Mutated Ectoplasm

48. Million Dollar Ghost

This little arc is going to be dramatic as hell and crowded too. So, prepare yourselves.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

The days after the mass ghost attack was exhausting for everyone. The town had seen what a full force of angry ghosts could do if given proper motivation (if you could call it that), and the evidence was clear as day as to how it went.

Karkat glared as the news recounted the events for third time. So far, it hadn't made national news, but the entire state probably knew what had happened by now. He figured the only reason it wasn't any bigger was the government was hiding it, but he wasn't entirely sure.

Whatever. He was exhausted anyway. He'd been doing as much research as he could into the stuff the Makara's had on them, and it was coming up with the usual shit. Stolen items, both from Earth and the Ghost Zone. Various violations of human and ghost rights. Hell, the ghosts he had to bring to Redglare after were a nightmare to deal with since apparently some hadn't even known they were dead.

Redglare at least was getting a power boost from all the new ghosts in her territory. Of course, she was also telling them he was partially in charge too, which made him a little uncomfortable. But, she said it would make him stronger, and she'd already started it with Littlemeyer and the Box Ghost, who could ease them into believing it. It apparently kept them more stable, and also made sure her power boost wasn't too strong and drove her obsession-crazy.

It still made him uncomfortable, though. He'd have to figure out something else to that.

At least at home, the chaos here was easier to deal with.

"These notes are either the best thing to have ever happened to me, or the worst thing that's ever happened to me." Spades went through the small packet of information that had been hastily put together. He was transcribing it into his computer, while putting anything confusing on a chalk board. "Phantom just drops this shit at my door while I've been researching it all my life. Un-fucking-believable."

Karkat had made some time to give some information on ghosts to his dad sometime after the fight. It wasn't too comprehensive, but enough that it would keep Spades distracted. Some of it was on how ghosts formed, some on specific ghosts that showed up, and social stuff like quadrants. Nothing about Aspects or anything too complicated, though. Too much, and Spades would think Phantom is lying.

"Why are you putting playing card symbols up on the board again?" Karkat lazily remarked, eating his breakfast. It was the weekend, thankfully, so he wasn't in a rush to move out the front door. "Some kind of romance system? Not something I expected from ghosts."

"Yeah, me neither. I can't make heads or tails of it." At least Spades agreed it was a little confusing. "Somehow, it ain't even the worst of it either. According to Phantom, ghosts can not only form from the dead, but they can reproduce too. Like humans do."

Karkat cringed. No matter how old you get or how clinical it was, hearing your parents talk about sex was still weird. "Dad-"

"Hey, I'm as surprised as you are." Spades fired back, focusing on the wrong thing. He scratched the back of his neck, staring down at the packet again. "For some reason, Phantom marked the third way like it was important. Which is weird, since it's the rarest way it could happen."

Karkat knew what he was talking about. The third way, where ghosts can form due to massive disturbance in ectoplasm or psychic shift in an area, was one he marked to throw his dad off his scent.

"Maybe he's trying to tell you something. I can't imagine he'd put it down there if he wasn't pointing to himself." Karkat led with that, hoping it would point his dad to the right direction. "He does seem to want you to trust him. It could be important."