The P.I.E Rises (Venturiantale)

Chapter 3: Consequences

"It's open now, sir," Toast's voice was very thin. The connection was not working very well.

"Good, Johnny. Can you come through?"

"I'll try, sir."

"Ok. I'm here if anything goes wrong."

"Great, sir. See you on your side." The blue light returned, as the wormhole opened once more. There was a great whooshing sound as air rushed through the dimensions. Suddenly, Toast appeared in front of the head cruster.

"Hello, si-", Toast was interrupted as his friend gave him a giant bear hug.

"Johnny!", Ghost cried with happiness.

"Sir, this is kind of awkward...", even as he said this, Toast gave him a small pat on the head.

"Ahem," came a gruff voice from behind them, and Ghost instantly let go.

"Papa Acachalla!", Billy came racing towards his father, "Guess what! A tornado destroyed our house!"

"I can see that, boy," Papa replied as he tousled the boy's hair, "Now, Mr. Ghost fella, when I said babysit my kids, I didn't mean let them play with explosives." Gertrude appeared behind him, and gasped as she saw the house.

"Oh my goodness!", she cried, "What on earth happened to our house?" The ghost hunters explained what had happened.

"Oh, it's fine," she said when they apologized for her house, "We were planning on moving anyway. Now where did my flower pots go?" As Gertrude searched for them, Ghost began thinking. Where had that tornado come from? It had continued longer than it should have. Had someone sent it, or had it just appeared because of some fluke? If it was sent, then, who sent it, and for what purpose? There were too many questions, and Johnny needed a break. "Don't worry about the tornado, Mr. Acachalla. We'll figure out what this storm is all about.", he informed the bald man.

"Well, thanks," Papa replied, "You did a good job today, so here's your money. And I will be glad to hear your news about the tornado. I'd like to know what destroyed our living establishment." He handed Ghost a $20 bill. With a farewell to the Acachallas, Toast and Ghost headed for P.I.E HQ.

***

"Sir, fortunately for us, I have been tracking the tornado from it's location on the map from the News report," Toast explained, "According to the data I have, it came from the west, eventually making it's way into Butts N. C." The investigators were in the lab at the HQ. Both were glad to be back at what they called home. It had been a long day. Ghost kicked his legs under the table he sat at, as he looked at slides of ghost DNA through a microscope.

"How long has it been going?", asked Ghost.

"About two weeks, sir. And it's still in that other dimension."

"Wait, it's still active?!", Ghost straightened instantly.

"Yes, sir," his partner replied, "But I can't figure out any way to stop it. We've never dealt with anything like this before." Ghost facepalmed, sighing.

"Oh, Johnny. This is just terrible," Ghost muttered through his hands, " I have a feeling it has something to do with us..." He cleared his throat, but he could not stop the tears. How were they ever going to solve this? He thought of all those people who had lost their homes, and the ones who soon would. He was scared, and depressed. He laid his head and hands on the table, shoulders shaking. He had been through a lot of stress in the past few days, and this was the final straw. Toast's eyebrows went up a little as he began to comfort his friend.

"Sir, it's all right. It's not your fault," he whispered, though Ghost shook his head.

"It's not all right, Johnny," he replied, tearfully, "The nightmares. They've been coming back!"

"Nightmares, sir?! That can't be good," Toast rubbed his partner's back to soothe him, "Don't worry, sir. He won't come back. It's not that time of year..." Ghosts sobbs were quiet now, and Toast realised he had fallen asleep. The British man looked out the window at the bright moon. He sighed, got up, and turned out the light. He moved his partner to his bed, and finally went to sleep himself. It was going to be a long day tomorrow, and they both needed their rest.

***

"Johnny."

"W-who's there?"

"It's your best friend!"

"Hello, Jimmy."

"You know you can't run. From the truth."

"Why are you bothering me?"

"I'm going to...mm....HELP you a little!"

"I never trusted you. Especially after, after...what you did....to her."

"You should learn to then, Johnny! I can help you escape this pain!"

"You only bring pain."

"But in pain, there is joy!"

"......That doesn't even make sense!"

"Who cares about sense? C'mon Johnny! We can tell them-"

"No!"

"Tell him-"

"NO!"

"Our SECRET."

"Stop it!"

"Yes, Johnny. Our secret shall be free."

"Go away!"

"What if I don't?"

"Then...Then.........."

"You have no idea, Johnny. I have control here."

"What?!"

"I've got to avenge both of us..."

"What are you saying?!"

"Just wait, Johnny. JUST WAIT..."