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It ended as it should; with Adia’s voice.
There’d been a SNAP, then he’d been falling, and screaming, and then she’d screamed “SCRATCH!” and then–
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Todd blinked open his eyes and sat up. He felt… Weird. He looked at his hands and nearly jumped out of his skin with a “GAAH!” They were no longer the beige tan of his human form. Now they were a light, slightly transparent, slightly glowing blue. “What the…?” he whispered.
Suddenly, a light green blob filled his vision. “Hello!” came a friendly male voice, making Todd jump again. “My name’s Felix! Now, I'm sure you have many questions, but first I’d like to welcome you toooooo… THE GHOST WORLD!” he spread his arms wide, gesturing to the sprawling metropolis of buildings in front of them with other floating blobs seemingly going about their business. “Okay okay, now ask away!” The green blob said with a grin.
“I… uh…” Todd stuttered, “the Ghost World?”
“Why yes, of course!” the green blob said the most chipper voice possible. “You’re dead, friend!”
Okay.
That was a lot to take in.
Todd… needed a second to process that.
…
…
…
Okay second over.
“Alrighty, so how’s this work?” Todd asked gleefully, rubbing his hands together. “I mean, I know I’m blue and you're green, but can we turn other colors? Can we die again, or is this it? Can we shape shift? Do we have ghosty powers?!”
The green blob (ghost?) laughed. “Well! That’s a lot of questions!” he said, looking a little taken aback. “But,” he chirped, booping Todd on what he noticed was now his blue and comically oversized nose, “I do appreciate the enthusiasm! How about, instead of me answering all of them, I take you to the Ghost Orientation Seminar where you’ll learn all of that and more?”
Todd was quiet for a moment. “Ya know, I’m actually not a super big fan of seminars, so I’d actually like if you could just-”
“AaanD OFF WE GO!” Said Finneas, just a tad bit passive aggressively, grabbing Todd’s now ectoplasmic arm and dragging him away.
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Todd groaned as he was pulled into the seminar room. “Flounder, for the last time, me and long lectures don’t exactly…” he waved his hand around for a moment, trying to find the word, “vibe, ya know? So if I could just-”
Fred sighed for what seemed the millionth time in the thirty minutes Todd had known him and pinched the bridge of his dark green nose. (It did not take long for Francisco ’s chipperness to turn to annoyance. He had no idea why. Todd was an absolute delight to be around.)
“Todd, for the last time,” Frank groaned, “the seminar is mandatory for new ghosts. You’re REQUIRED to go.”
“Yeah, I know, you’ve told me like a million times.” Todd rolled his eyes, annoyed that Flynn couldn’t see his objectively right point of view.
Hold on- idea!
“But, Ferdinand, I have a condition! You see,” he put on his best poor me eyes, “any time I have to sit for a long period of time and listen to boring stuff, I…” Todd frantically racked his brain, “I… ah… I explode!” He leaned casually against the wall. “That’s actually how I died,” he drawled.
Fabrizio looked at him with a dead (ha!) stare for a solid minute before he responded with a simple, “No.”
“But-”
“Felix, lad! Who’s the new recruit?” An obnoxiously haughty voice suddenly called.
Fledger seemed to nearly melt in relief. “Grandfather!” he exclaimed, floating over quickly to the gray-teal ghost. “Why are you here?”
“Oh, I came to do the yearly seminar shadowing.”
“Ah, I see,” Fenix nodded, before seeming to suddenly remember Todds existence, as his shoulders slouched and his voice lost all its vigor. He gestured behind him at Todd and sighed. “This is-”
“Scratch?” the teal ghost suddenly whispered in disbelief, eyes wide. “Scratch, old friend!” The man surged forward, wrapping Todd in a squishy hug. Todd stiffened in the embrace.
“Hold on,” Freddy said as the teal ghost let go, “Scratch as in the Scratch? As in the First Ghost Chairman Scratch?”
“Yes!” the teal ghost exclaimed. “Scratch, my friend, I didn’t know you were dead!”
Todd feels a strange sensation in the back of his mind, like a memory, just out of reach. But he can maybe grasp a wisp of it…
“I… I think I know you…” Todd squinted scrutinizingly at the ghost in front of him as the ghost got a confused look on his face. “Yeah… I remember…” Todd spoke as he tried to concentrate harder. Then suddenly, “Nope! All I remember is that I didn’t like you,” he said, crossing his arms and scowling.
The ghost rolled his eyes as he sighed, lips pulling into a disapproving frown. “Yep, same old Scratch.”
“Also,” Todd growled, “how the hey do ya know my nickname? Only Adia knows that name.”
“Do you really not remember anything?” the ghost asked, a bit more concern seeping into his voice, head tilting. “I would have thought it would have all come back to you now that you’re a ghost again.”
“Remember what, exactly?” Todd asked suspiciously. Yep, his instincts were right (as always); he did not like this guy.
“Well, I mean, technically he was a wraith, not a ghost, correct?” Fido suddenly piped up, “So maybe that’s the reason?”
“Hm. Perhaps,” the teal ghost mused. “Well then, I suppose an introduction is in order,” he declared, holding out his hand. “My name is Sir Alistor of the Ghost Council.”
“And my great-great-great-great-great grandfather,” Ferret chirped proudly. Todd sniffed and kept his folded arms firmly in place. Alistor’s eye twitched a little, then he cleared his throat.
“Well, I suppose we should take him to the Chairman,” he sighed.
“Sorry the what now?” Todd asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The Chairman is the ruler of the Ghost World,” Freddie chimed in.
“Yes,” Alistor sniffed, “and due to your history I’m sure the Chairman would want you dealt with as soon as possible.”
“Uh, dealt with?” Todd choked, eyes widening slightly and arms dropping. Maybe he had annoyed Alistor a little too much. He scratched his arm.
“That is what I said. Come along.” Todd scrambled to follow as Alistor began floating quickly away.
“I shall get back to the new arrivals,” Falic (wait that doesn’t seem right–) called after them.
“Very good,” Alistor dismissed.
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“The Chairman’s just up there with the rest of the council, probably sorting out some ghost or another,” Alistor explained, his hand on Todd’s back, guiding them up to the floating platform. “But I’m sure the Chairman will see you immediately, given the circumstances.”
“I– Uh–” Todd scrambled, “Actually, I would hate to disturb his majesty with little ‘ol me–”
“Nonsense, Scratch. Come along now.”
Todd scratched his arms a little aggressively as he was physically pulled onto the platform.
“...you can see, it would be highly beneficial for everyone if we brought back the scare reports–”
A plump, blue ghost with a wig sitting at a long, tall table cut the little green ghost before him off with a sigh. “Angela, although we love your continued enthusiasm–”
“–The Chairman has already denied your request multiple times,” a gray-purple ghost finished. “So unless you can get the requested signatures, please–”
“But–” Angela cut in, sputtering with anger, “but why can’t–”
“ENOUGH!”
Todd froze, along with everyone else.
The voice was booming, scathing, terrible, and it had come from the now huge, looming black-cloaked figure that had been sitting in the middle of the rest of the ghosts.
“I do NOT want to see you press this again until you have the signatures,” the black figure growled.
“I– ah– y-yes, of-of course,” Angela squeaked. “Of course, Chairman, ma–”
“Go,” the black cloaked figure rumbled. The green ghost scurried away as fast as she could fly.
Todd gulped and shivered. That had to be the Chairman.
He really hoped he couldn’t die twice.
“Excuse me,” Alistor suddenly called, “but I have someone you will want to see.”
Todd’s nonexistent stomach dropped into his nonexistent shoes as all heads turned towards him, including the Chairman’s.
As soon as they saw him, half of them gaped, and half of them gasped.
“Scratch?!” The purple one with lipstick exclaimed, a hand clutched to her chest.
“You’re dead?” the blue one gawked.
“Scratch as in-” the Chairman boomed, before cutting themselves off by clearing their throat. “Er, sorry. Chairman voice,” a female voice chucked. “I was going to say, Scratch as in the Scratch?” She continued, transforming from the huge, looming figure into a much smaller pink ghost and flipping the hood down to reveal long straight hair with a strange light streak in it.
Todd’s anxiety dissipated. Well that’s a bit underwhelming.
Also, the voice sounded a bit… familiar? Like he had known her, maybe in a past-
“YES!” Alistor yelled emphatically right in Todd’s ear.
“Jeez, man. Use your inside voice, will ya?” Todd grumbled, twisting a pinky in his ear.
“Ohmyghost!” the Chairman (Chairwoman??) practically squealed. “You do not know how long I’ve been waiting to meet you!”
“What? Why?” Todd asked in pure confusion.
“You’re the ghost that started it all!” The Chairman exclaimed. “You and Molly were the ones who got rid of that dusty old original chairman, so you were the first chairman after that! Actually, it was technically Molly that did it, but she couldn’t be the chairman cause she was still alive. But, I mean, I made it work, so I’m sure she could’ve, but you know-”
Suddenly, visions exploded in Todd’s brain. Fuzzy pictures of a… a girl in… a jean jacket, squeezing him… into a much too tight hug, talking emphatically about some new project, dragging him… to school plays and the Senior Center to volunteer. It was like clips of videos had rapid flashed through his brain; he could only catch short glimpses, one-second bits of a memory.
“Er, Scratch?”
It was Alistor, now looking at him with a concerned expression. Todd then realized everyone was staring at him like they had seen a… er, ghost.
“Scratch, are you, like, okay?” the Chairman asked.
“I… um… yeah, I think so,” he replied, putting a hand to his forehead. “But um, who’s Molly? I think I remember… something… about her…”
“What?” The Chairman furrowed her brow. “Do you not-”
“I don’t believe he remembers anything from his time as a wraith,” Alistor said softly. “I, too, thought he would recover his memory when he became a ghost. Unfortunately, though, that seems to not be the case…”
“Oh, Scratch,” the purple ghost with lipstick gasped.
“Good ghost,” the blue one mumbled.
“How awful!” the gray-purple one exclaimed.
“Scratch, that’s… I’m so sorry,” the Chairman whispered. “You don’t remember… anything?”
Todd scratched his arm. “Well, I mean, I have vague ideas about some people,” Todd coughed awkwardly. Alistor frowned as he evidently recalled Todd's unsavory feelings for him. “But when you said that name,” Todd continued, “Ma-... Mill-”
“Molly,” the Chairman repeated.
“Yeah, Molly,” Todd echoed. “When you said her name, I got-... er, something. Like a life flashed before my eyes, kinda.” He scratched his arm. “If uh, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn’t. Y-you know, never mi-”
“You were remembering your wraith life,” the Chairman said. “The life where Molly was your best friend.”
A snippet, a voice. A girl saying, “...so now that we’re best friends…”
“-atch? Scratch? You there?”
Todd blinked, finally registering the Chairman's words. “I… I think I got another… er, memory.”
“That’s good! That’s fantastic!” the Chairman exclaimed. “That means all you have to do to regain your memories is to hear things that trigger them! That should be easy! Especially if you visit Future Mayor Molls. …Er, Molly.”
“Wait, I can visit living people?!” Todd gasped.
“Of course,” the purple ghost with lipstick spoke.
“All you need to do is make a Ghost Portal, Scratch,” the blue one confirmed.
Todd’s eye twitched. “Oh, by the way,” he began, “Can you for the LOVE OF COB stop calling me Scratch?! That nickname is for Adia and Adia ONLY.”
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” the blue ghost apologized immediately, looking surprised. “You went only by Scratch when you were a wraith. You didn’t know your human name. You didn’t remember anything from your human life, actually. You didn’t even know you were a wraith.”
Todd huffed. “Seems like I have some terrible memory, huh?” he chuckled dryly. “And, one more question, what in the hay is a wraith?”
“A wraith,” the gray-purple ghost began, “is the spirit of a human that has given up its ghost-”
“Or,” Alistor cut in, “as we now well know, the spirit of a human that tries to go through a Ghost Portal,”
“-rather than the human’s spirit being expelled from its body when it dies,” the gray-purple ghost finished.
“I’m a wraith right now,” the Chairman said. “Libby’s taking care of my body at her bookstore back home.”
“Ah. Yep,” Todd nodded seriously. “I definitely understood all of those words that you just said about explaining what a wrath is.” The purple ghost with lipstick slumped in irritation, and the blue one groaned.
“Wraith,” the Chairman sighed, swiping a hand down her face. “Yeah, I see what you meant now when you described him.”
“Um, excuse me!” Todd exclaimed indignantly. “I am an absolute delight all the time everyday to everyone I am around, and I will have you know that I-”
“OkayIthinkit’stimetovisitMollygoodluckScratchalrightthengoodbye!” Todd just nearly heard Alistor shotgun as he was pushed backwards into a blue abyss.
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“AHHH!” Todd screamed as he fell… until he realized he wasn’t anymore. He was floating safe and sound in front of a house, a swirling black-and-blue portal in front of him. “-HHhhh. Oh.” Todd circled the portal before coming back to the front. “I’m guessing this is a Ghost Portal?” He mused, rubbing his chin.
And then it began to close up.
“WaitwaitWAIT!” he screamed in panic, lunging at it. “I DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET BA-” He grabbed onto nothing as the portal disappeared and (somehow, even while being a ghost) slammed into the wall of the house. “Ughhh…” he groaned, using his little floppy hair-adjacent bits (which he immediately dubbed ‘cutie bits’ in his mind) to peel himself off of the siding. He fell to the ground as he did, now flat as a pancake.
“Why?” he whimpered. “Why, even in death, do these things have to happen to me?”
Suddenly, he heard the quick pad of feet and then the SLAM! of a door as a woman leaped out the front door of the house with frantic energy. “WHO DIED?! WHO’S DYING?!” She yelled nearly hysterically. “It sounded like someone crashed a whole corning car into the living room but I didn’t see anything so-”
Then they locked eyes.
They both froze.
Tears began to form in the woman’s eyes. “Scratch?” she whispered, like if she spoke too loud she would break some illusion.
It hit him like a truck.
Memories, a wave of them, a tsunami, all flooding his brain. Too-tight hugs, laughter, plotting (for good, or sometimes less good), crazy adventures and escapades that he had been physically and metaphorically dragged into. Not to mention Jinx and her plots, Daryll and his antics, Geoff and Jeff, the Chens, including (as he now remembered, unfortunately) Ollie, frightmares, sobgoblins, and everything.
He remembered everything.
Her voice brought back it all.
He smiled, because of course it did. What else could?
“Yeah Molly, it's me.”