Promise (A VenturianTale Fanfiction)

Tall Buildings

"Sir, I should have never doubted you. I was careless. Reckless, ignorant to the truth, and oblivious to what you were truly trying to convey. I'm sorry, sir. You deserve to kill me, after all I've dragged you through."

Ghost wanted to cry. Not manly tears, or just one drop trickling down the side. More like bursting out crying, waterfalls of tears and lots of hugs.

He needed Toast.

He didn't want to murder him.

"Johnny, I--"

"Aye, aye, aye! One word, done. Johnathan, set him off. Now."

Toast gave Ghost a long, desperate look, as if he was expecting something. Something. Something.

"Hand him that knife you have there, Johnathan."

Toast reached into his pocket, reaching deeply until his arm reappeared, holding his favorite knife. It had a pale green hilt, with orange and yellow jewels encased in each little socket. It used to be a grey knife with white gems but...

Aimee.

This knife that they had stole from Prince Fang's weaponry has the encasing power to trap dead spirits from every dimension. If only he could release Aimee, she would help. Or, at least, leave the knife open for Sally Betty Jessica.

"Pro-"

Was all Ghost could make out of Toast's words, before his body flinched, his vision flickering dead, leaving him in nirvana. It actually wasn't really nirvana at all, since he knew, that once he regained control of his body, everything would be terrible. Toast and all the others would be dead except him.

He willed his disobeying body to grip whatever he was holding tighter, or at least focus on the blur of colors that flashed before his limited line of sight. He saw shoes. Behind the organ. Polished, black shoes, which, no doubt, belonged to Toast. His shell impulsively moved towards it, Aimee's knife in his hands. He put his hands on the face of the organ and pushed. Ghost, at that moment, saw the opportunity. If he could throw the knife under the organ, Aimee would be freed, while he could still grab the knife afterwards.

But Toast would be dead.

He managed to slightly toss the knife under the organ before it fell, teetering slowly onto the unsuspecting best friend of Johnny Ghost, Paranormal Investigator Extraordinaire.

The organ landed with a muffled thump, then silence fell over the room. Ghost had regained his senses, he wiggled his fingers. They responded. He blinked his eyes. They responded. He called for Toast, crying for him to come back.

He didn't respond.

"Ohoho.. Such a wonderful death, now, wasn't it?"

Ghost picked up the knife, which was back to its original color. He spotted Aimee in the corner of the room, but didn't show any indication that he recognized her. Ghost glanced at Sally Betty Jessica, who was barely peeling the last bit of fine, indigo fabric off of her body.

"For Toast!" Ghost shrieked as he plunged the knife into Sally Betty Jessica's leg.

The knife made a horrible thumping noise, then fell to the ground with a metallic and lifeless clang.

The handle was now a brown color, with navy blue gems. It was actually quite a beautiful arrangement, if Toast hadn't died. Aimee stalked over to Ghost, hesitating before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"John, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It was my fault he's dead, I just want you to take this knife into the 13th Dimension and put Sally Betty Jessica in one of the encasing enigmas you find there. It's more than all the help you can give to me."

Aimee took the knife, nodding and wrapping her arms around Ghost's shoulder.

"You did the best you could. Think about it, you stopped Sally Betty Jessica from ever making anyone go through this again. You're a hero."

"I'm not a hero if I couldn't save my best friend. Just.. Just go. I appreciate your help."

Aimee stepped back, uttering a small, "Okay," before disappearing into nothing. Tea, Namira, Tilly, Piper, and the rest emerged from the pews they were hiding behind at this moment.

"Ghost." Tea walked up to him, smiling and crying tears, "You didn't kill him. He's here."

"Don't start with all that 'He's not really gone' hoopla. He's dead, Tea. Don't you dare sugarcoat it."

"No, I'm serious. He's behind the altar."

"You're kidding me."

"I kid you not. Look."

A hand reached out from the side of the altar, and the next thing that revealed itself was Johnny Toast, alive, breathing, and not a pancake. The first thing Ghost did wasn't smile, or laugh, or cry. The first thing he did was run up and hug the living soul out of him.

Then he smiled.

Then he laughed.

Then he cried.

~

"How did you survive? I saw you get crushed under the organ thing.."

"That's why I always keep a spare pair of shoes at hand. That's why I packed them."

"In case of emergency."

They both ended the sentence together, and shared a moment of laughter before they began hugging again. Maloney stood at this moment.

"This is nice and all, but I haven't gotten my stuff back yet!"

A moment of silence passed, until Gertrude finally spoke.

"We'll start heading out today. That is the whole reason we came here, wasn't it?"

A murmur of agreement amongst the group.