't doing it for fame, or for glory. He was doing it for the most significant force on this Earth, love. (Kane looks at him, thinks about it for a second, and nods his head.)
("Rea-ers, th-y, I..." in a white void, Annabelle opens her eyes and looks around, but finds nothing until someone taps her shoulder from behind. She turns and sees Zachary carrying flowers for her.)
Annabelle: Zachary?
Zachary: Yes, it's me.
Annabelle: (She immediately hugs him.) I missed you!!! For all these years, I've been... stuck in this one place.
Zachary: Under the tree?
Annabelle: Yeah, but we're together now!!!
Zachary: We are, but you need to move on.
Annabelle: What do you mean?
Zachary: You've found your second chance with these two brothers. They'll take care of you, and you'll protect them. And someday when their journey is over... then so will yours and we will be together forever. Promise me you'll stick with them.
Annabelle: I... I will... but first. (She leans in for a kiss and grabs Zachary's hand before fading away.) Thank you.
"Forgive them."
(The car turns off and a smile grows on Kane and Able's faces.)
Able: Huh, guess she forgave them. You got your car back.
Kane: Finally!!! (He gets into the driver's seat and Able into the Passenger seat.) Now let's go take a nap. (Before Kane even enters the car keys, it turns on, on its own.) Whoa! What the!
(Able takes out the EVP analyzer and it picks up the message "I'm here to stay.")
Able: Well... I guess she's part of the family now.
Kane: I guess she is.
(The car starts playing "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop as they drive off through the forest.)
CHAPTER 9: END
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Next Destination: "Alarm."