Save Yourself

A Story by WilliamWriter

When unlikely heroes meet, they must work together to fight a ghost king when a girl from the future arrives.

Loko

“C’mon, Mom!” I whine.

Hello. I’m the one and only, 11 year-old Loko Sweet (that’s my real last name). You see, right now, I’m trying to convince my mom to let me go out by myself. It sounds stupid, but I’m been through a LOT to prove my worth, including almost getting killed by a bully.

“Let me think about it, sweetie,” Mom replies in a sweet, soft voice.

I walk up the stairs, into my room, and take out the neighborhood map. The REAL reason I want to go out is because there is a legend on my street, Zapdert, that if you get lost, there is a spooky house that you will be transported to. I know legends, magic, and transportation stuff is fake, but I WANT to find that house if it’s the last thing I do.

I’m still planning my route when my older sister Kimby bursts in my room. “LOKO! WHERE IS MY PHONE!”

I facepalm. I pranked her this morning by putting her phone under her bed. “Look under your bed, Brainless.”

“Bah! I’m the one brainless? At least my name isn’t Lo-” she starts before I tackle her out of the room.

Unluckily, we go down the stairs. Luckily, the stairs are covered with wool and cotton.

“D-Don’t m-make f-fun of my n-name!” I try to say while bumping on the stairs.

When we finally get down, we are about to raise our voices when the doorbell goes, “DING-DONG!”

“Who is it?” I ask.

“Kibi,” she answers before coming in.

Kibi is my friend (y’know, the type you think as a sister), and she has been since I became popular at school. Though I can’t really say she’s my best friend (I have five more), she IS the oldest. I’m only 11, and she’s 13.

“Are you goin’ to Spook Corner?” she asks.

“Ya, pretty much,” I reply. “I am going to go in that house!”

“Well, it’s your funeral,” Kibi states while twirling her hair, which is really cute. “I have seen it before, and dang, it’s so scary, I peed just looking.”

“Ha!” I laugh. “Well, let’s see. I just survived a bully mash, a teacher’s rage, and deadly rumors. I think all those add up to a scary house on the Freak-o-Meter. But just in case…”

I take a knife out of my pocket. “I got this forged at the ‘Spirit Hunter’ mansion.”

Kibi looks at me in awe. “Really?! AWESOME!”

“Yep. It’s not harmful to mortals, but it’s deadly to spirits,” I explain.

I slash her chest, but it goes right through her like a ghost could go through you. “Since ghosts are already dead, it will just turn them to ashes or a tablecloth. I might be fearless, but I am NOT stupid.”

I realize my mom was staring and start blushing. “Mom! Do you know what the word ‘privacy’ means?!”

“It’s okay, Miracle. Pack your stuff. If you want to go to Spook Corner, I’m not driving you,” Mom remarks. “Let’s-a-go, amigo!”

I tackle my mom with a hug, and Kibi gives me a sisterly kiss on the cheek. They keep giving me stuff to do and warnings, such as:

“Be safe!”

“Bring your camera!”

“Bring an extra set of underwear!”

“Don’t die!”

“Don’t listen to your mom saying you’ll die!”

“Bring your knife!”

Eventually, I get annoyed, so I start to walk away to Spook Corner. I stare at my knife.

“I think I’ll call you… Sender,” I name it.

I walk until I see a girl with silky, blonde hair next to Spook Corner.

Camille

“BAM!” I go as I fall on the hard concrete of the sidewalk.

Where am I? The last time I was on ground, Ouranos kinda struck me down, which REALLY hurt, especially with Kronos, Gaea, and all the Titans whaling on me.

Wait a second! If I was dead, then was the prophecy completed? Although there was one that was destined to die… Never mind. Right now, I have to find out where I am, give myself a recap about who I am, which I can’t really do because I have no idea about anything. Now I know why ghosts are so lazy.

“Hey, girl!” I see someone yell. He looks like the type of kid in school that is super popular. In his hair, he has brown shafts, nicely placed equally on the sides and top of his head. “You got to Spook Corner before me!”

“WHAT?!” I yell. “Is this a… haunted house?:

“Maybe,” he replies. “I guess we should both go in together. You aren’t fit enough.”

He takes my hand and holds it tight, causing me to blush. “What do you mean?”

“You see, this knife of mine… it senses something about you. Not a person, a… fragment of someone’s remains,” he explains. “And IF this house is haunted, well, I want to protect you. There is a reason we met each other. We’ll have to find out why.”

“Thanks,” I say. “But still, you are an ordinary human. Me, well…”

I summon light into my hand, but Loko looks sad. “You… I’ve heard… When you are born with powers, you’re born with a curse. Hey, we’re together in this. By the way, my name’s Loko. Loko Crazy Miracle Sweet.”

All of a sudden, I remember who I am. “And just so you know, kid, my name is Camille Irvaron.”

“What? Irvaron? Aren’t those rich people in Trikon City?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. “That’s why I am so confused!”

It all makes sense! I died, and my spirit is back in a live form! But the question is; how am I back? How are my friends doing without me?

“Hey, hey, I see that worried look on your face. “Girl, you need to relax,” he says. “Okay, first, tell me about yourself.”

This time I remember. “I am Camille Irvaron, daughter of Jake and Janice Irvaron, older twin sister of Max Irvaron, granddaughter to Apollo and Hephaestus. I am thirteen years old, if my birthday didn’t pass while I was dead.”

“What?” he asks cluelessly.

“I died fighting Ouranos, Gaea, and all of the Titans. I fulfilled the Prophecy of Fourteen, but I had to give my life. Now somehow, I am back, but I don’t know why,” I explain.

Loko has a “this is so cool” look on his face. He is about to say something, but suddenly, a brunette-haired girl in army clothing comes dashing up, armed with a futuristic blaster and a… lightsaber?

“Wait! Are you two going to go into that house?” she asks us, blaster at the ready.

“Uh, yeah,” Loko quickly answers.

I thought she was going to warn us, but instead, she asks, “Are your names Loko and Camille?”

Me and Loko nod slowly. She is about to say something else, but I make a bow out of sound, and Loko brings out an eerie-looking knife.

“She isn’t human,” he states. “My knife can sense it.”

“WAIT! I don’t want to fight you!” the girl sobs. “You too are hero-”

It’s too late, though, because me and Loko go charging at her.

Eria Jane

Okay, you know what is simply TERRIBLE? Coming from a ruined future, your friends fighting for their lives, going back in time to stop disaster, and the two who you need to work with are going to kill you.

Eria Jane’s the name. I come from 3050. You are probably wondering what I meant by a “ruined future”. Well, you see, there was something terrible happening in 2016 that released a ghost army. Humans tried to stop them, but you can’t kill ghosts. A spirit war went on for exactly 1034 years. The war was so important, babies had to fight! Sadly, many people were lost. My parents too fell and were sent to the ghost king’s realm. Oh, did I forget to mention that since the ghosts were winning, they created their own realm? It was like you combined Hell and the Underworld together down there. The ruler was Ghost King Sedunso and his wife Queen Setsuna. Many of the humans who fell in battle were tortured there. It can take a weak soul that isn’t suspecting a thing.

Okay, I am one of the only ones in my family that is still alive. THIS, 2016, is the time where you could play kickball with a normal ball instead of a skull. These two definitely caused this disaster to happen. But these two weren’t ordinary, because ordinary people aren’t going to be carrying a knife and a bow.

Speaking of which, they were trying to get me. Camille fired her bow, which I dodge.

“Who are you?” she asks me fearlessly.

I am about to answer, but Loko stabs me in the back with his knife. “You can answer questions when you’re tied up.”

Everything starts going black, but I refuse to go out. Ghosts can possess you, dealing a great amount of pain. This was just a shove.

I equip myself with my blaster and shout, “Operation: Delta Destruction paired with Operation: Laser Field!”

Loko and Camille look at me confused, but a laser erupts under the sidewalks Loko is standing on.

“Loko!” Camille yells.

Somehow, she heals him, and gives me a death stare. “You DARE touch a friend of Camille Irvaron! I will destroy that fell blaster of yours!”

Suddenly, the ground starts to rumble, and Camille’s eyes are all white. I try to figure out what is happening, but I’m too late because Camille fires a white light at me.

“Ξομετ Συργε!” she yells. “Comet Surge!”

I dodge the first laser, but the next two hit me hard. Luckily, I turn my armor on right after so she can’t do a follow-up attack.

I then take my HLPS (hyper light protection sword) and hit Camille in the chest. This time Loko looks at me furiously, but then he gives me a smirk.

“I got this,” he says. “Okay, Sender, let’s use…” He strikes a lot of beautiful poses that would strike any girl’s heart. “Ghastly Illusion!”

Then, everything seems foggy. All I can hear is Camille saying, “Okay, let’s combine that with Comet Surge!”

“Okay!” Loko replies.

The fog clears, and Loko AND Camille are doing more masculine and feminine poses. In harmony, they shout, “Ghastly Surge!”

Loko puts the fog back on, and Camille strikes me with multiple comets and bows. She has my armor off when Loko judo-flips me and points his blade at my chin.

“So, let’s do this again,” he says. “Who are you?”

Loko

“Okay, I’ll talk!” the girl cries out.

Have to admit, that was a tough fight, but it just made me like Camille even more. However, right now was not “talk about your feelings” time. It was “interrogate the mysterious girl that looks futuristic” time.

“My name is Eria Jane,” the girl says. “I come from the future. In peace. I didn’t want to fight you guys!”

“No, no, no, child, it’s that you didn’t want to be beaten by us,” Camille says is a flirting tone.

“Whatever, Camille. So, what time do you come from?” I ask EJ.

“3050,” she answers. “Ghost time. Spirit war. Came to stop the ghosts from taking over. You two must be my acquaintances, also known as comrades, fellow warriors, friends.”

Okay, that was NOT the weirdest thing I heard today, so I let it pass. “So, you are here from the future, right, kid?” I question her.

“Correct,” she answers. Then, she points to the house we keep talking about but apparently can never go into. “That is the Ghost House.”

“First things first,” I say. “Let’s all say what we mostly are.”

“Half-blood,” Camille says.

“Futuristic maiden,” EJ says. “And I’m NEGATIVE 1022 years old here, but in my time, I’m 12.

“And me, the normal human that was looking for a one-man field trip and got sent on a ghastly adventure, Loko Sweet,” I say.

I hear EJ and Camille giggle. “I’m glad I get to work with you,” EJ laughs.

“I second that,” Camille agrees.

“So, what are we waiting for?” I ask impatiently. “Let’s get going!”

As we walk up to the front porch of the Ghost House, I am scared to death. Pumpkins are smiling around the entrance, but not like those cool Halloween pumpkins you see, like those pumpkins that look like they were trained by Freddy to look scary. There were spiders on the walls, and I was scared that the house was going to collapse on me any second now.

“Come on, old guys,” EJ sneers. “Are those muscles not working like they should be?”

“Shush,” I say. The fact that she was, like, 1000 years younger than me was really starting to bug me.

“What?” Camille asks.

“I dunno,” I answer. “I… Let’s check my knife.”

“You should give that old thing a name,” EJ says.

“It’s called Sender,” I reply furiously. “And shush. I have a bad feeling about this.”

I look into the foggy reflection of Sender. There’s a… ghost coming to take Camille!

“Watch out!” I yell, but I’m too late!

A creepy-looking white fire comes and snatches Camille.

“Let me go!” Camille says, but she looks weird because she’s pushing on a fire.

“You don’t deserve to live,” the ghost says in a raspy voice. “You will be taken to Master Sendunso to be interrogated. You shall also be tortured for siding with Hades when the Fourth Titan War came!”

“What the what is he talking about?!” EJ quakes.

“Not enough time to explain. Just ATTACK!” I cry.

We charge at the ghost, but he simply transports away… into the Ghost House!

“Well, I guess it’s time for me and you to man up-” I start.

“AND woman up,” EJ corrects.

“Whatever. Let’s go save Camille!” I order.

Together, we go into into the Ghost House…

Okay, that house was CREEPIER on the inside than on the outside. You could see some of the objects glowing with an eerie green!

“Oooooooh,” the house went. “You are walking into your graaaaave…”

“Shut up, house,” I reply.

EJ was walking around, like the house was just bringing bad memories. “This is normal life for me…”

“Sorry, EJ,” I apologize.

“My name is Eria Jane, old guy,” she replies angrily.

“Okay, EJ,” I tease her.

She is about to yell at me when she falls down! I am talking down to the ground down!

“Clank! Bam! Crash!” go the… metal boards?!

“EJ!” I shout.

I grab Sender and jump down to the bottom of the pit that she fell in. I think I’m ready, but I get sucker-punched by a ghost.

“Oh,” I groan.

Luckily, I get the strength to get up and slash the ghost in half. I think that it’s gone, but it just turns into two ghosts! I am wondering who will pay for my funeral when EJ jumps out of the darkness.

“Operation: Spirit Killer!” she chants.

Two tiny missiles went at the ghosts and POW! The ghosts exploded and green slime came onto me. And FWI, green ghost slime BURNS.

“Ay-yi-yi!” I screech.

“Be quiet, Sensitive Skin. There are more than that it the 30th century,” EJ tells me. “If you’re gonna be my partner, than you’ll have to be tough.”

“What do you mean, ‘I’m not tough’?” I ask.

“Never mind, old guy. Let’s go save Camille!” EJ shouts.

Together, we advance through parts unknown…

Camille

I’ve fought for my life before. I’ve saved my brother from monsters before. I’ve even DIED before. But being kidnapped by ghosts? That was new.

First, they took me to the house, which was very disappointing. Loko and EJ kept talking the place up, but it was not as bad as the Underworld.

“LAME,” I informed the ghosts. “Why don’t you just take me to your realm?”

“Because YOU, my friend, are special. You shouldn’t be here. Try to take out Master Sedunso, and your essence shall be scattered,” one of the ghosts tell me.

“Whatever,” I reply. “The fate of the future is in the hands of the present!”

I make a bow out of light (stupidly) and shoot it at the ghost but… Light v.s. Ghost scum? That was useless.

“Foolish child,” the ghost says. “Say your goodbyes.”

He comes charging at me when I suddenly throw a fireball that sinks into him. He explodes, but gross, green slime comes onto me.

“Eeeww,” I groan. “Disgusting.”

I try to walk away, but then I am ambushed by at least 100 dozen ghosts.

“Get her!” one scrawny ghost yelled.

“You think I’m scared of you? I have destroyed the advanced drakon. I’ve fought a god of Olympus and won. Why should I be scared of you, spirit?” I challenge him.

“Because,” he starts, “I know your fear.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You are afraid that your soul will be taken back,” he explains. “You shall never find yourself in a body like that again.”

“Shut it!” I scream in protest. “You don’t know anything about me!”

I’m about to strike, but the ghost lifts me in the air.

“Let me go!” I shriek.

Wrong answer. He let’s me go, but I realize I’m falling into a horde of ghosts. When I realize it, though, one goes… into me?

“HAHAHA!” the ghost laughs. “You are now possessed.”

He makes me go over to the next freaky, yet not-so-spooky room in the house to see Loko and EJ fighting ghosts.

“Now, girl,” the ghosts commands. “You shall obliterate them.”

Possessed me goes charging at EJ. At first, she’s excited to see me.

“Camille!” she yells enthusiastically. Her happy voice makes her sound normal, not some sad kid from a ruined future.

I try to reply, “Help!”, but instead, I say, “You shall be put to rest.”

I make a bow out of sound and shoot it at EJ unexpectedly. She is hit so hard, she’s knocked into a wall.

“C-Camille,” EJ stammers. “What are you doing?!”

I am about to give a rude answer with my possessed mouth, but Loko slashes his dagger to get me away from EJ.

“Camille Irvaron!” he yells courageously. “Stop this, right now! You are our friend. I don’t wanna, but if you’re goin’ to be hostile, I will NOT hesitate to strike you down with Sender.”

He grips his knife. I ready my bow. We charge at each other, and while it’s happening, I’m crying on the inside. Only one of us is going to make it out of it alive, and a mortal is not going to win against a possessed demigod. At least, that’s what I thought.

Before I know what’s happening, Loko slashes my back.

“Operation: Laser Field paired with Operation: Heavy Duty!” EJ chants.

She puts on BEAUTIFUL armor, but before I can comment on it, there’s an explosion under my feet, sending me flying.

“Wanna try a new operation?” Loko asks EJ with a smirk, along with a bruised face.

“Okay,” EJ replies.

Together, they yell, “Operation: Final Slash!”

EJ takes out her lightsaber while Loko dual-wields two Senders (how he created two of those things, I don’t know). They charge at me at lightspeed, every second slashing.

When they’re done, EJ yells, “Operation: Spirit Killer!” and blasts me, but somehow, it doesn’t hurt ME me, but possessed me.

“Curse you, maiden!” the ghost inside me yells as he runs away into the walls.

When he leaves, I collapse.

“Camille!” Loko yells.

He catches me right before my head hits the floor. “Is your head as defended as your soul? If so, then your head isn’t very defended.”

I punch him in the arm. “Shush it, you little-”

I am about to finish my sentence, but he pulls out a Skittle from his pocket and, you guessed it, eats it.

“What?” he asks stupidly.

“First, how did you create two Senders?” I ask back.

“EJ helped me with that,” Loko explains with a smirk.

EJ puts her hands on our shoulders. “This, my friends, was a victory. But if we’re gonna fight Sedunso, then I need to give you something.”

“Before you do,” I interrupt. “Guys, the ghost told me that I’m only alive because Sedunso is here. Once we defeat him, well...” I try to blink away my tears. “You guys will, *sniff* have your memories!”

I just start bawling, right there in the middle of the Ghost House. I just cry, and cry, and keep on crying. I’m afraid I’m just going to fade away right there, but EJ gives me a noogie, and Loko gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s okay, Camille,” they both say at the same time. “We are NOT gonna lose you.”

“That’s what they all say…” I complain.

“Shut up, Camille,” EJ scolds me. “Besides, save the moaning for when you’re dead again, because I got a way to get to the ghost’s realm.”

Eria Jane

Something you might not know about me is that I am a natural leader. You have to be, when, you know, your life has been nothing but fighting ghosts.

But I really was scared about facing Sedunso. He literally has the power of a GOD (Camille would know, being a demigod and all). He’ll fill his palm with black fire and POW! Just like that, you’ve lost all of your mass, and you’re doomed to be tormented for the rest of eternity. I know, I’m the optimistic one of the group.

Anyway, if Camille, Loko, and I were going to fight Sedunso, we were gonna have to find him first.

“Camille,” I address Camille. “Use your light powers to clear the area of darkness!”

“On it,” Camille agrees.

I am SO happy to be with these two instead of two scaredy-cat humans. Camille is a demigod; this was probably Monday for her. Though she does have to deal with being dead and eventually turning into a spirit. But Loko… For a human, this is a LOT to take in. If I were him, I probably would’ve gone insane the second Camille said that she had already died. Seriously, though, that kid has skills.

Of course, when I was thinking, he just HAD to prove it.

“Guys, I found a SS, whatever that is,” he tells me and Camille.

“SS?” I ask, being the future-maiden geek I am.

“I’d have to be an idiot not to see these initials,” he answers.

I race to him, and yes, it is a 3050 SS. The one I took here.

“L-Loko?” I stammer.

“Yeah, Baby Face?” he replies.

First, I slap him with my metal gauntlet for calling me “Baby Face”. Then, I kiss him on the cheek for finding my SS!

“Loko, this is my SS, an abbreviation for ‘Solar Starship’. We can travel time, space, and realms with this baby!” I exclaim.

Camille looks excited, like there’s something I forgot. “Do you need help powering that ‘baby’ up?”

I facepalm. OF COURSE! Camille is always four steps ahead.

“Do your stuff, Bright Girl,” Loko tells Camille.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Sweet Stuff, but I’m happy to oblige.” Camille says as she zaps my SS with light stuff.

“Let’s go, reuises!” I say, but Loko and Camille just give me confused looks.

“OMG, guys. Reuises is Banian for friends!” I explain.

“What’s Banian?” Loko asks.

I sigh as I say, “Never mind.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Camille says. “Come on, Loko, EJ. We have a king to silence.”

I’m feeling really bad that I didn’t explain how it works to Loko. Because of that, he’s flying out of the time/space continuum.

“AAH!” he yells.

“We gotta go save Loko!” Camille orders.

The thing with Camille, though, is that she acts without thinking. Before I knew it, Camille jumps out of the SS.

“Camille, this is nonsense!” I scream.

However, she doesn’t listen. “I can use my light powers and my ghost powers to save Loko!”

I look at her, dumbfounded. “First, YOU HAVE GHOST POWERS?! Second, if you try, you’ll get disintegrated!”

She is about to jump out, but I press HOLD on my SS and grab her arm. “Let’s do this together.”

“Uh, guys,” Loko comments. “What’s happening!”

I look at Loko, and he starting to disintegrate!

“NO!” I shout as I take my blaster out. “Operation: Grip Grab!”

As expected, a grappling hook comes out of my blaster and grabs Loko. Before he can react, we are all immediately in the ghost realm.

I see Loko and Camille about to say something nasty, but before they can, I put bars of soap in their mouths.

“Come, fools,” I hear. “You are now in my palace.”

I will not lie. I peed my pants when I saw Sedunso. And darn, he was beautiful. He had shafts of black hair on the sides of his hair, and then greyish-black on the top. Not so bad for someone who’s, like, a thousand years old. He had a black throne where he could watch everything that was going on.

Loko looked like he saw something. “How come you have the body of a model when all you do is sit on that huge throne?”

Bad question. Sedunso filled his hand with black fire and… Oh, gods. He blasts Loko into ash.

I glance at Camille, who has a murderous glow in your eyes. “YOU! You monster! How can you do something like that?! He probably had a best friend who needs him! He probably has a family who loves him! And you just… Oh, I’d start digging your grave, old man!”

He looks disapointed. “Talk, live, die. That is the circle of life.”

Now it’s MY turn to shout at Sedunso. “You don’t die when you’re 11!”

Me and Camille are about to charge, but a shadow emerges from the ashes.

“Loko?”I ask hopefully.

“Y-Yeah?” he replies in a bruised, raspy voice.

Me and Camille tackle him and give him more kisses than his future girlfriend will ever give him.

“How do you survive that, child?” Sedunso asks, his gray eyes wide.

“No problem. You see, this knife of mine-” Loko points to Sender. “It’s made of ghost fire, spirit metal, and the forger called it something. Starioan iron or Nethandearl gold.”

Camille, personally, looks very offended. “That’s IMPERIAL gold and STYGIAN iron, you scholar.”

Loko rolls his eyes. “Whatever. They said that to humans, it was harmless, but to monsters and ghosts, it was poison in a solid form. So that black, monster, spirit-ruling fire you shot at me? That was only a house fire.”

Out of the darkness, Queen Setsuna comes in a black gown. She has short, red hair in a ponytail. “You DARE make fun of my husband?! You shall suffer in our realm for all of eternity!”

Loko grabs me and Camille’s arms and raises them into the air (or whatever you called it down here). “Uh-uh, naughty girl. You guys have been partying all night. We told you to send the folks away. Time for YOU to go to bed!”

Loko nods at me and Camille, and together, we charge at the ghost royals.

Loko

Thinking that Setsuna and Sedunso wouldn’t have reinforcements was dumb. Right before we could hit them, a mob of ghosts came and swept us away.

“Uh, PARDON ME!” I yell with my manners. “I kinda have a fight to go to!”

Camille, on the other hand, is shooting the ghosts with her bow. What’s it made out of this time?

“Comet Surge!” she yells.

Then, there’s EJ, totally unfazed. I wonder if she’s crying on the inside or laughing on the outside? “Operation: Heavy Duty!”

Of course, you can’t forget everyone’s favorite, me. I slash a few ghosts up, and then Camille and EJ come up to me.

“Loko, let me give your knife a new power,” Camille says.

She touches Sender, and suddenly, it has a dark aura surrounding it. I point it at a ghost, and Sender launches a ball of darkness at it, blowing the ghost up.

“Nice,” I comment.

I blast a few more balls, and then Setsuna teleports up to me. “Are you ready to-”

“Operation: Grip Grab!” EJ yells.

A grappling hook ties up Setsuna, but she simply turns into black goo and slips out.

“Ha! Fools! You shall meet your end at the hands of-” she starts.

However, Camille shoots a comet at her, but fails because Setsuna catches the comet and throw it away.

“Guys, how are we going to beat her?” I ask Camille and EJ.

“Just keep attacking!” they both say at the same time.

I slash at Setsuna, but she dodges. Camille does a sonic scream, but Setsuna simply flies with the sound. EJ takes out her lightsaber and slashes at Setsuna, but she blasts EJ before she can do a follow-up attack.

We are all panting when Setsuna laughs. “You think mere mortals will stop ME? Ha. Maybe I will destroy your family and friends next, just for fun.”

I don’t have a single idea what I’m doing, but next thing I know, I shout “Kibi! Kimby! Mom!” and get a clean hit on Setsuna.

Camille is shouting names like, “Richard! Luna! Max!” and fires a comet that hits Setsuna in the gut.

EJ is the last one. She turns her lightsaber into a blaster, but instead of shouting names, she says attack moves. “Operation: Heavy Duty paired with Operation: Spirit Killer paired with Operation: Laser Field paired with Operation: Blasting Barrage!”

I can barely keep track of what she’s doing. First, she puts on pretty armor that is SO light, it flashes a ray of sun into Setsuna’s eyes. Next, she fires two missiles that hit Setsuna super hard. Some of the smoke gets in my mouth. Then, a laser erupts under Setsuna’s feet, sending her into the hellish sky. Finally, EJ dual-wields two blasters and uses them as gliding wings, and then when she gets in the air, she charges up and BLASTS Setsuna into ash. The explosion has so much raw power, EJ is sent to the ground like a comet.

When EJ gets of the ground, I hug her REALLY hard. “You did it, EJ!”

Even Camille has to pull of a smirk. “You sure did, youngster.”

I can tell EJ is tempted to reply, but I hear weeping in the background of it all.

“WHY!” the voice weeps. “WHY!”

I look behind me, and it’s Sedunso! “Sedunso, unless you want to end up like your wife, I would stand down.”

Camille readies her bow. “You heard him, Sedunso. Like you said, talk, live, die. That is life.”

EJ looks furious. “I will destroy you for ruling this horrible place!”

Sedunso stands up from his throne. “Okay, children. I will fight all three of you without reinforcements, without tricks. But that does not mean I will not silence you three mercilessly!”

He blasts black fire at me, but since I still have Sender, the hit is ineffective. Or so I thought it would be. The strength of the blast sends me up, where Sedunso jumps SUPER high and spikes me to the ground. However, EJ uses super speed to dash and save me before my noggin meets the floor.

“Come on, Loko,” she says softly. “You can’t die now.”

Sedunso comes up to Camille and grabs her arm before judo-flipping her.

“OW!” she yells.

However, Camille knows how to fight back. She fires a comet at Sedunso, but he catches it and throws it to me.

“Loko, watch out!” Camille yells.

I duck so it doesn’t hit me, but then, it goes to EJ.

“I don’t think so!” she shouts. “Operation: Defensive Field!”

A orb surrounds her and the comet explodes when it hits the orb.

I smile. “Nice idea, EJ.”

“My name is ERIA JANE!” she yells. “And this is getting annoying. Put your hands up and yell out something you’ve never told anyone!”

“Okay. I… I have an older, older sister named Kimby, and even though she hates me, I… I still love her!” I sob.

Camille nods. “I met two friends named Richard and Luna on an adventure! There are my friends, and secretly, I’m scared I won’t see them again!”

Then, it’s EJ. “My best friends are soldiers, because my other kid friends were all lost in a battle against the ghosts!”

Suddenly, I can tell we’re all thinking the same thing. “And even if we don’t make it out alive, I love you guys!” we all yell at the same time.

Then, a bright light goes into the air… before fusing with my body. The same thing happens to Camille and EJ.

“Let’s all work together!” EJ cries. “Operation-”

Camille interrupts. “Victorious-”

I finish it. “Trust!”

A green aura surrounds me. A yellow aura surrounds Camille. A white aura surrounds EJ. We all dash at Sedunso, shouting battle cries like:

“Say good night!”

“Your fate is sealed!”

“Prepare to meet your end!”

“Playtime!”

“Checkmate!”

“Here’s how it’s done!”

And so on. Eventually, we all go straight through Sedunso in a flash of light.

“How…” he wonders.

Me and Camille are about to finish it, but EJ says, “No, you two. I messed this up. I will save my time.”

EJ raises her lightsaber, but Camille shoots her bow, which hits Sedunso in the chest. As he is about to get up, he closes his eyes. The ghost realm starts to rumble, and all the souls are let free.

“Yay!” I shout.

“What? Why you little-” EJ starts.

I am ready to celebrate, but EJ notices something. “Camille! You’re starting to fade!”

At first, I wonder what she’s talking about, but when I look at Camille, her body is being replaced by light!

“CAMILLE!” I yell as I dash up to her.

I put her head in my lap. I swear, when your body starts to turn into light, you lose about 50 pounds.

“Loko… You helped me on this journey. You are an excellent friend. But tell me… Will you remember me?” she asks.

I’m crying, yet I have the strength to answer. “Never, Camille!”

She lets out a giggle as she turns to EJ. “Eria Jane… You are a fierce warrior, as brave as you are smart. Sorry that we beat you up when we first met you.”

EJ is sobbing too. “No p-problem.”

Camille lets out a sigh of pain. “Maybe… Maybe this is what I needed. The sweet release of death…”

I want to ask her more questions, but before I can, she fades away. Permanently.

“NO!” me and EJ sob. “NO!”

Camille

I was dead. I was sure of it.

But I didn’t know being dead hurt so much! It felt like your cells were fighting a losing battle against no one!

However, you don’t just fade and then you are gone. My soul was traveling to the Underworld, facing the throne of Hades.

“Camille Irvaron,” he says. “I was wondering when you were going to be here. I have to go with my children after this, so chop chop.”

I gulp. “Well, look at me. Do you really think I should go to the Fields of Depression?”

Hades sighs. “Let me look at your history. Helped parents often, saved brother from monster, fulfilled prophecy, saved the world, teamed up with others to save the future. Oh. I see you can’t suffer eternally-”

“Don’t say that! You’ll sound to much like Sedunso!” I yell.

Hades looks ticked off. “That fool Sedunso? I NEVER want to be like him. I am a god of justice, not imprisoning good souls. Speaking of which, I need something you have.”

“What?” I ask, just wanting to be out of here.

“That light fused with your body,” Hades explains. “I want it.”

I shrug. “Here you-”

Okay, this might creep you out. Hades walks up to me, REACHES inside of me, and takes the light out, and acts like it’s normal for him.

For me? It was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced yet, and if you see what I’ve been through, that’s REALLY weird.

“Good,” Hades says. “I need this to make my famous Hades Quesadilla!”

I facepalm. “So, where do I go?”

“I would send you to Elysium, but apparently, your family and friends at your camp need you. Since I’m in a normal mood, I won’t send you there,” Hades says.

“What do you mean, ‘God of Justice’?” I ask.

Hades smirks. “I think you’ll like my other option.”

One hour later, I’m playing Go Fish with Loko, EJ, and Loko’s sister Kimby.