Damian sat up and a half-grin crept across his face as he listened to Tsubaki's thoughts on the matter. It was pretty cool seeing her take the initiative, while he would normally object to being suggested for a task outside of the club, inside was another matter. He eyed Evelyn and Fiona while conversation went on. He was ready to head out with them at a moment's notice, though he wasn't sure about Fiona heading into 'duty' so fast. Then again, the very fact she was here indicated she wanted to help so he had no qualms.
The crash had startled the already excited Damian, he'd nearly jumped out of his seat and now his heart was pounding a mile a minute. To make matters worse, on the heels of Phora's speculation as to the possible presence of a demon prince in their tea shop, he'd nearly considered that the waiter was indeed the culprit, the Prince stumbling at being discovered by his enemies. It was such an irrational thought and the absurdity of it was hilarious to him. Currently, he was covering his mouth, stifling his laughter and regaining his calm, slowing his heartbeat. Laughing in the middle of the ongoing conversation would not look great, even if the conversation wouldn't be the reason for such laughter.

The old woman raised an eyebrow as she smiled at Adi with an expression of almost approval; she truly enjoyed his mettle.

"Ignorant children," began the woman with a sly smile "Perhaps, but there is great potential in your generation." She shrugged "I am merely offering you all an opportunity to further grow in your potential, while looking into something that is quite unusual, even for our fair city of Darren" She arose from her chair slowly, turning to look over the table of children, her eerie gaze seeming to completely look into their souls, before she turned and went to leave the cafe as abruptly as she had appeared. Before she finally left however, she yelled over her shoulder playfully:

"Daniel dear, remember to visit me every now and then. Leopold does miss your anxious nature around the cauldron" She cackled as she shut the door behind her, some the patrons looking up as the old woman made her loud exit, some of them looking over at their table with a confused expression. The disturbance quickly blew over as they all returned to their own conversations, and it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from the air.

It was almost as if Fiona had been holding her breath for the entire duration of Ms. Ignianus' visit. The woman was incredibly strange, and very odd, with her mentioning of friends. It was clear that the woman wasn't necessarily omnivident, but there was definitely something other-worldly about her that she didn't even need to use her fledgling spiritual senses to feel it.

"Soooo" began Fiona breaking the silence that had fallen over the table "When she says friends, she means ghosts, right? Or am I missing something here..."

"I just can't understand why all the ghosts in Darren would begin to congregate in one specific area" bypassing Fiona's question, which she herself thought was quite obvious. "I think it would definitely be something worth looking into The last time something strange happened, we stumbled upon an entire neighbourhood that was possessed..."

"We should address that, I suppose." Alice began. "We should seek Father Albright's advice as well. If anyone would like to volunteer to visit the priest, speak up now."

"Pfft." Derrek made a sound like a tire going flat at Evelyn's confusion, then picked up after Alice said her piece. "Man, am I the only one here that's seen Ghostbusters?" He paused for a beat for any answers. "Or has taken in literally any piece of fiction? When lots of ghosts congregate in one area, it's always to open up a portal to hell, 100% of the time, without fail."

The boy crossed his arms indignantly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see the connection, there was some truth in fiction after all, so it might was well be as valid a place to cite as any.

Tsubaki had just nodded her head along as each person spoke, except Derrek, to whom she shook it. She didn't really get what he was on about, ghost parades happened occasionally without too much fuss, well no more than with a living one usually, but definitely no portal to hell everytime. Though that didn't actually rule out anything, this probably wasn't anything that simple given the other events that have been taking place.

"I'm fine taking to the Father. If he thinks it's anything like what happened with Miss Sulivan it might be good to have someone that was there along in case they need to fill in any blanks. That is, if I even could."

What a strange lady. Damian was awfully glad he wasn't Daniel, his roommate had an odd 'friend' in Ms. Ignianus. As creepy as she was, she'd only affirmed his thoughts that the ghosts should be looked into. Having felt there was nothing else to discuss, Damian figured he would go off to investigate, but before he moved, he would atleast answer Fiona. "Yeah, she means ghosts." While Alice wanted to visit the priest, he wasn't very concerned with that, as his mind was already set on the little team spiritorum mission Tsubaki suggested. It was Derrek's words that finally shook him from his focus. With a snort, Damian commented on that, sounding mildly amused. "I don't think Hollywood or any other fiction can be trusted. They don't see what we see." He turned his thoughts back to the mission as his eyes darted between Evelyn and Fiona. "Anyways, I'm thinking Evelyn, Fiona, and I will go ahead and investigate those ghosts if they're up for it." He stood, awaiting their answer.

Adi watched the woman leave with narrowed eyes. She was like Dr. Dawn. They were pieces of a game played by many players yet but as ever, their end goals eluded him. He would have to find someone reliable to watch her then. He would have almost washed himself of his juniors' presence to pursue her until he heard something he could not simply ignore.

"You mean the one-shot wonder of a comedy from the 80s that spawned a franchise Junior Loansfield?" Adi asked, "Should I be worried that you have trouble distinguishing fiction from reality? After all, the root causes for such things are usually humans. Magic users who wish to bargain for powers far beyond their understanding."

That and his tastes in film was obviously lacking. He would not of course be telling his junior that of course. People tended to have trouble accepting such truths when told in front of others. Junior Pearson of course had provided an alternative lead however. Father Albright was a good man in Adi's opinion and he would confess to have a more personal reason to speak with him.

"Anyways, I'm thinking Evelyn, Fiona, and I will go ahead and investigate those ghosts if they're up for it," Junior Grayson stated.

"I would be more assured if you brought at least a second year with you Junior Grayson," Adi replied, "Perhaps Senior Pearson feels the same, if she is not to accompany you as well."

His glance shifted as he address the junior and it fell on the aforementioned senior.

"As for myself, I shall be heading to speak with Father Albright and I would suggest Junior Loansfield come with me, as I'm sure he wishes for a sanctuary from Hell that only a church can provide."

Alice fiddled with her hair, rather unsure, until Adi spoke up. She smiled at him and nodded her approval. "I think Adi has the right idea, and while I myself would like to speak with the priest, I should probably protect the rest of you while you investigate the witch's... Missing friends. Does anyone else have some concern they want to voice?"

Evelyn raised an eyebrow in an almost surprised expression, though pleasantly so. She was glad that Damian had taken the initiative to suggest that the three spiritorum go investigate the ghosts. Of course, it made the most sense that they would be the ones to go investigate due to their heightened spiritual senses. It made her feel almost reassured that there was someone who was steadily growing more reliable. She only hoped that Fiona would come into her own as well soon enough. She did agree that it would be best if they had an upperclassman with them, knowing the things that they had gone through, it was always best to be prepared.

*****

Winter, Sunday 13:00 (1:00 PM)

Having settled on their plans, the children divided into groups and set out the next day after lunch. Evelyn, Fiona, Damian, Maximilian, and Alice would go to the region where Ms. Ignianus had said the ghosts were being drawn, while Lotus, Tsubaki, Derrek, and Adi went to visit Father Albright, while Daniel, Id, and Li went to see Ms. Ignianus to see if the old crone had more information.

Crossing her arms, Evelyn walked a bit behind Fiona and Damian, she had instructed them to open their senses and try to sense where the ghosts were congregating down the street. In an attempt to fully trust them (while also giving them the benefit of the doubt), she had closed off her own senses, forcing herself to wholly rely on whatever they were sensing.

*****

The Arclight Church stood pristine against the afternoon sun. It was quite an old building, made with large stones that had been weathered smooth over the years. Two large stained-glassed windows framed either side of the large oaken double doors that were the entrance of the church.

*****

The Mystorium was much like they remembered, though it seemed almost emptier than usual. That was not to say that it was actually empty, for all the odd knickknacks and assorted items were still in their usual places. Rather, the store merely “felt” empty. For the first time ever, it did not feel like they were being watched as they stood inside the shop.

"Soooo," Derrek drawled, "Are your guy's one weakness closed doors too? That's a shame, I guess we'll have to turn back. Whoever chose this group has done fubar'd."

Tsubaki shook her head at this, "What, no it's just- wait what does fubar mean? I'm not familiar with that word."

That just caused the boy to grin.

He'd almost told Evelyn "Yes ma'am" but thankfully refrained from letting that leave his mouth. It wouldn't have gone over well, instead he just nodded and flashed a quick goofy smile to Fiona before readying for the task at hand. "Alright, ghosties, reveal yourselves to us." He muttered, closing his eyes and clearing his mind, walking forward a few steps before coming to a stop.

Somehow it felt quite welcoming to be out and about in the city and on a definite mission again. It was odd to the boy that he'd feel a second wind from something he'd generally feel so inconvenienced by, but perhaps the monotony of training in Apollon and his stale view of school life were beginning to catch up to him. Or, Perhaps it was because he felt this mission was something tangible, something with a real outcome that could give a purpose to him- this was of course something he was quite ashamed to even think about. Purpose seeking felt so childish to Maximilian but he couldn't help but feel at a loss when looking for purpose in almost anything he did... the idea of being useless outside of being an Omnivident was annoying and just thinking about it for a passing moment left Maximilian visibly, although only slightly, irritated for a brief period.

"Alright, ghosties, reveal yourselves to us."

Damian's mumbling asininity pulled Maximilian away from his secluded thoughts and back into the group as he began to peer about at their surroundings, hopefully they wouldn't be ambushed...

As they neared the designated location, Phora returned from scouting ahea, landing amongst the group. "Did you see anything mission critical?" Alice asked.

"I saw the ice cream man." She responded.

"That's not mission critical," Alice said.

"I disagree," she answered as she waved around a drumstick. Alice sighed and looked about.


Daniel was a bit nervous about being stuck with a hodgepodge group. "Don't steal anything, Idelia."

Heather woke up suddenly. She had fallen asleep at the table. When she looked around she noticed how she was left alone in the cafe as the other went to do whatever they had decide. Heather stood up brushing herself off and gathering her things into her bag. She thought about what little conversation she had heard while she was awake. After a moment of thinking she came up with her own idea. She couldn't help but chuckle at herself.
"That solution is so obvious." Heather left the cafe headed towards the school. "Ready or not here I come Miss Rachel."

---

Lotus wasn't really pleased being dragged into doing something she had no interest in. She had to cancel her plans to hangout with Chantelle due to this, Not to mention the homework she still had to do. As the others talked and wasted time in front of the door, Lotus let out a huge huff and barged in. She looked back at the others
"You coming or not?"

---
Idelia looked around the shop at all the small knick knacks and trinkets. She looked at a nice shiny crystal ball. Then Daniel spoke to her.
"Hey, don't tell me what to do! Plus it's not stealing if it's already mine right?" Id said before stuffing things into her pocket.

The Church of St. Martin in Darren City was a rather modest thing. Amidst the everyday hustle and bustle of everyday life, it was easy to overlook. That the church itself did not specify which of the St. Martins was its patron was also probably another factor. Even still Adi could feel something in the air around the building. It was as if there was a sharp difference between the land it sat on and the plot across the street. Perhaps there was something in being called a 'house of God,' Adi mused. Still, he could not find it in himself to fully trust this feeling, this consecration. Adi would have loved to spend his day simply moving himself between the boundaries, to get a feel for the difference and explore it further. Sadly, Junior Acula ruined it in particularly childish fashion by simply barging in.

"You coming or not?" she had the gall to demand.

Adi marched up swiftly past her. He spoke as he did,

"Tread lightly now, we are guests in His home."

Given the time, it was reasonable to assume that the service had ended. There were still churchgoers about but they weren't numerous and a group of children from the local academy wouldn't arouse any suspicion. Adi wondered how many of his classmates had been in attendance if not in Sunday school altogether. His feet took him past the altar and to a sidedoor that led to Father Albright's office. Unlike Junior Acula of course, he had the courtesy to knock first.

Alice looked annoyed. "You didn't look for anything?"

"I'm not sure what you'd expect," Phora said. "If a witch disappears there's little chance of there being a corpse." She tossed the ice cream aside.

Alice opened up her senses and felt some sort of energy distortion. "An experiment gone wrong will often cause something like this," she said.