The end of the ghost story

Chihuahua let out a frustrated sigh as she collapsed to the ground. "And I was hoping I'd get some premium mules."

"Sorry, but you fucked with the wrong bitches. Now back to hell, ghosties!" Iori laughed as she began tossing salt at the Mexicans.

"Ah! The fuck you throwing that shit at us for!?" Urraca shouted.

"To exorcise you, ya dumb shit!"

"I'm human, you fuck!"

"Yes, we still are, to some extent," Chihuahua frowned as she got up.

Iori paused on the salt throwing as the four Mexican women regrouped. Yet as she prepared to resume the exorcism, the four all pulled out cloths and began wiping their faces with them. In seconds, they were all back to normal.

"Uh, you think that can fool me?"

"It's called FX makeup," Fernanda snarled.

"No way. Shit was all over your bodies, and intricate. No way you can just-"

"Then what if we first tattooed ourselves and simply removed the makeup?" Chihuahua glared.

Iori blinked in shock. "... You're that hardcore?"

"Ugh, it's just use face paint. Tristan's a damn good makeup artist, so don't go underestimating how fast she can give you a makeover," Fernanda snarled.

"Yes, it saddens me that my skills are always underestimated... Perhaps a demonstration is in order?"

Before anyone could protest, Tristin whipped by them, painting their faces in the blink of an eye.

"Ah! Uh..."

"Remarkable, yes?"

Mimoko nervously nodded as Tristin began to smile.

"OK, now I look sick as fuck. Guess I'm part of the ghost crew after all," Iori grinned as she gawked at her makeup.

"And I was included, why?" Barbro growled.

"My, it was all to make dear Tristin happy. Why if she starts crying, she MIGHT have to demonstrate just how fast she can tattoo a face," Chihuahua menacingly smiled.

"Point taken. But if you aren't ghosts, then why the hell do you constantly skip out on matches?"

A scowl once again returned to Chihuahua's face. "Perhaps we are not pure ghosts, but we are very much similar to them. You see, all of us have actually been at death's door before, but were given a second chance, along with great power."

Chihuahua displayed her WWCF card once more, however, t was now back to normal. "Riddle are all I'm permitted to speak in on this matter. While my skill is more reflective of my true card, that card's color is the key to the answers you seek."

"What does the card have to do with your ability to show up to matches?"

"Are you stupid? They can only appear proper at certain times thanks to their condition," Urraca snarled.

Chihuahua scowled and tossed Urraca a knife. "Choose one or the other. Slice off your pinky, or skin your face off."

Urraca scowled as she hurled the knife back at Chihuahua, however it phased right through her. Yet despite that, electrical energy began to encase the blade as it phased through Chihuahua's body.

"... An unwarranted demonstration, but it shall be repurposed as knowledge for you to analyze. Now, any further questioning?"

"Yeah, why'd you rope me into this?" Barbro glared.

"Simple, if you were to become my subordinate, I would in turn gain access to all the secrets you hold, notably those of your country's true history."

Iori and Mimoko exchanged confused glances as Barbro went silent. As she continued to remain silent, Iori decided to ask a question as well.

"So why exactly can't you play when the sun's out?"

"You think we don't want to? We fucking can't! But... we should be able to... yet we can't," Fernanda trembled.

"It's sad. We can only appear fully when then sun isn't directly up. Oh, how I'd wish we could see that day where we could walk in the sun again," Tristin cried.

"Now, your questions have been answered. We are to depart," Chihuahua frowned as she and the others began to head back to the bus.

"Hold on, you're leaving without Vonnie?" Mimoko asked.

Everyone turned to face her. "'Vonnie'? Who are you referring to?"

"Vonnie Ottosopista, she said she was on your team."

Chihuahua's eyes widened as a single bead of sweat ran down her cheek. "No. Our team is just the four of us. Her name was "Ottosopista", yes?"

"That's right."

All the other Mexicans began to shudder as Iori, Mimoko, and Barbro stared in confusion.

"Ottosopista, it sounds like autostopista, the Spanish word for hitchhiker," a voice stated.

Everyone turned to notice Okisato, the masked man, and Alexandre approaching them. Chihuahua shot Okisato a glare, but quickly regained her default smile as she nodded and confirmed the fact.

"Yes, and that leads to another ghost story, though this one is more of a worldwide phenomenon than a Mexican exclusive ghost story. It is of course the legend of the vanishing hitchhiker."

Mimoko and Iori quickly went pale. "Wait, then she was a real ghost!? No way, we saw her talking with the front desk staff before you showed up-"

"There was not an employee on staff when we first encountered each other."

"Yeah, I only saw and heard you two talking shit about our team. There wasn't anyone else around," Urraca nervously grumbled.

"Then..."

Okisato let out a sigh and pulled out his phone. After a quick search, he found the answer.

"Vonnie Ottosopista, it says here that nearly a hundred years ago in Budapest, there was an unofficial Chess Olympics of sorts. One of the Mexican women players at the time, Vonnie, ended up tragically passing before she could arrive at the venue. There are legends that she'll constantly be seen asking the clerk for a ride to the playing hall, yet until this year, no Chess Olympics have been held in Budapest since."

While the explanation did provide some clarity, it also increased Iori and Mimoko's terror levels tenfold.

"Oki-kun, I hate ghosts! You can't kill them, and they keep coming back to haunt you like that fucking skeleton!"

"Um, did you say something about a ghost?" Zago nervously asked as he scurried out of the playing hall.

"How'd it go?" Okisato asked.

"I won, but I saw some creepy girl watching the match and giggling about how she finally made it to the venue. W- Was she a-"

"Ghost? That is correct," a voice boomed.

Everyone turned to notice Raymond and Vonnie standing before the doors to the playing hall.

"T- That's her! The ghost!" Iori cried.

"Correct. She has aimlessly been wandering Budapest for the last century, desperately trying to make it to the playing hall before all the games were done. Tonight, she finally fulfilled that condition."

"What does that mean?"

"It means Mexico's women's team now has it's 5th member, and I expect them all to show up to all their remaining matches for the rest of the tournament."

Chihuahua recoiled in shock, but before she could retort, Raymond tossed her something. Upon catching the items and realizing what they were, she darted her head back up to Raymond, a rare look of genuine shock on her face.

"H- How-"

"Irrelevant. Now, acquaint yourself well with Vonnie. She will be making her proper Chess Olympics debut tomorrow."

Vonnie giggled and floated off the ground towards Chihuahua. "I've been waiting soooo long for this. I've acquired so much chess in these long years too... I wonder how much my rating will increase to reflet that!"

Chihuahua nervously nodded, and began departing with Vonnie and the others on the bus they had come on. Once the five were gone, Mimoko turned her attention to Okisato.

"I'm surprised you kept such a straight face."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Um, those women are dangerous cartel leaders and they just got an actual ghost for a teammate!"

"And? I'm well familiar with Mexican cartels, and on the matter of ghosts, I literally encountered Mongol zombies in round 5 of the tournament along with their necromancer. If anything, they're the more dangerous threat."

"How do you figure that?"

"The difference in leaders. That woman was the leader of Huesos fantasma, right? You saw the way she conducted herself. She could become brutal, but there was sophistication behind everything. Genghis Khan was also regarded for his brutality, yet he was also a highly skilled and sophisticated leader, many of the famous figures of the Mongol Empire were in fact. Jad, or should I say Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, is more of a violent barbarian. The problem is that he has all the might of the old Mongol Empire, and is growing by the day."

"Didn't you wreck him, though?" Iori asked.

"Yes, but ever since then, him and his team have been winning non-stop. Oh, speaking of which, we won our match."

Iori and Mimoko blinked for a second before both shouting, "Then why didn't you tell us that sooner!?"

"Oh, sorry."

...

Elsewhere, Nyoan frowned awkwardly as she stared at a chessboard.

"Well? Gonna make a move? It's actually better if you don't, cuz we got a timer n' all," a young woman with long curly magenta hair giggled.

This woman was known as Smoothie Q. Mifsud, a famous Maltese trillionaire and social media influencer. At just 21 years of age, she was already making her presence known, thanks in no small part to her various endeavors, notably her carline and fashion line, both named Mifsud, taking the world by storm. Speaking of fashion, Mifsud was proudly rocking her own branded line, consisting of a pink sleeveless dress, latex navy blue jacket, and shiny navy blue platform sneakers. Mifsud herself was also quite eccentric, and it was showing in this game.

A complete rookie to the world of chess, Mifsud had decided to take an interest in it after hearing of Mimoko's and Iori's exploits. The worldwide importance of chess nowadays was also important, but that was only a secondary issue to Mifsud.

As for the game, Mifsud had ended up challenging Nyoan with the hopes of recruiting her to her new venture in the chess world, and while Nyoan had agreed to the match, it had been completely one-sided. It had opened up simply enough with e4 and e5 being played, but then came king e2, invoking the response of queen h4. And then, Mifsud had moved her pawn to g3, leaving Nyoan speechless.

"Nya, what exactly did you want to recruit me for exactly, nya?" Nyoan nervously asked.

Mifsud giggles as she ran her hand through her hair. "I'm founding a new chess league, and I figured you'd be perfect for it given your complexity."

"Um, nya?"

Mifsud smiled and reached across the board to yank off Nyoan's knit wool hat. "You've got the looks needed-"

"NYA! THAT'S MY HAT, NYA!" Nyoan fumed as she grabbed her hat back with her tail and shoved it back on her head, her face now flush red in embarrassment.

"Why so flustered? I'm complimenting-"

"NYA! I don't wanna show my two sets of ears in public! Checkmate!" Nyoan shouted as she captured the pawn at e4 with her queen, winning the game.

She then stormed off, as Mifsud sighed and leaned back in her seat. "And she would have been the perfect mascot for the BBB league. Oh well, guess I'll have to find someone else to do it... or just do it myself," she nervously smiled as she ruffled her hair.

The full game:

White: Smoothie Q. Mifsud (unrated) Black: Nyoan Nyakuoji (999)

1. e4 e5

2. Ke2 Qh4

3. g3 Qxe4#