From now on I'll be putting a ‼️before and after anything possibly triggering so it can be skipped easily and the rest of the chapter can still be read.
TW: Minor homophobic comments. Not that it's ever ok but it is very minor, nothing verbal is said and nothing physical is done, actually and he's immediately kicked out of Mary's. It just felt unrealistic having everyone they meet be super supportive.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming:
"Dude! You're telling me we've got ghosts?" Tina put her hands to her head making an explosion noise. Hobbs agreed to let her come up and help with the case, but he wasn't able to make it.
"Well, we think they're ghosts. We're not sure. It's just what we're going with for now." Todd corrected her.
"Dirk, why haven't you taken us here before?! The burgers are amazing!" Farah said. They were back at Mary's.
"Well... I may have blurted to Mary about my fancying of Todd so I couldn't really take you here until that happened." He leaned back in his booth in embarrassment.
"Wait... 'fancying' is British for liking someone right?" Tina looked around in approval for her question but was instead met with blank stares stating "obviously". "Until that happened..." she muttered under her breath while the rest of the group patiently waited for her to catch up. "WAIT?! You and Todd are together?!" She once again put her hands to her head and made an explosion noise.
Farah rubbed her back and said, "I told you about that already, sweetie."
"I must have been high..." They nodded, already expecting that to be the answer. "Congrats dudes! I knew it from the beginning. I told Farah I thought you two had something."
"You also didn't notice us holding hands or us sitting closer together?" Todd asked.
"I may or may not be a bit high right now..."
"You really are the worst police officer." Dirk laughed.
"What?! It's legal here! I've gotta fill my quota." They all laughed, even Tina.
"Right... so back to the case." Dirk changed the subject. "We need to find a medium."
"You seriously don't believe in that junk?" Todd turned to face his boyfriend.
"Who's to say mediums aren't like me? What if they've built up a stigma around themselves so that Blackwing all thinks it's a whole bunch of rubbish and leaves them alone."
"That's like... genius," Tina said. "Wait! I dabble in witchcraft." They all looked at her like a Witchacookoo. "No! Not like that Suzie bullshit. Like tarot and crystals. Neo-paganism."
"Uh-huh," Todd looked at her confused and Farrah shared his look. Dirk just looked excited.
"That's so cool! I've always wanted to learn more about that. Well, always since I found out about it... Just now." Dirk bounced.
"Have I ever told you how adorable you are?" Todd smiled at him.
"Many times." Todd was about to kiss him but Dirk obliviously turned back to the group in his excitement. "So what does this have to do with the case?"
"Witches talk to ghosts sometimes. I can totally help with this one!" They all doubted Tina's necromancy abilities but if it meant not having to pay someone, they were willing to try it.
"Ok... so what do we need to do? Get an Ouija board?" Todd asked and was met with an immediate response.
"NO! No Ouija! That's like... geez how do I put this, BAD. Like, put a snowman in hell bad, take Zeus and put him under Suzie's love spell times 10 bad, put the Joker in the Bat Cave with a flamethrower, chainsaw, and a motherfucking dinosaur bad."
"Definitely not that then. That sounds bloody horrifying." Dirk's mouth hung open. "Who's the Joker?" He added suddenly.
"DUDE! We've got to catch you UP!" Tina was out of her seat, leaning over the table and shaking Dirk by the shoulders until Farah quickly pulled her back down.
"Tina, focus," Farah looked her in the eyes and Tina gave a single, strong nod. "What do we need to do?"
"Right! I need a black candle, my cards, my pendulum, and some incense."
"That's it?" Todd seemed surprised.
"Yep. For now at least."
After they had finished with their food Mary returned with ice cream for them. Dirk clapped like a kid in a candy store, which he practically was. "Thank you, Mary."
"Only the best for my favorite customer! Now customerS."
"Awww! Only the best for my favorite restaurant!" He tilted his head with his signature Dirk smile.
"You two are like an old married couple." Farah laughed. Obviously a joke, but still the comment was met with an auditable "Ewww!" from both of them.
Dirk grabbed Todd very quickly and possessively like a child with their favorite toy and brushed his hair lovingly with his fingers as he wrapped himself around him. "Todd is mine and will forever be mine!" He gave Todd a kiss on the head which in response Todd turned back and gave Dirk an actual kiss.
"Now there's some sickening-ly sweet couple-y shit." Tina pointed at them with her ice cream spoon. "We can be sweet, too!" She turned to Farah and gave her a kiss.
Dirk threw both of his arms all the way up in the air, hands in fists as if shouting GOAL! "And everyone was gay!" Farah and Todd laughed.
"Whoo! Rainbows!" Tina reached across the table to give Dirk a high-five.
‼️Across the restaurant, by the kitchen barstools, they heard a man laugh and jokingly gag. Almost too quiet to hear, but Mary heard enough.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY RESTAURANT!" She yelled and ran over to him.
"But I haven't ordered yet."
"YOU HEARD ME. I DON'T CARE. GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT." She angrily pointed to the door.
"Can I speak to the manager? I'd like to see them leave." He responded.
"Oh, did you not see the name of the restaurant?" She pointed to the logo on the menu. "Did you not see my name tag? I'm the owner! So, I'll ask, no, I'll tell you again. Get the FUCK out of my restaurant!"
"Fine. I don't want to eat at a crazy person's restaurant anyway." He sulked out the door.‼️
"Sorry about that." She walked over to the group who was all staring at her in awe.
It took a moment but Dirk finally broke the silence. "And that is why this is my favorite restaurant."
——————————
They all headed to Mrs. Davidson's apartment after grabbing Tina's stuff. She seemed very proud of herself that she was helping.
"Hey, Mrs. Davidson, it's Todd and Dirk... and a few other people." Todd knocked on the door. "Is now a good time?"
She opened the door and smiled. "Oh yes, now is fine. The sooner it's gone the better. Dirk actually called me so we could work out the payment. He let me know you were on your way." ]
"Oh, She-it!" Tina said looking at the back wall, the word "help" still burnt in.
"Oh yes, this is Tina. She'll be helping us talk to the ghost today." Dirk said cheerfully.
"Y-yes, that's lovely." She seemed taken back by... well everything about Tina. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Nah, we're Gucci. Thanks, Mrs. D." Tina waved dismissively. Farah just facepalmed.
"Sure..." She walked into the kitchen leaving the four of them in the living room.
Tina sat down on the floor in front of a coffee table. "Come on. Sit down. Wherever... doesn't matter. Maybe not on the furniture though... just in case." Todd and Dirk sat on the left side of the table and Farah sat next to Tina who proceeded to light some candles and incense. Some really interesting incense, not pleasant. Dirk coughed dramatically and waved his hand in front of his face. Todd gave him a stink eye.
"Spirit in this apartment! I am communicating with you and you only. I have some tarot cards with me. Please manipulate the cards and answer my questions. We're here to help you." The candle flames grew taller and slowed their flickering. "Ok. First question. Who are you?" She shuffled the cards and one fell out. When she turned it over her face drained.
"That can't be right. It can't." She put it back in and shuffled the cards again a few times.
"What's wrong?" Farah put her hand on Tina's thigh.
"It's- It's nothing. Probably messed up. Or they're just joking with me." She looked up and yelled. "HEY! I don't like this joke. Please just answer the questions." She shuffled again and a card fell out. She turned it over again, shaking. "Shit man, I don't like this." She shook her head.
"What is it, Tina?" Todd asked.
"It's... The Tower. The worst card you can get. It's an omen of pain, suffering, injustice, and chaos."
"Well, that doesn't sound nice," Dirk said.
"It's just cards," Todd said, trying to reassure her. "Just cards. Cards can't predict anything." She just seemed offended.
"I don't know Todd, twice in a row? And this is a case we're talking about. It all gets weird." Dirk smiled to him emptily. The kind of smiles you give to someone after something truly bad happens.
"I'm doing it again. It can't be The Tower." She shuffled and The Tower fell out, face up this time. "Dude! Stop doing this!" Again, The Tower. Again, The Tower. She actually began to cry a bit. Again, The Tower. It happened another 10 times before she broke down completely. The cards fell out of her hands and splayed everywhere as she threw herself into Farah for comfort. "I don't like this."
"Hey. It's going to be ok." She whispered into her ear as she rubbed her back. "I need you to keep going. Maybe ask another question."
She pulled back, sniffed, and nodded. "Ok." She took a deep breath. "I'm going to do a multiple card spread now. This spread is for what we need to know about the case." She shuffled five times and pulled out three cards and laid them on the table. She grabbed a book that was sitting next to her and began flipping through it. "Ok. First card. What's it about? 8 of swords." She rolled her eyes. "That's not good. Of course, it isn't. Imprisonment, trapped, powerless."
"I don't like the sound of that," Dirk said.
Tina angrily shushed him and began flipping through her book again. "Second card. What are we going to face? 9 of swords. Again, not good. Trauma, betrayal of the mind, something that has happened before is going to happen again. Something that you've run from is coming back."
Dirk mumbled something to himself.
"What did you say?" Todd asked him.
"Hm? Oh, nothing."
"Last card. What is going to happen? Judgment. Well, that's pretty self-explanatory." She laughed, almost as if talking to herself. Her eyes lit up. "OH! It actually means reflections, realizations, reckoning, and awakening. That's interesting." She put the book down and shuffled the cards again. "So let's try that again. Who are you?" A gust of wind ran through the room, enough to push her ratted hair back and blow out the candles. All the lights began to flicker and finally went out.
"It's happening again!" Mrs. Davidson ran in only for her to see the massive, continuous wind through the room. "I see you already know that... ok. I'll be in here." She awkwardly pointed back to the kitchen and shuffled away.
"Oh, HELL yeah!" Tina shouted. A crackle began to be heard and a blue light emerged. Growing from a small dot, it spread outwards with pops of lightning.
"Bloody... I think they're back, Todd!" Dirk turned Todd away from the spectacle to shake him by the shoulders.
"What the fuck do you mean?!" He responded. Dirk just pointed behind Todd. What he saw when he turned back around chilled him to his core. "Holy shit..."
A light blue figure of a young girl appeared. Dirk was right, they were back. "Screw this. You want to talk to me? Talk to me." She said, her voice echoed slightly.
"Do you... do you see what I see?" Farah turned to face all of them and they nodded.
"I think I solved the case!" Dirk stood up abruptly and began pacing.
"This early?!" Todd followed.
"Well, it's obvious. Keep up, Todd. It's the Men of the Machine."
"How did you- What the hell is going on?" The ghost said.
"Shit's bout to get real!" Tina responded.
"I think I've got it, but stop me if I have something wrong. Which I never do, but there's a first time for everything." He sat down in one of the chairs. All eyes were on him. "It began in the 80s. 1981 to be exact. The cult had just perfected the soul swapping and were finally ready to swap one of their own into a brand new body. After searching for a while to find a healthy body to last as long as possible, lots of stalking, they found you. One night you were walking down the street when suddenly they came up behind you and knocked you out. You woke up strapped in a chair connected to a strange machine. The soul swapping machine. Everything goes to plan for the first half, your souls were ready to be put into a new body when someone goes horribly, horribly, wrong. Your body was absolutely fine. The cult members?..." He grit his teeth and inhaled. "Not so much. The machine zapped him a little, ok a lot, too hard, and killed his body. So when they switched the chairs, there was no body for your soul to go into. Your body woke up with the cult member's soul inside it... and you? Well... you were floating around in the air. They thought nothing of it. Less work for them!" He clapped, "But you were left hopping from electronic to electronic. Doomed to that fate for the rest of time."
"How did you know all of that?!" She yelled.
"I got it all right?! Again?! I'm getting pretty good at this detective thing." He smiled nonchalantly and gave himself a pat on the back.
"This early?" Todd seemed shocked.
"We're not done. Something... something's missing. This isn't it. This is just the beginning."
"What?"
"Something big is coming." He grabbed Todd's hands and looked at him very, very seriously. "Something that's big, and bad, and I don't know what it is. I don't know why it is. It's like... if I met someone who lost their car keys, I would end up stopping an alien invasion. And it would still be linked to the car keys. If I didn't meet the person who lost their car keys, we would have alien overlords! In other words, what I mean is, this is small. It's leading to something so much more important and I'm not sure how yet."
"Can someone please-" The ghost's voice snapped them out of it. It was beginning to fade, like a voice on a phone, losing connection. "Shit. This is the longest I've been in the air, I'm loosing-"
Suddenly, out of her control, she shocked Todd. The ghost was gone. He fell to the ground screaming. But the electricity around him had faded. They all knew what this was.
The shock caused him to catch fire. It spread rapidly. Dirk dropped to the ground to hold him. He just held him there on the ground. Held him as tight as he could. "Todd? Todd! What do you see? What is it?"
Todd struggled to get words out over his screaming and writhing in agony. Dirk had caught too. He knew it wasn't real, but it felt so real. "F-f-ff-FIRE!" He sobbed. "Y-you're o-on fire t-tt-t-too."
Farah and Tina rushed over to his side but Dirk shooed them away. He knew Todd. He knew he needed something to focus on, too many people was too much. He didn't need to see more people he loved on fire.
Mrs. Davidson came rushing in. "Is everything alright?!" Todd's screams continued.
"He's having an episode. Everything is fine. He needs space." Farah explained.
"Shit, man! What do I do?" Tina was panicking.
"Pills! Right!" Dirk reached into Todd's hoodie pocket to find nothing. Other pocket? Nothing. His jeans? FUCK. "Ok. Todd, I need you to look at me." He just continued screaming. "I don't have your pills. I don't know where they are. I need you to focus on me. I'm here. What would help?"
"H-Hold me. Just hold me." He cried. The worst of it had passed. It was still bad, still really bad but it was beginning to fade. Focusing on Dirk was helping.
"I've got you. It's ok. I'm here." Dirk rocked him in his arms. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
Todd stopped shaking. He went limp. "TODD?!" Dirk frantically checked to see if he was breathing or had a pulse and thank god he did. "It's ok, he's just passed out." It killed Dirk to see Todd in pain. He hated it. More than anything in the world.
For Todd, the pain had faded. But he saw something. Flashes. Of... an old mansion. It flashed to gears turning. Then he heard a voice. "Louis." It changed back to the mansion, this time at an odd door. "Axis" A strange, giant, pink, worm-like monster, with a deadly flower-like mouth of teeth, it's body covered in spikes. "Blackwing" He saw a pale woman with black wavy hair and black lipstick and then saw... Zackariah Webb.
His eyes burst open with a sharp inhalation. Dirk was still holding him, he seemed relieved to see Todd awake again. After a moment to make sure the episode was truly over, Dirk quickly kissed him. Todd felt weak, he didn't want to talk at the moment but he had to tell them.
"Dirk?"
"Yes, love?"
"I just had a vision."
AN
I told you last chapter was important...