Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Johnny Blinked.

Oh.

He looked around, until his eyes fell upon a body lying on the ground. A person was bent over it, his sobs shaking his entire body. Johnny held his breath, remembering the past few hours.

You don't have any breath to hold, dummy. It's your fault he's crying anyway. A psychotic voice reminded him, unhelpfully.

If you'd have just let me -

Never. Johnny interrupted coldly.

He stepped up to the body. His body. One look sent shivers down his spine. Toast was bent over his body, sobbing. He stepped closer. Almost as soon as he walked over, though, the equipment on Toast's belt went off, sending Toast into a  frenzy. Jumping up, he turned on his heels, grabbing the scanner from his belt and clumsily swinging it around. Instinctually, Johnny jumped backward, knocking into a lamppost. It flickered, making Toast sure there was an entity by it. Toast turned towards the noise, hastily pulling his gun from the holster.

"Who's there!" He shouted.

Johnny knew he was too low level of an entity for him to be able to communicate with the living, but, out of sorrow, he tried anyway.

"It's me Johnny," he said quietly.

Toast flinched, meaning he could sense Ghost, but hadn't heard what he'd said.

Tears welled up in Toast's eyes and he cried, "Go away. I'm not in the mood to deal with a low level ghost like you."

Johnny got an idea.

What are you doing?

Johnny ignored the question and continued what he was doing.
He took some of the blood that was pouring from the body, and slowly started writing out a message onto the concrete.

I'm sorry for your loss.

"Shut up, why do you care!" Toast shouted.

Johnny stepped back. He knew what he had done would hurt Toast, but he knew it was the only way to protect him- it was the right thing to do. But this still tore him to shreds, seeing Toast in such a sorry state.

Toast turned back to Johnny's body and, holding his hand, whispered,  "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. Why couldn't I save you?"

And Johnny Ghost felt his heart break, crumble right then and there. Because Toast thought his death was his fault, thought it was him that caused this.

In a way he did. He did it by being the only person in the whole world Johnny actually cared about-the only one who cared about Johnny. He did it by being too precious to Johnny.

Johnny Ghost died by his own choice, and there was nothing that could have stopped him. Because Johnny was not entirely himself, and he knew he couldn't control the part of him who wasn't him.
He stabbed himself in the heart to save the only person in the world he truly cared for. And because of that, Johnny Ghost was dead.

Chapter Text

Johnny Toast stood over his best friend's grave. It was a small funeral, only three people came. Johnny Toast, Johnny Ghost's mother and - unbeknownst to Toast- Johnny Ghost himself. The sky had clouded over and was on the verge of a storm. Johnny Toast shivered as the wind rushed past him, rattling the trees around him with it's strength. The priestess said her words of honor for Ghost, and they all bowed their heads. Ghost saw a tear slip down his mother's cheek. Once the funeral was over and the priestess and Ghost's mother had left, Toast turned toward the nearby tree Ghost was standing behind and said,

"Why are you following me, what good does it do for you?"

Toast heard the voice of the entity, "I'm here to help you."

"Well, I don't need your 'help'."

Johnny looked away from the tree and back down to the grave.

He sighed, shoulders slumping.

"He was my best friend, you know"

"I know."

That made Johnny angry. How arrogant could this ghost get?

"Who do you think you are?!"

"Someone who cares about you."

Johnny was thrown off by this, He shifted his weight from side to side, looking down at his feet.

"He cared about you a lot."

Toast went silent.

"I could have saved him. He could still be here with me right now, and we'd be on another ghost hunt, another adventure. but because of me, he's not. I didn't get there in time. I don't even know why he did it."

"To him, it was the only thing he could do."

The first raindrop finally fell, quickly followed by another, then another, until a small drizzle had formed, slowly becoming denser as it went on. Johnny didn't bother to cover himself, instead, he let the rain run down his face and soak his attire. He shuffled away from the grave, looking back once, before starting again towards shelter.

Ghost trailed behind him as Johnny walked away. Drifting past his own grave, he hesitated, and mumbled quietly, "rest in peace. yeah right. Like that does any good."

Johnny Ghost was officially dead. Buried in a tomb to preserve his memory for the two people who were there.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A voice in Ghost's head said in an eerie tone, But we're not gone yet, are we?

No, I guess we're not. He responded.

Chapter Text

Ghost found that if he put all of his energy into it, he could talk to Toast.

After the funeral Toast gave up on trying to shoo Ghost away. Johnny guessed it was because his mourning was taking up most of his energy. Johnny knew Toast didn't know it was him he was talking to, and Ghost didn't want him to know. If Johnny Toast knew that Ghost was, well, a ghost, it would only make their situation worse. Him knowing would mean him being in danger all over again.

Johnny had ended up staying by Toast's side almost all the time (he did give Toast some privacy). He knew the world was dangerous, especially now that Toast was on his own. As a ghost, Johnny could now see normally invisible entities everywhere. These entities were so low level that they weren't even able to picked up by their specialized detectors.

These entities made Johnny nervous. He couldn't differentiate between the ones that were too low level to pick up and the ones that were strong enough to do some minor damage.

At least he could tell which ghosts were high level. He told Toast when those were near.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"There's a high-level ghost near you, Johnny," Ghost warned.

"How do you know? It's not showing up on my detector."

"I see them."

-------------------------------------------------------------- 

If he knew the entity was too strong for Toast to handle he would try to lead Johnny away from it (not that it did much good), When Ghost knew he was too weak to handle it just yet.

Johnny could tell that Toast was hesitant to do any missions without him, but eventually, he had to continue the hunts, needing money to live off of.

On these missions, he could slowly feel his power rising, making it harder and harder for Toast to tell which ghost was the one he was hunting and which was his follower. Eventually, Toast addressed this.

"You can't keep following me around. I can't keep ignoring you as your level grows stronger. Eventually, I'll have to capture you and, for some reason, I don't want to do that."

"I'm not your enemy and I never will be," Ghost replied.

Hopefully. Johnny thought.

Ghost looked away from Toast and back to the hallway they were walking through.

When Johnny looked up, he saw the entity Toast was chasing rushing down the narrow hall towards them. Ghost felt a burst of energy surge through him and just before the entity hit Toast, Johnny pushed him out of the way. Ghost was knocked backward by the attack, as he, instead of Toast, took it full force.

Johnny felt pain seize through him, and he heard an all too familiar string of maniacal laughter before everything went black.

Guess who's back...

Chapter Text

Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the halls.

"Did you miss me?"

Even the entity was thrown off by the screeches. Johnny Toast turned towards them, something about them was familiar. 

Apparently, the other ghost recognized them too, because as soon as the laughter started, the ghost fled, leaving Toast alone with the snickers.

"Well I guess that did the trick then didn't it?" a shrill voice giggled.

"Who are you?" Toast cautiously replied.

He felt the air still, and adrenaline rushed through Toast as he stood awaiting the response.

"Who am I?" the ghost cackled, "I'm hurt, I thought you would recognize me, we've met so many times before!"

"What?"

"Hmmm...Though I guess you didn't really know it. He was always pretty good at keeping me under control..." The spirit muttered, thoughtfully.

"Who was-"

"Ooo, Speak of the devil!"

Toast then heard hacking, as if the spirit was choking, then heard his follower's voice once more.

"What happened?"

"Someone else was here, He said I knew him, I tried to ask him who he was, but he disappeared off the radar just as soon as you got here."

Toast found this very suspicious, but didn't say anything. He knew that the ghost was at least a minor threat, possibly major (it did chase off a level 10 entity), and it most likely had a relation to his follower in some way, which meant he needed to be even more cautious around this ghost.

"What is your name?" Toast questioned the entity.

"That's the one thing I can't tell you."

"And why not?"

"Sorry, can't tell you that either."

"What, have you got something to hide?"

"Yes," the ghost stated, a matter of factly, signifying that the conversation was over, and that he wouldn't say any more.

Toast's shoulders stiffened as he held back his frustration. He abruptly turned away from the voice and started down the hall once more.

A relieved sigh came from behind him, then the sound of feet shuffled toward him, as if the entity was dragging it's feet. 

Toast realized that this could only mean one thing. The entity was now actually a physical being, and that it was getting stronger by the second. 

This ghost was truly becoming a threat, and he didn't know how to stop it.

Chapter Text

Ghost had started to notice some odd things.

He found himself being able to pick up and interact with objects with growing ease.

He new this couldn't be a good sign.

He could feel himself growing stronger every day, and this worried him. He started trying to suppress his power, but it didn't help, in fact, it made things worse.

Every time he tried to suppress them, his powers would - for a lack of better phrasing - explode; sending objects flying across the room, until he would end up huddled in a corner whimpering. They were painful, these events.

He was supposed to be a investigator for all things paranormal, to know exactly how to handle these situations, but he couldn't even figure out a way to stop these outbursts.

When this would happen he would lock himself in his old room, trying to hide himself - and the mess he'd made - from Toast.

He found himself doing this at this very moment. Toast was on a case, and the ghost seemed low enough level that Ghost didn't need to tag along to help. He instead had decided to practice suppressing his powers, and, in fact, his very existence.

It hadn't gone well.

He was huddled in the corner of his former room, sobbing. His entire body felt as though he was being stabbed repeatedly. This feeling had already lasted two hours, and he suspected it wouldn't stop anytime soon.

Ghost heard the front door open and shut, and he tried to cover his mouth to muffle his pained cries that escaped him, but it wouldn't work.

Why don't you let me help you?

Johnny Ignored the question. He wouldn't give the demon the satisfaction of being acknowledged again.

"Where are you, Ent?"

Toast had grown tired of calling Ghost 'entity' and 'God damned ghost', and as Ghost wouldn't reveal his name, Toast had named him Ent, short for 'This stupid thing that follows me around (entity)'.

Ghost shuddered, not able to muster enough energy to give a response. He had forgotten to lock the door before he started the procedure, so he knew Toast would be able to get in.

And that thought terrified him.

Ghost could hear Toast searching the downstairs for him. He couldn't find him downstairs, or get a response.

Ghost heard the thuds of boots on stairs.

"Ent?"

Chapter Text

Johnny couldn't find him. Ent always tagged along on his missions, but this time he didn't.

He searched the downstairs, for some reason he was nervous, worried about Ent. Something in his gut told him something was wrong.

"Ent?" he called, concerned. He got no response.

He decided to search upstairs assuming if he was anywhere, he would be up there. He had to be somewhere in the house.

As he traveled up the stairs, he heard muffled sobs coming from his former partner's room. Angry that the entity was in his partners room, he threw the door open to find a flickering black figure sat huddling in the fetal position in the corner of the room. The room was almost completely torn apart, items were thrown everywhere, the was bed flipped, and the entity was completely surrounded by furniture and other items from around the room.

Ent was shaking, sobs racking his entire body, he was in obvious pain. He had is hand covering his mouth, trying to stop his cries of agony, though it seemed to do nothing.

Finally Toast could see where Ent was, but even though he knew this would be the prime opportunity to exorcise the ghost, he couldn't bring himself to do it when Ent was in such a terrible state.

Toast decided that - for one time, and one time only - he would sympathize with this ghost. He pulled Ent, who was now a completely solid being, into a hug. 

Ent froze, though his sobs never stopped, then leaned into the hug, arms going slack as he cried into Toast's shoulder. shaking as his did.

"It's okay, It's okay," Toast cooed, soothingly.

He couldn't help but feel he knew this embrace, as if he had done it before. He let the thought go and continued to calm down Ent.

After a few minutes, Toast pulled away from Ent and said, "What happened?"

"I was trying to stop my powers, to keep you safe," he replied, quivering.

And then memories flooded through Toast's mind of every time he had gone on a hunt, and Ent hadn't been there. Afterwards, he would come home to a silent house, when he would usually be immediately greeted by Ent.

And he knew that this had been what Ent had been doing, trying to conceal his powers to keep others safe.

"How many times have you done this?" Toast asked.

"I don't know..."  Ent mumbled.

"Well stop it, we'll figure out another way."

"Thank you."

And then Ent was gone, leaving Toast to wonder what he had just done and why.

But deep down he knew the truth, he cared about Ent, whether he had known him before or not, and he wasn't planning on letting him go anytime soon.

He sighed and closed the door to his partner's old room, but before he fully closed the door he paused.

Why had he chosen this room?

Johnny shook his head and continued on, it couldn't possibly mean anything. It was just an abandoned room for him to practice in.

But the thought still lingered.

Why?

Chapter Text

Ghost was on another ghost hunt with Toast.

Toast was slowly warming up to him after the 'incident'. There was an unspoken agreement not to mention it.

Johnny quietly followed behind Toast, watching out for any threats.

Off in the distance they heard a french accented voice calling out to them.

"Hello there Monsieur Toast! Who is this with you?"

A ginger woman in a elegant green dress floated towards them.

"Hello Aimee, This is Ent." Toast said - though it was forced - politely.

"Oui! Though he does look quite a bit like Monsieur Gh-" Aimee paused when Ghost shook his head violently, a sincere look of dread on his face.

"Like who?" Toast asked.

"Ummm, Well he does look much like a friend I used to know, Monsieur uh G-G-Garland!"

"Okay then?"

"Sorry I must be going Monsieur Toast, Monsieur Ent!" She winked to Ghost and he smiled back. Toast took it simply as Aimee flirting with yet another man, and turned his back.

Amiee paused, and made sure toast was not listening, and whispered to Ghost "Oui, Your secret is safe with me Ent."

Johnny thanked her as quietly as he could, and Aimee floated off, leaving just him and Toast.

"What do you think that was all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"That seemed a bit suspicious to me, don't you think?"

"I don't know, didn't seem weird to me, except for the part when she winked at me." Ghost lied.

"Don't worry about that part, Ent, She does that to any man she meets," Toast responded.

They continued making their way through the rooms, heading towards the paranormal signals. (Toast had programed the devices to ignore the signals 'Ent' was giving off.)

Ghost turned his head towards a sound. It was distant and you could barely hear it, but it was definitely there.

Screaming.

The screaming of a person being put through a horrible amount of pain.

Johnny started running towards it. not even bothering to check that Toast was behind him. As he got closer he recognized the voice.

"S'il vous plaît, quelqu'un me m'aider!" the voice screamed.

"Where is he?!" A lower, gravely voice yelled.

"Je ne sais pas!"

Johnny skidded into the room, and looked up to find a Aimee being held by the hair by a man. He was tall, (and floating, so Johnny assumed he was a ghost), and was wearing an iconic cowboy hat.

It could only be one person, Maxwell Acachalla.

"Run!" She screamed at Ghost.

"Ah, There he is. In the flesh! or, well, should I say in the ectoplasm." Maxwell chuckled.

Ghost was glued to the spot, Toast was too far behind to help and he didn't know if he could Take on Maxwell yet. Finally he decided he needed help from another source.

"I'll make you a deal." Ghost said to himself.

I'm listening, the voice replied.

"You protect Toast and Aimee. I let you free for a while."

Deal, It cackled.

Psychotic laughter echoed through the halls, and Maxwell turned, eyes wide. Fear emanated from him and he dropped Amiee.

"Monsieur Ghost?"

"Ghostie's not here right now." A taunting voice giggled.

Chapter Text

Toast rushed into the room, but  stopped dead in his tracks when he heard maniacal laughs once again echo  throughout the room, and looked up to see a terrified Maxwell and  Aimee.

Ent's appearance flickered going from an inky pitch black to a human-like state.

Toast couldn't tell what the human part really looked like, as he quickly turned back into the shadow veiled creature he usually was.

But Toast swore he saw a grey hoodie.

Ent's voice was once again hysterical; high pitched and psychotic.

"Hi Maxwell! Good to see you again!"

Maxwell, still shaking slightly, finally mustered up enough courage to say,

"Nice to see you too, J-Jimmy" All the while rubbing his arm nervously.

It seemed no one had noticed him yet, so Toast his behind the door frame.

Jimmy...Jimmy... He had a feeling this wasn't just any run of the mill Jimmy. This 'Jimmy' was terrifying one of the most powerful ghosts he knew of.

Was that Ent's real name? No this wasn't Ent, this was something else.

"How've you been buddy?"

"Well I have some important business to attend to with your, umm, let's say counterpart"

"Well you see, I'm a man of my word, and  'Ent'  and I made a little deal, so I can't really do that."

"Why would you call him-"

"Speaking of Ent, It seems our conversation isn't very private anymore."

Toast held his breath, he knew what was coming.

"A certain Toaster-Strudel seems to be listening in"

Toast could hear footsteps approaching him. A black faceless entity who looked exactly like Ent peeked around the corner, and the detector on his belt beeped rapidly.

This wasn't Ent. No matter how similar he looked it wasn't him.

"Monsieur, please do not hurt him!" Aimee pleaded.

"Oh no, that's part of the deal. Can't hurt you or mister spies-a-lot here."

"What do you get out of all this Jimmy?" Maxwell squeaked.

Jimmy Turned away from Toast.

"I get to roam free for a little while!" Jimmy giggled.

By the way Jimmy had acted so far, Toast knew him being loose couldn't be good, But he knew he wouldn't be able to stop him.

Jimmy pulled out a black knife, which matched his skin identically, from a pocket Toast couldn't see.

"So, Maxwell if you would be polite enough to skedaddle, I promise it won't be as painful for you than if you stayed!"

"O-Okay!" And he dissipated, teleporting away.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a trip to town!"

And before anyone could stop him, He skipped off down a hallway, heading towards the exit.

Chapter Text

Johnny watched himself stroll through town, his counterpart looking for victims.

Through the alleyways they went, hunting their unsuspecting prey. Jimmy had turned his appearance completely human, so as to not look dangerous.

"Hello? Anyone there, I'm lost and I need help," Jimmy said innocently, luring people in with his act.

"Well you came to the wrong neighborhood to get lost, Didn't he?" a voice came from behind him, "Get 'em."

Four men came out from the shadows, dangerous looks on their faces.

"Well this outta be fun!" Jimmy Laughed, no longer hiding his intentions.

Jimmy pulled a knife out of the bag at his side and looked at the first guy, head turning at an unnatural angle. Jimmy quickly turned and, before anyone even realized it, stabbed the man in the side.

The man stumbled, blood poured out of the wound, soaking his shirt. Jimmy strode towards him, letting the man suffer before finishing him off, twitching all the while.

Finally, one of the men shook away the shock that had frozen everyone to their spots, and jumped on Jimmy, holding him back.

That was his first -and last- mistake.

Jimmy didn't even look towards him as he swung his arm up, plunging his knife into the second man's head. The man went limp immediately, slumping, before Jimmy pushed him off and onto the ground.

The first man by now was curled into a ball on the ground, holding his injured side. Jimmy simply turned him over, and stabbed him in the stomach, making the man cough up blood, then continued to repeatedly stab him in the chest, finishing off his victim and then some.

Johnny couldn't watch. He mentally turned away from the carnage as he heard the screams of the other three men, all eventually going silent.

Aww, don't be a spoil sport.

Sorry that your idea of 'fun' doesn't match up with mine.

Johnny looked down at the bodies, but found that he didn't really feel much pity for the five men. They were about to jump an innocent bystander, lost and looking for help.

Alright, you've had your fun, let's go back.

But I've only killed five people! But he let Johnny take control anyways.

Johnny returned to his usual form, looking human took up and a huge amount of energy.

Johnny heard footsteps coming towards his location, he bolted, zipping this way that that through the different alleyways.

He reached a main road and, forgetting that he was no longer human, started running down the street, until finally looking up to see people staring at him in fear.

It wasn't like they hadn't looked at him this way before, they used to look at him like this back when this would happen when he was alive too. It was just for a different reason this time.

I mean, wouldn't you be afraid if you saw a shadowy person running down the middle of the road like he was running for his life?

Johnny soon stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with 'an old friend'.

"Well hello there Ghost, Nice to see you again, thought you had passed on, left us all behind?" The familiar man said.

"Well life's just full of disappointments, isn't it," 

He looked down, "for you and me both," he whispered.

Chapter Text

Toast searched the streets for Ent, or whatever it was that looked like him.

As he rounded a corner he heard screams coming from one of the alleyways, he headed in that direction, his boots on the pavement echoing off the walls, making his steps seem louder than they were.

The screams abruptly stopped, he started to creep around the corner to get a view of the attacker, only to see the back of his best friend. The man stiffened, then took off, he had heard Toast running towards him

Toast looked down to find five men -gang members probably- sprawled out on the ground, dead.

Toast gagged, maybe it would be best not to follow his dead friend's doppelganger. It was obviously a high level entity to be able to shape-shift like that, and Toast didn't have any of his equipment. This entity was obviously  hostile though, and could be hunting down it's next prey right now. Toast was stuck on what  to do.

Finally, he decided to chase after the man, but by then it was too late, he had disappeared.

"Crap."

He rerouted himself to the main road, only to find Ent conversing with someone -he couldn't see them yet- as if he knew them, and for all Toast knew, he did.

Johnny hid behind the corner of the building, people were fleeing the scene -Toast could understand why.
Toast popped his head out from behind the corner of the brick wall.

He recognized the face -even from a distance- immediately.

It was the face he saw in the mirror every day.

Well, almost.

It was his brother, Gavin.

Chapter Text

"I hear Johnny's got a new follower, they happen to look a lot like you, Johnny," Gavin said.

"If you don't mind, I'm going by Ent now," Johnny said, hostility filling him.

"Are you hiding something from your precious Johnny?"
Gavin taunted.

"Shut up."

"Wouldn't it be terrible if he happened to find out somehow."

" don't you dare, you know why I did it."

"Why you, oh so chivalrously, sacrificed yourself for the greater good?"

"If that's how you want to say it, then sure," Johnny hissed.

Johnny felt a familiar presence behind him.
"Well it's been nice chatting with you, but I have to go," Johnny stated, and started to walk away.
But just as he turned, Gavin hissed, grabbing his arm, "You're not going anywhere."
And before you you could say 'P.I.E' a net was thrown onto him and he was being dragged away.

"Johnny!" Ghost screamed.

Toast jumped out from behind the building, screaming, "Ent!"

Johnny felt something stab him in his shadowed arm, and the world started to fade away.
He heard malicious cackling, from who he assumed was Gavin, though it was quickly fading in volume.
Then he lost consciousness.

This is interesting, I wonder where we're going. Wherever it is, I don't like this. Guess it's my turn again Johnny.

Chapter Text

Johnny shuffled silently down the corridor, ducking into the shadows anytime Gavin looked back. He heard metal clanking and gears shifting, and every once in a while a scream would echo down the halls.
Johnny knew he was shaking, but he ignored it, his friend (Was that what Ent was?) was in danger and he was the only one who could help him.
Johnny couldn't breathe properly, it was like something was snatching the air from his lungs and leaving him to suffocate.
What did Gavin of all people want with Ent?
Something in the core of his being was telling him to save Ent, like he was something more important than life itself. He couldn't figure this feeling out, or why he felt it, but he followed its directions, and those directions led to here.

The sound of Gavin's walking halted.

"I know you're there Johnny."

Johnny froze. Of course he knew. He was just letting Johnny follow him.

"You shouldn't trust him," Gavin said, "He's hiding something something quite big from you."

"I know." Johnny said, stepping out from behind a pillar, into the dim, yellow light, hand leaning onto the cold stone. "It's obvious."

"Ah. So you aren't as blind as I thought. Good. Then this will be easier to explain." Gavin sounded slightly impressed.

Johnny was confused, but kept a stoic face, as he wouldn't let his brother get the better of him.

"You see, little 'Ent' here is-"

A burst of light shot though the hall, immediately followed by blinding darkness.

"Well isn't this a show!" Gavin's voice chimed, "Somebody doesn't want anyone else to know his secret!"
"Oh, that's not the secret I'm worried about. Though he wouldn't want me spilling!" a familiar voice cackled. 
Johnny shuddered, He was back.
"Oh, little Gavin, why did you think this would go well for you? This had me written all over it!"

"Exactly, Jimmy." Gavin laughed evilly. "Now!"

"Hey! Hey! Put me down you heathens! Hey! Don't touch that! That's mine!" Jimmy shrieked, and the lights flickered once more. The overhead lights rapidly fired out sparks until shards of glass rained down onto them.
The lights flickered on and a brunette in a gray hoodie ran past Johnny, then turned a corner and disappeared out of sight.
Johnny's eyes widened. That couldn't be him.
But before he could think about it, two people brushed past him as Gavin said, "After him!" And he joined the chase.

It wasn't long before they started to catch up to the brunette. Johnny was getting desperate and he was running out of options.
So he pulled out his gun and, closing his eyes, shot the ceiling light above them, spraying glass onto the group and causing a slight deter in Gavin's plans.
"Go!" He shouted to the familiar figure. It didn't matter who he was right then. All that mattered right then was the fact that the man was in danger and that his gut was telling him to save him, no matter what.

No matter how alike he looked, it wasn't him.

But, as if to prove him wrong, "Thank you." echoed his old friend's voice.

Then he left, the brunette gone for good this time.

Chapter Text

The lights around Johnny went dark, only to go red as a siren started blaring. He couldn't control his powers at the moment, and every light he passed soon exploded, leaving a trail of sparks and glass behind him.

The sound of the sirens made Johnny feel deaf. All he could hope for was that he could find the exit to this maze of corridors. Johnny ran like he never had, his thoughts were only on Toast and what would happen to him.

Johnny knew he was completely human looking by now, and he knew Toast had seen him.

Every door he passed was unlocked by his powers, and he soon saw many of the captured entities leaving their rooms, confused, but free none the less.

One of these entities was Aimee.

"Monsieur! You escaped! Thank you for setting us free."

In all honesty, Johnny hadn't meant to set anybody free, but he was glad he did; now he had help.

"How were you captured Aimee?" Johnny asked, out of breath from running. The world seemed to be spinning with the lights around him, he couldn't see straight and his vision was tipping from side to side.

"Monsieur, you're using too much of your power! You have to stop or you will hurt yourself!"

"I can't stop. I don't know how to!"

His vision was going black at the edges. Where was he? What was he doing again? He couldn't remember.

He felt himself falling and soon felt the cold of the stone floor chilling his entire body.

"Monsieur! Monsieur get up, we have to get out of he-" was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.

------------------------------------------------------

Johnny woke. Where was he? What happened?

The lights around him were flickering, yet he knew there was no power in the building.

Looking around he saw he was in an old house. It felt familiar. When was he here before? He couldn't remember anything about it. He felt the old mattress of a decrepit bed under him. It was uncomfortable, but he guessed it was better than being on the floor.

He turned to see Aimee looking out a window.

"Where are we?" Johnny said.

Aimee visibly jumped. "Ghost, you are awake." Worry filled her voice. "I need you to drink this. It will help with your powers." She handed him a chipped teacup filled with a thick green liquid.

Johnny hummed and took it. He took a sip, as soon as he did he started to hack and cough, pain surged through his throat. "What is this?!" Ghost had never tasted something so appalling.

"Ghost," Aimee said, looking slightly annoyed, "You made this terrible concoction yourself."

Then Johnny remembered, he had made this a while ago when he was still alive. He remembered giving this to ghosts who were sane enough to drink it. They had the same reaction he had just had, yet he had no sympathy for them back then.

"Holy shit! I made people drink this?!" he said, disgusted with himself. "This is horrible!"

"Yes, I know. You have made me consume it before. Now drink."

"Karma bites you in ass sometimes." He downed the drink as fast as he could, it was an awful feeling at first, but after a minute or so, after the burning and coughing died down, he felt better than before. The lights no longer flickered and he felt much more in control. He sighed, relieved.

Then it came back to him.

"Oh God." Johnny said, dropping the teacup, causing it to shatter, "I can't go back. I can't go back to Johnny like this! I look like myself! I don't know how to change back! What do I do?!"

He looked to Aimee whose face was full of sympathy, "I can teach you control, but I do believe you are wrong."

Johnny's face showed utter confusion.

"You doubt your best friend. Why?" Aimee asked.

Johnny looked down.

"I don't want him to bring me back. He knows how to, we both do. It would only put him in more danger if he did. And if he knew it was me, He would no doubt do anything to bring me back."

A pause.

"Monsieur, you are very selfish."

Johnny looked up, startled. "What?"

"Toast misses you greatly, and what he has seen has confused him immensely. And you are only putting him in more danger by not telling him. If he knew who you were, yes, he would try to bring you back, but he would also try to fix your situation."

"I already knew that. But I just can't do it. I know I'm selfish for not telling him, I know it hurts him more when I don't." Tears fell down Johnny's cheeks. "But Jimmy - he'd kill him; he wouldn't even hesitate if Johnny knew. I can't do that to him. I can tell he's trying to get out right now just to kill you."

"I see," was all Aimee said.

"I just need to know how to control my powers, how to not look like me. I need to look like Ent again."

"Well then, I suppose I have no choice. I will help you. But it will come at a cost."

"A cost?" He said, looking up.

"Yes, you will become even more connected to Jimmy, and because of this, you may lose some management over him. I know you are very good at keeping him under control, but with these lessons, you will have to rely on some of Jimmy's powers, because he has mastered his abilities. It may seem like he doesn't have many, but he hides the majority of his powers. The reason yours were acting up is because Jimmy was losing control of his."

Johnny's eves widened. Become even more connected to Jimmy?

But he had no choice.

"When do we start?"

Chapter Text

It had been three weeks since Ghost had seen Johnny. He missed him a lot, but he still hadn't gotten control of his powers, so he couldn't go back. Besides, he still looked like himself.

Ghost found himself thinking about Toast often. He couldn't seem to get him off of his mind.

Johnny reached for his cup of the thick dark green syrup, taking a sip. The burning sensation filled his throat, but he was used to it by now. He drank the syrup once a day. It helped him control his powers, and Aimee had told him that it would just help in general.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Aimee came back into the room holding three candles.

This was new.

"What's this?" Johnny asked.

"A new exercise." Aimee responded simply. "You're going to light the center candle, and only the center candle. If you can do this we will move on to the next level."

"Okay." Johnny paused, "When will I be able to look like Ent again, Aimee?"

Aimee pondered for a second. "It should be another week or so."

"I see." Johnny's thoughts contained him for a minute, and the silence hung over the two ominously.

Finally, Aimee interrupted his long chain of thinking. "Ghost, The exercise." She said.

Ghost snapped his head up. "Huh?"

"The exercise?" She repeated.

"Oh. Yeah," Johnny looked down. "Of course." There was sorrow in his voice as he said this and he closed his eyes, blinking a few tears away.

Johnny started the exercise, finding it hard to do, as he continually retreated into his self-pitying thoughts.

Without warning, the world tilted, spinning round and darkening. His mind collapsed, and he found himself out of control. His head throbbed, and he realized what was happening.

"Aimee!" he shouted, yet he knew it was too late to be heard.

How could he let this happen? What should he do?

"You really are an idiot," a familiar voice mocked. "You should've known this would happen."

Johnny coughed, a thick substance dribbled down his chin, and he tasted iron. He looked down to see blood dribbling down his hood.

"What did you do?" Johnny choked meekly.

"I think you already know."

Johnny flattened, mentally curling into a ball. "Where is she?" he asked.

"On the ground, shivering."

"No." Johnny said.

"No?" the voice questioned, confused.

"I'm not going to let you do this again," Johnny responded firmly.

"Oh really, and how are you going to do that?"  The voice giggled manically.

"Like this."

Johnny regained his vision, if only for a second, and used all of his strength to thrust the knife into himself. He knew it could affect ghosts, so it should work on him too. He was correct. He immediately fell to the ground, falling into uncontrollable spasms.

He was used to this, he thought, encouraging himself through the pain. Jimmy wasn't.

Jimmy wasn't conscious throughout the times where he had tried to suppress his powers. He could do this, he didn't need help, he could control himself alone.

Alone. Did he always have to be alone? Would he have to be this way forever?

He was screaming now, calling out for someone. Who was he calling for?

Johnny. He was calling for Johnny.

He reached out, groping for something, he didn't know what though. He saw his hand, his arm. It was him, yet it wasn't. It was inky black.

Ent. Ent was back.

A door slammed from somewhere in the house. It was below him.

A voice called out, "Ent? Ent?! Please tell me where you are! Plea-"

Johnny was still screaming, he knew he was giving his location away.

Did he have to be alone? Maybe.  Were his last thoughts.

Alone. All Alone.

Chapter Text

Toast sat at his dining table waiting for something. What was he waiting for? He didn't know. His head hurt and his senses were heightened. The thumping of his fingers hitting the table annoyed him, but he was too frustrated to stop.

How could he explain what was going on? He didn't know anything.

Johnny put his head in his hands, propping elbows on the table.

God, what's happening to my life, He thought, How did it come to this?

Johnny stood and headed toward the liquor cabinet. Memories zipped back and forth in his mind.

Ent helping him. Ent saving him, pushing him out of the way of danger taking the hit full force. Ent. Ent Ent. Ent.

After all Ent had done from Johnny, how could he leave him alone? How could he do that to him?

But he opened the cabinet anyway, taking out a bottle. He looked at the label for a moment, thinking. A tear fell onto the bottle, sliding its way down the side.

Johnny watched it fall. What was he doing?

He threw the bottle down, smashing it onto the tile floor. Screaming, he threw himself down into a crouch, covering his ears.

Without Ent, Johnny was alone, He had nobody left, no one to save him from his messes. With Johnny gone, with Ent gone, he didn't know what to do. He was crying now. Who was he? who was he supposed to be? What was he doing? He should be-

A feeling. An urge. Someone was calling him.

Johnny stood, staring at the door, tears ran down his face, but he didn't notice. He was too focused on the screaming. There was someone screaming. He had to find them, help them. It was two people now.

Ent, it was Ent screaming. It echoed in his mind, in his soul.

Find him. His heart screamed.

So, he slammed the door open and ran down the driveway, jumping into the Ghost-Mobile. Johnny raced down the highway, probably speeding, though he wasn't sure if he was. He followed his gut, letting it lead him.

He found himself in an old neighborhood, full of decrepit mansions, all on the verge of collapsing. The feeling led him to one, now he could hear the real screaming.

He raced into the building, screaming, "Ent? Ent?! Please tell me where you are! Please!"

Chapter Text

Ghost was in a house. He knew that. He was with Aimee. He knew that. He also knew that he was on the floor, but the reason for that was fuzzy. Jimmy was the cause of that. He knew that for sure.

How long had he heard that voice? How long had it tormented him? Years, he knew. But how many? He had lost track of how many lives he had taken. He was a monster, it was true.

His mind was spiraling out of control. Faces flashed in and out, bringing up old memories with them. Finally, one came to his mind clearly.

Johnny Toast.

The face brought him back to reality. His mind clung to the straws of memories he had left. Aimee was injured. He had to help her.

Johnny slowly rose from where he was lying, vision hazy, but he didn't give in.

The world was turning and twisting in ways that only Jimmy's knife could produce. If this was what was happening to him, he couldn't imagine what it was like for Aimee. He felt sick just looking at her. What could he do?

He dropped to the ground. Barely discernable from the ringing in his ears and his cries of pain, Johnny heard a voice. Looking up, he saw Toast in the door way, he was swaying side to side, and Johnny couldn't tell if that was because Toast was drunk, or if it were the affects of his stab wound. Possibly both.

"Toast..." he heard himself call out meekly. He collapsed, curling into a ball. Toast dropped down beside him, picking him up and holding Johnny against his chest.

"Ent, what happened? What can I do?"

"Help..Aimee..." he paused, "Green liquid above me...Give it to her..." He choked out. Thick liquid poured out from his mouth and spilled onto the floor. He tasted iron. He curled in tighter.

Toast looked shocked and confused, probably because the only person Ghost had ever paid attention to was Toast and himself. Ghost looked at him, dazed, "Please..."

Ghost squeezed his eyes closed, and a few black tears dropped to the floor.

Toast laid him down, Johnny heard a glass thumping against the dresser behind him.

Good. Johnny thought.

He heard gulping and coughing, followed by shuffling around, which was presumably Aimee sitting up.

"Is there any left?" Johnny vaguely heard.

"Just a little." was the response.

A voice in Johnny's head echoed, Now look what you've done. You hurt them anyways.

Johnny screamed, "Don't come near me, He'll get you too!" He mustered up all of his strength and used it to transport out of the house, back to the base.

Why had he come there?

Johnny heard glass shattering around him, windows, kitchen glasses, wine bottles, everything around him turned to shards. He fell to the ground. He was losing control again. The laughing in his mind was growing louder by the second.

Someone slammed the door open. Was it Toast? No, he was too far away for it to be Toast.

Whoever it was, they had flown sideways and hit the wall beside them.

Suppress. Suppress. Hold it in. He told himself.

And though he tried, objects were sent flying away from him. He hunkered down, putting his hands over his head, sobbing.

The person had made their way near him.

"GET AWAY!" He screamed, and the person flew backwards once more.

The person was clearly fed up with Johnny, because they said, "Johnny! Stop!"

It was Gavin.

Johnny looked toward him and immediately threw a chair in his direction, missing him and splintering on the wall.

Gavin seemed unfazed by this. "Do you want to stop Jimmy or not?!" He yelled.

Things in the air fell to the ground and the air went stale. Everything was silent.

"What?"

Gavin's voice lowered, dry as the air, "Do you want to stop him or not?"

Johnny's eyes widened, "How? How would you..."

Gavin simply looked at him, unperturbed by the sudden change in atmosphere around them.

"Yes. Yes I do." Dark tears hit the ground, but Johnny shakily stood nonetheless.

"Then come with me."

Chapter Text

Toast sat down. Again. Just as he had got Ent back, he had disappeared from his life once more.  The chair under him groaned, as if pleading him to get off. The weight on his chest seemed to press down harder, knowing he was alone again.

Aimee pushed herself from the ground, brushing the dust from her skirt, "He thinks he's doing the right thing, monsieur." she said, looking at him with sorrowful eyes.
"But why? What is he doing? I just don't- I don't understand anything anymore." Johnny looked at Aimee. "How did you get that?" He asked wearily, waving to her wound.
"I-Uh," She choked, "Well, it's quite complicated, you see..." Aimee flicked her hand around, nervously trying to avoid answering.
"It was Ent, wasn't it? Or whatever he's hiding. Which he doesn't do a very good job of."
"I can't truthfully answer that monsieur."
"So that's a yes."
Aimee put her head in her palms, "I'm very bad at this." came her muffled voice.
"Where has he gone Aimee?"
"I sincerely do not know," Aimee said quietly
"You-"
"No monsieur Toast, I am not lying." She sighed, "Sadly."

Toast looked around the dusty room. "What is this place? Why'd you come here? Why an old dusty mansion?"
Aimee gazed calmly at her surroundings, shrugging, she said, "I guess you could say there's a bit of history. I thought it might help with the connection." Her eyes widened immediately and she slapped her hand over her mouth.
Johnny said nothing, only registered it and kept it to himself. Connection.
Toast stood silently, the chair squeaking thankfully. Walking out, he said with false bravado, "I'll figure this out one way or another Aimee. With or without your help."
"Then it will be without." Was the response, and he turned to see that -with a small curtsy- Aimee was gone.

Johnny walked down the stairs somberly, not noticing a figure beside him. It followed with glaring eyes before it finally spoke, "I know wewer Gwegowy went." It's voice had a sinister tone to it, but Johnny ignored it in favor of it's words.

"Who? Do you mean Ent?"

"Youw couwld cawll him dat." It paused, "Doow youw want to fiwnd him?" It said ominously.

"Not with you." Johnny stated irritably.

Toast opened the door, leaving the dilapidated room behind. As he walked away he felt an urge rising in the pit of his stomach.

Don't search for him. It told him.

Why would he think that? Did he really not want to find Ent? That wasn't true, he knew it. So he didn't know the cause of the feeling.

Johnny shivered in the frozen wind circling him. The sky was darkening and he could only see a sliver of sun on the horizon.

Johnny heard a voice behind him, "Your friends just got himself in some deep shit," Came a thick southern accent.

"What do you mean?" He said, not bothering to turn to face the speaker.

I mean your brother's just tricked your good friend "Ent,'" he could hear the quotation marks, "into coming with him."

Johnny would have asked what had happened and why, but a different question came to mind, "Why do you play the name game like everybody else? You obviously dislike him."

That's because I don't want to be that knife's next visitor. I wouldn't touch that man with a thousand foot pole. The other one might not like it, but he needs Ent."

Johnny had gone pale, and the memories of Aimee's wound returned.

"My brother has him, does he?"

"That'd be right."

"Do you know why?"

"Yep, but telling you would send me to an early grave...Wait." Maxwell paused, confused. "Anyways, you'd better hurry, otherwise your brother might be next."

Chapter Text

Ghost walked down the cold concrete halls once more. He followed Gavin into a small room with a single chair in it. It seemed to be some sort of testing room, as the chair in the center looked alike to a dentist's chair.

Gavin waved Johnny into the room before briskly stepping out and shutting the door. A loud thud resonated through the room and Johnny turned to face the door. The room suddenly seemed to feel smaller, and he felt more enclosed by the second. He backed against the wall facing the door, groping for some way out, of which he knew there wasn't. He wondered what would happen to him, what they would do. Johnny slid down the wall into the fetal position, resigning to his fate.

What was he worth? Johnny wondered. There was a reason he was dead, but with that logic, there was a reason he was still there. He couldn't figure that out. He was insane, a cold-blooded murderer, what reason did anyone have to bring him back?

One possibility was that he had unfinished business, however clichè it may sound. What would he need to do? Protect Toast? Honestly, he knew very well that Toast could take care of himself, and that Johnny was only causing more grief for him. He wasn't that oblivious. So his existence was meaningless after all, he concluded. He had known that from the beginning, but he had pretended not to know.

Abruptly, an obnoxious voice interrupted his thoughts, Are you done staring at the door yet? I'm so sick of all of these depressing thoughts, let's have some fun!

"Like I would let you have "fun"." Johnny retorted.

But we've been sitting here for two and a half hours! Can't we just take a walk around the room or something.

"No. I'm fine right here. They're watching us anyways. You think we can escape while they've got hidden cameras all around the room? They can see and hear me all the time."

What? Where?!

"Each corner" He mumbled, "and on that lamp by the chair. They're waiting for me to sit on it. I'm not an idiot."

I feel like I was just insulted.

"Because you were."

Johnny kept his eyes trained on the door, avoiding the cameras watchful eyes.

Johnny sat there for a few more hours, waiting for the test to be over. It was obvious he wasn't going to sit in the chair any time soon, but he and the men behind the cameras were at an impasse. Neither would give in.

Eventually, the door creaked open and a woman stepped in. She was thin and frail looking, not a fighting figure, but Johnny wasn't one to underestimate people. She held a clip board with scratchy writing on it, almost illegible, but he did notice three words on the sheet.

Observant, but Unstable.

He looked at the fragile woman's face, studying her blank expression. He could tell she wasn't an average person. It was the bored, yet annoyed look she gave him, as if she was being inconvenienced by simply standing near him. It was the arrogance that came with incredible power.

"Hello, my name is Caroline, I'm here to observe and record. Simply ignore me," She said dully, stepping left of the door and gently shutting it, "I'll be over here."

He would, he decided after thinking through his options, entertain the idea of continuing to sit, however dull it may be.

Ugh, who does this lady think she is? Doesn't she know that she's sitting in the same room as the one and only Jimmy Casket?

The woman's eyes widened as she glanced at Johnny, and she took a deep breath before looking down again.

Shut. Up.

To Johnny's surprise, he did. Jimmy must have come to the same conclusion as he had. She was no ordinary woman indeed. Mind reading, he thought. Well there goes any privacy he had left. Thanks Gavin.

Johnny looked at the woman, that wasn't all. She had something physical.

"Well, that will be all," Came her petite voice. "I'll be going now."

But Johnny sensed the panic in her voice, as hidden as it was. IT was written on her face too, if you looked close enough.

The door shut once more and he was left alone with only the cameras and his thoughts. He guessed he wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter Text

Toast was lost. Very lost. In fact, Toast didn't think he'd ever been more lost than this. Emotionally or physically. Mostly Emotionally.

He took a deep breath, and plunged into the darkness, his eyes shifting side to side nervously, scanning the dark halls for danger. A light bulb flickered above him, swinging slightly on the thin wire that it hung from. Actually, the only reason he was there was because a gut feeling led him to a large abandoned building outside of town, which, in truth, was probably a great place to look for a shadowy-person-entity-thing.

As Toast poked his head around a corner, peering down the dimly lit hall, he took a second to ponder how he had got himself into a situation such as this one. For example; letting his best friend die, meeting a ghost right afterwards and then allowing it follow him around because he was really, really, sad, letting the ghost save him, giving the ghost a name, befriending that ghost even though he's a ghost hunter, then when the ghost gets kidnapped and finally out of his hair, he follows the ghost and saves it, the ghost running away for some reason and making Toast really, really, sad again, then finding the ghost again and trying to help it but it runs away again, and finally, here he is, looking for said ghost. Again.

Toast took a step around the corner, his pace quickening as he heard voices in the distance. He slammed his back against a wall and listened intently for when they passed him.

Their voices were hushed, barely above a whisper, but as they passed a through the hall he had just come from, Toast heard one say, "Did you hear about the new one?"

"Do you mean the one Caroline was talking about?" Came the other's response.

"I heard he used to be a paranormal investigator, ironic, right?"

Toast's eyes widened and he strained his ears to hear the rest of the conversation as the pair walked away, but all he heard as they rounded a corner was, "I think his name was John or something, right?"

Toast leaned back, sliding down to the ground. His body felt heavy. He needed to take a moment to think. The problem was, he didn't have time. Who knew what was happening to Ent at the moment, and sitting here deliberating over names and coincidences wasn't going to help. Deciding to ponder it later, when he wasn't on enemy grounds, and had Ent back, he pushed the thoughts away.

Though his legs felt like lead, and his head was pounding with frustration, Johnny pushed himself up from the ground, and brushed off the dust. Making his way down the musty halls, he followed the dim light of the lanterns that the two were carrying. Slamming into corners just to keep the fading light in sight, Toast knew he must have looked half drunk as he stumbled after them. Toast wasn't even sure if the men were heading toward Ent, but he followed anyway, because his gut told him to.

Toast had never felt this before Ghost died Ent appeared. Maybe it was an subconscious effect of Ent's powers, or maybe they were just drawn to each other. Whatever it was, the feeling was never wrong, and it always led him straight back to his friend.

Turns out, his gut was right, and the two cloaked figures had led him straight to Ent's room. He knew this because the men skirted around it like it was going to explode if they stepped too close. Ent had that effect on people.

It was at that moment that a thin woman pushed the large hinge of the door down, unlocking it as she did. She must not have seen Toast, because she never glanced over at his figure in the darkness. Slipping easily through the door, Toast heard – though it was muffled – her say, "Hello, my name is Caroline, I'm here to observe and record. Simply ignore me." Some shuffling came from inside, which Johnny assumed must be her moving away from the door. "I'll be over here."

Toast waited for a few minutes, it was completely silent in the room, so silent in fact, that Toast was beginning to worry. His worry only increased when the lady – Caroline – rushed quickly out of the room and down the hall. Toast took this moment – the one in which she forgot to lock the door behind her in her rush – to grab the edge of the door and pull it open.

"Johnny?"

Chapter Text

After Caroline made her brisk exit, Ghost expected to be left to stare at nothing and ignore the voice in his head until the overseers decided to send in another lackey. He was not, however, expecting a hand to grab the edge of the thick metal door before it could shut, pulling it open again just in time.
Standing in the open doorway was Johnny Toast, and there was a part of Johnny - a part that he grew to hate more and more - that was relieved to see him.
Ghost wished for what seemed like the millionth time since he died, that he hadn't followed Toast. If he hadn't, maybe Toast would've moved on, left him behind to be happy; as it was, Toast carried the weight of his former best friend on his back, and with Ent there, he knew Toast would never fully move on.
"Johnny?" He asked, though it was plainly obvious who was in front of him.
"S-Ent, you're okay." Ghost noticed Toast's hesitation to say his name, but didn't mention it.
"Hi," Ghost said quietly.

Ugh, you guys are really frustrating, you know that?
Shut up, what do you know?
Too much if I'm being honest.

Inwardly rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to Toast, who had somehow propped the door open, and had started making his way to the center of the room.
"Come on, let's go." Toast said quietly, his eyes softening when Ghost looked back up.
"They're going to get rid of him." Johnny whispered, "I can't leave."
Ha! You really believe that? Sometimes you can be really naive Johnny. I'm not just a broken toy you can throw away; I'm a part of you, Ghost, you really think they have the power to get rid of something as deep rooted as me - who's been with you since you were born - just like that? Stop kidding yourself.
For some reason, Jimmy sounded almost sad.
Since I was born?
"Ent, what do-"
Ghost felt the static that covered him buffer, snapping and crackling around him loudly. Sharp pains shot through him, reminding him of the times he suppressed his powers. His brain pounded against his skull, and his throat burned like acid. He would've screamed in pain, but his lips seemed glued together, the rest of his body frozen as well.
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he reeled - Jimmy screamed incoherently at him in the back of his mind, words indistinguishable through the ringing in his ears.
Flashing images flooded his vision like a movie on rewind.
Parents, Grandparents, House, Alone, Box, Insane, Dead, Not real, Space, Running–

Gregory

Memories spun inside Johnny's mind, dragging him from one torturous image to another, his vision swimming as they passed by.

Finally, mercifully, his lips unsealed and a bloodcurdling scream filled the room, echoing down the halls.
The pins and needles didn't stop, though. They shot through him relentlessly, stabbing at his sides repeatedly.
He felt Toast's hands on his shoulders, gripping Ghost tightly as he called something indecipherable.
Scanning Toast's panic-filled face, Ghost managed to think through the haze of pictures, He's crying. Why's he crying? Ghost wanted to reach out to him, wipe away his tears and comfort him, ask him what was wrong and who he needed to punch this time. What happened? You haven't cried like this since the funeral. I'll find the person who did this, okay? Just like when we were younger. He promised mentally, attempting a reassuring smile.
Oh shit-
Toast's eyes widened, his skin paling. Johnny's smile wavered, before dropping in confusion. The ringing in his ears had turned to buzzing, and Johnny could think a bit clearer.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. Reaching his hand up - a part of him registered a grey sleeve over tan skin - Ghost reached toward Toast, placing it on his cheek.
Toast didn't respond, only stared silently. Toast searched Johnny's face, as if looking for a sign that he was a hallucination.
"Younger-?" He finally echoed, voice cracking.
Wait. How did he?
You said it out loud, genius.
"I-" Johnny tried to say, but Toast interrupted.
"Sir," Toast paused, giving Johnny ample time for his brain to catch up, and his mind to start calculating the chances of ghosts being able to die a second time.
Concluding that, no, probably not, he looked back at Toast.
He was furious. Not a, 'I'm going to kill you' kind of furious, but a much, much, more terrifying, 'face so blank it's impossible to know what he's thinking' kind of furious.
"You," Toast's voice wavered, "You fucking asshole."
Okay, better than expected. He deserved- 
"I can't believe-" oh shit "-you managed to dig a hole so deep, that you hit the other side of the world before admitting you were wrong."
Ghost flattened himself as far as he could against the wall in a futile attempt to escape Toast's wrath.
"Here's what going to happen," Toast said through gritting teeth, "We are going to walk - not fly, not teleport, not call upon the forces of nature - out of here and back to the base." He turned to the camera in the corner, raising his voice, "and I will not hesitate to shoot anyone who so much as crosses our path - especially you, Gavin."

He gripped Ghost's wrist tightly, pulling him up and starting down the dark corridor in silence.

Chapter Text

It wasn't until they reached the outdoors, when the cool breeze dried the tear tracks, that Toast realized he was crying.
He wasn't surprised, finding out your best friend is the ghost haunting you has that effect.
Toast stopped, heels skidding slightly on the uneven gravel. Ghost's thin wrist still clutched in Toast's hand, light enough to second guess it's presence.
Toast was Orpheus; afraid if he turned back, he would lose his Eurydice once more to the underworld, but more afraid Ghost was never there at all.
Toast gathered himself the best he could as he towed a stumbling Ghost behind him, letting his gut lead them back to the base.
They reached the base with little hinderance, but before Toast could enter, a voice behind him squeaked out and Toast paused, "It's...a little...messy in there." Ghost said quietly.
Toast pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, "I'm not sure I want to know what that means." Nonetheless, he creaked open the door, taking in the sight of the shattered glass and broken furniture with a sigh. "I'm making some tea," he said tersely, "please, make yourself at home."
Finally letting go of Ghost's wrist, Toast walked - more so stumbled - into the kitchen and picked out a kettle and a box of tea from the - thankfully in tact - cupboard.
As he shaved off the required tea from the brick, he finally glanced up at Ghost. Relief washed over him as he watched him brush off some of the broken glass from the couch and sitting in his usual spot, only to find the old TV's glass had been smashed by a chair leg. Toast chuckled silently.
He was, of course, still furious at Ghost (and rightfully so), but knowing he hadn't disappeared, that Ghost was still with him, made Toast want to cry all over again. He turned back to his task, setting the water to boil and reshelving the tea bricks.

Taking a deep breath, Toast strode over to the sofa, he seated himself next to Ghost, crossing his legs coolly. Tense silence filled the space between them, only broken by the bubbling of the kettle in the background. Neither looked at each other.
"So..." Said Ghost.
"So." Toast responded.
"I should probably explain some things."
"That would be nice."
"It's kind of a long story."
"We have lots of time, please, I'd love to hear your side of this."
Through his peripheral vision, Toast watched Ghost take a deep breath, and begin.
"I'm never alone. He's always there, wherever I go, there's no escaping him. He's in my head. I've tried everything from medicine to therapy, he never goes away. I don't know if he's an entity or what, but he's there - always has been - plaguing my mind. I think," Ghost paused, swallowing, "I think my dad, Tommy, had him too. I saw a video - real old, maybe a tv show or something - and he showed up." Ghost took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
Toast opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ghost continued, "Jimmy Casket." He let it sink in, "Yeah, that one. Up here," He paused, tapping the side of his head lightly, before letting the hand drop to his lap. Laughing mirthlessly, he continued, "24/7, 365."
"He threatened to-" Ghost choked down a sob, "-to kill you."
Toast couldn't quite comprehend what he'd heard. It seemed like his mind processed anything but Ghost's words. The kettle bubbled steadily on the stove, the fleck of glass beside him poked his thigh, the damaged clock ticked steadily on the counter. Jimmy Casket; a person or entity inside his friend's head, wouldn't register. He felt like he was drowning; brain turned to mush.
"I had to stop him, not just for you, but for everyone." Ghost had said, "So I did the only solution I could think of,"
Oh.
"I killed the host."
"You-" Toast finally muttered, "You..." Deep breaths "Moron, Dullard, Idiot, Buffoon, Halfwit, Bonehead," Deep breaths "Dumbass."
I will not smack Ghost upside the head. I will not smack Ghost upside the head. I will not- 
"Wh-Ah!"
Oops, too late.
"Are you a barbarian?"
"I-"
"Did the idea never come upon you to - I don't know - tell me about the demon inside your head that kills people? Did you ever think that maybe I might know a very simple solution to that?"
"Well-"
"That's what I thought. Trust only you to come to the most extreme conclusion instead of talking about your problems like a normal human being. I swear, you're like a human-shaped emotion bomb, "Communication, what's that? I just keep all my emotions bottled up and never let anyone in, because I'm the personification of trust issues itself"' Toast waved his hands dramatically, large air quotes filling the space between the two, "Let's not ask the one person who can help me out of this situation for help!" Turning to Ghost, he gave the most deadpan face he could create. "Sound familiar?"
"How should I have known you would believe me?"
"Sir, were paranormal investigators, in what universe would I not believe you?"
"I-" Ghost sighed, scratching his head, "guess you're...right."
The kettle clattered loudly - most likely had been for the past few minutes - and Toast stood. Walking over to it, he asked, "English Breakfast?" And poured their tea. Walking over, he handed Ghost a cup. "Oh, and would you like to come back from the dead and get rid of the murderer in your head?" Toast added, as if an afterthought, turning his back slyly.

Coughing and a choked, "Hot--" soon followed.

Chapter Text

"So," Ghost said once he finally stopped coughing, "you know how to get rid of...whatever Jimmy is?"
I'd take offense to that, but I'm kinda interested.
Johnny suppressed an eye roll.
"I've spent a year and a half with Ent, who most obviously had a parasitical entity attached to him, so I spent some free time researching ways to "remove" the parasite entity from its host." He paused, Taking a sip of his tea, "it's not perfect." Toast admitted, "Parasites are quite uncommon, and usually well hidden."
I feel called out.
Uh huh.
Pulling out a leather-bound journal, Toast flipped to a page near the end and begun reading. "'The parasite can be removed by transferring it to a new host - not preferred - or separated entirely, creating a projected form of it.'"
"So basically we can't fully exorcise him unless we give him his own form?" Ghost questioned.
"Precisely." Toast responded.
"Of course." Ghost groaned, placing his chin on his hand and resting it on the sofa arm.
"It's going to get a bit occult from here on, so get ready," Toast began to list the ritual's steps, "first, we'll need some chalk, and use it to make this design." He turned the book towards Ghost, pointing to a complex design contained within a diamond-like shape, of swirling and jagged lines, overlapping each other to form an almost beautiful display of occult madness.
Johnny's eyes scanned the design, searching for the ritual's purpose. There seemed to be some sort of lettering lining the diamond, and his eyes squinted in an attempt to read the gibberish.
That's English, you know.
Shut up.
"What's it for?" Johnny asked aloud.
"It's a summoning ritual, intertwined with a sealing circle." Toast said, biting back a smile.
Ghost huffed, but looked back to the page, "Anyways, what else do we need to do?"
Toast quickly composed himself, "Alright, next, you'll stand in the circle, and I'll recite this." He pointed to an other section of gibberish. Ghost pretended like he knew what it said, and nodded.
Laughing echoed in the back of his mind.
Ghost grimaced, annoyed.
"It would be best to do this as soon as possible, since the longer two entities are linked, the more fused they become. This isn't the case for living hosts; intertwined ghosts are unique and extremely rare, as most parasites leave their host when it's body dies." Toast grinned cheekily and yanked a box of chalk from his pocket, as if he had planned to do this from the start.
Ghost contemplated raising a brow, but decided against it, knowing Toast, he just might have.
Shrugging, Ghost plucked the box from his hand, pulling a stick out. Standing, he swiped the book from Toast and got to work, following the design as best he could.
Toast took this time to clean the area, pushing furniture out of the way and taking up the empty dishes.
"Done!" Ghost called smugly, proud of his work.
Toast walked over, examining it, humming with satisfaction. "Alright, next step is," he glanced at the journal on the ground, "you stand in the circle, and I perform the rites."
Ghost paused, turning to get a read on Toast's aura, "...Something about that seems...too easy."
Toast sighed, "That's because there's a catch," but his mouth twitched upward, which worried Johnny much more than any occult ritual ever would. He gave Toast and unimpressed look, leaning back warily.
Toast, still smirking, strolled into his office, quickly returning with something in his hands.
He held a flower crown littered with yellow, red, and pink flowers, along with a few black roses scattered between, a rich green vine holding it together.
For all he tried, Ghost couldn't stop himself from smacking a hand to his forehead. Taking it from Toast, he gently turned it side to side, bemusedly examining the ensemble.
"They're not even fake," Ghost said numbly, "you got actual flowers for this."
"Yeah, it was necessary for the ritual to work," Toast chuckled nervously. "You have to wear a wreath of daffodils, butterfly weed, and cyclamen."
"Let me guess, you added black roses 'cause I'm dead." Johnny added.
"Um, yes."
Rolling his eyes, he sighed, "Whatever, let's get this over with," and gingerly placed the crown on his head, careful not to damage any of the delicate blossoms.
If it's any consolation, you look adorable, Jimmy giggled.
Ugh.
Ghost strode into the centre of the diamond and crossed his arms, attempting to maintain some sort of dignity with a bouquet on his head. Tapping his foot, he mumbled, "Go for it."
"Yes, Sir." Toast saluted, grinning stupidly.
He then began to recite.

It was subtle, almost gentle, the feeling of being ripped in two. It started slowly, from his finger tips upwards, pulling him apart at the seams. The feeling was undeniably wrong though, in the way he felt his own soul splitting in two. The chasm-like tear in his very existence slowly consumed his entire being. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he felt nothing but the fraying of his consciousness - his sanity.
.He struggled to preserve his mind, to keep his identity from leaking into the void. But who was he? Who was Johnny Ghost? Jimmy Casket? Gregory? Who were the faces that drifted by in dreams, too blurry to recognize, too clear to forget. After remembering so much, it was a shame he could no longer sleep, maybe he would finally see them without the bleary film.
The feeling was still there, quieter now, almost like static; it seemed it had almost finished tearing him apart.
As he drifted through darkness with a numb sort of almost-sadness, he heard a whisper.
It was small, barely audible, but there wasn't anything else to hear.
"Please," It begged, "Please."
He somehow found his voice, "What? What's wrong?"
"Don't let him do this," the voice whispered back, "Don't let him win."
There was a light; it was warm and comforting. He turned his head toward the voice, behind him.
Starkly bright in the darkness, sat a small boy. The boy whispered, "Don't go in, you'll never come back."
He glanced to the light, it seemed nice, safe.
The boy raised his voice, as if he knew what he was thinking, "You'll never see him again if you do."
"Who?"
The boy didn't respond.
He became desperate, fearful, "But how do I get back?" He questioned.
"Who are you?" The boy asked.
Well that's obvious.
He was...
He was...
Who was he?
"Who are you?" He said, a bit louder.
"I don't know-"
"Who are you?!" The boy cried desperately.
He gasped, filling his lungs like he hadn't taken a breath in years.
Maybe he hadn't.
Turning back to the light, he wanted nothing more than to walk inside. But something tugged inside of him, something stronger than the need for warmth and comfort.
So he spun around to face the boy.
"J̵͂ͅO̷̙̓H̶̭̋N̷̜͘N̴͎̓Y̷̥͝ ̷̌ͅG̸͖̋H̶̱͝Ọ̴̆S̴̫̒T̶̤̅!" He screamed, hot tears spilling down his cheeks.
He pushed through the thick wall of darkness separating him from the boy.
The boy held his hand out and Johnny took it without hesitation, driving his through the last bit of space between them.
As soon as their hands linked, Johnny found himself in a room - specifically speaking, his living room.
Everything was exactly as it had been before the ritual began; his body gently placed the wreath on his head and shuffled over to the centre of the diamond, the flower crown resting daintily upon his skull.
It huffed and closed its eyes.
Ghost stood to the side, watching his profile close its eyes and Toast begin to recite the incantation.
Had he gone back in time? It seemed so. But how? Why?
And then his body opened it's eyes and the flower crown toppled to the floor. He was walking toward Toast. Why didn't he remember this? He should remember this!
And then he noticed.
The usual voice in his mind, nagging him, laughing at him, making dumb jokes, persuading him to kill:
It was gone.

Chapter Text

This couldn't be happening.
He tried to move forward, backwards, sideways, anything-
But nothing worked, and he wouldn't budge.
He'd frozen; an icy chill climbing up his spine as the scene before him played out.

He watched helplessly as his face - Jimmy's face - lit up in a manic way, smile too large, eyes too wide, and he took an other step toward Toast, hand twisting and morphing unnaturally as he summoned his knife, spinning it with deranged giddiness.
Toast, aware there was a crazed man stalking towards him, spoke louder and faster, hoping that would help Ghost's soul return to their plane.
Ghost's mind reeled as the scene before him slowed.
No.
Jimmy sauntered forward.
No.
Jimmy raised his knife.
No.
Toast stumbled backward, still chanting.
No.
Toast tripped, falling backwards, and a knife found its way to his throat, Jimmy catching him by his collar before he could fall.
"Now that Johnny Boy's gone nobody can save you!" Jimmy cackled ruthlessly.

Johnny felt his structure crackle, losing all shape and appearance. He and the air became indecipherable, amalgamating; dispersing throughout the room, brimming with impending wrath.
A lamp in the corner flickered, once, twice, and the bulb exploded with a bang, sending glass through the shade with its force.

"Wait, wait," Jimmy gasped, "how- you can't do that! You don't have my powers!"

The lamp reversed, fitting itself back together as if nothing had happened - rewinding reality.

Jimmy must have dropped Toast, since Johnny heard a sliver of a scream, before everything froze.
Well, almost everything.
Jimmy's head spun around, searching for him through the chaos. The room - or the parts of it that were him - seemed to pulsate with flowing energy, barely dammed by Johnny's consciousness.

"Y-You!" Jimmy stuttered, "you're nothing without my powers! How are you doing this?!"
"Who cares." He spoke, voice echoing around the room.
"I do! You can't do this to me! I finally have a form of my own! It's not fair!"
"Death isn't fair," The air that was him rumbled.

He wished he could go back, live a little longer before kicking the bucket, wished he had just told Toast the truth, so they could figure it out together. He wanted to forget, but he knew if he did, he wouldn't have learned anything, he'd be back where he started, and the cycle would continue.
He wanted to sob, wanted to cry real, salty tears, that made his head ache after a while, but he couldn't; not anymore.
He missed breathing, feeling a breeze on his face, not through it, feeling hot or cold, hungry or full. He wanted to scream until his throat was raw, to laugh, to touch someone - to hug someone.
To live.
Darkness swallowed the room, and he was existing in nothing once more. There was no light, and there was no boy.

This new darkness was cold, and dizzying, and frightening. It swirled and swam; popping and crackling with energy.

------------------------------

Johnny woke to a setting sun, orange and pink cascading over the city's silhouette, lighting the streets with a warm film.
The street lamp above him flickered on, as if sensing something had changed.
A cold blade sat in his hands, weighing them down with the implications. The tip of the blade poked at his chest, just barely pricking the skin above his heart.
And there was the voice.
You won't do it, wimp.
Johnny's eyes widened and he wheezed breathlessly.
The knife dropped to the ground, clinking against the concrete, and laughter bubbled up, escaping his mouth in short bursts of shock fueled hysteria.
Tears stinging at his eyes, Johnny dropped to his knees, sucking in the humid, twilight air he never thought he'd breathe again.
The hell? What are you doing?
Johnny spread his palms on the ground he hadn't felt in two years. It was cool, and rough, and Johnny never thought he'd miss concrete so much.
Propping himself back against the street lamp, Johnny yanked his phone from his bag's pouch, where it always had been, when he was alive. Sadly, ghosts apparently aren't allowed to have cellphones. He scrolled through his contacts and tapped "Toast", putting the phone to his ear.

"Hey Toast," he breathed wearily.
"Sir, I've been looking for you!" Toast said, relieved, "Where are you?"
"Not sure, let me tell you the street." Dragging the phone away from his ear, Johnny switched to the Maps app.
Glancing at the name, he put the phone up to his ear once more, "Revival Road, I'm under a street lamp. Apparently I have a sense of irony," He chuckled.
Toast gave a confused noise, but elected to ignore the odd sentence in favor of asking, "What are you doing way out there, Sir?"
"I'll explain that later, right now, I just want to remember what air conditioning feels like."
"Are you alright, Sir?"
"I'm great, Johnny."
Hanging up, Johnny spoke into the empty night.
"So, you don't remember?"
Remember what? Jimmy huffed.
Johnny laughed, "Too bad, you don't get to know. Sucks for you, it's a pretty cool story."

Jimmy groaned in annoyance and slunk to the back of Johnny's mind, muttering about unfairness and "stupid idiot"s.

After a few minutes, a presence appeared beside him, and he turned unflinchingly to look at her. "Hey Amie," he mumbled, shooting her a tired smile.
She laughed sadly and said, "I was almost hoping you would treat me the way you used to; at least then you wouldn't have to remember." Pulling her legs under her, she lowered herself to the ground, smoothing her dress as she sat.
"I'm just glad I'm back."
"What happened, Monsieur?"
"I have no idea," he shrugged, "We did this ritual and then I wasn't me - or maybe I was in the spirit realm, I'm not sure - Jimmy was about to kill Johnny and then, boom! I become the air, break some stuff, freeze time, and I'm so mad that I end up not dead, I guess."
"At least you don't have to drink any more of that terrible concoction to suppress your powers."
"God, I hope not." He chuckled, smoothing his hair back, "I'm never giving that to anyone ever again, it's inhumane."
"Good," she said, and nodded approvingly.
There was a beat of comfortable silence, and Johnny turned to watch the sun lower behind the horizon.
"I've never been more tired in my life," He mumbled, and rested his head against the pole behind him, closing his eyes.
"Well you haven't slept in two years, and just turned back time, I suppose that might drain you a little," Amie giggled.
"'Hello, I'm Johnny Ghost,'" he mimicked as if on a talk show, holding an invisible microphone to his mouth, "and I can tell you from first hand experience, being dead sucks." He chuckled, spreading his hands and thrusting them at the darkening sky, "Boom, front page news."
Amie laughed, a deep, full-bellied laugh, her own hysteria seaping through.
"Speaking of, how are you doing?" Johnny asked, pulling his knees to his chest, "I know I wasn't really considerate of you during that whole debacle." He shot a worried glance her direction, guilt slowly creeping in.
"Don't worry, I understand. You had someone to protect, even if you did it in your own ass-backwards way." She smiled sympathetically and shrugged, "I'm alright. It's not like there's much we can do for me, I've been dead far too long for a little time travel to be of any assistance, and I doubt I'd be welcomed back if it did succeed."
"Sorry; wish I still had ghost powers so I could give you a hug."
"Aw, how sweet!" She cooed, "What happened to 'Johnny Ghost, Paranormal Investigator Extraordinaire, kicker of all asses and hugger of no one'?" Amie prodded playfully.
"Eh," he shrugged, "Died, had an epiphany about my identity, reversed time; no biggie."
Amie's eyes crinkled in amusement, "Well, if you ever want to talk about this epiphany, I'm almost always free, death does that."
A car motor caught their attention as it rumbled down the empty road toward them, slowing when its driver spotted Johnny's silhouette. The rumbling subdued as Toast pulled over to the curb, calling, "Hop in, Sir!" out the window.
Ghost quickly looked back to Amie. "Will do, and your welcome at my place any time, too, if you get lonely. I know the other ghosts aren't always the best company," he winked, laughing, "I don't think Johnny will appreciate it, but eh, since when am I considerate of others' feelings?"
She giggled, translucency accentuated by the car lights shining through her, "Thank you, Monsieur, I will be sure to do that!" She glanced back, "I must go though, I'm sure you don't want to keep Monsieur Toast waiting." And she began to fade, the last wisp of her hand waving one final time before disappearing completely.

Johnny turned toward the car, calling, "Hey Johnny, I gotta tell you a secret," and grinned.