Gho,st Partners!, or GO, PARTNERS! Options

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Gho,st Partners! (or GO, PARTNERS!)
Written by: Tyler K.

What do you do when you find out the ghost of your newly reunited friend partnered up with someone else?
Simple: you fight to the death for him back, Ghost Partner to his Ghost Partner.

*Spyré (“Spy-er”) Academy picture taken from Zero no Tsukaima. Buildings and tiers differ from what they’re actually for as shown by Setting:
The actual anime related to the picture is in no way associated with the below story. It is simply used for the academy’s outline.

Genre(s): Fantasy
Content: Age 13+ (Mild Language < Violence)
Introduction: Three years ago, promising future Ghost Partners Vain and Luna had a fateful encounter with creatures known as Voids. As a result of this normal situation turned ugly, they both got separated by different worlds. Skip to the present and they are suddenly and one-sided happily reunited. Vain, now a ghost, has partnered up with a human as a Wraith after it completed its spectral training. Luna, saved by Vain from the event a few years ago and thankfully still a human, has become a Ghost Partner herself. However, the more a Wraith is used, the better it resembles its Ghost Partner’s personality--Vain is no longer the person Luna once knew, literally. What will happen when these two meet, and moreover, why are they trying to kill each other…?
Themes this covers: Friendship: Would you kill to save your friend; would you save your friend if it meant changing your personality in the process; to save your friend, would you be willing to endanger the lives of others; if your friend had a different personality, would you still be friends; would you lose yourself every time a person activated the power that is the reason for your friend’s change of personality? Many more friendship and personality questions will called for you to think over throughout this story.
Setting: Spyré Academy. All grass inside the academy designates weapon and athletics training. (N.I.)=Not Important to Know
1. Girl’s Dorm
2. Ghost Partner-Kai Studies Classroom
3. Basic Ghost Partner Studies (N.I.)
4. Guy’s Dorm (N.I.)
5. Lunchroom (N.I.)
6. Very Top Tier- Principal’s office (N.I.); Top Tier- Student Representatives Offices; Middle Tier- Library; Bottom Tier- Ghost Partner-Rei Studies Classrooms (N.I.); Very Bottom Tier- Fractor Dome

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Gho,st Partners!

Part 1: The Ghost and the Ghost Partners

Chapter 01: Him and Her!

“Darkness became my vision while staring into the pallid reflection of the girl whose promise I was betraying…”

They were surrounded by black reptilian creatures with tiny red spikes on their backs. These bipedal creatures stood four feet tall, and contrary to their height, their bodies weren’t large. They knew they’d be able to handle these enemies, even though they had been ambushed inside of Trilithon Forest.

“Handle the one on the left, and I’ll get the two on the right,” ordered one of the two that make up the they. This was Vain Crosselinium-Razencruz. He wasn’t just some guy with an extremely long name, he was a Ghost Partner in training. Vain, along with a girl named Luna Tresell, were staring twenty feet ahead at the enemies who were shorter than both Vain and Luna by a foot or more.

As a Ghost Partner in training, it was both Vain and Luna’s dream to become an actual one some day. The two of them wouldn’t have to wait long, for once they graduated from mandatory school at the end of the year, they’d be able to enroll in an academy and become an official Ghost Partner. But Vain and Luna didn’t want to just enroll in any academy: their goal was to graduate from the prestigious Spyré Academy together. It is the only academy where Ghost Partner-Rei—and the one where the highest rate of Ghost Partner-Kai—are produced.

Upon graduation from their current school, they’d be automatically allowed to team up with a ghost to fight with; while once they obtained the status of Ghost Partner-Kai, they’d be able to use two ghosts. But to control three ghosts, to become a Ghost Partner-Rei, is every Ghost Partner’s ultimate goal. At least it is until ninety-percent learn their limits and give up.

“But I can’t, not when I have to protect Mauler,” replied Luna. In her arms was an offspring of a tiger and a lion that lived in the Trilithon Forest. However, this liger wasn’t living; it was already dead, presently a ghost. Luna and Vain often play with it to keep it company, and Vain vowed to make the little liger his Wraith once he himself was officially a Ghost Partner.

The creatures Luna and Vain were up against are the anti-existence of all Wraiths in the universe, called Voids. Although they are dangerous, they never attack humans unless they are Ghost Partners, which are humans who have made contracts with Wraiths, or collaborate with ghosts.

“It’ll be okay,” Vain reassured his friend. “You know I can handle these Void Type-E’s by myself.” He then extended both his hands out in front of him and clamped them together. “Counterattack! Long sword, wide sword!” Tightly pulling away his hands in an upside-down v-shape, two diagonal lights were being formed in their clutches.

When the lights finally separated from the “V,” they solidified into physical objects resembling swords. Then, magically, each sword in Vain’s hands took a different figure than the other. The blade attached to the sword gripped in his left hand, which was two-thirds of the length and width of Vain’s forearm, immediately shot out, tripling in length. However, the one in his right hand tripled in width and doubled in length. He was now armed with both a long blade and a broad sword.

Slowly moving his right foot behind his left, Vain took a ready stance, facing the three Voids about twenty feet ahead of him. The two enemies on the ends put both of their hands out straight, like they were preparing to block or push someone. But Vain knew differently: they were going to attack, while the one in the middle was going to jump him as Vain fended off the other two’s barrages of shots. Vain and Luna had fought enough of these enemies to have their tactics down to the teeth—it has gotten to the point that they could probably take them out with their eyes closed. This wasn’t that surprising, considering a beginning Ghost Partner could fight on par with a Void Type-C, as long as that Ghost Partner has at least a Wraith.

Watching their hands, Vain locked-on to the little spikes slowly pushing from the palms, targeting him. The Voids were awaiting the right moment to fire, but Vain wasn’t just going to let them have all the time in the world to prepare.

“I won’t let you make Luna frown!” Vain shouted while charging them head-on. He made it look like his weapons weighed nothing, thanks to his running speed.

The Void in the middle leaped into the air. At that exact moment, Vain threw the long blade in his left hand at it, then immediately switched from holding the broad sword in his right hand with both his hands horizontally, protecting himself against the projectiles that would be launched at him in less than a second.

The vertical sword Vain had thrown in the air was rolling and flipping to its target, the middle Void. It hit the mark, piercing its heart, thus killing it.

Running towards the two leftover Void Type-E’s, Vain used his broad sword to protect himself from the actual shots that were being fired at him.

“Ten feet. Eight feet. Six feet. There!”

Four feet away from the enemies, and since he was running at a continuous speed, Vain had to dig his feet into the ground, and he changed from defensive position to an attack position, slashing both Voids in half from their torsos. In less than five seconds, he had defeated all of the enemies. And the enemy that had its heart pierced had fallen back down to the ground between where Vain and Luna were.

Vain turned around to face Luna and Mauler.

“Like I said, I will always protect that smile on your face,” he said to Luna casually, walking toward his sword that was soaking up the blood of the heart it had stabbed. “But I wish we could fight something stronger, you know? Like a Void Type-C.”

The liger that was tucked into the arms of Luna yawned a bit, showing it was bored as well with these battles. But Luna wasn’t bored with the enemies they were currently facing day in and out, unlike Mauler and Vain.

“Good job. But I’m not sure I’m ready to face a Type-C yet,” Luna, frightful, declared. “Don’t the official Ghost Partners even have a little trouble dealing with them?”

“Really?” Vain asked. “I must have been asleep for that lesson, but I’m sure we’d do okay.”

Suddenly, the white liger held in Luna’s arms became alert, sensing something the others couldn’t. Luna, who had already grown accustomed to the soft and fluffy movements it would frequently make while being held by her, was immovable in the conversation to notice (author note: there are many differences between a “ghost” and a “Wraith,” not just one word being a proper noun, which you’ll soon come to understand. In this context it shows even ghosts have partly-physical bodies. It should also be noted that Mauler isn‘t technically a Wraith until next chapter, which means it has no powers yet).

“Geez. It’s not all about brute force. You should also to pay attention to—”

Luna had stopped in the middle of her sentence. The three Voids Vain had slain were turning into black sludge, becoming thick puddles of goo.

“Vain! Behind you!”

Vain reacted to Luna’s command by spinning around, bewildered at what was happening.

“Is this…resonation?” Vain questioned to himself, paying attention only to the two puddles merging into each other.

Mauler began making terrible crying sounds at the dark sludge standing next to Vain. This had belonged to the Void whose heart was pierced. Because it was further away from the other two puddles, it had yet to combine with them.

Having attention diverted elsewhere, Vain had been grabbed by the puddle next to his feet, the liquid slowly rising up his body.

“What is this?!” Vain wildly shouted, now having his attention away from the one big puddle formed by the two other little ones.

Then, without warning, a three and a half-foot Void figure shot out of the larger goo. This transformation left no trace that there ever was a puddle to begin with.

The newly altered Void reached out its hand, using a part of its own body to immediately summon a black sword from the right palm. Grasping it with both hands, he lunged at the finally aware Vain.

Vain turned around, but he only had enough time to cause the Void to miss Vain’s heart and penetrate his chest. However, this Void didn’t need to hit a particular area of a person to inflict a fatal blow. As soon as a piece of itself--this case, a sword--enters another life, it is infected throughout the entire system with its presence. This kind of attack is only used by Void Type-C’s and above. If you can’t force the enemy off within twenty seconds from the time it first strikes the body directly, you will die. There is even a lesser amount of time needed for murder when it comes to Voids higher than a C.

“A Void Type-D? No, too short!” Vain exclaimed, not even noticing he had been stabbed, for it doesn‘t hurt until after the creature has spread itself inside the host’s entire body. But since it didn‘t pain him, this alone shows it had to be a Void Type-C. “I forgot about the one beside my foot! This is a—”

Fifteen seconds remained.

The black puddle that had prevented Vain from moving his legs was now holding onto his arms and hands, as well. But part of the black substance left him and merged with the three and a half-foot tall monster, now becoming almost a five-footer.

“What?!” Luna freaked out. “Vain can’t move his body!”

Mauler catapulted out of Luna’s weakened arms and began using its teeth to bite the enemy’s left foot, over and over. Following up the liger‘s actions, Luna flipped two full rotations completely over the enemy, her location rapidly behind it. She then prepared her weapon by shouting out the summoning, similar to what Vain had done with his two weapons.

“Revenge! Rapier!”

The two and a half-foot blade attached to a half-foot metal gripper made the weapon held in Luna’s left hand a rapier. This was similar to a spear and a fencing sword but combined.

Using the sharp point of her weapon, Luna began repeatedly slashing and stabbing the enemy’s back, trying to shun its attacks away from Vain. And while assaulting it, she was also punching with phenomenal and incredible speed—at least for a human, that is. She owed her right hook’s prowess to the fact she had spent almost six years fist-training.

But in order to keep its opponent from moving for the past ten seconds, the Void Type-C kept just enough Void Type-E residue to prevent Vain from moving his hands and feet. Fortunately, with its body frequently being pummeled and bitten, it had no choice but to speed up the process and gain more power by fully merging with the leftover goo to become a complete Void Type-C.

Newly freed from the black sludge that was once holding Vain back from attacking, he was finally able to aid Mauler and Luna with his own barrage of attacks.

“Counterattack! Long sword, wide sword, SLASH!” Vain shouted.

Using both swords at once, Vain tried to slice the Void’s entire torso by meeting both swords half way. But they barely went in the Void’s body at all—and worse, Vain couldn’t get his swords to become unstuck from the creature’s sides.

Vain showed his fierceness by leaving his weapons inside the monster and switching to punching the enemy.

“Vain! Vain! Vain! Vain! Vaaaaaiiinnn!” Luna saw how desperate the situation was, and unleashed her anger as well, adding even more power to her rapier’s strikes. But this only caused the creature to get enraged.

Five seconds remained.

A couple of giant pincers appeared from the monster’s back, ready to cut Luna for interfering.

Sensing the kill, Luna reacted instantly, pulling back from her attack before the Void grabbed her with its giant pincers. After missing its target, Luna sprinted back and was about to stab it with increased force from running, but suddenly the pincers changed into hands. They caught Luna’s rapier head-on, then tossed her entire body over itself. Luna fell from the air fifteen feet and hit the ground, her strength being lost along with her weapon.

“An opening!” Vain used the opportunity of the monster focusing its attention on Luna to grab his swords out of the enemy and retaliate with them once more.

But he still didn’t hold the necessary force required to remove his weapons, so Vain used the last bit of his energy to force the two swords to cut the monster’s body deeper in. This caused the monster to cease movement entirely, screaming in agony with a low-pitched voice.

“Almost—”

With only three seconds left until the Void Type-C’s sword would kill him, Vain was only recently feeling the effects. His energy had immediately been depleted, making him release his weapons, his hands weakly hanging from his sides.

Luna lifted her head from the ground and stared at Vain’s body becoming one-third black with each passing second, until three seconds later his entire self was as black as the Void they were facing. Even darkness became Vain’s vision while staring into the increasingly dim eyes of the Void Type-C. Inside them he could see Luna’s shocked and tearful face.

“A frown? Suh…sorry, Luna,” Vain regrettably said as his final words.

Zero seconds remained.

Vain’s swords that were carved into the sides of the torso of the Void disappeared. He, along with the Void, collapsed onto the ground, both now dead.

This was the cycle of birth for the Voids, turning Wraiths and Ghost Partners into Voids themselves in order to effectively sustain both side’s populations.

Vain turned to black sludge, similar to what the Voids he had previously killed looked like, dripping to the ground. Then he evaporated into the air, being transported to some unreachable place. If Vain was still alive, he might be happy to know that the last wound he inflicted upon the Void Type-C finished it off. However, his body was now a Void itself. As for Vain’s soul, it was also just beginning its own separate journey.

Vain had grasped victory over a Void Type-C, but it came at the price of his life and eventually so much more that not even he nor Luna would realize at the time. These two would be reunited, but they would have to throw away everything that made them who they are for this to be a happy situation. Fate was playing a cruel game in order to produce the greatest Ghost Partner and Wraith combination both worlds would ever see.

[to be continued…]

Where is Trilithon Forest located? I have no clue. Anyways, that’s not important in the least because the setting permanently becomes the Academy starting next chapter… I’ll probably return to the roots of Trilithon Forest in a much further chapter, but for now don't sweat it.

Note: I didn’t bother describing what Luna and Vain look like very well because that’s done at the very beginning of chapter 2, in which they have altered appearances of an added three years. However, Vain’s appearance still isn’t described until chapter 3.

Well, that’s the first chapter. Any thoughts? Be sure to pay attention to the italics that follow each chapter’s title, for they tell the experiences and events of Vain that eventually lead up to the present.

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Well, I hope a couple people give me some comments on the past two chapters.

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Gho,st Partners!

Part 1: The Ghost and the Ghost Partners

Chapter 02: It Frightens Her?

“I didn’t even have time to express my feelings of death when immediately a figure of light appeared before me in the other world.”

“No! I won’t let you do this anymore! You‘re killing me!”

Anger was filled inside of the bedroom from a Wraith betraying its Ghost Partner. The Wraith was a white liger. Its tiny paws were being squeezed by the hands of its Ghost Partner. Annoyed with having to wake up, it yawned and let out a little squeak, interoperated as its speak.

“Oh? You’re asking if I’m being a little too dramatic about my duties?” its Ghost Partner had asked her Wraith while it still had its eyes shut. “What are you saying?! We’re talking about my position on the Student Representatives Council! This is important, Mauler!”

The liger’s Ghost Partner had long and straight black hair which touched her shoulders and slightly to her chest. Since she enrolled in an academy where it’s required the students wear uniforms, she was also attired in that.

The school uniform is a simple vest, with the left side being blue and the other being white, and white shorts. Matching vests for all students are mandatory for two reasons: because it’s an aristocratic school, and because it’s easy to take off and put on before doing athletics training or while hunting Voids.

In her hair was a yellow headband in the shape of a crescent moon on the top of her head. She had blue eyes and the average physique for a 15-year-old women, being five-feet and three-inches tall and weighing barely over 100 pounds.

“Come on! If we don’t hurry, we’re going to get put in our place by Rad and his stuck-up Wraith, Collar.”

Suddenly Mauler’s eyes exploded open, having caught the full meaning of what its Ghost Partner was saying.

“Hmm…? That’s right,” the girl said, using her Wraith’s rivalry with Collar to her advantage. “Which is why we should make our worth acknowledged by getting there together on time.” She then smiled at little Mauler. “And wouldn’t it be nice to be on time for once?”

Mauler leaped out of its Ghost Partner’s arms and dashed for the entrance’s closed door that leads out into the girl’s main dormitory. Unfortunately, it was still sleepy; it collapsed before making it even half-way between the bed and the door.

“Geez, Mauler. You’re like a tiny child.”

The energetic young lady grabbed her bag that resembles a clothing sack with straps and ran up to Mauler to wake him up once more. She looked at it and noticed the small liger was sleeping cutely. But the cuteness had lost its appeal against her because they had known each other for many years. Moreover, Mauler is always a pain to wake up each and every morning for school.

“Today is an extremely important day for us as Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representatives, which means—” the female said, interrupting herself before violently shaking her Wraith, “we don’t have time to mess around! Wake up, you!”

She then began tossing him up in the air, spinning him around—she even tried hugging him tightly, but that didn’t work either. Alas, she was forced to resort to her usual tactic: going to the adjacent small kitchen by her bed, filling up a bucket of water, and placing Mauler’s face in it. She didn’t like resorting to this, but she is ninety out of a hundred times left with no choice. Actually, adding today makes it ninety-one out of one-hundred and one.

Shocked Mauler leaped into the air, presently floating, since of course, it’s still a ghost. Its eyes fluttered awake, and it then began meowing at the girl for doing such a thing for about the 100th time or more.

“What? Did you say that a good thing about being a ghost cat is you don’t have the stress of remembering how many out of nine lives you have? I would laugh at that joke and ask you about animal stress in general if we had more time, but we gotta go!”

The adolescent picked up her bag she had put down by the door before filling up the bucket of water and put the strap over her right arm. Grabbing the now completely awake Mauler and placing it gently between both her forearms, she dashed to the Student Representatives Office located on the top tier of the middle building inside of Spyré Academy.

***GO, PARTNERS!***

Looking at the entrance to the high-class school made the blond-haired girl with fierce eyes extremely uncomfortable. But knowing that going to this school was once her Wraith’s dream made her excited. She was a new student, and this would be her first day.

Unlike the girl previously introduced, this one was taller and possibly older, judging by her slightly more developed physique. Anyone could tell this different person spent much time on her hair, for it is particularly extra beautiful. The extensive blond hair stopped growing at her waist, which then changed its style from straight to large curls. When looking at her face, two skinny strands of hair were allowed to grow from the opposite top edges and fall down exactly to her chin. Her green eyes had the appearance of someone who was very sharp and thought very highly, regardless she herself wasn’t an aristocrat. There’s a reason for this train of thought: her Wraith. She believes her Wraith has changed her instead of it being the other way around.

Those eyes were fixated on the outside arch that connected both the two walls of the Ghost Partner-Kai and Ghost Partner Basic classrooms. Starting today, she would end up going to one of those. Before even taking the placement test, she had decided for herself that she would no matter what begin Ghost Partner-Kai studies, though this would really be determined by how well she does on her introductory exam held today.

Lately, she’s noticed the relationship her and her Wraith carry become increasingly distant. Her main goal is to show her Wraith that contracting with her wasn’t a mistake by proving her worth against other Ghost Partners. She didn’t really care about becoming a Ghost Partner-Kai or Rei. All she wanted was things to return to how they used to be between them.

“This is the prestigious Spyré Academy,” the girl half-questioned to both herself and a figure floating directly behind her person. “How do you feel living out one of your human aspirations?”

The question directed at the figure only allowed its silhouette to be visible, but by looking at it you could tell it was human-shaped. It gave her an uninterested response, which is how it’d usually treat her.

“I feel nothing being outside these walls. The fun doesn’t start until entering and seeing for ourselves who‘s strong.”

That kind of response was completely in the female Ghost Partner’s radar of things her Wraith would say.

“I see… Just like me. But you’re right,” she said, not desiring to say what she was about to. “Then I guess this is where we split.”

“Later.” And then the silhouette behind the girl disappeared in a gust of wind and reappeared somewhere inside the campus, beginning its observation of interest.

“The Student Representatives Office,” the girl said, her voice trailing off while finally stepping inside of the academy for the first time. She began her long walk to the top tier of the middle building, what was called the Administrative Building, of Spyré.

***GO, PARTNERS!***

“I’m really going to die,” said out loud the Ghost Partner of Wraith Mauler. She had moments ago finished the almost five-story trip to get the top tier of the Administration Building. The elevator door opened and she was clinging to the left side, her head hanging down, as if she was about to pass out. But a person wasn’t going to be considerate of her painful experience.

“Luna Tresell, you’re twenty-two minutes late,” said the inconsiderate voice to the girl with black hair and liger Wraith.

The girl notified to be Luna walked out of the elevator into the room where everyone else was; liger Wraith was laid out, relaxing on top of its Ghost Partner’s head.

“Sorry. But it really does feel like every time I come up here I could fall at anytime,” Luna responded, still feeing uneasy about her “little” experience. “I hate how my feet feel over this height.”

Luna was now located in a small room with two other people at almost the top tier of the Administrative Building—the very top tier belonged to the Principal’s office. Luna knew who they both were, for they made up one-third of the Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representatives. Out of them, the only person she disliked was the same person who “greeted” her: Rad.

Rad was a little younger than Luna by a year and a half and was shorter by a couple of inches. He had short black hair, spiked a little. The singular distinguishing feature he had was a one-inch horizontal battle scar directly below his left eye. He had his arms crossed, annoyed with having to wait up for the last person—Luna.

“Three new students arrived before you and are already being toured around the campus by your fellow Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representatives,” Rad lectured. He was very use to saying these things to her time and time again, but Luna always has two things which prevent her from getting to a destination on time: her Wraith Mauler and knowing she has to take the elevator. “To add, one has already had their placement exam. I’ve been informed she will be taking Ghost Partner Basics.”

“Luna, Luna. What are we going to do with you,” said the person standing next to Rad. She was a Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representative akin to Rad and Luna, but their scheduled new students to tour around hadn’t shown up yet. And fortunately, Luna’s hadn’t either. “But Rad’s words really don’t hold much meaning. Thankfully, yours hasn’t arrived yet—oh? Looks likes someone is coming up the elevator.”

Luna turned around, watching intently for the door of the elevator to open up. If this person was the individual Luna had to show around campus, it would mean she’d have to get back on the elevator that much sooner.

Three seconds later, and with the automatic movement of the two-slide doors attached to the elevator, revealed the new student coming for her Student Representative. It was none other then the girl with blond hair and a fierce expression. Her features were to be expected that the girl hadn’t changed her blond hair or fierce look within the ten minute period she has been at the academy.

She quickly walked out. Only until was she fifteen feet away from everyone did she introduce herself. But before that, she put her right leg and bent it forward, kneeling herself and her head down to be respectful.

“Hello. I am Caith Sola. Appreciating that my tuition has been paid for as a reward for accomplishing a past mission as a Ghost Partner, I have been granted the blessing at being able to enroll at the esteemed Spyré Academy. I am looking forward to studying here. Thank you.”

Luna stared at the formalness and respect that the new student was showing everyone. Then, she realized this person was hers to show around, recognizing the name.

“I’m Luna, your Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representative. Nice to meet you.” Mauler jumped off of Luna’s head and landed in front of Caith. It made a little noise directed at the new student. “And that’s my Wraith, Mauler. He says we were on time, but you weren’t.”

Luna had lied with her translation of what Mauler had said. Instead, it had really told Caith, “Don’t sweat it. My Ghost Partner and I were also pretty late because she is a scaredy-cat when it comes to heights.”

After lifting her head to see Luna, Caith began getting up to stand and talk informally.

“I would have been here sooner, but I had to wait for the elevator to come back down. Besides—”

“Wait. Was that my doing?” Luna was thinking to herself and about how she immediately got off the elevator moments ago when the student known as Caith Sola said that.

“my placement exam doesn’t start until a few hours from now,” Caith finished.

Luna walked up to Caith before speaking again. Her impression of her was that Caith was a polite girl—even kind of cute because of the way she formally acted.

“No worries, but how about we start the tour of the academy, Caith?

Luna, with Mauler floating through the air after her, strides toward the elevator. Normally she’d walk much slower and without life, but because she wanted to act tough and mature in front of the older student, she was attempting to brush off her fear.

Caith turned around and followed her Student Representative without giving a reply or sensing the fear Luna holds for heights.

***GO, PARTNERS!***

Since the elevator simply needed to go down one floor lower than the Student Representatives Office, the trip didn’t cause Luna to have a panic attack. They arrived at the middle tier, the library.

Luna walked out first into a brightly lit room and stepped into a large circular area that had three levels. Each level was packed with bookcases, all ten-feet tall. There were so many books that even if you spent your entire life reading here, it still wouldn’t suffice to accomplish the task of finishing one-third of the collection.

“This is the academy’s library. Upon entering Spyré Academy, your knowledge is tested to determine which studies you will work on: Ghost Partner Basics, which is everything you need to know before contracting a Wraith and how to use one, Ghost Partner-Kai—everything you need to know before contracting and controlling two Wraiths, and Ghost Partner-Rei, everything you need to know before contracting and controlling three Wraiths,” Luna informed Caith. Although Luna may lack in elegance, she certainly doesn’t lack a brain or intelligence. “Sixty percent of all students enrolled graduate or stay until they become Ghost Partner-Kai, while thirty percent become plain Ghost Partners, and only the remaining ten percent have enough talent to make it as a Ghost Partner-Rei. Spyré Academy is the sole place in the entire world that produces the most Ghost Partner-Kai and is the only to produce Ghost Partner-Rei. This is because the location of the academy is close to a large concentration of ghosts, which in turn means it’s the reason for numerous Void—”

Caith was trying to be nice about it, but she couldn’t take it anymore listening to Luna explain stuff that she was already aware of. She had to interject her Student Representative.

“Stop. That’s all information anybody who applies to this academy would know,” Caith arrogantly responded. “Where my immediate interests lie is in something called ‘battle dome.’ I say ‘battle dome’ for a lack of knowing the accurate term it‘s called.”

Being a Student Representative and have fought in it many times, Luna knew exactly what she was referring to.

“That’s the Fractor Dome, which is where your placement exam is hosted.”

“Take me to it,” Caith said, not asking.

Luna vaguely responded, not being able to understand why she has such a high-maintenance student to inform about Spyré, with, “Even if you say that…”

“What’s the matter? You’re a Student Representative, yes? Then show the new student where it is she wants to see.” Caith was clearly being commanding of her Student Representative now.

“What’s with this stuck-up girl, anyways,” Luna contemplated, her opinion of Caith sliding more distant from the axis of cuteness with each passing word Caith would say. “It’s not really a matter. It’s just that we’ll have to take the elevator again, even though we haven‘t really checked out the—”

“Then there’s no problem. Take me there.”

“It is for me considering I’m scared of heights and stuck with an inconsiderate blondie,” Luna wondered to herself.

The obnoxious and demanding Caith was already pushing a button to use the elevator when she turned around to spout off yet another command at her Student Representative.

“What’s the matter? Hurry up and show me this ‘Fractor Dome’!”

The elevator’s slide-doors suddenly opened up; Luna stared at the invitation it was sending. To her, it was as if a Void was setting up a trap.

The opposite of an angel Caith walked inside the Void’s “trap,” thinking to herself, “I’m sure that’s where Vain is presently scoping.”

Luna obeyed the requests that more closely resembled ridiculous commands, got back on the elevator with Mauler resting on her left shoulder, and desperately clung to her usual left-hand side wall for safety, unaware the person she was sharing the elevator of doom with was the Ghost Partner to her deceased friend.

[to be continued…]

Notes:

Luna’s. Wraith. Mauler. Is. Win.
But. Haughty. Caith. Not. So. Much… >D

Next. Chapter. Comes. Monday.
Thanks. For. Reading.

[Westrmistr View Member Profile]

I have to say, this is really interesting. Now, I did see a few typos, but I lost most of them in the sea of text except for this one in Chapter 2:

“Sorry. But it really does feel like every time I come up here I could fall at anytime,” Luna responded, still feeing uneasy about her “little” experience. “I hate how my feet feel over this height.”

I strongly believe that should be "feeling," not, "feeing." XD But don't worry too much about that.

Anyway, I really like Mauler. Oh, and I loved your description of how Vain summoned his two swords in the first chapter. >D Also, I like how you're building up the plot to where (I suspect) Vain and Luna will be reunited.

Keep up the good work!

I have but one question: Is all of this completely original? Some of your descriptions of the character's appearances makes me think of anime characters. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm only curious.

[Zaig View Member Profile]

I have to say, this is really interesting. Now, I did see a few typos, but I lost most of them in the sea of text except for this one in Chapter 2:
I strongly believe that should be "feeling," not, "feeing." XD But don't worry too much about that.

Anyway, I really like Mauler. Oh, and I loved your description of how Vain summoned his two swords in the first chapter. >D Also, I like how you're building up the plot to where (I suspect) Vain and Luna will be reunited.

Keep up the good work!

I have but one question: Is all of this completely original? Some of your descriptions of the character's appearances makes me think of anime characters. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm only curious.

Thanks for reading. : )

And yes, you're right about the typo. Thanks, Westr.

Mauler is my favorite character, too. xD
You'll get to see its true power in the next chapter, so look forward to it.

Character names, descriptions/appearances, plot--everything is original. I have experience writing anime fan-fiction, which is why character descriptions may slightly resemble anime characters, even though I've been moving away from using them. However, I've been studying fantasy novels that are written for ages 12-15 in order to get better.

I'll post chapter 3 on Monday, even though I didn't post it last Monday. >D

[Zaig View Member Profile]

Note: Because I didn’t have much time to revise this chapter, there will probably be at least a few typos. Anyways, here is chapter 3, the quarter-final chapter of part 1 of 4!

-----

Gho,st Partners!

Part 1: The Ghost and the Ghost Partners

Chapter 03: It Shocked Her!

“It told me my will to become a Partner was strong enough, so it granted me the offer of becoming a ghost instead; I accepted.”

“I am one of ten representatives of all students who are involved in Ghost Partner-Kai studies at the academy, which I’m currently working on myself at the moment,” Luna started to explain. Caith and Luna were both riding the elevator, but the distraction Caith was with asking many questions allowed the stress of the experience be lifted off Luna’s shoulders. “Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representatives are the only ones who tour the new students because of two reasons: Ghost Partner Basics Student Representatives aren’t familiar enough around the academy, and Ghost Partner-Rei Student Representatives don’t exist because students taking Ghost Partner-Rei studies are too busy with studying and outside missions to be bothered with extra work.”

That was the last out of three questions Caith had asked Luna before the elevator doors opened, causing Luna to rush out to the comforts of a more “stable” ground. Finally they reached the lowest level—the Fractor Dome.

“Seriously, why do I have to use the elevator this many times in one day,” Luna, almost dizzy, asked herself in her mind.

Caith had already walked out the elevator, heading towards the direction of a screaming audience down a large hall opened up to a wider area.

Luna turn to look at her Wraith, guessing it already knew what its Ghost Partner was thinking.

“Yeah, yeah. But I’m not going to give-in,” Mauler’s Ghost Partner had responded.

Mauler was worried about something, meowing at her.

“Oranges are out? What?” Luna had a perplexed look on her face, not being able to understand her Wraith. This was probably due to the effects of being partially dizzy from the elevator ride.

Mauler gracefully floated into the air right in Luna’s face. Using its right paw, it gently smacked the left cheek of Luna’s face, meowing at her once again.

“Caith’s gone—wait. She is?!”

Luna was looking frantically in all degrees of vision for her new student, but there was only one way she could—or would—have gone.

On the first floor of the Administrative Building there’s merely the north entrance which leads a hall to the center of the one story inside dome and a east hall leading to the elevator. Of course, since Luna and Caith had recently loaded off this elevator, Luna and Mauler were in the east hall, while Caith probably already walked down the hall into the tall dome.

While running down the large hall to find Caith, Luna could hear people cheering loudly. But when she neared the end to the hall, she was close enough to tell the cheering was noisy because many people were present, all curving around a large circumference. As soon as she left the east hall and into the new area, she heard a high-pitched ringing sound, echoing inside of the dome.

Luna, Mauler, and the large number of people were inside the Fractor Dome, the place where all official fights between Ghost Partners are hosted. Placement exams, student exams, homework assignments and other academy-related events happen frequently within this circular, academia base of tests. Inside the depth of the huge circle’s area were two—or sometimes more—Ghost Partners would fight. It was designed with the property to be compared with a coliseum.

Once Luna was standing in front of the two-foot high concrete wall to prevent people from falling into the arena, she looked around for Caith. Time didn’t take her too long, for Caith was standing slightly to the right watching the match. Coincidentally, the yelling, along with the ringing noise, had ended.

“’Lance Crusher,’ huh? Can’t be more powerful than our X Edge,” Caith thought to herself. She was comparing the strength of her attacks to the combatants who had recently finished her placement exam inside of the Fractor Dome.

Caith was apparently aware of Luna’s presence. She, like her snobby usual self, attacked Luna with a pair of statements, never averting her eyes away from the battle staged in the Fractor Dome.

“You’re late. I had some questions I wanted to ask you about the last battle.”

Suddenly a thought occurred to Luna. She had contemplated there was no way somebody could be this blocked off from somebody’s feelings, almost as if Caith didn’t have any empathy. Moreover, Luna was beginning to suspect Caith was treating her this way on purpose to get a lip on her during the placement exam. But as she was thinking about this instead of immediately responding to Caith, a guy approached Luna from her left and began talking with her.

“Luna? You are Luna, right?”

Startled from awakening from her being deep in thought, Luna turned her neck mechanically in the direction of the voice’s origin.

“You just missed the placement exam for Rad’s student, whose physical capabilities are slightly better than an average Ghost Partner Basic enrollee but lacks experience with a Wraith.”

“Hey, Rowan. If you’re here alone, does that mean you already gave your student his or her placement exam?” Luna questioned to the guy who approached her. “And this is the student I’m showing around.” Luna pointed at Caith, slightly hesitating the movement because Luna was ashamed to have such a haughty—older than her—lady like Caith as her new student.

Rowan was a Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representative just like her. He was barely six-feet tall and had wide and muscular shoulders. He was wearing the usual blue and white uniformal vest. His hair was a little longer than Rad’s, along with thick eyebrows and blue eyes. Along with being muscular, he was quite good-looking. Lastly, he was probably around seventeen to nineteen years of age and is an actual Ghost Partner-Kai.

“Sure did. She was strong, too. And by the way: she is enrolling in Ghost Partner-Kai studies.“ Rowan looked a little beat-up, rolling his shoulders to show the signs of fatigue. In his right hand he was clutching a white microphone. “Be sure to welcome her when she joins our classes.”

Hearing what Rowan said had caught Luna’s awares, but she didn’t say anything; she simply turned her body around to look at Rowan, who in turn spoke to Caith.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rowan, a fellow Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representative. But please excuse me for just a second—”

Rowan took the microphone in his hand and put it up to his mouth, announcing something to everyone in the Fractor Dome.

“And that concludes the placement exam for Mark Mori. Please give a round of applause as the two combatants Mark and Rad are finishing up exiting the Fractor Dome battle arena!”

The crowd around Luna, Caith, and Rowan were cheering and clapping their hands. Rad and Mark were exiting on the opposite side of where Luna was currently standing. Inside of the battle arena, there are stairs where the combatants leave, which they were both climbing, Mark using Rad’s help to walk up the stairs because he was injured.

“Fractor Dome attendees: the next Ghost Partner Placement Exam is starting. The following new student required to take their test is a young adult named Caith Sola!”

Luna looked at Rad and Caith with a bewildered expression before speaking her mind without thinking.

“Ehh?! But it’s not our registered time--we still have three hours!”

Rowan pulled the microphone away from his face to take care of the expected reply Luna had given him.

“The principal and vice-principal have informed me one new student hasn’t shown up at Spyré Academy yet. Since they’ve noticed your presence in the Fractor Dome, they want Caith to have her placement exam right now.”

Both the principal and vice-principal were watching the battles from an elevated room inside of “the circumference of the circumference” of the battle arena of the Fractor Dome. They’re in charge of watching all official exams inside this room housed in the wall of the Fractor Dome, blocked off by other people; it’s principally a room with the left, right, and back sides being a wall and the front being a glass window, similar to a box office.

“Your exam is ready when you are, miss,” Rowan steadily started, talking to Caith who was giving him her full attention. “And let me give you a hint: Luna’s weak point is her being less attractive than you.”

Luna was too busy sighing over the unfortunate incident, she didn’t notice that Caith had just jumped into the heart of the Fractor Dome.

“Why does this have to happen to me? But Rowan, thanks for saying I don’t have any battle weaknesses!” Luna was showing she was dissatisfied with having to do this so suddenly and unexpectedly. She was also too innocent of a girl to realize Rowan was saying she was less beautiful than Caith and had instead took it to be a compliment praising her “battle expertise.”

“I guess it can’t be helped, right Mauler?” Luna questioned her Wraith who was hanging on her right shoulder.

Mauler meowed a sharp and short tone.

“What are you talking about Mauler? There‘s no way Caith would jump into the Fractor Dome without me telling her the rules for the placement exam first. Nobody is that impatient.”

“She jumped,” Rowan said, stating the obvious. “I like a girl who gets right into the battled-filled action.” Rowan then held the microphone back up to his mouth. “Looks like the battle has started!”

Luna, saying her usual phrase of “Geez,” raised her left hand diagonally and shouted a weapon summoning: “Revenge! Rapier!”

The two and a half-foot blade attached to a half-foot metal gripper was now being gripped in Luna‘s left hand. The weapon was silver and had focused characteristics of a fencing sword and another weapon combined.

“Mauler, let’s go!”

Luna, along with Mauler clinging tightly to its Ghost Partner’s right shoulder, leaped into the battle arena.

Caith prevented her body from taking damage after jumping such a feat, but she was brought to her knees. She slowly turned around, saying to Luna, “Luna! I’m ready—”
Shocked to see that her Student Representative was about to pierce her so suddenly, had to stop herself so she could summon her own weapons. “Rise! Razers!”

Caith crossed her arms that were glowing a white color. Bulky and thick, brown, spiky armor was growing on her arms at the same rate. Her arms looked resembled the armor-plated dinosaurs, except the plates were much sharper and less wide.

“Geez, Caith,” Luna shouted at Caith. She was just about to make contact with her rapier against the blocking of Caith’s armored grapplers. “As soon as you touch the bottom of the Fractor Dome, it means you understand the rules and are ready to fight. Which means—”

Caith’s arms were crossed, blocking Luna’s rapier strike. However, the impact of Luna’s attack had pushed Caith forward a few inches; and once Luna’s feet were on the ground, she used the ground to her advantage by digging in to force Caith back even further. Mauler, knowing what Luna was planning, “evacuated” from the comforts of Luna’s shoulder to the ground a few feet away from the battle.

“This physical strength! But I can still take it,” Caith hollered at Luna, showing she wasn’t a pushover.

“your exam has started,” Luna finished, ending the sentence started when she was suspended in the air.

Luna then twirled her left leg around her body and prepared to strike Caith in the sides of her stomach. However, Caith was primed and blocked most of the force by lifting up her knee. But Luna wasn’t done yet.

Unfortunately for Caith who had to use one foot to dig into the ground to prevent from being pushed, in addition to both her hands blocking the attack and the last foot blocking Luna’s kick, there was nothing else Luna could manage to do.

Luna thrusted her right hand into Caith’s stomach, pushing her back at least ten feet in this one action.

A few people in the audience were a fan of Luna’s physical prowess; in fact, they were expecting her to do the same attack she used on Caith, just as Mauler was aware.

“That was the beautiful Luna’s Lunar Triple Revolution,” a couple of Luna’s fans were shouting while watching the battle. Another had said: “There’s no way that new student can stand up to that physical force!”

The inside of the battle arena was ground made of dirt and rock. The circumference of the battle arena was large, so of course the area was more than adequate for two or more Ghost Partners to spar in.

“Our difference in physical levels is staggering. I know I’m not strong physically, but even this is unbelievable. At this rate—” Caith was thinking to herself, but she got interrupted by Luna’s words.

Luna was standing firmly, while Caith was hunched over trying to catch her breath and recover from Luna’s powerful blow dealt in her abdomen. Luna took this opportunity to talk with her.

“Since I don’t have time to explain, I’ll have to improvise. In this exam, you’re judged on your physical limits and ability to control a Wraith. However, the principal can stop the match whenever he feels like it. To put it simply: if you don’t go all out in the beginning, you’re going to get a bad grade,” Luna consternated to Caith.

“I see. If I don’t go all-out against my student representative, I won’t score the necessary points needed on this exam to take Ghost Partner-Kai studies,” Caith, feeling it overwhelming to talk a little, said. Caith was now realizing the difference in physical strength she had with Luna. She had originally thought she’d be able to handle her opponent on human levels because of Luna’s personality; however, Caith has now become aware this won’t be the case. Caith needs more power. “I’m left with no choice. Vain, it‘s time to fight!”

At that moment, Luna’s eyes bulged, her entire body freezing up from just hearing the word “Vain.”

A six-foot tall and four-foot wide silent tornado appeared above to the right of Caith. This was presumed to be Caith’s Wraith, everyone thought—a tornado. Though, as the tornado funneled down closer to Caith, it began to disappear, resulting in the true identity of Caith’s Wraith being exposed.

Upon the grey tornado vanishing, the Wraith appeared to be around thirteen-years-old and had tremendously fierce eyes. Unlike Luna’s Wraith, this Wraith was human, not animal. Its pale arms were slouched down to its sides because its hands were inside of the pockets of its dimmed blue jeans. It was wearing a black shirt and an unbuttoned, dirty but white buttoned shirt on the outside. It was floating inches above the ground, not touching anything besides the air around its presence.

There was no doubt about who this Wraith was when Luna and Mauler were able to see its face: it was the Vain Crosselinium-Razenkruz from three years ago.

[to be continued…]

We have a new comedy-relief character joining us this chapter: Rowan! Starting Part 3 of “Gho,st Partners!” (Chapter 11+), he’ll be a main character who is almost as important as Caith and Luna, so start getting to know him NOW. >D

@Westr: I lied in that above quote; Mauler’s power doesn’t get introduced until next chapter.

@Everyone: Look forward to the introductory battle of Caith and Luna getting concluded next Monday.

Chapters Passed By So Far Without Ghost Cat Drowning Antics: 1

[Westrmistr View Member Profile]

I liked this chapter. Especially Rowan, he certainly is a character. XD

I found a typo!

Luna turn to look at her Wraith, guessing it already knew what its Ghost Partner was thinking.

I think that should say "Luna turned to look at her Wraith".

Anyway, I liked the battle towards the end. I find it interesting how everyone summons their weapons. Vain's description of how he summoned his weapons in the first chapter is my favorite so far. >D

I actually got excited when Vain started to appear on the battlefield, and now I'm anxious to read more. Keep it up, Zaig!

[Zaig View Member Profile]

I liked this chapter. Especially Rowan, he certainly is a character. XD

I found a typo!
I think that should say "Luna turned to look at her Wraith".

Anyway, I liked the battle towards the end. I find it interesting how everyone summons their weapons. Vain's description of how he summoned his weapons in the first chapter is my favorite so far. >D

I actually got excited when Vain started to appear on the battlefield, and now I'm anxious to read more. Keep it up, Zaig!

Thanks for spotting the typo, Westr.
But now when I was re-reading it, I found a couple more. xD I'm not going to edit the post because it always erases my apostrophes and quotations. >.<

If you like Vain's summoning so much, you'll be happy to know his weapons make a return next chapter. ; )

[Zaig View Member Profile]

Gho,st Partners!

Part 1: The Ghost and the Ghost Partners

Chapter 04: It Showed Her?

“I was informed the ghost training would take two years; I completed it in one.”

Even though Luna knew it was Vain‘s ghost, she didn’t want to believe it. She knew this was Vain, but the crucial detail of the matter was, this was also not Vain.

The light reflecting off Vain’s black hair refracted the color brown. His actual brown-colored eyes were fierce looking, stabbing Luna’s with their cold expression. What warmth and excitement the eyes of Luna once had fled to the chasm of her heart.

Caith stared at her Wraith to the right of her. Taking both her hands, she curled her fingers around Vain’s; both of their hands were now interlocked. They stared at each briefly before Caith informed Vain what they were about to do, although Vain already was aware.

Luna couldn’t take her eyes off Vain; she simply stood there, her rapier gripped loosely in her hand. Mauler was whimpering at the sight of being reunited.

“Come on. It’s time to perform the Prayer,” Caith ordered to Vain, hurrying.

Vain and Caith mutually closed their eyes, taking their hands and turning them vertically ninety degrees, placing the outsides of their forehands together like they were praying.

“I pay respects in hope that you can someday pass on, permanently putting an end to the trials in which we swear to protect one another; for once thee properly passes on, myself will no longer be bound to be protected,” Caith chanted out loud. “But until that day my partner, let us protect each other. Vain Crosselinium-Razenkruz!”

Immediately after Caith hollered her Wraith’s full name, Vain’s brown eyes blasted open. Vain’s hands turned to a mist-like substance, the mist slowly wrapping and becoming his whole body. His body appeared to look like an actual spirit instead of a solid-figure. When the mist had reached the entirety of itself, Vain’s airy body began pulling in towards Caith’s, merging the two.

Only after that happened did Luna slowly and softly speak to herself.

“Vain Cross?”

Following Vain completely vanishing from sight and into Caith’s body, she turned her body ninety degrees to face her opponent, Luna. Vain’s life energy was slowly swapping with Caith’s.

Performing a Prayer is extremely similar to getting possessed, except instead of the ghost taking control of the host’s body, it takes over the possessed’s life energy, replacing his or hers energy with its own.

After Vain and its partner had finished the exchange of energy, Caith lifted her arms in a diagonal, creating an upside v-shape. On her right armored arm there was a two-inch cut from where Luna’s rapier’s point had pierced. Unfortunately for Luna, Caith’s weapons were about to be replaced with something much stronger.

Caith prepared another summoning.

“De-Rise!”

The armor on her arms was all at one time falling off of her, making a loud noise when the chunks made contact with the ground, demanding that everyone watching the battle was aware of how heavy her “weapons” once were. Now the usual appearance of her skinny arms had returned.

“Counterattack! Long sword, wide sword!”

Related to how Vain would beckon his weapons, Caith forcibly pulled away her hands in an upside-down v-shape, while two diagonal lights then fashioned into her control. When the lights finally separated from the “V,” they solidified into physical objects resembling two different-looking swords. The blade attached to the sword gripped in her left hand, which was two-thirds of the length and width of Caith’s forearm, immediately shot out, tripling in length. In turn, the one in her right hand tripled in width and doubled in length. She was now fighting Luna with both a long blade and a broad sword as opposed to her Razers gauntlets.

Caith questioned Luna.

“Vain Cross?” She was referring to when Luna mumbled to herself. “That’s right, I guess its name is pretty long, unlike your Wraith‘s.”

Luna and Mauler couldn’t believe what they were seeing, regardless Caith, Vain, and the swords were right in front of the two. However, something Caith said didn’t seem natural to Luna.

“’Its.’ She said, ‘its,’ Mauler. Not ‘his.’”

Mauler looked at Luna and whimpered. Then it returned its attention back to Vain who had Prayed with Caith. Because Vain is a ghost, Mauler was able to see it, even though it had merged itself with Caith to fight. Vain was snug close and behind Caith, its arms and hands laid on top of Caith’s.

Caith pointed her long sword directly at Luna who was scarcely ten feet away from her.

Afterward, Mauler noticed the weapons did something they normally don’t do, but Mauler couldn’t figure out what, precisely. Luna hadn’t notice, for she was still in shock at Vain’s return and being an “it” instead of a “he.”

Caith’s location was the direct center of the stadium, while Luna was tens of feet away from the wall. For the reason of how big the stadium was, both Luna and Caith were tens of feet away in any direction from the walls.

“Luna! Allow me to show you my Wraith’s spiritual property!”

Once a ghost has contracted with a human, thus becoming a Wraith, its hidden spiritual properties are awakened. Spiritual properties aid a Ghost Partner who uses a Wraith in battle when they‘ve called a Prayer together. The qualities each spiritual property possess vary: a Wraith could give its Ghost Partner the ability to produce high-pitched screams, barriers, fast-moving projectiles—there’s no limit to what type of advantage each Wraith’s spiritual property could instill. But moreover, each Wraith can no more than have one spiritual property. If a Ghost Partner doesn’t use his or her Wraith’s spiritual property effetely, he or she would be able to think of numerous advantages they could use for battle from this one spiritual property.

Caith slowly moved her swords vertically, both in-synch in timing. As a result of these actions, two one-foot misty, vertical blades edged away from Caith’s weapons and were launched in the direction of Luna and Mauler. Instead of making contact with the enemy, they went passed Luna’s right and left shoulders, continuing tens of feet to the walls, where they then chipped small pieces of rock off. Mauler at this instant had confirmed what it barely saw earlier

“My weapons create sonic booms proportional to the amount of power I put in. Even if the sword barely moves at all, strong air currents slice forward. That is my Wraith’s spiritual property.”

Caith wasn’t simply being informative for Luna’s sake, nor was Caith boasting of her strength. What she was in actual fact doing was describing for the principal and vice-principal what her Wraith’s ability was.

“She said, ‘my weapons, my Wraith,’” Luna, stunned not at Caith’s power but at what Caith kept saying, forcing her to realize something, murmured. “No, neither are hers.”

“Did you say something? Hurry up and do a Prayer.”

But Luna wasn’t listening anymore, she didn’t want to listen. It seemed the maximum and minimum her body and mind desired was to simply say, “Vain” over and over. Her legs were wobbling while she repeatedly said Vain’s name.

“As a Student Representative, you yourself should know better to not take on a Ghost Partner using a spiritual property.”

Luna’s legs couldn’t stand up to the gravity anymore, causing her to simply fall to her knees. Everyone in the audience was shocked at was happening. They were thinking it was part of Caith’s Wraith’s spiritual property

“Fine, Luna, my Ghost Partner-Kai Student Representative. Prepare yourself for my most powerful attack!”

Exceptionally slow, crossing her swords to be careful to not accidentally create weak sonic booms from her blades, she geared up her signature move.

“Mew, mew! Meooowww!”

Mauler tried desperately to bring Luna out of her state of distress, but nothing it did helped the girl. Not wanting its precious friend to be harmed, it leaped in front of its Ghost Partner, bracing itself for Caith’s assail.

“With this I‘ll be allowed to take Ghost Partner-Kai studies,” Caith willfully shouted. “X Edge!”

At the same time Caith announced her attack’s title, she quickly stepped forward and hurled her hands down, causing the swords to remove themselves from their x-formation and create an x-shaped sonic boom pursuing its target, Luna. But undoubtedly, Mauler had something to say about this.

The liger Wraith meowed loudly, its eyes switching from a black color to a bright green. It jumped into the air and copied Caith’s cross-hand style by crossing its own paws. What resulted were two, three-fourths of a foot, crossed green vines

The larger x-shaped wind intercepted Mauler’s x-shaped vines, perfectly lining up with the smaller x, destroying the vines. Also, because the center of Mauler’s x-vines was weaker, Mauler got hit with a strong but tiny x-shaped wind in directly in the middle of its forehead. Green ooze was seeping out as Mauler was overthrown from the air, letting out tiny squeaks of agony.

Mauler had defended and took the majority of the remaining wind attack for Luna, but because the vines’ lengths were shorter than the attack Caith created, Luna, still on her knees in shock, got hit. Both her stomach’s lower sides got cut up, and her shoulders got nicked. But to show the full extent of Caith’s power, there was enough force to blow Luna to the edge of the arena, herself and her head hitting solid wall.

Mauler had gotten blown along with Luna, but it was now two feet away from the wall and three feet to the right of Luna’s body that was being supported by the wall.

“You see, my dear Student Representative, I don’t lack in experience when it comes to using weapons. I simply lack the physical capability in this cursed body.”

Caith leisurely walked towards Luna who was on the ground wounded. While she did that her swords disappeared and mist began pouring out of her entire body. Completing enough mist began to take the form of Vain’s figure.

Caith stopped fifteen feet away from Luna and Mauler’s bodies. She was going to say something, but Vain floated a little bit closer, now twelve feet away from Luna.

“You’re Luna?” Vain hesitantly questioned to its opponent.

Luna slowly lifted her head and smiled at Vain, happy he knew who she was.

“You’ve gotten quite weak,” Vain said with disdain.

Luna’s expression changed from tired to being in shock, shocked that her dear friend would ever say something as cruel to her.

Following the comment, Vain floated to Mauler collapsed by Luna’s side. The little liger was exhausted, having taken a tremendous force on itself in order to block around 25% of the blow for Luna. Little trickles of a green liquid were still running from Mauler’s x-shaped wound on its forehead.

“And is that the extent of your power, as well? I’m glad,” Vain started, after questioning, “that I never officially partnered with you when I was alive.”

Vain hovered back near Caith, its back turned to its fallen former adversaries and friends. But it didn’t think of Luna and Mauler as ever being its friends; it simply remembered who they were, but not in detail.

“Please excuse my Wraith’s rudeness, Luna. This is how it is, but seeing as how you’re acquainted with one another, you should know already that.”

What Caith said made Luna furious. She clenched her fists and pounded them against the wall that was holding her back up.

“You! A Wraith only takes on the personality of its Ghost Partner! You’re the reason for why Vain is like this! Vain is my friend! How dare—”

“Yours? I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” the haughty Caith said as an interjection. “Vain is my Wraith alone. It’s not your anything. It never would associate with weaklings such as yourself and pathetic liger Wraiths.”

Vain closed his eyes and was silent, staying out of the cat fight.

Luna then shouted what was her response.

“Then we’ll beat you!”

“What?”

Vain reopened his eyes and paid attention to what Luna had to say, mildly interested.

“We know our Vain is somewhere deep inside, and it’s up to us to save him. Vain… You’ve saved us many times—which means it’s our turn to save you!”

Mauler tried its best to stand up on its feet, showing it was part of the “we” Luna spoke of. It greatly desired as much as Luna did to get Vain back to his past self.

Everybody in the audience was silent, knowing this was the start of something very intense. But the people Luna’s words were truly directed at—Caith and Vain—simply turned around and walked away, leaving behind Luna and Mauler’s empty and powerless resolve in the Fractor Dome, along with their presently unconscious and fatigued bodies.

[to be continued…]

And so it begins. Why is Vain a jerk? Will Luna save her friend? And what is Mauler’s favorite food? All of these questions will be answered eventually…along with the exact details of Mauler’s own spiritual property. Look forward to them getting answered as Luna, Mauler, Caith and Vain spend their days together that have only just begun at Spyré Academy.

BTW: Vain is technically an “it” now (as shown by each chapter title), but where sentences describe Luna when Vain is also included, Vain is referenced as a “he.” This is something that will happen multiple times, especially in dialogue that causes Luna to get upset with Caith about. These pronouns might get confusing, and I wanted to have that be acknowledged.

Chapters Passed By So Far Without Ghost Cat Drowning Antics: 2

[Westrmistr View Member Profile]

That was awesome... >D

Any typos? I saw one or two...

Only after that happen did Luna slowly and softly speak to herself.

Should be "happened."

“You’ve gotten quite weak,” Vain disdained.

I'm not that sure if this is proper. Excuse my not being that versed in the matter, but I think you should change it to "Vain said with disdain." It rhymes!

I simply loved how Caith used Vain's weapons. This just gets more interesting every chapter! Keep up the great work!

[Zaig View Member Profile]

That was awesome... >D

Any typos? I saw one or two...

Should be "happened."
I'm not that sure if this is proper. Excuse my not being that versed in the matter, but I think you should change it to "Vain said with disdain." It rhymes!

I simply loved how Caith used Vain's weapons. This just gets more interesting every chapter! Keep up the great work!

Thanks. I'll try to continue making them awesome. xD "Disdained" can work there, but the rhyme you mentioned is enticing me change it.

I'm glad you're liking the story, and I knew you'd enjoy how Caith used Vain's weapons. >D

EDIT: Found six more typos. This is what happens when I finish the chapter on a Sunday. >.<