The ShadowStar Misfits of Gravemoor Hollow

[Yokai] | “A-Are you guys with the Troubleshooter Agency?”

“What, you mean those guys occupying Paradise Street over on 3rd Avenue? Nah, we’re located further up north. If I remember riiiiight… 101st Street? Anyway, you called the Hoshimachi Sector, right? Seeing as we got sent over, am I right in assuming that there’s some sort of paranormal activity happening around or within this area?”

“Yes…”

“Great. Now, if you can lead—”

“ENZO!!! SOMETHIN AIN’T RIGHT OVER HERE!! This door keeps opening and closing by itself, what’s up with that?

“A-Ah—”

“Huh. Looks like she already found it. Oh, you don’t need to worry about her. She’s always like thi—”

“HEY!! ENZO!!! STOP TALKIN ABOUT ME AND GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!!!”

“I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!! QUIT YELLING AND BE PATIENT!!!”

No response. A brief moment of respite presented itself, and Enzo made the most of it by letting out a sharp exhale.

“Why does she have to be so damn loud…”

After hypocritically muttering that last part to himself, Enzo began walking towards the ruins of an abandoned building.

“I apologize for my partner’s impatience. Should you have any information on the yet-unidentified paranormal, whether it be a poltergeist, spirit, ghost, yokai or some other entity, just call the Hoshimachi Sector again and they’ll relay the info to us in no time.”

Once Enzo left the old man’s field of vision, disappearing inside the walls of that familiar, dilapidated building, he still found himself shell-shocked at the boldness of his partner, who, not too long ago, charged inside with an excitement he’d never seen on anybody before.

“I… Just… Please don’t destroy the building…” After finding it incredibly difficult to get the right words out, he anxiously turned his back on Enzo, his partner, and their target: the abandoned—and presumably haunted—building.

▓

“Woah, talk about creepy…”

As soon as he stepped foot inside, Enzo couldn’t believe his eyes when he compared the sight before him to the mental image he remembered capturing just moments ago from outside.

The difference was staggering.

Much to the surprise of no one (especially in this line of work), it became evidently clear that the “abandoned outreach center” held a far greater sense of mystery than what was originally disclosed, or even imagined. The building’s “interior,” if Enzo could call it that, contained an overwhelmingly large number of rooms, all of vastly differing shapes and sizes. They appeared to be interconnected by long, winding labyrinths, stretching out infinitely.

The sheer magnitude of this “space,” a more apt term to describe the rather unusual predicament Enzo found himself in, clearly defied the actual interior size of the building itself.

I… Impossible… A pocket dimension!?

Enzo couldn’t have been more correct.

However, it appeared that he was not yet worthy of unlocking the secret to this place, as the mere sight of this place alone was beginning to immobilize his mind…

▓

“What’s taking you so long? Look! Over here!!”

It wasn’t until the moment Enzo heard Casey’s voice that he was suddenly brought back to reality, to Earth, finding himself standing right next to her and in front of the remains of what used to be a break room. The only thing still standing, as she so loudly said earlier, was a worn-down doorway. Judging from where they were standing, this door would’ve led to a garden or something.

“So… you really can’t see that thing…?”

“Nope! I do get goosebumps though. So with that, at the very least, I’m aware of their presence.”

“Good enough, I suppose.” I certainly wouldn’t want her to see this sorry sight…

A shadowy, lanky figure as tall as the building itself, with arms that unnaturally reached the ground, opens and closes the door in front of Enzo and Casey.

“Hm, what to do…” Enzo said while approaching the door. He put his hand on the handle, stopping it from moving. “You wouldn’t mind if we bring down this god-awful and decrepit ramshackle to the ground, right?” His tone was menacing, instigative even. What exactly his plan was was anyone’s guess.

However…

SLAM!!!

The door slammed shut, producing a powerful, gale-force wind that blew Enzo back, hurling his fairly skinny frame across the room like a bowling ball. He flew past Casey and crashed into a nearby wall.

“GAH!! THAT HURT!!!”

“I think you angered it.”

“YOU THINK!?”

“Tee-hee. My turn!”

“By my guest… God, I hate dealing with nonverbal spirit cases…” Clearing the rubble away so he can stand, Enzo slowly walks back to the entrance of the break room, this time watching Casey interrogate the ghost, or yokai, or whatever its classification was. It was thanks to her earlier outburst that they weren’t able to get a proper answer. He let out an exasperated sigh.

“It really does suck… emotional reactions like these are the only way for us to figure out what they really want. Damn it all…”

“Quit being such a sour puss!”

“That’s rich coming from ‘the misfit’ of the Hoshimachi Sector.”

“HEY!!! So are you!! Sure, I can’t see ghosts, or yokai, or whatever, but you’re no better!” Casey put her hand on the doorknob before continuing her retort. “If I’m the ‘misfit,’ you’re straight-up bad luck!” She stuck out her tongue before attempting to communicate with the spirit.

“Hey… so about what my partner said earlier… You’re against the demolition of this place right?”

SLAM!!!

Even in agreement, the door still slammed hard. This second wind, even more powerful than the first, caught Casey off guard and swept her off her feet. Much like Enzo, she flew across the room. This time, however, she crashed face-first into another nearby wall.

“What was that about bad luck?”

“Eff off!”

“Anyway, this spirit needs to make up its damn mind. We can safely assume, in any case, that it’s against the destruction of this building…”

Enzo once again places his hand on the doorknob. “What say you, Mr. Spirit? What if we were to, say, rebuild this place and use it as a base of operations?”

“!!! BUT— Isn’t that against ShadowStar regulations?”

“Eh, who knows. I, for one, don’t really care. They don’t give us any of the good jobs, so I don’t see why we can’t twist things around to suit our needs as we continue using their name to find our own interesting cases. I even have a new name in mind. What do you say to that?”

▓

The door remained still for over five minutes, as if it was considering the offer. There was no sure-fire way to fully understand if non-verbal spirits, ghosts, or yokai were capable of rational thought, but the evidence—that is, the case Enzo and Casey were assigned to—spoke for itself. A few more moments passed before…

SLAM!!! SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM!!!!!!

…Was it excited? Again, there was no way to tell. But Enzo, preparing in advance, held the doorknob tight and did his very best to not let go. The gale-force winds became so powerful, one had to have wondered if a hurricane had hit town.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Did our proposition satisfy you? This building—should it get approved anyway—will finally be put to good use again! Now you can finally rest in pea—”

SNAP!!!

The door detached itself from its frame. The winds abruptly stopped.

“Uh—”

“—Oh.”

The ground rumbled. Casey and Enzo could’ve sworn that they heard a roar coming from somewhere deep underground. The ground split open, and while the figure still stood behind the doorway, its arms, infinite in length it seemed, were fully visible and lashed out at them. Assuming this to be hostile intent for the damage to the door and its frame, Enzo readied himself for combat, while Casey forcibly dragged him away, running towards the exit.

“Don’t fight, just go! We can calm it down when we come back!!”

“While I mostly believe that logic is sound… WHAT. ARE. THE. ODDS. OF THE DOOR LITERALLY COMING APART WHEN I GO AND GRAB IT A SECOND TIME!?!? GOD— DAMN IT ALL!!”

▓

One month later…

“There, that should do it.”

“HEY, QUIT SLACKIN! We’re expected to get this place up-and-running by the end of the week!”

“Damn those Hoshimachi Sector higher-ups and their tight deadlines. Whenever WE’RE the last ones to be assigned a case, nobody cares; and yet, they’re pressuring us with knives against our backs the second we submit this proposal to them!”

Enzo sighed and ran towards wherever Casey was. He turned his back on their fully completed and freshly painted sign, a symbol of their new beginning.

The sun shone bright on the glossy lettering.