Brett opened the door to admit an intensely colorful individual. No two articles of the man's clothing were the same color, nor did two strands of his hair appear to be matched. Even his eyes mismatched, one blue, one brown. On top of that, he had paint splattered basically everywhere.

He looked familiar, but Zac was certain he'd recall meeting someone so distinctive.

“Oh, hey, great to see you all healed up,” the man enthused, after dropping two duffel bags and a large cardboard box on the nearest surface. 

“Have we met?” Zac asked.

“Kinda sorta,” the man said. “I'm Murgatroyd, call me Murg or 'hey weirdo,' it's all good.”

Zac nodded slowly, trying to pull the man's face and voice from memory.

“Murg was our driver,” Skye said, “after the mall. He's usually my driver, actually. And I crash at his place a lot. He's an artist, has a lot of other artists and models and clients in and out all the time so one extra teenager never really raised any eyebrows. He's been teaching me to draw.”

“Really?” Rose asked. “You picked up drawing?”

“Oh, yeah,” Murgatroyd said and pulled a bright yellow wire bound book out of his jacket. “Here's your sketchbook. Thought you might want it.” 

“Thanks,” Skye said. “You didn't have to do that.”

Murgatroyd grinned. “Yeah, but it was a great excuse to be the one to bring your gear so I get to actually meet your parents.”

“How many people know...” Skye trailed off, looking concerned.

“Only a few agents who were concerned when you didn't show up for your usual after mission couch surfing appointment,” Jake said. “They thought I'd sent you to stay at a hotel alone or with a strange agent.” Jake paused. “I've done a lot of apologizing today.”

“It's good for your soul,” Murg said. 

He turned and extended a hand to Rose. “I'm Murgatroyd, guess you heard that part. I just wanted to stand face to face with the folks who raised such an extraordinary young woman. Skye is amazing. If you ever want a family portrait painted, look me up.”

“I, uh... thank you? I think?” Rose said. Then. “Actually, yes, thank you. Skye mentioned you. Thank you for taking such good care of her when we couldn't.”

“It was quite literally an honor," Murgatroyd said, "Also she let me chat with my grandma's ghost, which was nice, and sketched the loveliest portrait of her before she moved on. I'll always cherish it.”

Brett nodded to himself and also shook Murgatroyd's hand. Skye handed her father the sketchbook. 

“I don't mind if you flip through it, I know you're curious,” she said, then to Murg, “So you're the purveyor of exciting new toys? What did Ted send me?”

“Well it's short notice, so he went with mostly standard kit, augmented because you have to pass as a civilian. But! You know Ted, he's not sending you into the wilds without at least one special little treat because we all know you are his favorite.”

“I'm only his favorite because I remember his favorite donut flavor,” Skye said, reaching out to take a small box from Murg.

Skye opened the box to reveal a small handheld camcorder and a smaller black device that looked a little like the audio recorder the scientist in the mall had, only with more lights and buttons.

“The camcorder is, well, a camcorder although Ted thinks it may actually be able to pick up either Kirlian auras or spectral presences, he's not sure. He figures you'll be willing to test it for him. Are Kirlian auras a thing?” Murg asked.

Skye shrugged. “Mostly debunked but there might be something there technology can read.”

“Cool, cool," Murg nodded and continued, "That there is an EMF reader and EVP recorder. Which, no, you do not need but! According to Ted, it has an amplification function and interference sonic pattern that should disrupt ectoplasmic matter in short bursts at a twenty foot radius if you hit this button here and toss it.”

Skye examined the device with clear delight. “It's a ghost flash bang.”

“A rechargeable ghost flash bang, compatible with standard outlets or that weird phone charging trick you do," Murgatroyd said, matching her smirk.

“Phone charging trick?” Zac asked.

“Oh, I can kinda recharge a phone's battery if I concentrate hard enough," Skye explained. "It's not great for the device's longevity though. That's how I got enough juice in my phone to call for a ride after the slasher drained it.”

“Oh.” Zac had wondered about how she had been able to make that phone call.

He would have to ask if she would teach him that trick. He didn't carry a phone, though maybe he should to blend in better. But the ability to charge his laptop would be nice. His clock tower room didn't have electrical outlets, so he had to sneak into the main admin area to charge the computer if it ran down during the night. 

“She can also light up a low powered bulb just holding it," Brett added. "We have some real fun with Christmas lights.”

“Zac can make a light out of nothing. Well, excited air molecules probably but it's still really cool,” Skye said. 

“Awesome,” Murg said. “I'd like to see that sometime. I mean, I've seen mage lights but everyone does it differently and I'm babbling anyway Zac, right? I've got a bit of gear here for you.”

“Okay," Zac said, just a little wary.

“First off, here's your camera," Murg held out a large device mostly made of black plastic. "It's not as heavy as it looks, but it has lots of features. I just kinda requisitioned a standard mobile news unit. All sorts of bells and whistles, here's a cheat sheet to memorize so you're not visibly fumbling.”

Zac took the card and glanced at the camera's controls. It looked similar to models he'd used before so he should be able to convincingly pass as a professional.

“Now, here's a flashlight, heavy duty maglight, aluminum casing. Hard enough to bludgeon someone if you've gotta. Carbon titanium alloy knife, no steel in its construction anywhere. I wasn't sure how you're normally armed since you're not an agent so I improvised. Are knives good for future reference or do you prefer guns, escrima sticks, stave...” Murg trailed off.

“I can wield any weapon made,” Zac said with bleak confidence. “But knives are fine, yes.”

“He's like me,” Skye explained.

“Oh. Ohh, wow. Huh. Wish we'd known that, would've been great to have an actual expert around when... before.” Murg shrugged. “Anyway. Don't worry about trashing any of the equipment we've given you. If you need to drop the camera and run, do it. If you need to shove it down something's throat, no problem. Also if you accidentally catch some footage that could compromise the Hidden, well, see that little yellow button on the side? Tap it three times and it glitches the last ten minutes of footage. Hold it for a ten count and all the footage is gone.”

“Got it.” Zac paused. “Do Labyrinth agents often shove equipment down the throats of... things?”

Murg shrugged. “It happens.”

“Okay then,” Zac muttered. 

Murg handed over the duffel bag. “Here. Clothes to match your persona, fake ID, don't flash it around too much I did not have time to be artistic.”

“Thanks,” Zac said. 

“Here, Skye, I brought you some of your stuff you left at my place, and your back up armor. Figure you haven't had a chance to wash your main suit.”

“Oh, thank you,” Skye said, digging into the bag. “I was not looking forward to squeezing back into that thing without it being properly cleaned.”

Once Zac and Skye were equipped, they split off to get ready. Zac switched from his borrowed sweats into navy coveralls with lots of pockets and a belt to hold his gear. The boots fit perfectly and were amazingly comfortable for being brand new. How did these people know his sizes, though? 

He decided he didn't care enough to ask. For the moment they were working in his and Skye's favor. So long as they stayed aligned with the child's best interests, they could be as sneaky and pseudo omnipotent as they wanted. 

Should that change, well. Zac would deal with that if it happened.

He returned to the living room to find Skye ready. He assumed she was wearing another copy of the armored bodysuit, because Murg had handed her one, but it was not visible. Now she looked, on the surface, like an ordinary teen. She wore faded jeans and a baggy hoodie with adorable kittens batting around a skull.

Skye caught the direction of his gaze and shrugged. “A little on the nose, but I like it. It's fuzzy and it hides my gun holster really well. Also Murg sneaks snacks into the main pocket. Trail mix!” She displayed a little baggie of nuts, candy and dried fruit. 

That little bit of consideration moved Murgatroyd further into the “okay” category in Zac's mind. 

“You're taking a gun?” Zac asked. 

“I know, useless against most of what I fight, but,” Skye shrugged and didn't provide any further explanation.

Zac understood. It wasn't the dead she worried about. 

“It's about time,” Skye said. She turned towards the door, and paused, looking back towards the couch where her parents waited. “We'll be fine. I've handled agitated ghosts before, and I'm not trying to quell them or anything, just keep a few innocent people safe for a little while. We should be back before morning, or just after if these ghost hunters are really stubborn.”

She shifted from foot to foot, obviously unwilling to leave until her parents answered.

Her mother stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug. 

“You come back to us,” Rose said. “Both of you.”

“We will,” Skye promised.

Brett stood up and took Skye for his turn at a hug. “I know you have to do this,” he said, “but I really wish I was going with you. Not that I don't think you can handle things,” he said to Zac, “but.”

“I understand,” Zac said. He reached out and gently gripped the professor's shoulder. “I'll watch out for her. I swear.”

“Thank you. Watch out for yourself, too,” Brett said.

Zac nodded, and then there was nothing to do but leave, and drive across town to the abandoned hospital to meet their charges.

As they drove, Skye gave Zac a quick rundown of how she planned to proceed. 

“You'll have to do most of the talking to get us in there,” Skye said. “Jake will have contacted the group leader, man named Derek Chambers. He started with a solo video blog a couple years ago, gained a following and brought in his girlfriend, Nora Clarus and his best friend, Tate Evans. They expanded to a YouTube channel and hired a psychic, Amy Pierce.”

“A psychic?” Zac asked. 

“Yup. Initial report says she's the real deal, too. Not massively powered and not apparently aware of the Hidden, but she does have some perceptions.” Skye rifled through the papers she'd been given. “I'll have to be careful, keep my shields tight. Don't want her sensing something.”

“Should I add strength to my illusions?” Zac asked. He'd replaced the spells which his his ears and any other signs of his true species. 

“It should be fine," Skye said after a moment of thought. "She's only got a basic level of otherworldly awareness. Enough to know there's a ghost in the house, not enough to see it unless it makes an effort to show itself. Absolutely no way to defend herself beyond whatever instinctive shielding she might have developed out of survival.”

“We'll have to guard her closely,” Zac noted. 

“Yeah. The last thing we want is a possessed psychic,” Skye said with a shudder.

“Is that everyone? I thought Jake said five people," Zac asked.

“They apparently bring in an extra expert, like a folklore scholar or a contractor or something, to kind of explain the place they're exploring and the rumors around it, for the videos," Skye said. "Nothing in the reports on who they got this time. Ooh, one of their guests is a professional Appalachian storyteller. I hope it's her.”

Zac couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. 

“So you talk us in. Think you can manage?” Skye asked.

“It can't be any harder than talking my way into Professor Everett's graduate level literature course. And I've done that twice," Zac said.

“You got into Everett's round table? Oh, I am so jealous of you right now,” Skye crossed her arms and pouted. “I had to bribe his TA with like five dozen homemade cookies just to slip into a lecture. But he was reading Gilgamesh that day and I had to hear it.”

Zac nodded, “Yeah, that is an experience.”

“Once we're in, you just blend in, do the camera stuff, and keep an eye out for anything that goes bump in the night," Skye continued. "I should perceive any hostile spirits before anyone else, but your senses are different and that might be an advantage we can use.”

“Right," Zac agreed.

“We're using our real names because we don't have time to condition ourselves to an alias," Skye continued. "Just remember I'm supposed to be your annoying kid sister.”

“Got it. So I should answer to Zac Rowan?” Zac guessed.

“Exactly," Skye nodded.

They pulled up to the hospital parking lot and Zac wove the car through pitted asphalt and overgrown lanes. There was a mint blue van next to the boarded up Emergency Room entrance, so he drove over to that. 

“What should I do if a hostile spirit does attack?” Zac asked.

“Your Death Blade will cut them, if it comes down to that," Skye said. "Mostly, just try to throw a shield around the ghost hunters and let me handle the ghost. Jake has agents on the perimeter, if things go really wrong get the ghost hunters out, and aim for home. They'll cover us.”

Zac nodded. “Are we ready?”

“Not remotely, but they're already unpacking so we'd better go," Skye said.