After they finished hugging, they went back over to Oliver. He was terrified, his eyes were unfocused, and cold sweat was pouring down his face. He couldn't even close his mouth all the way.
"Had enough?" Alison asked.
"This... this isn't real, right? I'm still alive, so it must be a dream... hahaha... it's all just a dream," Oliver said, sounding like he'd gone a little crazy.
Alison glanced at Dean, who nodded. Vroooooom, one of her shields appeared, and it sounded just like a chainsaw. Seeing the shield spinning fast on Alison's arm and getting close to him, Oliver went silent and looked absolutely terrified. He tried to scream, but no sound came out.
"Bye bye, chief," Alison said.
Wreeeeeeeng! Alison immediately sliced Oliver's body in half from top to bottom, splitting the chair, too. Pyaaaash, Oliver's body then exploded into bits of light and vanished into the void. After that, Alison put her shield away and turned to Dean.
"Can I borrow his body to send a message to my dad so my body can be found?" Alison asked.
"Yeah, go for it," Dean said.
Alison smiled, kissed Dean on the cheek, and then disappeared. Dean touched his cheek, then turned around to see Claire, Bianca, and Ruby all frowning at him. Lily, on the other hand, looked relaxed, with her hands behind her head, whistling a tune.
*****
Huh, Oliver woke up in his office. "Michael" was sitting across from him with an angry look on his face. "You're finally awake," Michael said.
Bang! Michael stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "What kind of assignment did you give Natalie? Why can't I reach her on her phone?" Michael yelled.
Oliver—who was really Alison—looked at Michael. She used a fingerprint to unlock her phone, stood up, and smiled. Then she put a hand on Michael's shoulder and leaned in close to his ear. "Natalie is dead. The location of her body is on my phone. Go check it out and bury her," Oliver said.
"What? What did you just say?" Michael asked, pushing Oliver away and grabbing his collar.
"I killed Natalie. Happy now?" Oliver asked mockingly, holding Michael's hand.
Smack! Michael's punch landed square on Oliver's cheek, making Oliver fall back into his seat. Michael immediately grabbed Oliver's unlocked phone. He turned and started walking to the door, but before he left, he turned back and pointed at Oliver.
"You stay right there. I'm locking this room so you can't run away. I'll be back to deal with you," Michael said.
After he left, Michael had a few police officers guard Oliver's office. Two cops immediately stood in front of the door. Oliver smiled, and his eyes started to get teary.
"Sorry, Dad... looks like I can't give you any grand kids... goodbye (turning and look around) goodbye my old life," Alison said inside Oliver's body.
Suddenly, Oliver disappeared. The two cops on guard were shocked and opened the door. They went inside, looking for Oliver, who was no longer there. Oliver reappeared in Dean's workshop and immediately walked to the bed to lie down.
Whoosh! Alison came out of Oliver's body. As Oliver's body began to shrink, Dean immediately used surgery to remove his heart and both kidneys. He put the organs in a freezer chest. After he finished sewing up the body, Dean turned to Alison and nodded. Then, Oliver's dried-out body—which looked like a terrified mummy in a suit—disappeared.
Thump! Oliver's body reappeared in his office, sitting in his chair. The two confused cops were even more shocked to see Oliver suddenly reappear, especially since he was dead, his body was shrunken like a mummy, and he had an expression like he'd just been through a real life horror movie. A sudden chill ran down their backs, and they started praying.
*****
Dean, Claire, Bianca, Ruby, Lily, and Alison all walked out of the portal on the third floor of the cafe. They let out a huge sigh of relief.
Fwomp! A holographic screen opened up.
=================================
Target Data:
Target: Oliver Dalton
Age: 58
Occupation: Police Chief
Evil Deeds: Corruption, accepting bribes, smuggling, mafia accomplice
Victims: Too Many
Status: Deceased
Reward Received: 30,000 EXP
=================================
Applicant Data:
Name: Natalie Garcia
Age: 26
Soul Value: $9,000,000
Payment: -
Status: Working as Dean's soul partner
Life Status: Alive as Alison Reed (18).
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000
Quest Completed.
=================================
"Alright, anyone wanna get some food?" Dean asked.
"You're... just ignoring the debt, aren't you?" Claire asked.
"Shhh! Why'd you have to remind me?" Dean replied.
"Hehe, my bad. I didn't think you'd freak out," Claire said.
"Sorry, everyone, your debt just got bigger because of me," Alison said, smiling.
"No problem at all. Right, Ruby?" Bianca asked.
"Yeah, totally. Don't even worry about it," Ruby replied.
"Alright then," Alison said.
"I'm hungry," Lily said inside all their heads.
"Let's go check out the rooms," Claire said, pulling on Alison's hand.
"Okay, I'm so excited to have a room," Alison replied.
Claire and Alison, followed by Bianca, Ruby, and Lily, went straight up to the fourth floor to check out the rooms, leaving Dean all alone. Dean walked over to a round table, pulled out a chair, and sat down while looking at the stairs to the fourth floor.
"They seriously don't care about the debt at all, huh? That's messed up," Dean thought to himself.
He opened his status screen. Fwomp! A holographic screen appeared in front of his face, and he read it while leaning back in his chair.
=================================
Dean Wilson's Status:
Name: Dean Wilson
Age: 18
Race: Half Reaper
Level: 39 > 40 (32,000 + 5,000 = 37,000 EXP)
Power: 7,800 > 8,000
Active skills: Brain control, Illusion, Vanish, Surgery, Astral projection, Soul drain
Passive skills: Low presence, Hyper regeneration, Clear mind, Scythe mastery
Weapon: Death Scythe
Debt: $8,000,000
Soul partner:
1. Claire Anderson (18)
2. Bianca Miller (18)
3. Ruby Davis (17)
4. Lily Palmer (17)
5. *New* Alison Reed (18)
Skill partnership: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cooldown: 480 : 40 : 33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000
=================================
"Hmm... so I have a skill called astral projection, huh? I should try it," Dean thought to himself.
Dean closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. A moment later, whoosh, his soul came out of his body. "Hoo... so this is what it's like," he muttered to himself.
He saw a cord connecting the top of his head to the navel of his body. He started floating around and spinning near the ceiling. Then he looked toward the stairs to the fourth floor.
"Hmm, I wonder if they'll be able to see me if I go up there," he muttered.
Without a second thought, Dean went up to the fourth floor. He passed the empty rooms and then saw two more rooms at the very end, next to his own. He went into the one on the left, which was empty, but when he went into the room on the right, he found Claire, Bianca, Ruby, Lily, and Alison sitting on the floor in a circle, apparently looking at their own status screens.
=================================
Claire Anderson's Status:
Name: Claire Anderson
Age: 18
Race: Half Wraith
Level: 32 (14,000 + 5,000 = 19,000 / 23,500 EXP)
Power: 6,400
Active skills: Shadow cloak, Mind control, See-through vision, Phasing, Soul drain
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, Wraith form, Nimble, Katana mastery
Weapon: Ghost Katana
Debt: $6,000,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson
Partnership skills: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cool down: 480:40:33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000
=================================
Bianca Miller's Status:
Name: Bianca Miller
Age: 18
Race: Half Vengeful angel
Level: 31 > 32 (19,000 + 5,000 = 24,000 EXP)
Power: 6,200 > 6,400
Active skills: Charm and control, Leap, Panacea, Poison mist, Soul drain
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, Super hearing, Eagle eye, Quick reload, Firearm mastery
Weapon: Hellish Syringe Gun
Debt: $7,500,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson
Partnership skills: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cool down: 480:40:33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000
=================================
Ruby Davis' Status:
Name: Ruby Davis
Age: 17
Race: Half Revenant
Level: 30 (5,000 + 5,000 = 10,000 / 20,000 EXP)
Power: 6,000
Active skills: Necromancy, Floating, Telekinesis, Read mind, Pyro, Soul drain
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, Sixth sense, Sharp mind, Dark force, Whip mastery
Weapon: Chain Whip of the Dead
Debt: $5,500,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson
Partnership skills: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cool down: 480:40:33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000
=================================
Lily Palmer's Status:
Name: Lily Palmer
Age: 17
Race: Half Marionette
Level: 35 (11,000 + 5,000 = 16,000 / 27,500 EXP)
Power: 7,000
Active skills: Puppeteer string, Cross prison, Camouflage, Create puppet, Soul drain
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, Flexible body, Sonic speed, Body spin, Claw martial art mastery
Weapon: Puppet Claw Gauntlet
Debt: $12,000,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson
Partnership skills: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cool down: 480:40:33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000,-
=================================
Alison Reed's Status:
Name: Alison Reed
Age: 18
Race: Half Nightmare Golem / Frankenstein
Level: 25 (+5,000 / 14,200 EXP)
Power: 5,000 (+10,000)
Active skills: Paralyze, Static shock, Invisible barrier, Soul drain
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, Super strength (power +10,000), Sharp instinct, Shield combat mastery
Weapon: Double chainsaw round shield
Debt: $9,000,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson
Partnership skills: Telepathy, Teleportation, Training room (cool down: 480:40:33)
Total Debt: $38,100,000 + $9,000,000 = $47,100,000,-
=================================
"Hey... tomorrow's Sunday, right? How about we go to the mall?" Claire asked.
"What for?" Bianca asked.
"Shopping. We need to get some clothes for Lily and Alison, and we can also buy swimsuits since summer break is coming up," Claire replied.
"Hmm... that's a great idea," Alison said.
"Yeah, that works. I'm in. Lily still doesn't have many clothes," Ruby said.
"Yes, can I pick them out myself?" Lily asked.
"Of course, you can. We should ask Dean first, right?" Bianca asked.
"Yep, but don't invite him," Claire replied.
"Why not?" Alison asked.
"Because we need to have a girl-to-girl talk and we can't do that right now, so tomorrow is just for us girls," Claire said.
"Hehehe... funny," Lily said in their heads.
"Hmm, but if we're going to buy swimsuits, we have to bring him along," Bianca said.
"Yeah, we need a guy's opinion, right?" Ruby said.
"I'm fine with whatever," Alison said.
"Why don't you want to invite Dean?" Bianca asked Claire.
"Because he's here right now, listening in on us. So we can't have our girl-to-girl talk," Claire said, glancing up at where Dean was floating.
"Huh? Where?" Bianca and Alison asked, looking around the room.
"Hmm... I can feel someone else here, but I can't see them," Ruby muttered, adjusting her glasses.
"Hehe... I can see him too, that's why I said it was funny. We planned not to invite him, but he heard everything," Lily said in their heads.
"Shit, Claire and Lily were ghosts to begin with and Ruby has sixth sense... that makes sense... I'm outta here," Dean thought, and he immediately shot out of the room, getting away.