Ghost Streaming System

They're sitting at the edge of the destroyed hot springs, Belle feels slightly guilty for destroying it but they were going to redo everything anyway so he ignores the feeling to focus on the situation at hand. Steven and Jen are sitting in front of him on a bench, staring guiltily at the floor while he glares at them. 

"I just need some information from you two, that's it." He tells them. The duo seems resigned, Jen even sighs a little while Steven kicks the ground.

"Fine," Jen replies eventually, annoyance lacing her tone.

"First, are you two part of an organization, say one with only about ten people and a mysterious leader?" He asks them. 

"...No," Steven answers, a second too late.

"Let's try that again." Belle smiles, grabbing out the axe and waving it around in front of him. He watches Steven flinch as a myriad of emotions flash through his face.

"Uhm, no need to be so trigger-happy, haha." He tries nervously.

"The answer then," Belle says calmly, waving the axe around again.

"Fine! Yes, we are part of that organization. Happy?" Steven spits out.

"Very, but I still have some more questions, what are you two doing here?"

"Our leader asked us to investigate and contract a powerful ghost that was rumored to be here, things didn't turn out so well as you can see." Jen huffs. 

"Hm, alright then, why did you join the organization?" Belle questions. Glenn had said that everyone in the organization had bad experiences, but the duo in front of him wasn't as jaded as Glenn had been.

"We got fucked over by our parents, they were huge gamblers and racked up a shit ton of debt, then they fled the country and left it all to us. None of our friends would help us and the debt collectors were assholes. The leader offered to pay off our debts if we joined him and his idea didn't sound too bad so we agreed. But we had no idea it would be this dangerous! I didn't sign up for the shit." Jen explains while Steven nods in agreement throughout the story.

"Have your debts been paid yet?" Belle asks.

"I think so, the debt collectors haven't come by in a while," Steven replies.

"Then why don't you just leave, the debt collectors have their money nothing is keeping you in the organization." He tells them. 

"Oh, wait you can do that? I thought we had to stay because of gratitude or some shit." Steven exclaims.

"You two are dumber than a bag of rocks. Right, do you know anything else about your organization or the leader?" He questions.

"Nope, that's it." They both shrug.

"Sighhhh, you can get out of here now." He waves them off. The duo glance at each other before jumping up and sneaking through a gate, running off into the night. Belle walks back inside as he thinks about the organization. They seem to have a goal in mind but so far its members are completely in the dark. He doesn't want to keep running into them but apparently, fate has other ideas in mind. He walks through the hallways before making it into the rec room. 

"Hey, are you still here? Everything is okay now you can leave." He calls out. A man appears from the darkness of the corner and stalks over to him, it's the worker from earlier.

"A-are you sure?" He questions nervously.

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone about what happened here tonight," Belle says, turning around and walking off. He can hear the man try to catch up behind him as he makes his way to the entrance, grabbing the doors and throwing them open. As soon as he steps outside the mission gets completed and he collects his rewards.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to the stream, I hope to see you in the next one." He tells the camera, ending the stream quickly and receiving 500 Ghost Points for his troubles. He spots Tommy standing in the same spot as before and rushes over to him, leaving the worker to his own devices. 

"Did you do it? I heard some noises but I couldn't tell what was happening." Tommy says once Belle is on the other side of the fence.

"I got the job done, but we should probably leave, let's just say it got a bit hectic, and some stuff got destroyed." Belle chuckles, grabbing onto Tommy's arm and pulling him down the road.

"I'm going to stay tonight and leave tomorrow, does that sound good?" He questions.

"Sure, thanks again for going to all this trouble, I know it wasn't easy but I appreciate it." Tommy thanks him, grabbing his arm back to walk with Belle. 

"It's fine, despite everything it was nice to be back, but I also really want to leave and get home to my nice soft bed." He sighs. The rest of the walk to Tommy's house is silent, but some surprise visitors are waiting when they get there. Belle freezes in place and stares at the two people waiting at Tommy's door.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Carrington what can I do for you?" Tommy waves his hand in greeting as he approaches them.

"Nothing too important, Tommy. We just heard our son was in town and staying with you, and we wanted to check up on him, " The man says.

"Hm? I thought he went to visit you the other day, well it's no bother he's right here." Tommy grabs Belle's hand and brings him into the porchlight. All he can do is stand there blankly staring at his parents. 

"Do you mind if we talk in private Tommy?" The woman asks.

"Sure, I'll just be inside." Tommy smiles, opening the door and leaving him alone.

All

 Alone

"W-why are you here?" He rasps, his voice wavering a bit.

"Didn't we just tell you? We wanted to talk with you." His mom answers, annoyance clear in her voice.

"Please just leave. I'm only here tonight, and I'm going tomorrow. I don't want to talk." His voice is small and weak as he stares at his shuffling feet, shaking hands hidden behind his back.

"Didn't I tell you to look at me when you're talking boy!" His dad shouts, spittle flying out and hitting him in the face. He forces his eyes up as he wipes away the spit.

"That's better. We just want to talk with you, son. Can we do that?" His mom asks, her voice sickly sweet. Standing here at this moment all Belle can think is how he wishes he never took the damn mission.