Time: 12:01 a.m.

The rain has stopped and now a chill befalls the city as the Parade of Lights is being held on the river. Downtown was crowded with thousands of people, but a little bit away by the intersection connecting to the highway, a man is seen running for his life.

The man, whose features were being hidden by the shadows, ran as fast as he can while continuing to look back occasionally. He stopped to catch his breath under a street light and his terrified expression is seen on his face. The balding man was slightly out of shape judging by the slight bulge from his stomach.

He heard a noise and began to run again. He spots a series of alleys and he runs down them in hopes of losing his chaser. After running for what seemed like an eternity for the man, he finally stops by the river, away from the crowds and festivities. Regaining his composure, he begins to walk normally back toward the crowds, hoping to enjoy what’s left of the parade.

Enjoying the rest of the parade, while grabbing a quick bite to eat, the man then heads down by the river walk. With spotty streetlights along the river front, it’s dark, quiet, and lonely. A perfect spot for a romantic evening, but the man wasn’t looking for romance. He still knew that he was being chased, but he thought that whoever has given up on him.

On his walk, the man was patting himself down, trying to find something as he entered a hotel parking lot. While searching, he heard metal hit the ground and he immediately became paranoid once again. His heart rate rose dramatically as sweating poured down his face while he searched around to find out where the sound came from.

Hyperventilating, he reached backed him and pulled out a gun. He heard the noise again to his left and in a panic; he fired a few rounds in the direction of the noise. When nothing appeared, the man frantically looked around again as now his paranoia was getting the best of him. Every time he heard a noise he fired in the same direction.

Following the same routine a few more times, he finally ran out of bullets, and now complete terror sets in as he falls to his knees with tears flowing from his eyes. He begins to sob when he heard another noise. He looks up and sees a shadow appearing from a car. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the shadow was smaller than he expected and let out a sigh of relief as now he finally noticed what was making the noises. He heard a meowing and then he saw a white cat appear from one of the cars.

Wiping away his tears, he bent over some to pet the cat as it approached closer. Rubbing its head, the cat purred softly as it arches its back and straightens his tail, signifying that he was enjoying the little rub.

“Beautiful cat isn’t he?” a man with a deep voice said from the behind. The man raises his head and his eyes widen in pure terror. He knew that voice. Sweating ran down his face as he slowly turned to notice the wide, evil grin attached to the imposing frame. The figure slowly pulls out a machete from a sheathe on his leg. The man, almost crippled in terror, fell back and scooted backward trying his best to get away from the figure. “I told you that I would find,” the figure said. He finishes pulling out the machete and held his hand over the blade, “And now, your soul will be forever trapped!” he exclaims he slashes downward.

The man falls lifeless and a pool of blood forms around the body. The figure wipes away the blood from the machete and sheathes it. He kneels down and the cat jumps on his shoulder, “That’s my boy,” he said in a jovial tone. “Now, let me get you something to eat for your hard work.”

The figure turns away and begins to walk away laughing while the man’s eyes were still open. The last sight the man saw was that evil smile and something sprouting from his back before everything went black.

Time: 4:28 p.m.

It’s a sunny afternoon as the woman is now seen riding down a road on a sport bike. Weaving in and out of traffic, the woman goes into deep thought as she replays the events of the previous night. Pulling up to the city morgue, she parks the bike and takes off the helmet to reveal the woman’s physical beauty. The sun radiates on her light, ebony skinned. Her brown eyes scanned the parking lot and they narrow when they spot a certain car. A light blue sedan, Great, he’s here, she thought. She got off the bike and walked into the morgue.

Upon walking in, the guard, a man in his early-forties and slightly pudgy in his cop uniform, immediately notices the woman and looks at her, “Ah, Linka Soulhand. What’s the pleasure of seeing you today?” he asked her. Linka slightly grinned, “I’m here Frankie because an interesting murder came across my eyesight last night and I was wondering if I could see the body?” she asked. Frankie looked at the paperwork and reads it for a few seconds, “Well, it seems like that the police and the family has been notified. Judging by the timestamp, they left about fifteen minutes ago. So, you can go in,” he said. With a smile, Linka prepare to walk into the back towards the morgue until Frankie stopped her, “Oh yeah, you’re favorite friend on the force is back there waiting for you. He knew you were coming,” he said with a smile. Linka sighed and looked disappointed, “I knew it”, she said softly.

Linka walks into the morgue and a chill hits her. She zips up her vest and she spots the body. Walking up to it, Linka suddenly stops and sighs, “If you’re going to stand there and be creepy, can you at least not do it here?” she asked. Linka turned around to see a handsome ebony skinned man wearing a suit. He had a short haircut with waves in, showing that he took good care of his hair as well as his appearance, judging by the suit having a perma-crease in it. His brown eyes stared Linka down with a slight look of both lust and intrigue. Linka sighed again, “C’mon Jeff, I’m here on business, not for your lust.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and sighed, “Alright, alright. You win. Let’s get down to business then.” He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out hid smartphone. After a few taps, Jeff clears his throat, “The vic’s name is Roland Hanna, pretty drug dealer and small time smuggler. Apparently he pissed of the wrong people. He was killed by a single machete slash.” Linka closely looks at Roland. She noticed that his eyes are still open, Hmm, interesting, she thought. Looking back at Jeff, she smiles, “Thanks Jeff,” she said happily. Sighing, Jeff, puts up his phone and begins to walk out, “Ok, ok. I got it. You don’t want me here because you got to do your medium thing now.” Jeff opens the door and stops, “Don’t worry, I’ll cut off the cameras too.” He closes the door and Linka slightly grins, “You can finally come out now,” she said. “About time,” a voice said.

Soon after, an image of a man began phasing in. Appear as a young male in his early thirties. From what can kind be see, the ghost has light brown hair tied into a ponytail at the top of his head and amber eyes. When Linka finally looks over her shoulder, she sees the man in full view. Wearing a cross of modern military uniform and a ninja, once the man comes into full view, the male has pale skin. “Ok, Linka. Word on the other side is hot with this one. This case has the same circumstances of the previous cases you’ve been working on. So, that means…” Linka clenches her fist, “That means that I’m hot on their trail now,” she said interrupting the ghost. She looks back at the ghost, “Oh sorry, Wade.” Wade waves his hand in dismissal, “No biggie. Just remember, you only have sixty seconds to revive this body before you cause more harm than good,” he stated. Linka nodded in reply, “I got it. I only need to ask it two simple questions before I cease the spell so we’ll have the time limit intact.”

Linka took a deep breath as her right hand glowed red before the light was directed to her index finger. She began to draw a magic circle in the air and then she performed a 360 degree spin, placing the magic circle on the ground. “Ut resurgant mortui, et vivificare, quia iste momentum. Peto. (May the dead rise and give life for this brief moment. I ask thee,)” Linka said. The room became dark as if they were transported to another realm of existence. Quickly looking around, Linka saw the room was now full black, completely void of their current environment.

Now happy with the result, Linka and Wade nod in approval as they see the corpse of Roland sitting up before them. Wade looks at her, “Sixty seconds…” he said. Linka nodded and immediately reached into her vest pocket. She pulls out a photo of silhouetted figure. She shows it to Roland, “Listen, I know once you become a Corpse, you lose your ability to talk. So, I’m going to ask you three simple questions so we won’t damage your body and soul any further,” she said.

“Forty-five seconds…”

Linka nods and turns her attention back to Roland, “Does this man look familiar to you?” she asked. Roland nods yes in response. Linka sighs as Wade interjects, “Thirty seconds.” Linka puts away the photo, “Did you see if face clearly?” she asked. Roland nodded yes once again. “Fifteen seconds,” Wade said. Linka places her hands on Roland’s shoulders, “Final question, before you died, did you see a black angel wing sprouting from his right shoulder?” she asked frantically.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…” Wade counted down. Roland nodded yes one last time before Wade finished the countdown. The room filled with light and they were now back in the morgue with Roland now lying motionless. Linka sighed deeply, “So it was him, but like the others, no one has seen what he looks like.” She slammed her fist on table where Roland laid, “Damn!” she exclaimed. Wade looked at her with worried eyes until Linka turned towards him and gives him a smile, “It’s fine,” she said trying to hide her frustration. She began to walk out the morgue when she stops and looks back at Roland, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’ll rest in peace. I still got five more days,” she said before walking out.

Linka walks out the morgue with Wade closely behind her when they run into Jeff waiting for them at the entrance. “Leaving so soon?” he asked. Wade leans over to Linka, “What a way to try to keep you here longer,” he said. Linka cuts her eyes at him, “Shut up!” Jeff looked puzzled by the outburst until Linka noticed what has transpired, “Oh sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” she said hesitantly. Jeff rubs his chin, “So I take it that’s Wade, ‘The Ghost with a Mouth’ is floating nearby,” he said looking at Linka then over her right shoulder in Wade’s direction as if he can see him. Linka quickly looks back before she noticed that Jeff still can’t see her partner, “Oh, trying to fake me out. I see.” Wade smacks his teeth, “Oh brother, I can’t believe you fell for that.” Linka rolls her eyes, “Sorry Jeff, we have to get going. Time’s a wasting,” she said walking past him. As she exits the building, Jeff stops her, “Hey Linka, if you need anything. I’m here to help.” Linka smiles, “Thanks.” She jumps on her motorcycle and straps on her helmet while Wade floats nearby, “I’m still they’re willing to help you even after you left the force.” Linka starts the bike, “I’m surprised too, but we can’t think about that now. Let’s ride,” she said as she shifts the bike into gear and rides on.

Time: 5:13 p.m.

The time was just after five when I finally got home from the morgue. Despite being in this business, I can never get use to death. My most recent case was literally handed to me when I received a note from an unknown client to meet them downtown at midnight because they had clues on a case I’ve been working on since I became a Soul Linker.

You see, it started with me getting attacked by Corpses, a more modern version of zombies. Some Corpses still retain the soul of the person who died in a horrible death, but now they are trapped inside rotting flesh and have five days to have the wrongs of their death solved to be set free for the afterlife. We refer to them as Corpse Jails. But this pattern is similar to a case I had back when I first started some years back. There was a series of Corpses running or shall I say, hopping around.

Getting around her train of thought, Linka looks at Wade who was waiting for her in front of an apartment building. Parking the bike, she hops on it and walks to the door. She opens it to walk inside and up three flights of stairs. She stops at apartment 302 and sighs as she puts the key in the lock. Unlocking it, she walks into a nice size apartment, but to her left is a wall with a series of photos, news reports, and other little tidbits all tied together by a series of strings. Wade floats around the apartment, “You know if you were getting paid more, we can live the good life.” Linka sits at her laptop and turns it on, “I’m not in this for the money. Remember that, Wade,” she replied.

Looking at the laptop as it comes to life, Linka notices that there’s a new mail waiting for her. She reads it, “Umm, Wade. I think you should read this with me,” she said. Wade floats over to her as she opens the email.

Dear Ms. Linka,

I’m sending this to you, but this info might be pertinent to you and your case. I worked with your family before and just in case you don’t meet me, this email should be sent within a few hours of my death. By now, I should in a Corpse Jail waiting for you to free me.

What I wanted to tell you about it is that the people you’re looking for are known as Hell’s Gate. The people working for them are not of this world and in the same field of specialty you deal in. That’s all I have.

Hope to see you soon,

Roland

“Wow, Roland thought of everything before he died, huh?” Wade asked as Linka hand trembled. Looking at his partner, “Hello. Earth to Linka. Ghost to Soul Linker, come in!” Wade said waving in front of Linka. Snapping out of the train of thoughts she was on, Linka looked at Wade, “Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts.” She stands up and walks towards a nearby window and looks out it, “I’ve heard of that name before. Hell’s Gate. I heard that even though they only have few numbers, they have some of the most powerful creatures known to man in their ranks.”

Upon finishing her sentence, she noticed something from the window and her eyes widen in shock, “You got to be kidding me,” she said in disbelief. Wade floats over to her and looks out the window, “More Corpses?” he said. Linka looks more closely and notices that these Corpses are hopping. Their arms, covered in long bell shaped sleeves, are forward as if they’re locked in place. “Jiangshi,” she said as she runs out the door with Wade closely following behind her. Linka runs downstairs as she began to hear screams of people on the streets as they neat the door. Exiting the building, Linka and Wade sees the army of hopping corpses just ahead of them that just came to a standstill.

Linka looks ahead to see of tall, gaunt walking corpses with pale green-white skin with in wild white hair flowing from their heads. This creature has razor-sharp serrated teeth, long talons, flaring red eyes, and breath so foul that Linka can smell it; even though the army stood roughly forty feet away. Wearing traditional Qing Dynasty funeral garb, the corpses all stood with a talisman on their hats, which kept them still. Wade rubs his chin, “Well, we got a bunch of stiffs here.” Linka slightly chuckles at Wade’s poor attempt at humor as she looks at the corpses before her, “Jiangshi or the Chinese Vampire to some, so that means…”

“That means that you’re snooping around in business you should keep out of,” a voice. The Jiangshi hopped out of the way to make a path for a female Jiangshi walking towards the two. Standing a scant 5'2”, the Jiangshi has generous proportions that seem doubtful for a Chinese woman born in 1730s. It has been suggested that her current appearance is an assumed form and not her original shape. Her skin is a pale bluish color, almost a blue-gray. Her eyes are brown, while her shoulder-length hair is an inky blue-black. Despite her odd coloration, she is quite attractive. With an outfit consisting of white socks, black slippers, loose blue trousers, a long-sleeved blue tunic with gold cuffs and a red, high-collared sleeveless overtunic with gold trim. The overtunic has a broad oval-cut out on the upper chest that displays a fair amount of cleavage. A wide gold sash/belt keeps the overtunic in place. The Jiangshi also wears a red Mandarin-styled hat topped with a gold ball and trim.

She stops and looked at Linka and Wade, “So, you two was the ones Roland was supposed to meet?” the Jiangshi asked with sarcasm. Linka instantly became upset upon hearing the tone of voice the Jiangshi carried, “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked. The Jiangshi laughed, “It’s been over two hundred years since I got a response like.”

Wade sighed, “Wow, a zombie with a sense of humor,” he said with a slight grin to his face. The Jiangshi’s expression easily changes to one of anger, “I’m NOT a zombie! My name is Mei-Ying Huang and I’m a proud Chinese Vampire,” she exclaimed. Wade smacked his teeth, “A dead body is still a zombie to me,” he said, much to Linka’s amusement. Regaining her composure, Mei-Ying looked at Linka and Wade, “That damn ghost’s taunts won’t get to me. My boss sent me to kill you.” Linka snapped her fingers, making her weapons appear, “A zombie sent like a dog to kill someone.” She looks at Wade, “Didn’t we see that in a game somewhere?” she asked her partner.

Infuriated now, Mei-Ying sprouts large, metallic claws from her sleeves and display a demonic smile. Linka instantly became ready as the Jiangshi under Mei-Ying’s command began moving towards them. They began attacking Linka as she dodges their strikes when one of their strikes hits the ground, creating a crater. Linka looked somewhat shocked by the power display, “I guess rigor mortis grants super strength.” Wade floats to her, “I think would be a good time to Soul In.” Linka nodded in agreement as her outstretched her right arm, while Wade became a ball of light, “Soul In!” she screamed as she placed Wade inside her, turning her hair red and her eyes blue. Mei-Ying looked impressed, “So this is the power of a Soul Linker?” she asked herself as Linka grabbed her weapons. “Let’s do this,” Linka said in her dual voice.

The Jiangshi began attack once more and Linka began slicing through them with ease. With every strike, her short swords sliced through the flesh, leaving a small flame where they sliced through. Linka looked at the Jiangshi and noticed the talisman on their heads, That’s right, these are Corpse Jails! Maybe I can set the souls free and weaken her powers some, she thought. Maybe you can summon some Corpses of your own, Wade said while Linka stood ready as she was being surrounded. “I wish, but my Necromancy powers are very limited at the moment,” she said. Linka reversed her grip on the short swords, pointing the blade downwards, “But, I can set these souls free as well so they can rest finally.”

She rushed forward and with careful eye placement, Linka was able to strike precisely at the talismans. Doing so, the Jiangshi exploded with a fiery blue aura as the soul was seen leaving the shell of the body behind, which Linka in turn destroyed shortly after. She kept repeating this process until the Jiangshi army was cut down to half of its original size.

Seeing her army being decimated, Mei-Ying rushed forward at Linka and strikes at her. Blocking the strike, the resulting clash caused sparks to fly as the two struggled for power over each other. Mei-Ying kicked Linka backward, breaking the stalemate, and into a crowd of Jiangshi. Cutting them down quickly, Linka pointed one of her sword at Mei-Ying, as if she was taunting her.

Mei-Ying whipped her sleeve and a chain appears wrapping around Linka’s leg. She then proceeds to swing the Soul Linker high into the air, preparing to slam her down to the ground. Time seemed to slow for Linka as she quickly scanned the chain and sees a weak link. She then proceeded to slash precisely at the link of chain, slicing it in half, and freeing her. She falls to the ground as Mei-Ying runs up a nearby building. She points at Linka and a small group of her Jiangshi hops towards the Soul Linker preparing to attack.

Linka began deflecting their attacks, slicing off a limb whenever she had a chance. That wasn’t slowing the Chinese Vampires down when one of them grabs her. Ah damn it, Linka! Wade screamed as Linka’s body performed an acrobatic feat that was nearly impossible, freeing her in the process. “Thanks Wade,” she said in response. Looking around, Linka tightened the grip of her swords, “Alright Wade, I guess we’ll have to use Soul Mode and let take control for a bit.” Once she said that, an eerie smile crept across her face. Cracking her neck, “Ah, it feels nice that you let me take control, for once,” Wade said through Linka. “Don’t get too comfortable, this is only temporary because you can make my body do the impossible,” she said. “Oh, I can make it do it many things,” he replied in a playfully haughty tone. “WADE!” she yelled. “Alright, alright. Jeez. You’re almost like one of the two voices in my head while I was alive,” replying to the scream.

Standing ready as the first Jiangshi jumped towards them, Linka slashed through it ease. When she became surrounded, “Let’s try something a little fancier here.” Following the sentence, Linka stabbed one of her swords in the ground lifting herself up and proceeded to spin, slicing the group of Jiangshi in half, “Suck it, gravity!” she yelled during the spin. She finished by stabbing the other sword in the ground creating a small shockwave, separating the halves of the Jiangshi she cut. As their bodies fell, they exploded in a radiant blue light. Mei-Ying jumps down visibly upset and let out a primal yell. She charges forward as Linka stands ready, “Wade, switch back. I can handle her!” she said. Sighing, Wade reluctantly switches back just in time to block a blade extending from Mei-Ying’s sleeve. The attack and block creates to small craters under Linka’s feet. She struggles to keep her ground and Mei-Ying adds more force downward. “You can handle her, right…” Wade sarcastically says. “Shut up!” she yelled in response to the snarky comment. Mei-Ying was caught off guard by the outburst and her attack to lighten a bit, enough for Linka to kick the Jiangshi away. Sliding to a stop, Mei-Ying shoot a rope dart from her sleeve, in which Linka deflects with ease. Mei-Ying pulls back on the rope dart and it wraps around Linka foot. She then proceeds to swing Linka high in the air. Sensing the impeding slam, Linka begins to slice the rope dart, causing her to be free.

With quick reflexes, Linka grabbed and swung around on a nearby light pole launching herself towards Mei-Ying. The attack connects sending the Jiangshi through a nearby building’s wall. Rolling to a stop, Mei-Ying looked up to see Linka landing nearby. She stands and drops two spiked balls. Linka switch the grip on her right sword to the upright position while her left stayed the inverse, “Let’s get dangerous,” she said in her dual voice with a grin.

Mei-Ying began swinging the spiked balls at the Linka, who now is dodging the swings by inches as the spikes come close to her skin. She backflips away as another swing barely missed. Noticing the opening the swing made, she rushed forward. Mei-Ying saw the speeding Soul Linker approaching her and she swung one of the spiked balls downward. Sliding to a stop, Linka readies herself and then slices through the spiked ball with ease. Mei-Ying then proceeds to swing the other spiked ball, in which Linka deflects the attack into a nearby wall. Trying to pull the ball back, Mei-Ying is now stuck. Linka smiles with the opportunity present to her, “Let’s go Wade!” she yelled as she ran forward.

Linka performed a few precise slashes at Mei-Ying, cutting off both of her arms. She then grabs her leg, swings her high in the air, and finally slams her on the ground a few times. Linka stops and looks at the beaten and bloodied Jiangshi, “Who sent you?!” she asked. Mei-Ying smiled, “Like I’ll ever tell you,” she responded with arrogance. Spitting out black blood, Mei-Ying looked at her adversary with both hatred and defiance, “The only thing I’ll ever tell you that he will never fall. His powers are way beyond your comprehension.”

Soon after, Mei-Ying’s teeth became sharp and her facial features became more pronounced. She lets out a mighty yell, sending Linka flying backward out the building. She then jumps and follows the Soul Linker out. Linka lands on her back and looks at the oncoming Jiangshi in her vampiric form. “This is a bad,” Wade said. Mei-Ying stops, begins floating in mid-air, and opens her mouth. Energy began following from Linka into Mei-Ying and her arms began to grow back, “This bitch is trying to eat me!” Linka said standing up. “We have to do something quick or else I’m a goner,” Wade said. Gripping her weapons, “Don’t you think I know that!” she yelled as she began running towards Mei-Ying, who began her decent.

Performing a suicide dive, Mei-Ying lets out a primal yell as Linka side-steps to the left. She grabs the Jiangshi’s leg and slams her to the ground once more, causing her to rebound in the air. Linka jumps above Mei-Ying and time slows down for her as begins to slice Mei-Ying into hundreds of pieces. As the pieces of the Jiangshi fell to the earth, Linka notices a small piece of paper floating as now Mei-Ying’s consciousness was placed into the paper. She’s heard screaming and Linka proceeds to slice the paper in half, killing the Jiangshi once and for all.

Time: 6:24 p.m.

Linka fell to one knee, breathing heavily with sweat dripping profusely to the ground. Her hair returns to normal as Wade phases out her body quickly. He looked at her with a worried expression, “Linka! Linka!” he yelled. Too exhausted to move, Linka moved her eyes to acknowledge Wade’s concerns. Then, they hear clapping, “Well done, Soul Linker. If you want to solve this and go after the boss, you have to be a lot stronger than that,” a voice said. The voice laughs as it slowly fades away. Wade was more concerned with Linka’s health at the moment as she passes out. He tries to shake her, but his hand passes through. He sees a pair of lights heading their way and he notices the car and smiles.

End of Day 1

Time: 7:03 a.m.

Linka awakes in a pitch black room. She frantically looks around and can’t see anything. Then she heard screams. These screams seemed familiar as they were hers. She began running in a panic as sweat rolls down her face. Flashes of a series of images float around her as she tries to cover her eyes. The screams were getting louder as she seemed to running closer to the sounds than away. She stopped once she saw a frame of a young version of herself covered in blood and surrounded by three bodies. The next image she saw was a silhouette of a man with a sadistic grin and wings sprouting from his shoulder, but the one Linka took notice to one for it was black. He began laughing and Linka covered her ears and falls to her knees. Letting out a loud scream, the world of black shatters and then she hears two familiar voices, “LINKA! LINKA! WAKE UP!” one voice yelled.

Waking up in a cold sweat, Linka breathes heavily as she frantically looks around, realizing that she’s her apartment. She then notices that she’s in her bra and panties. The first person she sees is Wade, hovering above her, “Oh good, the sleepy head is awake,” he said. Linka let out a sigh of relief before she realizes that Wade couldn’t have gotten her out of her clothing. That’s when she saw to her left Jeff standing by her. She grabs the nearest thing to cover up and Jeff sighs as he walks to a nearby chair, “Oh c’mon. It’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” he said. Linka, slightly embarrassed, looked at Jeff, “Why?” was the only question she could ask. Jeff sits down and pulls out his phone. He then tosses it to her, “Your fight made the news last night. I arrived at the end of it of course with nothing but dead bodies lying around and the hole you put in that building.” Linka scrolls through the series of images of the destruction caused by her fight with Mei-Ying, “Wow, I didn’t even realize that the fight was that epic,” she said in awe. Wade slaps his head, “One major fight and now she’s going to have the big head.”

Jeff clears his throat, “Anyway, after I drove up just before the cops and the media arrived, your clothes were completely torn. Besides you were smoking.” Wade nudges Linka, “Eh, because you were hot last night. Eh, eh.” Linka smiles, “You know it,” she said by responded with a high five. Jeff rolls his eyes, “Whatever. I can’t see or hear him you know.” Linka immediately looked back at Jeff, “Oh sorry. I did find out that the person I’m looking for is running this op called Hell’s Gate thanks to the letter that Roland left for me. Last night, that Jiangshi confirmed it. I feel like I’m closer now, but I have four more days to solve this case or Roland’s soul would be forever lost in Limbo. To some, that’s a fate worse than Hell.”

Hearing that opens Jeff’s mind a bit as well as his curiosity. Looking at Linka, he began to wonder was that the reason that she began this life. This life as a Soul Linker as she calls herself. He notices Linka standing up and began walking to the back of her apartment. She walks as if she’s not embarrassed anymore and Jeff takes great pleasure seeing Linka’s thong as she walked in the back. Walking into her room, she closes the door, “I know you were staring. My ass has two burn marks from your eyes,” she screams from inside. Jeff nervously chuckles as he tries to look somewhere else.

After a few minutes, Linka appears from the back wearing a new outfit. Now wearing a black tank-top underneath a sleeveless dark-gray hoodie vest. Both stop just below the rib-cage, revealing her midriff. Her black short-shorts, folded back (showing the interior fabric to be pink) over a dark-gray belted hip-pack that rests across her right hip. Completing the outfit is a pair black boots with hot pink soles. Jeff took immediate notice to the outfit and grinned, “I guess old habits die hard, huh?” he asked Linka. She looked puzzled as she wondered about what Jeff just asked her. He laughs and waves it off like nothing happened, “Nevermind, nevermind.”

Linka sighed and walked to a drawer, “Classic Jeff, always stuck in the past,” she said in a minor annoyance. She opened it and pulled a black wristband. Staring at it for a few moments, Linka slightly grinned before she puts it on. Jeff noticed the wristband and remembered something. He remembered that the wristband belonged to Linka’s father. So that means she’s serious now. While lost in thought, he noticed the door closing. Scrambling to follow, he stumbles a bit before he finally makes it out.

Time: 9:14 a.m.

Finally catching up with Linka, Jeff catches his breath, “Damn girl, you move fast.” Linka looks at him, “I’m on the second day, I only got three more left to save Roland,” she replied. Jeff looked into her eyes, “Why is this so important to you?” he asked. Linka looked away before she continued walking, “You should already know the answer to that.” She stops a few feet ahead and turns to him, “It’s simple. It’s called revenge,” she said with cold eyes. Jeff was shocked as he felt the coldness coming from Linka as he remembered that he investigated the case of her family’s murders.

This is what drove Linka over the edge and quitting the force. She was already close to it as she said that she thinking of continuing her family tradition of linking souls to the other side. Of course I thought she was crazy until that very night when I saw the change myself. I saw Linka’s hair and eyes change color. I also noticed her voice was combined with someone else, speaking in sync. That’s when I decided to help her as much as I can from the police side. That was four years ago, Jeff thought.

Thinking back to their police days, Jeff sees Linka in her police uniform walking into the precinct. He smiles as he sees his partner walking through the door. Linka notices the stare, “What Jeff?” she asked. Jeff tries to play it cool as he scoffs off the question, “Nothing much. Just thinking about the good ol’ days.” Linka sighs, “Whatever,” in a slightly annoyed tone.

Sitting down at her desk, Linka takes out a small pendant from her shirt and stares at it. Jeff sits on her desk, curious about the pendant. “What you got there?” he asked. Linka looked up at her partner, smiled, then looked back at the pendant, “It’s something my dad gave me about a week ago. He said that this was something that has been in our family for generations.” Jeff took a closer look at the circular pendant. It has a red trim and it’s black in the inner circle. Then he notice two white dash marks on it that resembles eyes. They seemed to blink and he jumped back, scaring not only Linka, but the cops that were close by. Linka looks up, “What’s gotten to you?” she asked. Jeff tries to regain his composure, “That thing blinked at me,” he said. Linka nervously laughs, “Ha ha. So you did notice it, huh?”

Jeff looked puzzled, “What do you mean?” he asked. Linka puts the pendant back in her shirt and gives Jeff a somewhat serious look, “You promise not to laugh or think I’m crazy?” she asked. Jeff quickly nodded yes. He knew Linka for years now. He knew the family so nothing should be a shock.

Linka sighs, “Jeff, you don’t know my true family history. You remember I told you about my family being in private detectives, right?” Jeff nodded yes again and Linka continued, “Well, my family are detectives, but not for the living.” That statement caught Jeff off guard as now he’s truly curious about what she means. Linka looked away as if she was embarrassed to look her partner in the eye, “My family is a part of a long line of shamans called Soul Linkers. We help the dead rest in peace by solving their crimes,” she said. Jeff looked at Linka as if she lost her mind, but then, he began to remember things that have been happening recently.

He remembers the frequent disappearances. He remembers Linka talking to herself several times. He thinks back to when Linka appeared to work with bruises and scratches calling it ‘undercover work.’ All of these things began happening around six months ago. He thought nothing of them until now as now he saw her in a new light. He saw what she said could be true because she’s been investigating a series of murders that are not natural in anyway. Beyond human capability.

“Attention all officers. We have a 10-35 in progress in the vicinity of Orange Grove,” an officer said over the radio. This caught Linka’s attention as she quickly runs out the building. Jeff follows closely behind her as she reaches their squad car first. Wondering what’s going on, Jeff grabs Linka’s arm, “What’s going on?” he asked panting heavily. Looking back at him with deep fear in her eyes, Linka replied, “Orange Grove is where my family lives.” Jeff lets go of Linka and opens the door, “Get in,” he said.

Tires squeal as Jeff floors the squad car out the police parking lot. As he enters the street power sliding, he hits the sirens. Quick shifting of the gear, one can almost hear the car’s monstrous engine over the sirens as weaves in and out of traffic. Upon reaching the corner leading to Orange Grove, Jeff grabs the e-brake, making the car slide one last time around the bend.

Flooring it again, Linka was the first to notice smoke coming from the direction of her family’s house. Jeff notices the frantic look and tightens his grip on the wheel. Linka grabs her sidearm as Jeff makes the squad car slide to a stop. Linka was the first one to jump out the vehicle as run to her family house. As she gets closer, she starts to feel heat as her pendant begins to light up.

Jumping towards the door, Linka crashes through it without a second thought in her mind. She quickly looks up and sees Corpses coming from the kitchen area in the back. In anger and fear, she begins frantically shooting. Surprising only connecting with head shots before her clip runs out, Linka makes her way to the back where she sees her younger brother laying in a pool of blood, motionless. Jeff makes it in the house seeing the dead bodies as Linka was getting ready to cry. Trying to console Linka, she pushes him out the way and runs upstairs.

At the top of the stair case, Linka kicks the door open to a wall and seeing her mom lying on the floor dead, while her dad is being held with one hand in the air by a silhouette of man. In shock, Linka’s eyes blue and the man notices, “Oh, so you’re a Soul Linker too?” he asked. Linka’s dad, trying his best to turn his head with what little oxygen he had left in his body, looked at this daughter, “Call him…” he struggle. “Call Wade, he’s your only hope to get out of here.”

Upon saying that, Linka’s pendant began floating off her chest. Snatching it from her neck, Linka clenches it tightly as she began chanting. “Obsecro autem terra a mortuis. Spiritus invoco amicus Soulhand familia, Wade!”

The pendant explodes with a brilliant red light and Wade appears yawning holding on to teddy bear. Linka’s expression changed from anger to shock when she first sees the ghost appear in of her. Wade looks around, “Huh? I was in the middle of excellent dream with this chick I was going to possibly, maybe, totally score and go eat some chimichangas afterwards,” he said. Linka kneels down, “Wade, you gotta help me!” she yelled. Wade quickly notices the situation and tosses his teddy bear in the air. Grabbing one of his swords, he slices his head off, and holds it towards Linka’s father, “Umm, dude. Now is not the time to be hanging around,” he said, making him crack a smile. “Asshole…” he said with a slight chuckle before the silhouette broke his neck. Linka lets out a primal yell and falls to her knees. Jeff tries to run upstairs, but unknown forces were keeping him out, “Damn!” he yelled.

Linka cried profusely as the silhouette sprouted his wings and she took noticed to the one black one. Chuckling, the silhouette tosses the limp body of Linka’s father near her mother. In total shock, Linka couldn’t move as Wade kneeled next to her. “Hey Linka, I know you’re hurt, but now is not the time to go catatonic. I need to get you out of here, but I can’t move you,” he said. Realizing the ghost next to her, Linka’s eyes narrow as she snaps her fingers, making her short swords appear. Grabbing them, she rushes forward toward the silhouette screaming, “YOU BASTARD!” Wade looked concerned, “Linka, don’t rush in! You haven’t had enough training yet to fight beings like him!” he yelled at deaf ears.

She attacks with both of her swords, but the silhouette blocks them with one of his machetes. She continues attacking only to be block single handedly by the silhouette. The rage filled onslaught continued for another minute until the silhouette kicked Linka away into a nearby wall. Coughing up blood on contact, she slumps to the ground. Wade floats over to her, “Linka, you gotta listen to me. I know you want revenge, but now is not the time. If you want to live, Soul In with me so I can give you a fighting chance until the cops come in two minutes.” Linka’s eyes stayed on the silhouette as she heard Wade talk, “Alright.”

She staggered up and extended her right hand as Wade became a ball of light. “Soul In!” they screamed as she placed Wade into her body, giving her hair the bright red tint and her eyes a more predominant blue shade. “Now, we just gotta survive until we get out of here. Afterwards, I’ll explain what I can,” Wade said. Linka stood ready as the silhouette heard the sirens coming from a few miles away, “Hmph, I guess we have to cut this short until you get a bit stronger. I want to kill you like I did your parents,” he said as he jumped out the window laughing manically. Linka gave chase and followed the silhouette out the window. Jeff heard the commotion from downstairs and ran outside to see Linka land. Leaving small craters where her feet landed, she took off running faster than he seen before leaving Jeff in shock at what he just saw.

Knowing that the silhouette is gone, Linka slowed down until she stopped running falling to her knees. She began crying again as Wade phases out of her, returning her hair and eyes to their natural color. Jeff finally catches up to her and holds her as the cops and fire department comes to investigate. Wade looks at her, “Don’t worry, we’ll get them. I may be an asshole like your father, but I promise I’ll be by your side until this is over,” he said.

Time: 10:32 a.m.

Linka noticed Jeff spacing out and began snapping her fingers at him. Wade floated around him, “Not the brightest bulb in the bunch, huh?” he asked. Linka sighed as she noticed something, “We got company.” Jeff snaps back to reality as he noticed Linka’s change in attitude. He looked up and pulled out his gun as the ground began to shake. Linka looked around, “What could make the ground shake like this?!” she asked. Wade looked into the distance, “Only one thing. A golem.”

Linka looks into the distance and sees a large figure approaching them. As the figure gets closer, she notices another figure riding on its right shoulder. Snapping her fingers, her swords appear and Jeff pointed his gun at the figures. Linka looked at him, “That pea shooter won’t work on that.” Wade scoffs, “Listen, I know I’m invisible and you can’t see or hear me, but I have a better chance against that. I’m not even tangible!” he said sarcastically. Linka crosses her arms, “You can say that again, Wade.”

After a few more moments, Linka notices the air around the two figures as they got closer. “They’re not here to fight,” she said in a relaxed tone. Jeff looks worried as now the golem now towers over them, looking down at them with glowing red eyes and fists balled, ready to punch something. Reluctantly, he lowers his weapon and the golem’s fists relax as well.

Linka steps forward, “What you want?” she asked towards the second figure riding on the golem’s shoulder. Jumping down from the nearly twenty foot monster, the smaller figure can be seen. Upon landing, the figure is a female standing about 5’6, roughly almost the same height as Linka. She appears as a beautiful young woman with long, silver hair, large breasts, a tight black leather leotard trimmed in feathers, black nylons with bat patterns, and black boots. Her wings wraps around her like a cape. Staring at Linka with light purple eyes, the woman grins as she turns her attention towards Jeff, “Mmm, such a handsome fellow you got here,” she said seductively. Linka stepped in front of Jeff, “I’ll repeat, what do you want?” The woman sighed, “I came to give you a message.”

The woman curtsied, “My name is Teaellah Amoh. I’m a succubus with Hell’s Gate. I have a message for you from our leader.” Linka’s eyes narrowed as now that statement caught her full attention as Teaellah continued talking. “You killed one of our own. Even though she meant nothing to us, she did control a large amount of our Corpse Jails, we’re willing to overlook it only if you don’t continue this case,” she said. Linka rolled her eyes, silently responding to Teaellah’s statement. Catching on to the arrogant gesture Linka gave her, Teaellah look slightly annoyed, “Fine. If you had let everything alone, we would have spared you and what’s left of your loved ones last when we reset the world, but now I guess we’ll have to kill you.”

Linka was about summon her swords just as the golem grabs her and hoisted her up in the air. Jeff points his gun and begins to shoot at the golem. Looking slightly annoyed, the golem swung its massive hand at Jeff. Barely being able to duck, the golem’s hand missed him, but the wind generated by the swing knocked him back. Wade looked at Jeff and was getting ready to forcibly Soul In with Linka, but the golem threw her into a nearby car door, knocking her out. Jeff struggles to stand and stumbles over to his unconscious partner, “Linka! Linka!” he yelled. Teaellah laughed a bit before jumping back on the golem’s shoulder, “Ha ha. The poor Soul Linker caught off guard by such a slow beast. It’s a shame, I was expecting more from her.”

Jeff looked at Teaellah with deep hatred in his eyes as the succubus notices, “Ooo, that’s a sexy expression from you,” she said. Jeff held Linka in his arms, “There’s nothing sexy about me wanting to kill you,” he said with anger. Wade, having enough, jumped into Linka’s body causing it to jerk. Jeff lets go of the Soul Linker as her eyes open with their blue color. She sits up and look at Jeff, “Jeff, this is Wade. I’m going to get you out of here,” he said. Making Linka stand, Wade worried about the consequences of doing a forced Soul In, but that train of thought will have to wait. Grabbing Jeff, Wade makes Linka run quickly toward a nearby building. They jumped about forty feet into the air, landing on the roof. Then he quickly makes Linka perform a series of quick jumps, disappearing from Teaellah’s sight.

The succubus sat on the Golem’s shoulder with a smile of pure lust on her face, That man was so sexy. His hatred was so delectable, I had to control myself, she thought. Teaellah begins to laugh at her thought until she felt an ominous presence pop up behind her. She quickly jumps down from the Golem’s shoulder and kneels. A silhouette with an eerie smile appears before her. Then a set of angel wings sprout from his shoulders, a white one on his left and a black on his right.

“Master Lamington,” Teaellah said in a submissive tone. “The Soul Linker got away thanks to her ghost partner.” Lamington looked at Teaellah with disappointment, “You let her get away because you couldn’t control that sexual desire you had for her little boyfriend. To be my right hand, I expected more from you.” Teaellah lowered her head to the ground, “I’m sorry Master, please forgive me. I promise the next time we meet will be her last,” she said trying to hold back her tears. Lamington takes notices of Teaellah’s plea and the smile creeps back across his face, “Okay, I’ll give you one last chance, but that time is not now. I got someone else in mind for tomorrow as we got three days left before we try to open up the portal to the Dark Realm.” Teaellah stands up, wiping away the tears she had and looks at Lamington’s silhouette, “Who you got in mind?” she asked. Lamington’s head turned slightly and then he looked away, “Well, we’re bringing in Geb and Arakh.” Teaellah’s eyebrow raises, “Geb? That massive Golem?” she said in a puzzling tone. “Also, Arakh the scorpion mummy?” Lamington looked back at Teaellah, “Yes, things are about to get interesting,” he said with glee. Teaellah rubs her chin as she looks at Lamington, Geb and Arakh, two of the Egyptian gods with Hell’s Gate. They’re also two of the most powerful. Master Lamington is bringing out the big guns on this one. Especially since we’re trying to open up the Dark Realm. I wonder who else he’s thinking about bring in? We have only three days left, she thought.

Time: 2:17 p.m.

Jeff paces back and forth over the unconscious Linka lying in her bed in her apartment. Wade hovers by a nearby wall, worried as well. He looks at her, Damn, I actually wonder if I caused any damaged by doing that forced Soul In. I hope she’ll wake up soon, even though I hear her heartbeat, her mental status hasn’t changed much, he thought. Jeff stops pacing and begins to look around the apartment, “Wade, I know you’re here.” This caught Wade’s attention as Jeff continued, “Hey, I just wanted to thank you for last night.” Wade smiled, “Even though I can’t say anything back because he can’t hear me, oh well.”

Then the two heard Linka moaning. They look at her as she began to move around. After a few more moments, Linka wakes up gasping for air. Jeff looks at her, “You’re awake!” he said with joy. Wade looks at float near her, “Hey Linka, been sleeping too long, huh?” he asked. Linka frantically looked around she regains her bearings, “Oh, I’m back in my apartment.” She noticed Jeff and looked at him, “I’m fine. Thanks again for saving me.” Jeff shakes his head no, “This time it wasn’t me. It was your friend Wade. He took over your body and saved both of us.” Linka looked at Wade, “You did what?” she asked. Wade shrugged his shoulders, “It was either that or lose my best friend who I can enjoy the taste of chimichangas with,” he said rather calmly. Linka began to laugh, “Only you would say something about chimichangas at a time like this.” The two began to laugh while Jeff felt left out on the joke.

She looks back at Jeff, “Hey, I think you should lay low for a while.” Jeff look puzzled, “Why?” he asked. Linka gets out of bed, “Because that succubus has your scent and she’s going to try to seduce you the next time she sees you.” Walking to her closet, Linka opens it continuing her statement, “Once a succubus catches whiff of a scent they enjoy, they’ll almost go mad trying to obtain it.” She finds a set of clothes and throws them on the bed. Linka began to undress in front of Jeff with no embarrassment, who didn’t seem to mind seeing her body one more time. During this time, Wade just floated around humming the theme to Jeopardy while performing pirouettes. Becoming slightly annoyed by Wade, after Linka puts on her shirt, she looks at Wade, “Will you be quiet?!” she asked.  The outburst surprised Jeff as he looked at her, “Let me guess. Wade getting on your nerves?” Linka sighs heavily, “Yes,” she replied. Wade shrugged his shoulders, “I’m just being me. I’m an asshole…with a love of boobs and chimichangas.” Linka sighs again as she finishes putting on her clothes.

Time: 3:04 p.m.

Linka exits her apartment and walks towards her bike. Jeff stops her by grabbing her arm. Looking at Jeff with shock, Linka snatches her arm away, “What?” she annoyingly asked. Jeff looked into her eyes, “Hey, I don’t think you can win with your swords anymore,” he states. Linka’s eyebrow raised as Jeff continued, “I think you might want to use the sword.”

Rolling her eyes, Linka sighed, “Why should I use a sword we had made using our blood?” she asked. Jeff backed away for a second, “Maybe because for that reason. Plus you said that it’s a five-body blade, a legendary blade with only ten made throughout history.” Linka gets on her bike, “Thanks but no thanks. I’m doing fine with my swords and besides…” she pauses for a moment after she puts the key in the ignition, “Even though we didn’t end well, that’s one of the good memories I have and I want to keep it that way,” she said just as starts her bike. Shifting it into gear, she slowly drives off.

While riding on the highway, Linka goes into deep thought, Damn, can’t believe that I have a day and a half to solve this case. I meant I got Hell’s Gate gunning for me now and that succubus has her eyes on Jeff, so I don’t want him to be involved anymore. Wade floats next to her snapping her out her train of thoughts, “You know when you thinking it’s like you’re talking out loud to me,” he said. Linka sighs, “Yeah, just thinking. This has gotten bigger than I thought. I wasn’t expecting to be involved with one of the major Dark Realm criminal syndicates.”

“Yep, Hell’s Gate is rumored to be led by a fallen angel. This would explain the black wing you and Roland seen.”

“That would explain a lot, Wade. Does anyone on the other side know his name?”

“Everyone on the other side who is smart stays away from them or they either end up in Corpse Jails or worst yet, Purgatory.”

“Guess we’re not smart then.”

“Ha ha, you’re only human and I’m just an insane ghost who’s along for the ride.”

“Even though you annoy the hell out of me, I wouldn’t ask for a better partner.”

“A partner who you haven’t fully synced with either.”

“Trust me, when that day comes, I want to be prepared.”

“Alright, alright. Where are you headed anyway?”

“Visiting an old friend in Old Towne.”

Linka revs up the engine and speeds down the street.

Time: 4:29 p.m.

Linka stops in front of a building and looks up. She cracks a smile as she dismounts her bike. As she walks up to the building, the mid-afternoon sun shines on it showing that it has seen its better days. Stopping at the twin doors, Linka takes a deep breath and pushes them open.

The inside of the building is dark as Linka and Wade proceed further in. Linka stops and her expression turn serious. Without snapping her fingers, her swords appear and she stands at the ready. A bead of sweat drips down her face, then she jumps back just as a silhouette falls from above, creating a dust cloud. Linka was bearing able to draw her swords as the silhouette attacks her with a sword. The resulting impact sends Linka flying twenty feet away. Landing on her back and rolling to a stop, she looks at the silhouette with a smile. Wade floats over to her, “Want to Soul In?” he asks. Linka stands, “Nah, I got it. And besides…” she said before getting into a battle stance with her swords, “It’s better this way.”

Linka rushed forward one more time at the silhouette and she swung her swords as hard as she could. Wade whistled as he looked at Linka’s attack being blocked. Struggling for a few seconds, Linka backflips away. Just as she stands up, a blade is pointed at her throat. “You should have listened to your partner and performed a Soul In,” a female voice said as the silhouette lowered her blade. The room comes to life as the lights at turned on, revealing a female frame.

Standing tall at 5’11, the woman easily towers over Linka. Her jet black raven hair reaches to the small of her back. Her slim figure was very noticeable with her tight fitting red bodysuit. Her violent eyes stare down at Linka as she stands up, “You’re slipping, Linka,” she said. Linka sighed, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I came to see you, Sensei Taki.”

Taki grinned upon hearing her name, “It’s been a while, Little Linka,” she said happily. Linka sheathed her swords and the two hugged. After a few moments, the two women separated much to Wade’s disappointment, “Aw man, if you two would had stayed together longer, I could had finished my fantasy.” The women seemed very annoyed and light blue energy surrounded Taki’s right fist. She punches Wade, sending him flying out the building. Linka looked shocked at the event, “I didn’t even know that was possible.” Taki looked at Linka, “I’ve been doing this for a while.” Wade flies back into the room, “YOU OLD HAG! WHY DID YOU PUNCH ME!” he yelled. Taki’s expression changed quickly, “Because you had to be a perv!” she replied. Wade and Taki butt heads, a new thing Linka didn’t know was possible. “How in the world are you doing that Sensei?” Linka asked. Taki punched Wade away from her and cleared her throat, “Ahem, there are a lot of things I haven’t taught you about being a Soul Linker.” She cuts her eyes towards Linka, which sends a chill down her spine, “It’s because of the revenge on your mind.” Linka looked down in shame as she knew Taki was right.

Wade stood up rubbing his head, “Aw, damn Taki. I forgot how hard you hit.” Linka rubbed her chin, “How do you two know each other?” she asked. Taki looked at her, “Oh, Wade was my ghost familiar before he partnered with your dad.” Linka was shocked to hear that tidbit of information, “So you trained my dad?” she asked. “I trained both of your parents,” Taki replied. Wade grinned devilishly, “Yep, the old hag is about to be sixty-one years old.” Before Wade could laugh, Taki furiously punched him again, sending him flying out the building again. Knowing the fact that Taki is pushing sixty-one, Linka glanced over her sensei once more. She doesn’t look her age; Taki looks closer to her early thirties than anything.

Taki walked over to Linka, “There’s a lot of things you don’t know. My age was one of things I was going to keep secret.” Linka smiled, “I guess that one was true. A woman never reveal her age,” she jokingly replied.

After the two women laughed, Taki deeply sighed and looked at her pupil, “Ok, so why are you here?” she asked. Linka looked up, “I’m trying to solve a case. I’m in serious trouble.”

“What day are you on?”

“Currently, Day 3.”

“Hmm, so you have four more days.”

Linka was stumped by that statement, “Why do you say four more days? I thought I had two.” Taki waves her hands in a ‘no’ fashion, “Tsk, tsk. You have five days before the soul is transferred from the Corpse Jail to Purgatory in which they have two more days as the soul begins to fade away,” she states. Linka rubs her chin, “I never knew that.” She cuts her eyes to Taki, “The case I’m working on is for a man named Roland.” Taki’s eyebrow raised, “Oh…” Linka caught the intrigue, “Oh what?” she asked. Taki walked away from her pupil and walked to a nearby wall. She placed her hand on it and it opened revealing a weapons cache. Taki looked around and found a scroll.  She takes it out and unfurls it, “Roland is a good friend of mine, well more like good acquaintance. He was trying to help me out with solving your family’s murder without you getting too involved.” Taki shows Linka the scroll, “He did find the leader of Hell’s Gate name, the reason he’s in a Corpse Jail now.” Linka reads the scrolls, “…Luther Lamington.”

Taki rolls up the scroll and places it back in the wall, “Yeah, Roland stumbled across this info as he was trying to spy on the group from the inside. He was one of the few humans allowed in the organization.” Linka rubbed her chin again, “That explains a lot.” Wade manages to float back into the room, rubbing his head, “You know what Linka? I noticed you rub your chin a lot,” he states. She looks at him, “It’s a tick I developed while I was a detective in the force. It helps me think,” Linka responded. Wade grins, “A nervous tick, huh? Maybe you’re crazy just like me,” he said. Taki smiles at Wade’s statement, Crazy just like him, huh? she thought looking at Linka. That might be their key for the Soul Link Burst Mode, she continued in her train of thought. Wade looks at Taki, “Hey, old hag. What are you thinking over there?” he asked which immediately spawned a fury in Taki as she tries to punch him again. He ducks and razzes his tongue at her and she begins to chase him around the building while Linka is in deep thought.

Time: 5:18 p.m.

Linka walks out of the building with a new drive and direction to go on. Wade emerges from the building with Taki in hot pursuit. They run around Linka as she approaches her bike. Taki jumps high in the air and blue energy surrounds her feet. She then proceeds to kick Wade in the kick in the back, sending him into the ground. Linka could nothing but laugh as she saw how the two were interacting with one another. Even though it looked like they hated each other, you can see the slight smiles on their faces during each skirmish. She looked at Taki and Wade and wondered if her Wade will have a relationship like that.

Taki looked at Linka in deep thought, “One more thing before you go,” she said to the deep-in-thought Soul Linker. “Once you fully trust Wade and have a full sync with him, then not only you’ll be able to hit him like me, but you’ll be able to be go into Soul Link Burst Mode.” Linka wondered Taki meant, “Full sync? I thought we already have that?” she asked. Wade, standing up holding his back, “One motivation, one mind, one body, one soul, and one thought. We have two of the five right now.” Linka looked down, What are the other three? she thought. Wade cracks his back, “Who’s hungry? I’m famished,” he said. Linka snapped a look at him, “You can’t eat, dumbass!” she yelled. Taki laughed, “Yep, you two are almost perfect for each other.” Wade looked back at Taki, You old hag. I wonder you’re planning? he thought. Taki caught the look and grinned.

Time: 7:32 p.m.

Riding on the highway, Linka began thinking about what Taki told her, “Once you fully trust Wade and have a full sync with him, then not only you’ll be able to hit him like me, but you’ll be able to be go into Soul Link Burst Mode. What she meant by that?” she thought. Wade began knocking on her helmet, “Earth to Soul Linker.” Linka looks at her ghost partner, “Yeah?” she asked. Wade pointed forward and Linka looked ahead to see two figures standing in the middle of the road. She slides the motorcycle to a stop. Cutting the engine off, she slowly gets off the bike, and Linka stares at the two silhouettes. Upon closer inspection, Linka and Wade noticed that one of the figures was immensely taller the other. Linka’s eyes narrow, “So we have a golem and a mummy,” she said to Wade. The ghost crosses his arms, “So, two walking stiffs, huh?” he jokingly asks.

“Not only two walking stiffs, but a lovely little succubus to even out the ugly,” a voice says which spurred Linka’s anger. “Teaellah Amoh,” she said with anger. Teaellah appeared on the golem’s shoulder, “You guessed it,” she responded. Teaellah quickly scanned the area, “Aw, my handsome hunk isn’t here.” She takes a deep breath, “I miss his smell.”

Linka became angrier as Teaellah showed interest in her friend Jeff. “I’m going to kill this bitch!” she yelled as she was getting ready to rush forward just as Wade grabbed her. Linka looked back at her ghost partner, “When could you do that?!” she asked in shock. Wade lets go of his friend, “I could do many things, but right now, you can’t let your anger get to you,” he said. The mummy steps forward, “Your little ghost friend is right, Linka Soulhand.” When Linka and Wade finally got a good look at the mummy, despite being dead, his body was in peak physical condition. His bandages covered almost every inch of his body except his face, exposing a cruel and sinister look.

Linka looked at the mummy and Teaellah, “What do you guys want?” Teaellah looked at the mummy as he started to talk, “We won’t you dead. Nothing personal of course. You’re just getting too close for our comfort.” Wade floated forward a bit, “And you are?” he asked. The mummy chuckled, “Heh, heh. I’m Arakh of Eygpt.” He looks up at the golem, “And my friend here is named Geb.” He then looks back at Linka as Teaellah jumps down from Geb’s shoulders, “Linka Soulhand, it looks like your life is about to end here,” he said with a sinister smile. Linka stood ready as Arakh waved Geb and Teaellah away, “Don’t interfere. Tell Master Lamington that this is as good as done,” he said seriously. Linka snapped her fingers, making her swords appear while she looks at Wade, “You ready?” Wade scoffs, “Aren’t I always?” he replied. Then a thought hits him, “Hey, Linka. After this is over, can we stay in the Soul In state? I got a serious taste for some chimichangas.” Linka could do nothing but chuckle at the statement, “Ok Wade. Soul In!” she yelled as Wade jumped inside of her.

Arakh smiled as he pulled out a spider pendant, “Ok, Neith, be by my side,” he whispers. “By the power of Neith!” he yelled. As soon as he said that, a glowing spider appeared from his pendant, and began to spin a web around him. In a magnificent display of power, Arakh burst from the webbing donned in gold spider armor. Four gold spider legs appeared from his back as a golden spider helmet appears around his face. “Behold, the golden warrior of Egypt. Arakh the Spider!” he yelled. Linka stood ready as she grabs her swords, “Time to squish us a spider Wade!” she yelled as she began to rush forward. “Talk about cliché,” Wade replied.

Just as the two were about to clash, Teaellah jumped behind Geb for protection. Using his legs, Arakh blocked Linka’s oncoming attack, causing a massive explosion of pressure coming from them. The blast was powerful enough to knock back cars and destroy windows in nearby buildings. Teaellah looked on Linka and Arakh began exchanging strikes, Amazing, since her battle with Mei-Ying and myself, she’s gotten stronger, she thought. I better tell Master Lamington about this development, she continued. Jumping on Geb’s shoulder, Teaellah pats him on the head, “Let’s go darling,” she said gently. Grunting in agreement, Geb slowly turns around and begins walking away. Linka sees the two getting, “Hey! Get back here!” she yelled. Teaellah chuckles, “Ha ha. Maybe next time. In the meantime, I guess I’ll go find my new play thing and pay him a visit,” she replied making her adversary instantly angry. “That bitch! I swear I’m going to kill her!” Linka yelled.

Seizing the moment of opportunity, Arakh used on his legs to attack Linka on the back, causing a deep wound and blood to flow. “Shit!” Linka yelled as she felt the warm liquid slowly flowing down her back. “Linka, we have to do something soon or you’re going to pass out from blood loss!” Wade yelled. “I know that!” the Soul Linker replied. Wincing in pain, Linka stood in her battle stance, reverse gripping her swords, “Alright, you damn spider. Let’s get this over with!” she said as her eyes turned red.

To be continued in Day 3 part 2…