The boys placed her on the couch and wrangling their heads as to what to do with Perfida "oh... this is bad, this is bad, this is bad," March was pacing around and scratching his head in panic.

"Let's calm down, she's still alive," Vance said holding her wrist. "She... has a pulse."

"Okay, that's good, that's good, that's good."

"So that means she's okay?" Perdita asked through the spiritbox.

"I believe so," Vance answered.

"I'll go check on Brett," Toca said then went to the room.

Vance then reached to the helmet to take it off from her "Don't touch it!" Leyo stopped him.

"Why?" Vance asked.

"Toca got electricuted when he tried to remove it from Brett."

"Woah!" Vance backed away quickly. "I wonder what's happening in there."

------

Perfida was inside the virtual world and explored it a bit, she went to the lake and saw the reverse reflection in the water "this is just like in my dream," she said.

"It's you," a voice said, Perfida jolted and turned around.

"Void? is that you?" she was stunned to finally see him in virtual flesh.

"Yes, it's me, you can see me, right?"

"Yeah, I see you," she walked towards him and touched him. Sort of. Her hand just went through his stomach. "Sorry."

"Don't be, I haven't feel myself for forever."

"Wait. Is Brett here? The short anal guy that you put the VR helmet on."

"No, now that the helmet is on you."

"Oh, so what happened to you? and how did it got you here?"

"I was testing out this game, it's not complete actually, I just want to see what it look like."

"Then?"

"I don't know, all I know, I saw everything was falling apart and then the game rebooted along with me but I can't get out. I'm stuck in this fake world to another up until the VR park opened again, I tried to ask for help from those two owners whenever they're using the VR goggles but all I did was scaring them away until you came along with that other girl."

"You have funny way of asking."

"It's not easy being... whatever I am now, they can't see me nor they can hear me, they think I'm a glitch then I saw you through the VR helmet and that you can see me and that other girl too, why is that?"

"I'm a medium," Perfida revealed.

"What does that mean?" Void was clueless.

"I can see spirits."

"Spirit?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"You're saying that I'm a spirit?"

"Yeah... I think."

"What?" Void was in disbelief and dropped to his knees. "I'm dead."

"I don't know," Perfida said as he consoled him. "But we did some research about you and we found out that you are in a vegetative state and your sister, Pena, is taking care of it... you, I mean you, she's taking care of you."

"So I'm not dead?" Void had this feeling of hope.

"Yes, technically."

"You have to help me find Ricky."

"Sure, sure, we'll find him and he'll pay for what he did you."

Void put his head down and quickly shook it "that won't be necessary."

"I... I don't understand," Perfida looked at him in strange way.

"I did this to myself," he admitted to her, Perfida was floored. "Ricky tried to stop me but I didn't listen."

"So it wasn't his fault but your sister believed that it was, because she said that he was gone when she wanted to confront him."

Void turned to Perfida looking all serious "I don't know why he had to disappear but I know where he is," he claimed.

"You do? where? and... how?" Perfida quipped.

"I know it's crazy but somehow I can control any technology just by being here, I can hack any computer system. I kept digging until I found him and I also learned to move this helmet too, I was about to get out the VR park to get him but I just reached the vents until it closed down that they had to turn off the power."

"That answers that then. Okay... where is Ricky then?"

"He's not far from where you guys are, I'll help you find him but I also have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

------

Meanwhile in the real world, Perdita, Vance and March were looking after Perfida and still trying to figure out what to do "by the way, who was calling her?" Vance asked.

"It's her mom," March answered with a cringe. "Kinda explaining her side why she was not happy with Perfida working with Nyles."

"That sucks," Vance expressed.

"Yup, it does," Perdita answered.

"No wonder Perfida is having a hard time telling her mom about her ability to see ghosts. No offense but why does she have to be very... rigid?"

"Beats me."

"Yeah, same thing with my dad," March said. "All I know is that she and I can relate to each other."

"I feel terrible when I confronted her lying to me," Vance recalled. "I would've done the same if they were my parents."

"Vance, it's fine, we're over that, all we can do now is just be there for each other."

"I'm lucky to have friends like you guys," Vance gave out a sweet smile.

"Me too," March smiled back.

Perdita was getting jealous again watching them so comfortable towards one another that she walked away from them to other area of the living room. She faced the wall not wanting to look anymore but the dark figure appeared in the shadows "envy?" it spoke to her.

Perdita aghasted, "what are you doing here?"

The shadowman gave her an evil grin, "I'm here because of you."

"What are you talking about?" Perdita was puzzled and shaken. "Leave me alone."

"Don't you remember me?" it asked her, Perdita did not respond to that. "You are a naughty lying little ghost girl, first you lied to your sister and now you are lying to yourself that those two doesn't bother you, you want me to do something about that? maybe push them of the hill?"

"NO! don't hurt them."

"Don't act like you don't want that," it teased her.

"SHUT UP!" Perdita screamed by closing her eyes. "That's not true, that's not true, it's not true," she opened her eyes and saw that the shadowman was not there. For now.

------

"Brett, Brett," Toca gently shaking him but nothing. Leyo walked in the room, Brett's eyes starting to slowly open. "Brett?"

"What happened?" Brett moaned, his color was off, his mouth was a bit blue and his voice was dry, he was also feeling dizzy. "Aww... I don't feel good, where am I?"

"It's a long story, for now you have to take it easy, I'll get you something to eat, just rest".

"My head is killing me, I feel like I got hit by an aeroball bat," Brett hissed.

"I'll just find something to eat," Leyo was the one that hit him earlier thinking he was animal prowling at him in the forest, he felt ashame and walked out from there.

-----

Suddenly, the two boys were startled when they heard a phone rang "that's Perfida's, I don't see her phone," March recognized.

"She must've dropped it," Vance looked over the spot where Perfida was caught by the headgear. "There it is," he pointed.

"I'll get it, oh! God, I hope it's the people who knows that she can see ghosts that are calling," March stood and picked up the phone that was face down. "Oh! my G, what if it's her mom again, please, don't be Ms. Sweeney, please don't be Ms. Sweeney."

"Let's just make something up, like... she went to the bathroom because she ate a bad sushi."

"Okay," March nodded nervously then turned the phone to see it was calling, his eyes popped out and cringed.

"Is it her mom?" Vance asked once he saw March's expression.

"Oh! worse. It's Hawkes," March showed him the caller ID.

"Oh! stellar," Vance exasperated. "He must've gotten her message."

"Should we answer?"

"Uhmm... sure, answer it."

"Okay," March tapped the accept call button after that threw the phone to Vance, he caught it even when he did not expected it. "Good luck."

"What?" Vance was in disbelief, he reluctantly placed Perfida's phone to his ear. "Heelloo?"

"Vance?" Hawkes called. "Why are you answering? where's Perfida?"

"She's uhmm..."

"What is it? answer me."

"Uhmm... I might as well show you," Vance set the call to videocall and pointed the camera to Perfida, Hawkes felt distress at her state.

"What is that on her head?"

"It's a VR helmet."

"What happened?"

"Yeah, uhmm... there's this virtual reality park and it's haunted by the previous owner, Ved Void, but he's not dead, he's in a vegetative state. Long story short, we tried investigating it on our own and we found an old VR helmet by the vents but the current owner, Brett, kept it then it attacked him and made him wear it and sort of controlled him..." Vance explained, Hawkes was listening but he found the situation odd.

"... We sent him in a our friends, Toca's house outside of Ares city so it won't hurt other people because we they might get into vegetative state too, we left him there until we figure out what to do and also find this guy, Ricky, he's the previous co-owner of the ghost and suspect for his death but then the VR helmet was controlling Brett and we had to go back to Toca's house to find him and we did and we were going to leave him here again by tying him up and locking the doors manually because it can hack any technology after that it removed itself to Brett and attacked us and it got to Perfida now, we tried to take it off from her but Leyo said that it will shock and we don't know what to do next."

"Here, hydrate," March brought in a glass of water for Vance after being out of breath from explaining everything to Hawkes.

"Thanks," Vance took the glass from him began drinking.

"Okay," Hawkes replied, he followed every word. "If Brett is not wearing the helmet now, how is he doing? is he awake?"

"Yes, he's awake but weak from what I heard, this thing was stuck with him for quite a while."

"I see and now it's on Perfida."

"We're keeping an eye on her now so she won't mindlessly wonders off."

"Alright, you said that you tried taking it off but you can't, that means it'll come off on its own?"

"That's right."

"Understood, maybe I can help with this case, give me the name of the victim and those two people involved."

"Okay, sure, the ghost, we call him Void but his full name is Morved Void, his business partner, Ricky Ridell."

"Got it, anything else?"

"Yeah, actually, Void's sister, Perfida and Leyo were the ones that questioned her saying that Ricky must've done something saying that he disappeared when she wanted to confront him and never seen him since then."

"That is odd."

"That's not the odd part."

"Then what is?"

"There's this nurse, he's taking care of Void in his sister's place, his name is Noah, he said that he would hear Pena talking to Ricky on the phone, we tried following her around to see if it's true until this helmet thing happen."

"Hmm, that is very suspicious, alright, I'll handle the search on Ricky, you kids just keep an eye on Perfida and stay where you are as long as it is still on her, can you do that?"

"Okay, no problem."

"I need to go back to work but we'll be done in few days, give me an update, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, bye."

------

Brett was able to sit up in the bed and sort registered in head that almost two days passed by, he was not in his home for anymore yet still had no knowledge as to how he got there and that Perfida was now in the helmet's clutches. He was eating soup that Toca made for him "this is just water, there's barely any flavor," he whined. "Went to the top culinary school my ass."

"You're welcome," Toca sarcatically said after being the one that made sure his best friend was safe from that haunted VR headgear and that was how he thanked him. "I learned from culinary school 'my ass' when people that haven't eaten for days should be eating bland first."

"That sucks, I want Takoyaki and Oreo Milktea."

"Fine, after you finish your soup."

Brett agreed and reluctantly ate the flavorless food then made a sour face after every slurp then began to look back "seriously, how did I get here?" he asked, Toca was tongue tied, he did not prepare what he was going to say to him. "I do remember being in my bedroom and..."

"And what?"

"That's it."

"The thing is... you were not yourself," Toca scratching his head trying to find a better words to explain what went on.

"Huh?"

"Uhm... okay, this is not easy for me to tell you..." Toca babbled.

"Okay, okay, spill it then?"

"Where should I begin?" Toca mumbled.

"Oh crap! Just tell me."

"Alright! you were..."

"Toca," Leyo barged in the room with the door wide open with a cup noodle in his hand that Brett could see what was happening through the doorway and glanced to Perfida who was lying down the sofa with the helmet on her. "How do you prepare this? I can't read the instruction?"

"Oh! shit, I remember," Brett gasped, things were coming back in his head then he had this unravelling expression, Toca and Leyo looked at him then looked at each other then back to him. "That thing... came at me. I know it sounds crazy but it's like it was..."

"We know," Toca told him.

"Brett looked at Perfida again. "Oh! Gosh, It got her."