Kate didn't know what to say. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she stared at him, absolutely stunned. For his part, Rafe was equally as stunned, everything he planned to say vanishing from his mind in an instant.
"Hello Kate," he whispered in awe, like he was looking at some great and otherworldly vision that was too good to be true.
"Hi Rafe," Kate replied, holding back tears as emotion rolled over her. All of her sadness and grief, compounded with the sheer joy of seeing his face again, hearing his voice again, even if he was only a ghost.
Finally a smile broke out on her face, a smile that made him feel like all the pain and tragedy of the past and the future was nonexistent. She said, "I, I can't believe... I've missed you so.... You're here!"
"I'm here," he reassured her, "I only wish it was under better circumstances."
"And can you explain what those circumstances are, and also why we should trust you, or are you just gonna keep making heart eyes at my sister?" Emma asked sarcastically.
Rafe didn't blame her for her snippy tone of course. She had every reason not to trust him after all he had done. He was just lucky she and her siblings were willing to hear him out.
"Something has changed within the makeup of the universe. The boundaries between life and death have become more fluid," Rafe began to explain, "I discovered this... well, actually, an old friend alerted me to it."
"Henrietta Burke?" Kate guessed.
Rafe nodded in confirmation, then continued speaking, "because these barriers have weakened those strong enough to cross over from the land of the dead to the living can do so if they choose, and become ghosts. That's how Stanislaus, Gabriel and I are here."
"So what's the issue with all this?" Michael questioned.
Rafe sighed, "well for starters, we don't know why the world is changing and life and death are being rearranged. The only things with the power to do that were the books, and they were destroyed."
"And we're sure nothing remained of them?" Michael interrupted, "there's no residual magic in me and my sisters?"
"No,"'Dr. Pym assured him, "the Books were destroyed for good."
"So it's something else causing the change. An unknown," Rafe said, "one that we don't know what the effects of will be. We also don't know if this force has some hidden agenda we should be afraid of."
"That's part of what we came here to investigate," Gabriel chimed in, "we were hoping your parents could help, but well..."
"We could help," Emma said fiercely.
Gabriel smiled, "thank you Emma. But I'm afraid research is not the most pressing matter."
"No, making sure we don't lose our parents again is," Michael said, and now his voice was a bit bitter. He did not look at Rafe.
"Not even that," Kate sighed, "there's a bigger issue, a more pressing one, isn't there?"
Rafe nodded, "I'm so sorry this is happening. But it's not just friendly spirits like Gabriel or Dr. Pym that can become ghosts. It's evil spirits as well."
"But those souls have no memory because they have no soul!" Emma protested, sure that her actions with the Reckoning kept them safe.
"A long lifetime of being evil leaves an imprint. Instinct lead a dark soul to discover this new development and become a ghost. Becoming a ghost gave him his memory back. And he was able to lead other spirits of evil to break out of the land of the dead and become ghosts," Rafe said.
"W-who broke out?" Michael stammered, suddenly looking very afraid.
Dr. Pym frowned, "we aren't exactly sure. We know the Countess's spirit has gone missing-"
"Great," Emma grumbled sarcastically under her breath.
Dr. Pym continued, "and while it has not been confirmed, we suspect the Secretary and Rourke have broken out as well."
Michael was alarmed, "that's three ghosts who hate our guts! What if they come for us? What if they already came for mom and dad?"
Kate, meanwhile, had a different question, one that she asked in a quiet, grave tone, "who was the evil spirit who broke the barrier, regained his memory, and broke the others out?"
Rafe looked down, and his answer was barely a whisper, "it... it was him."
"You mean...?" Emma wondered.
Rafe turned away, unwilling to meet their eyes, to see the pain he was about to cause them, "it was the spirit of the first Dire Magnus. The one who started it all. The most evil one of all. The one who hates you most."
The room fell into total silence.
"But he doesn't have any power any more, right?" That was a very worried Michael.
Dr. Pym sighed, "he still has many supporters left in the land of the living, hiding, ready to do his bidding."
"And he still has some power," Rafe added, "you see, ghosts can still channel the magic within. We can fly, go through walls, and move things around. But those of us like him, with powerful magic, especially dark magic, well that power can withstand death at times. I'm not sure how much magic he still has, but it could be a lot. I'd bet it's a lot."
All three Wibberlys looked stricken by this information. It was a lot to take in. Ghosts, the breaking boundaries between life and death, the fact that their parents were missing and their enemies, including their greatest enemy, were back to probably seek revenge. It was a so much for three children who had already been to hell and back.
"I'm so, so sorry," Rafe finally said to break the silence, his voice faltering as he took in the pain on their faces. More pain he had caused.
"I hate to ask this of you three. You've already done so much," Dr. Pym then said, "but will you help us. Not fight, I don't expect that of you. But investigate how all this is happening and help ensure that the foundations of the world don't completely collapse."
"And if it's too much, and you want to stay here, we'll make sure you're protected," Gabriel chimed in.
"I don't like it," Emma said, shooting a glare at Rafe, "but I wanna help. I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing while everything goes to shit."
"Language," Michael chided, then said, "But I do agree. We need to protect our parents too, and this seems like the best way to find out what happened and ensure they get home safe."
"We need to do something. And we aren't letting our friends do this without us," Kate agreed firmly. The three siblings were united in this choice. They would help, they would plunge back into the world of magic. And they would risk the pain, because deep down, they all had missed that world.
Dr. Pym gave them another weak, stressed smile, "thank you children. I'm sorry you're in this position."
Then they a heard the sound of a loud gasp from the doorway. Robert was standing there, horror and shock etched over his face.
"Ghosts," he whispered in fear.
"Robert," Kate said cautiously, trying to keep the boy from doing something rash.
Rafe, meanwhile, looked at Robert and was not impressed. Who was this boy and why was he here with the Wibberlys?
"Kate?" Robert asked, "why are there ghosts? Why are you talking to them? Am I in a nightmare?"
"No," Kate replied, "this is real life. Now, it's a long story, but these are my friends, people that my family knows and trusts. They aren't going to hurt you."
"Most of them won't," Emma whispered under her breath so Kate would not hear, throwing in a pointed look at Rafe.
Michael, meanwhile, attempted to make introductions, "Robert, this is Dr. Stanislaus Pym, And that's Gabriel. They're old family friends."
"And this is Rafe," Kate finished, "my... my good friend." For a moment her voice was thick with emotion but then she got it back under control, "everyone, this is Robert Lloyd, our neighbor. His uncle is away so he was spending the night."
"Why are they ghosts?" Robert whispered to Kate. Rafe rolled his eyes. This trembling boy clearly knew nothing about magic.
"Well, because we're dead," Dr. Pym explained, which did nothing to bring comfort to Robert.
"I'll explain later. It's a very long, very intense story. But to cut it short, Magic is real, and my family is very involved in it. We've been on many adventures and been through many tragedies," Kate said.
Robert looked at her, stunned, "you... you're..."
"Not what you thought I was," Kate finished, and there was a hint of annoyance in her voice that made Rafe think that maybe Kate wasn't a fan of Robert's either.
Robert opened his mouth, clearly intending to ask another question when he was cut off by a scream, a loud, unnatural scream, echoing through the night.
The scream of a Screecher.
A/N: Rafe is here, in love with Kate, and not impressed with Robert at all!