It had been a few days since the forest incident, and even with a plan, Belle was still feeling slightly worried. It could all go wrong at the last second, so he wanted to make sure he was prepared. So he decided to take on another side mission to gain some extra Ghost Points.
The side mission was called the [Haunted Elevator], as the name implies, he would need to find an elevator. So he searched around before finding an old building marked for demolition that still had a working elevator. They were going to turn off the power the next week, so he had found it just in time.
The details of the mission were to press the elevator button six, three times, before clicking every other button in order, and to help the ghost that appears. He hadn't heard of this method of summoning a ghost before, and it seemed interesting enough, so he quickly got ready, told Liz he was leaving for a bit, and headed out to the building.
It was a medium-sized building; the walls looked worn and faded, the windows were boarded up, and graffiti was on the side of it. But nobody was in the area, and there weren't any security cameras, so Belle simply walked onto the property and through the front doors.
He didn't have to walk far to find the elevator, which was located to the left of the front desk, next to a set of stairs. He hadn't called anyone else to come with him; he didn't want to bother them after what had happened. Besides, he wanted to give them a break before they enacted their plan.
He cheerfully walks into the elevator, whistling a tune as he presses the close button. The elevator shudders to life, and the doors close with a creak. He begins to wonder if this is a good idea; the elevator looks two seconds away from completely collapsing, but he banishes the thought from his head. He grabs the old handheld camera, clicking to start the stream.
"Hey, everyone! Today I'm in an old apartment building, ready to try out a new way to summon a ghost. This one is an elevator ghost, so we'll see how it goes." He explains, keeping his voice light. The viewer count has been on the rise lately, getting higher and higher with each stream he does.
He turns to the button panel and quickly finds the button for the sixth floor. He clicks on it three times, and as the elevator starts to rise, he quickly clicks the other buttons one by one. The elevator stops for a second, the lights flickering, before rising again. Except…this time it's much faster.
"Uhm?" Belle lets out a shocked noise as the elevator increases in speed. Going up, up, up, faster, faster, faster, and then…it stops. For a split second, Belle is thrown into the air, weightless, and then it starts dropping, faster than it rose. His back is thrown against the ceiling, and the pressure keeps him there. And then it comes to a violent stop, and he's thrown against the ground.
"Uggh." He groans, standing up as quickly as he can. He heads toward the buttons, trying to press the button to open the elevator doors and see where he is, when something grabs onto his leg and he's pulled upwards.
"Haha, what human dares to summon me?" A childish voice rings out, tossing Belle up and down.
"Uhhhh." Belle tries to answer, but the force of being tossed around prevents him from getting any coherent words out.
"Huh? Oh right, I forgot humans can't speak when this happens." The voice pouts, throwing Belle on the ground for the second time that day.
"Why…" Belle groans painfully, shifting so he can sit upright. Before him, a small ghost materializes out of this air. It's a child, a little girl with blonde hair in pigtails and a dress. She's grinning happily as she stares down at him.
"So, you summoned me, human. Is there something you want?" She asks.
"Something I want?" He repeats.
"Yeah! I don't usually get summoned, so I decided to put a reward system in place as an incentive." She explains.
"Uhm? What are you even able to give me?" He questions her.
"...Hrm." She opens her mouth to say something, but her expression twists in confusion, and she puts a hand to her mouth to think.
"Sooo, why haven't people been summoning you lately?" He asks her instead, changing the subject.
"Oh, it's because I used to be a fearsome ghost when big brother was around, able to scare people with the click of an elevator button. My story was super popular, but ever since big brother disappeared, other ghosts started overshadowing me, and my story faded." Her face turns to a pout at the end of the explanation.
"Who's your big brother?" Belle asks.
"Oh, he's the Ghost King, of course! I'm super proud of him, but he had to go and disappear on me, so annoying." She grumbles as Belle stands there, shocked with his mouth hanging open.
"Hold on, let me get this straight, your older brother is the Ghost King that tons of other ghosts fear and respect?" Belle questions. The little ghost nods her head.
"Yup, told you he's cool." She smirks.
"Can you tell me about him?" Belle pleads.
"Fine, but only since I've taken a liking to you, human. He was the best big brother around, he was strong, smart, and cool. He always took care of me and helped all the ghosts who weren't that strong. I miss him." She gets teary-eyed saying the last part.
"You know…I have a ghost with me who knew your older brother. Would you like to come with me to meet him?" He invites her.
"Really?! Yeah! Hang on, let's make a contract so I can go with you." She exclaims, floating down to Belle and holding her hand out.
"How do we-?"
"I'll take care of it, let's just set down some conditions. Basically, this will let you summon me and take me outside of my usual domain, but you can't control me and vice versa, sound good?" She questions, staring at Belle. He nods his head.
"Great, shake on it." She grins, offering her hand. Belle takes it, and he feels a slight warmth come over his body.
"Just call on me when you need me, my name is Sherry." She states, waving as she disappears. The elevator slowly goes back to normal, the oppressive feeling of miasma disappears, and the lights stop flickering. Belle stands up as the system congratulates him on completing the mission.
"Huh…well, that was everything, see you next time, guys!" Belle exclaims, ending his stream. He walks out of the elevator and away from the old building, thinking about everything that just happened. What does the system have to do with the mysterious Ghost King?