The roof shook and bits of it rained down on the table as the light above them flickered. Ozul floated above a rusty chair, dark energy poured, and corroded whatever it touched.

The man in front of him looked confused about where he was. That was normal. But what wasn’t normal was his reaction to Ozul. He gave Ozul a pleasant smile, like the one you would give a stranger on a pleasant day at a park.

“Am I dead?” The man asked. “I remember being hit by a truck.”

“dO yoU deSIRE powER?” His voice came out of his mouth cracking like static from the excessive energy pouring from him.

“Power?” The man scratched his cheeks and gave it at thought. “What can I do with that power?”

Ozul leaned in. “anyTHING!”

“Why, that sounds just fantastic.” He rubbed his hands together. “But what’s the price? What do I have to give for power?”

“loYALITY tO mE!”

“That’s a simple price,” the man rose from his chair, and held out a hand for Ozul to shake. “Power is something that I desire. If it means to swear loyalty to you, then that is fine.”

Ozul watched the man closely. He heard a whisper came from behind him.

Danger.

“nO yoU aRE tOO danGEROUS.”

His hair swept through the man, slicing him into small little meat cubes. Before the meat cubes touched the ground, Ozul opened a portal to his favorite world for dumping bodies in. The meat cubes fell onto the mountain.

And then Ozul closed the portal.

The voice told him he needed to pick weak people. People that would do as they say, instead of plotting his doom. He also wanted to have sex and recruit only women, but the voice told him no. It desired monogamy, and no cheating.

Praise the voice!

#

When the brightness from the lightning strike dimmed, Dalton fell face down. The three ghost users roared in delight.

“What an easy man to defeat. To think that our master felt afraid of him.” One of them snorted.

“What about the other one?”

The three turned to her like hungry wolves. She took a step back. This was bad. Her ability as a ghost was not good for this situation.

“Wait! Master Ozul did tell us to take her alive.” The short one with the ghost ability Marriage Ender interjected. “He said he desired her body.”

“I think we all do.” The Sky High user licked his lips. “Did he say we could taste her.”

“Hey.” Light Show stared down at Dalton. “He’s still alive.”

“Then kill him!” Sky High yelled. “I’m the one with the strongest ability here. Be useful and kill him.”

“Now, that’s not fair.” Marriage Ender jabbed his fat finger in Sky High’s gut. “I broke his ring. If it wasn’t for that, you wouldn’t have hit him.”

They continued to argue. Louise saw that as a good as a time as any to activate her ability. Well, not really, but to scare them off. She reached for her pocket.

“Hey, wait. She’s doing something.” Sky High pointed out. “What are you doing? She’s taking something out of her pocket.”

Light Show reached out his hand and turned on the light above her. She held a knife in her hand.

“A knife? Why is she holding a knife in her hand?” Marriage Ender mused.

“She thinks she can defeat us with a knife.” Sky High burst out in laughter. He held out a hand, lightning gathered in it. “You cannot defeat lightning with a knife.”

The grip on her knife loosened, and she put it away. That seemed to confuse the three ghost users. She held her hands together and gave them a polite bow. “I won’t need to this after all.”

A giant of a man stepped up from behind them, lighting his cigarette. He stroked his beard, tapping his shoulder with a golden hand attached to what looked like a vacuum cleaner and gazed down on them as the three turned to look up at him.

“Do you smell that?” A purple beam struck Sky High, and he was suspended in the air. “It’s the smell of my muscles and me taking the ghosts out of you.”

He chucked a disc below Sky High, and a pillar of light exploded from underneath him, devouring him. When the pillar dissipated, all that was left was a depowered Sky High,

“Milton!” Marriage Ender cried. Light Show stopped him by the shoulder and shook his head.

“We must run.”

The two did, and the muscle man stalked towards Dalton. He swore and shook his head in disappointment. Then he turned to Louise and motioned for her to come.

“Help me with this idiot,” he said, stroking his beard. “This fool forgot the most important thing today.”

“Sure.” Louise said, looked over him once more. “I’m just surprised by your…appearance.”

“Just like a butterfly breaking from his cocoon. Check out my abs. It’s been forever since I had them.” He slapped his six-cut abs. “Still help me out here. I’m going to need you to carry these.” He thumbed behind him at his equipment.

#

Dalton woke up with a shudder and rose. Sweat dripped down his bandaged chest. Pain tickled all over his body, but that was pushed off to the back of his mind. He didn’t know where he was.

“Sleeping beauty, finally awake.” A light turned on, and very buff man, wearing a bandana tied around his head, sat next to him. He had a bushy beard, and had a giant rifle he recognized as Zeus slung over his shoulder. “Why did you have to wear a butler uniform today, Dalton? Why didn’t you wear the tie your girlfriend gave you?”

Dalton blinked, recognizing the voice.

“Malcolm?”

“Aye.”

“Ho-how long have I been asleep for?” Dalton felt fear surge in his chest.

“Four hours.”

“Bullshit!” Dalton screamed, pointing at Malcolm’s abs. “What happened to you? You were overweight! You can’t just grow abs four hours!”

“Huh?” Malcolm gave Dalton a strange look. “Of course you can. Didn’t you remember what I did after I found out that I lost Satoshi. I went into a cocoon and became a beautiful butterfly.”

“This isn’t something you can change in four hours! What you did takes months of self-discipline!” Dalton’s hand was shaking. It became hard to swallow. “Don’t tell me you’re a ghost user?”

He placed a reassuring hand on Dalton’s shoulder and gave him a square stare. “Dalton don’t be disgusting. I am not a ghost user. I became like this because I am not a beautiful butterfly.”

“I don’t believe you. Explain your process now.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“It’s simple. I covered myself in a cocoon of blankets and cardboard. I went under my desk. I opened my hyperbolic time chamber-”

“That’s it!” Dalton screamed.

“Let me finish!” He glared at Dalton. “Now, I went into my time chamber. I started to drink, and cry. Then I decided that I needed to be buff again. So, I trained. I did a hundred push-ups. A hundred sit-ups. A hundred squats. Ran a hundred kilometers. And now I’m the buff beefcake butterfly you see in front of you.”

“…None of what you just said, makes sense. That exercise isn’t enough for you to be that buff.”

“I also drank some protein shakes.” He held up an empty container. “See.”

Scrawled on the container were many warning labels written in different languages that Dalton couldn’t read but it had symbols he knew. Like the radioactive symbol, a skull, and…a butterfly.

What was that even supposed to mean?

It didn’t seem to matter, but Malcolm posed, straining his muscles while his veins bulged.

“My you’re very excited when you wake up.” Louise stepped through the doorway with a jug of water and a few glasses. “I guess that means you’re alright.”

Dalton felt relieved to see ghost Louise all well, but that didn’t explain how he got here in the first place. This area was not familiar to him. It was all white, it…

“Are we in the time chamber?” He asked Malcolm.

“Yes we are,” Malcolm said, taking the jug from Louise’s hand to pour water for Dalton. “I needed more time to build more ghost guns.”

“Ghost guns?” Dalton took the cup that was handed to him and drank it.

“Yeah. Check it.” Malcolm retrieved the gun from behind him. It looked like a the golden hand from Nikolai. His tone was fatherly. “I call him Emmanuel. Took out several ghosts already.”

“Okay.” Dalton gave it a quick look. “How did you make a ghost gun?”

“Remember Nikolai. Eira took his golden hand. Well, that had a gravity gun. I just reworked it and made a ghost gun. Needed to come here to resupply.”

“I see. I see.” Dalton looked around again, noticing that someone was missing. “Where’s Eira?”

Pain spread across Malcolm’s face. “She got eaten by Ozul.”

“Eira got eaten by Ozul?” Dalton highly doubted that. “She has a magic grimoire that shoots tentacles.” Dalton pointed out.

“Well, that’s probably why Ozul took her out first,” he said, shaking his head. “Seriously thought he had another STD, but it was a ghost that possessed him.”

“It was obvious that it was not an STD.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us?” Malcolm snapped.

“I did!” Dalton snapped more. “I pointed out that something was wrong, but you kept on saying it’s an STD, and went into your time chamber!”

“That’s enough.” Louise cut through. “Blaming each other won’t do anything about the situation. Which is terrible. Ozul has eaten three floors worth of employees.”

“Huh.” Dalton wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“And he was going to eat more.” Malcolm said. He rose the ghost gun in his hand. “We’re going to have to take Ozul out before he gets too powerful.”

“We are not going to kill him. Killing him, would mean that everyone he ate would die too,” Louise said.

Malcolm threw up his hands. “Where the hell did he get possessed by a ghost? Did he have sex with it?”

“Now that you mention that I think he did,” Dalton said.

Malcolm and Louise gave each other a look. “Dalton, I was just joking. Having sex with a ghost is a little…even for Ozul.”

“No, he…” Dalton shook his head, getting his information straight. “He slept with his stalker, and she killed herself. I think it’s the stalker’s ghost that is possessing him.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Dalton. Even if she was obsessed with Ozul, ghosts aren’t that strong when they first die. Ghosts age like wine. We get stronger the older we are,” Louise said.

Dalton shook his head, disagreeing with her. “I’m absolutely sure it’s the stalker. Why else would a ghost haunt him?”

“Well…” She went deep in thought. “I can only think that the stalker had to be powerful before she died, in order for her to be a particularly nasty ghost.”

“Then that’s probably it!” Dalton said.

Louise still looked doubtful. “It is very rare. If I were to say how rare it would be like finding a shiny detective yellowrat in Rocketmon.”

“Oh, that is pretty rare.” Dalton understood, but he let it be. He was sure that it was the case. Because if this was Ozul, then his stalker was probably crazy too.

“Alright, well I think I’m lost, so here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna take my beloved Emmanuel and capture the stalker ghost in this disc I made. But I need a distraction.” Malcolm turned to Dalton. “In many cases, I would allow you to be the distraction, but you might actually die without your tie.”

“Why would that happen?” Louise asked.

“Wait, wait. That’s a dumb idea. Let’s just escape and go to my house. Maya should be able to help.”

“Maya?” Louise repeated.

“Oh, your girlfriend is home.” Malcolm lit up at that. “That actually sounds like a good idea. Alright, new plan, we go crash at Dalton’s house and beg his girlfriend to save all of us from Ozul.”

“Why would his girlfriend be able to save us?” Louis asked.

“I agree.” Dalton rose his hand. “Let’s go to Maya and have her protect us.”

The door blasted open, striking Malcolm at the back of his head. He fell face forward on the ground. A puddle of blood was starting to form underneath his face.

“Malcolm!” Dalton pushed himself out of his bed to check on him. Louise was there first. She turned him over. His eyes had rolled up his head showing only the whites, and his mouth agape like a silent scream.

“He’s alright,” she told him.

He did not look alright.

“sO, thIS iS whERE yOU weRE.”

Ozul floated in, a darker miasma covered him, and Dalton was certain for a brief moment, he saw a woman’s body wrapped around his back in an embrace.

“i haVE beEN looKING fOR yOU.” His voice trembled like man in a dessert with no water. “i aM sOOOO glAD thAT yoU aRE saFE.”

“Dalton,” Louise said very carefully. “You should take Malcolm and leave.”

Ozul trained his eyes on Dalton, fury crunched in his face. “dalTON! yoU tOOK mY fiaNCE fROM mE! hoW dO yoU plEAD?”

Dalton crouched near Malcolm, he kept his gaze locked on Ozul, his hand reached slow and steady next to Malcolm.

“Not sure what you’re talking about Ozul? But it is what you think it is. Me and Louise were in this bunker alone.”

His voice exploded. “i knEW iT! diE! diE! DIE!” The black streaks around him tore the door frame and the wooden table to shreds and even the marble white ground below him. His fingers raked his face, peeling the skin, blood dripped down his face, and for a moment his voice went back to normal. “He did it, he did it. He ruined my marriage.”

Then his eyes turned pitch black. “diE!”

“No, you die!” Dalton blasted him with the gravity gun. It struck Ozul in the chest, and Dalton threw the disc underneath him.

The pillar of light exploded from the disc. Ozul’s wail shook the very air. He was fighting for dear life, trying to hold on to his very life by grabbing the busted door frame. But the door frame wasn’t holding. It looked on the verge of snapping any moment.

“Stop it!” Louise pulled his hand, the gravity beam moved away from Ozul, hitting the wall.

“What are you doing?” Dalton angrily yelled.

“You’re killing Louise. You’re killing everyone that ghost has eaten.”

“thANK yoU mY wiFE!” Ozul blew the disc underneath him. The miasma flared to life around him. “i proMISE dalTON merCY!” Then he stopped for a moment, as if he were listening to someone else. “oF couRSE. hE muST diE.”

Dalton aimed the gravity gun again, but Louise pushed his hand down. Ozul’s haunting laughter filled the air. Then with a flick of his finger, the gun blew out of Dalton’s hand, spinning the air. Dalton tried to reach out for it, but with another flick Dalton was smacked by an invisible force. He hit the wall, gasping.

Ozul laughed at his pain. Louise tried to lunge at him, but Ozul flicked a finger, and she was bond by an invisible force, and floated right next to Ozul.

Malcolm stood up. His hand held out and catching his gravity gun. Hope returned within Dalton. Maybe, maybe he would be able to escape. But Malcolm turned towards him, his face was still squirting blood, and his eyes were still rolled up in his head. He was clearly still unconscious.

He pointed the gun to Dalton.

“I’ll kill that train conductor.” He blasted Dalton in the chest with the gravity gun.

It felt…like he was floating and then he slammed down feeling heavier than before. It wasn’t just his imagination, as he pushed himself up, he felt like his body had added five pounds.

“The milkman.” Malcolm shook. “He took my milk!”

“St-”

He shot Dalton a couple more times.

“-op!”

Ozul pointed at him, laughing at his misery. For a moment his eyes returned to normal, but immediately turned back to black. Ozul flicked his finger, and Malcolm was thrown through the wall.

Then, Ozul approached Dalton. Louise floated behind him.

“Milkman!” Malcolm screamed at the top of his lungs. He stood at the hole and aimed his gun…at Dalton. Shooting him a few more times.

“What did the milkman do to you!” Dalton cried out. “Stop it!”

Then, he snapped awake. Malcolm looked around, seemingly confused. He was wide awake and looked embarrassed at what he did to Dalton. He scratched his beard and gave him an apologetic look.

“Sorry.”

“Save me!” Dalton screamed.

“Right!” Malcolm aimed his gravity gun. When he pulled the trigger, the light fizzled from it. He tried to shoot a couple of times, but nothing came out. Ozul, Dalton, Louise, and Malcolm stared at the gun for several heavy moments.

“Can you wait? I need to recharge this.”

Ozul opened his mouth, unleashing a black tar like beam onto Malcolm. It probably would have been more polite for Ozul to say no.

Dalton sat there, replaying the events of today, wondering what would have happened if he had been smart enough to bring a life protecting tie that his girlfriend made for him. It probably would have changed a lot of events for sure.

Eira and Louise would not have gotten eaten. Malcolm would not be dead, and Dalton was sure he would not be dead too. After all, Ozul turned to him, his black eyes left a streak across the air as it met Dalton once more. His tongue came out, pitch black and slithering like a snake.

“Stop right there!”

To both of their surprise, Dalton and Ozul turned to see Malcolm stepping out of the rubble, ripping off the rag that used to be his shirt, and posing to show off his abs.

Ozul touched his own stomach, and flames of hatred flared in his eyes.

“aBS!!!”

“Yes! Watch as my abs crushes your ambition!” Malcolm yelled.

Dalton turned his head. Had Malcolm always been this type of character? He was starting to glow, and a pair of wings shaped like a butterfly’s sprouted from his back.

He looked towards Dalton. He looked scared, but he gave a reassuring smile. “Make sure to save all of us.” Then he turned to Ozul, with hard resolve etched across his face.

Malcolm threw up his hands. “I am, a butterfly beefcake! Tremble from my strength!”

Dalton knew what to do. At the same time, he blasted off towards Ozul, Dalton ran for the door. Ozul unleashed another howling beam at him, but it did not slow Malcolm down, hitting Malcolm like a water gun hitting a wall.

His laughter filled the time chamber, and it echoed across the empty hallways that Dalton ran through. Even when he finally pushed out of the front door of the Bureau, Dalton was sure he could still hear his laughter.