Chapter Text
The van pulled into Phil’s driveway, and the three alive ones uploaded their file onto an email, followed by another update.
Mr. Halo, in the pursuit of this case, we have discovered some rather disturbing revelations regarding the former owners of the house. It has come to our attention that the three ghosts haunting this house were the children of the residents, whom they brutally murdered and cannibalized. I implore you to send the evidence file we will attach to the authorities. Should they investigate the home, there is a ribcage under one of the beds, and there is evidence that the remains that weren’t eaten were buried under the tree in the backyard.
As soon as the email was sent, the men went inside, marching straight to the living room and flopping on Phil’s couch. “Oh, boys, you’re home!” Kristin called from the kitchen.
“Yeah!”
Kristin appeared in the doorway, walking over to her husband and kissing him. She ruffled her two boys’ hair, walking back to the kitchen. “Are you boys hungry?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wilbur responded.
“I’ll whip you up something, I’m sure the three of you are tired.”
Phil sighed. “Thank you, sweetie.”
“Of course.”
Wilbur walked into his home at around nine o’ clock that morning, a sigh escaping his lips. “I’m home!” he shouted.
“Dad!” Fundy shouted from another room, and Wilbur heard little footsteps pad down the hallway towards him. His son barreled through the door to the hallway and threw himself into his father’s arms.
“Hello, my little champion,” Wilbur greeted, crouching down and picking up his son. Balancing Fundy on his hip, Wilbur walked through the door Fundy had just come through.
“You have a son?” Tommy asked in his ear.
“Yeah,” Wilbur whispered, and Fundy looked at him funny.
“Who are you talking to, Papa?” Fundy asked.
Wilbur pressed his forehead to his son’s, smiling at the boy. “You’ll find out.”
Fundy grinned at him, and the two of them entered their living room, finding Sally on the couch. “Hello, my lovely bride!” Wilbur called, walking over and planting a kiss on her lips.
“Good morning, dear,” she returned the greeting. “How did your case go? Is it still going?”
Wilbur sighed and plopped down on the couch next to Sally. “Fundy, can you go up to your room?” Wilbur asked, setting the boy on the ground. “Mommy and Daddy need to have a grown-up talk.”
Fundy nodded. “Can I show you my drawings after?”
“Of course, champ.”
Fundy smiled and ran out of the room.
Wilbur turned to his wife, a slightly uncomfortable expression on his face. “Well, uh, it was a really weird case.” He ignored Tommy’s offended ‘hey!’. “The ghosts didn’t attack us once, but…” he sighed. “When we got there, we did our normal routine, trying to find the haunted room- it was one of the bedrooms. So, I went into the kitchen after the breaker went off, and then some pots crashed to the ground, and then it felt like something was grabbing me and holding me still, also grabbing my face, so then I kinda fainted.”
“And you didn’t do anything for the rest of the time because you felt like you were going to die?” Sally guessed.
“No!” Wilbur squawked. “Dad stayed with me in the van for a bit, but Techno went back in to do some more investigating. And, uh, well…” Wilbur’s gaze slid to the side as he recalled the pure fear that had overtaken him during the hunt. “The ghosts started a hunt, while Techno was in there alone, and…”
Sally stiffened. “Is your brother okay?” she asked firmly.
“Yeah, he lived. But the hunt went on for two entire hours before the door unlocked.”
Sally drew in a gasp. “Two hours?!”
Wilbur nodded numbly. “He lived, and come to find out, he had just been chatting with the three ghosts in the bedroom the entire time. They hadn’t tried to kill him once, they just talked. And then I found Techno in the kitchen making hot cocoa.”
Sally blinked. “Wait, three ghosts?”
Wilbur nodded again. “Three brothers. They were teenagers, Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo. Really awesome. You would love them.”
Sally furrowed her brow. “Wait, so, he just talked with them? Aren’t they meant to attack people? Didn’t they attack you not too long ago?”
Wilbur huffed. “Apparently, they have an affinity for pranking people, and they were doing it because they were lonely or something. Acting up brings Hunters to the house.”
“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”
“Yeah. So come to find out, uh… They’re dead because their parents kind of… murdered, dismembered and cannibalized them?”
Sally’s eyes widened and she gaped at her husband. “They did what?!”
Wilbur bit his lip. “So, Techno found this thing in one of his ghost books, and apparently it’s possible to transfer what a ghost is stuck to from a place to a person and well…”
Sally gave him the look™. “Do not tell me you binded a traumatized ghost child to yourself.”
“Fine I won’t tell you.”
Sally glared half-heartedly. “Wilbur.”
“I couldn’t just leave him there! I wasn’t the only one, either! Dad and Tech did too! And they’re teenagers, Sally!”
Sally bit her lip.
“What if that was Fundy?” Wilbur asked. “What if Fundy died and was trapped somewhere where he couldn’t get away, didn’t have anyone, and was isolated to one place while having to stew in the memories that his family killed him? Wouldn’t you want someone to come along and save him.”
Sally looked down at her lap, helplessness filling her gaze. She sighed. “I guess you did the right thing. Just… call me before you do something like that. Please.”
Wilbur shuffled closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. “I will. I promise.”
“Thank you…”
Wilbur smiled. “Wanna talk to him? I borrowed the spirit box.”
Sally smiled too. “Sure.”
Wilbur retrieved the box, handing it to Sally and telling her to turn it on. “Tommy, y’all can talk for a bit,” he turned to the teenager. “I’m going to go spend time with my kid.”
“Yeah, okay, big man.”
A few days later, the family was given an update on the boy’s parents. Techno got onto his email, finding one from Mr. Halo. Calling Wilbur and Phil up on his phone, he told them he was given another email from their boss. Their minds immediately went to thinking this was a new mission. It wasn’t.
“SBI crew, I am emailing to inform you of the situation with the Beloved couple- the former owners of the house you investigated previously,” Techno read aloud. “The police have taken them into custody, having found the bodies and ribcage. The children were taken and buried in Greenwood Cemetery, and the two defendants- Isra and Victor Beloved, will be put on trial in approximately two months. You three will be asked to testify at court. Thank you for your time.”
There was a moment of silence before Phil mentioned, “Great! They’re in custody!”
Ranboo sighed from behind Techno. “I’m glad they’re being brought to justice,” he commented. “I hate that they got away with that, thank you guys so much.”
Techno smiled at the boy, knowing this was the second step to healing. “Of course, Ranboo. You’re okay now.”
They all believed it.