Published at 21st of July 2026 9:17 am

Chapter 229: Rest And Relaxation?

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Chapter 229: Rest And Relaxation?

Inside the farmhouse, Ash and Teal had settled into something neither of them had ever experienced before.

Pure bliss.

Lifting her bowl, Teal tilted her head to the side without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Is there more?"

A quiet mechanical whir filled the room as Mr. Gates rolled over and poured another helping of popcorn. The smell of warm butter filled the room.

"More soda, please."

Another whir, and the robot topped off Ash's cup with cola, bubbles hissing as they reached the rim.

In front of them, a massive screen filled the room with giant fighting robots while they lounged in oversized recliners. Their feet were up, their chairs leaned back, bowls balanced in their laps, and for the first time in their lives, the two were simply enjoying a movie.

"It's so nice to have other people to talk to. Had no idea how much I'd miss chatting about movies. Ohthis is the best part, Optimu"

"Shhhh!"

"Shhhh!"

Screen flickering once, the smile on Mr. Gates screen flattened.

After Min left to speak with the puppet master, the two humans had been nervous about staying behind. That feeling lasted exactly one trailer. The moment the rest finished and the movie began, every reservation they had melted away.

Eyes wide, both leaned forward in their seats, laughed, cheered, and occasionally wiped at their eyes until the credits finally rolled. Then, without hesitation, they broke into applause.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Autobots, roll out!"

"Sam was a little annoying, but at least he was cute. What next?!"

Leaning forward with another cheerful whir, Mr. Gates held out a stack of movie cases.

"They made more than one. Would you like to watch the sequel next?"

Snatching the pile from his hands, the two immediately began digging through it in a frenzy, cases clicking together.

"Sam's not in these ones? What the hell? Mark Stahlberg?"

"They replace Sam? Did he die?!"

Snatching the movie from her hand, he was about to look it over when a sharp tug clenched in his chestSplit-jaw. Panic crashed through the bond. The case slipped from his fingers as he shot to his feet and sprinted for the door.

"Excuse meAsh! Would you mind staying herethere he goes."

Teal sprinted past the protesting robot, not waiting for permission either. Throwing both hands into the air, Mr. Gates let out an exasperated mechanical whir before rolling after them.

Bursting through the door, Teal skidded to a stop as she found Ash standing just outside, his head snapping from side to side.

"What's the problem?!"

"Split-jaw's calling. He found Grimm!"

The moment he caught the direction through the bond, Ash took off down the long corridor leading away from the theater. Teal chased after him, a tightness building in her chest as unease settled across her shoulders.

From what he'd told her, Grimm had helped them during their fight with Mr. Gates before disappearing immediately afterward. Once they'd learned more about the facility and felt comfortable enough to explore, Ash had sent Triss and Split-jaw to search for the wayward ghost.

The trio burst back into the lab's massive central chamber. The bright white walls and floor almost hurt the eyes beneath the overhead lights.

Skidding to a stop, the boy spun on Mr. Gates, his breathing hard.

"Where're you keeping them?!"

The pixelated brows on the robot's screen pulled together.

"Keeping who?"

"The ghosts! Where are they?!"

The robot stood motionless for a moment. Then its posture straightened as the cadence of its second personality took over.

"Apologies, that information is not available to the general public. If you would please return"

"Then just tell me how many!"

"Again, that information is not available"

"How many, ya idiot! If Grimm is there, we have no idea"

At that moment, the entire facility shuddered. The floor trembled beneath their feet as dust drifted from somewhere overhead. Teal, Ash, and Mr. Gates all looked around, instinctively spreading their feet to keep their balance.

"What's happening?! Ash! What"

The words caught in her throat. The pressure in Teal's chest tightened as she watched the color drain from the boy's face. He and the robot were both staring at something.

Hidden from Teal's view, what looked like an enormous tentacle drifted silently through the room. It was at least six feet thick, and Ash recognized it immediately.

It was Grimm.

"How many ghosts?"

Ash's voice had gone calm now, almost unnaturally so. Mr. Gates' usual cadence had returned as well.

"Thirty-two. It kinda became a hobby to catch any that wandered in. Did he eat them?"

The tentacle slid out of sight. A moment later, an enormous eye socket drifted into view, filling nearly the entire room before the empty cavity lit with ghostly blue fire. It lingered there, staring at the group.

Grimm's voice came out quiet, almost too quiet for something so big.

"I'm sorry. You think Master's gonna be mad?"

Almost screaming at the sudden voice, Teal caught herself as she recognized it. That only left her more confused.

Stepping closer, Ash craned his neck back and reached out to rest a hand against Grimm's massive skull.

"Seo-jin's not gonna be mad. Surprised, but you'll be fine. Just couldn't help yourself?"

"No. They smelled so good. I wanted to save some for Triss, but I couldn't stop."

Grimm's glowing eye shifted toward the robot.

"I didn't mean to eat all your ghosts. I'm sorry. Can you not tell my Master? I can catch you more."

Rather than answer immediately, Mr. Gates stood motionless while progress bars and percentages flickered across his screen. One by one they finished until the numbers disappeared, replaced by his familiar face.

"Don't worry about it. I hadn't done anything with them in years. We were even starting to feel bad about itYou were. So you actually did us a favorYou. But tell me, did you really eat them? Can you describe the process?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Everyone flinched. Teal's chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, her eyes darting between the robot and Ash.

"One second. I actually have something that'll help."

With a mechanical whir, Mr. Gates rolled across the room and pressed his hand against the wall. After a few moments, a small compartment slid open with a soft click. He retrieved a pair of glasses from inside before making his way back.

"When I first started capturing the dead, I ran several experiments. One of them was to make these. I was already dead myself by the time I finished, so I never got to properly test them. Here. Try them on."

Hesitating, Teal slowly accepted. The arms looked normal enough, but the lenses were a single sheet of dull metallic material with only a notch at the bottom for her nose. Not impressed by the design, she slipped them on anywaythen screamed.

Eyes going wide, the robot lunged forward.

"Don't throw them!"

Her arm froze halfway. She still looked rattled by what she'd seen, but that quickly gave way to annoyance and embarrassment as Ash and Grimm both started laughing.

Holding his ribs, Ash wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

quot;It's just Grimm. When Triss came down before, she came because she smelled the ghosts. Grimm must've smelled em too, 'cause he ate 'em all."

With a shaky breath, Teal put the glasses back on. Grimm's enormous eye socket filled her vision again. Her fingers twitched, tempted to rip them back off, but she stopped herself. Grimm was a gentle soul. A little twisted, sure, but he was the first one who'd shown her kindness when the Broodfather found her.

"You're huge, Grimm. Can you shrink down at all?"

"Don't know. Lemme try."

The blue light burning inside the socket dimmed as Grimm concentrated.....

Nothing happened.

"Guess I"

Just as he gave up, his eye socket widened. A quick crack echoed through the room, and like a popped balloon, he shrank back to his original size. As his massive bulk disappeared, Split-jaw and Triss came into view behind him.

"That was weird. How do I look?"

"Like a greedy little child. I know you heard me, don't even act like you didn't! We're guests! You can't go around eating other people's stuff!"

Tearing into the floating skull, Split-jaw jabbed a finger into Grimm's forehead, tapping against the bone over and over. Triss gave Grimm a single disapproving look, let out a hiss, then bounded over to Ash and settled onto his shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I was gonna save you some! Come on, big sis. You don't mean that."

"Hey, I'm the one talkin' to you."

Stepping back in front of Grimm, Split-jaw launched into him again.

"Who's the old man yellin' at?"

Everyone turned to see Min walking toward them.

"You're back! How'd it go?"

Teal hurried over and wrapped Min in a tight hug. The sudden embrace caught her off guard, but after a moment a tired smile spread across her face.

"It went well. That's all I want to say about it. Gonna take weeks to wash off the stench."

Grumbling under her breath, she snickered as she reached up and plucked the glasses off Teal's face.

"What are these?! Not very stylish, but let's see."

Grinning like an idiot, she made an exaggerated show of putting them on. The instant she did

She screamed.

"NO!"

Grimm was floating inches from her face.

Yanking the glasses off while everyone laughedincluding Mr. GatesMin's cheeks flushed bright red as she shoved them back into Teal's hands.

"Oh, shut the fuck up. Very funny. Whatever. You, robot, where's a bed and a shower?"

Before Mr. Gates could answer, Ash abruptly stopped laughing.

"Wait, hold on. You said we'd figure out what to do about my curse when you got back. You're going to bed?"

Rubbing at her temple, Min let out a long breath.

"Look, kid, I've just gone through something that's got my mind a little fucked. I haven't slept in days, and I smell like rancid ass. Whatever we can do about your curse can wait until I've had a shower, a shave and a shit. Didn't Mr. Bolts over there tell you everything anyway? Most we're gonna be able to do right now is keep you from getting pissed. So if you don't mind..."

She looked over at Mr. Gates.

"Bath. Bed. Where."

"Follow that hall to the left. It'll be the third door down with the number one on it. If you have any problems, there's an intercom beside the door. Just press the white button and speak into it."

Without bothering to thank him, Min patted Teal on the head.

"You need a shower too."

Then she looked at Ash.

"We all do."

Then at Split-jaw.

"Well... not you."

"Brat."

Giggling to herself, Min headed toward Room One. The others didn't notice, but a wicked smile and a deep blush was already spreading across her cheeks as she walked away.

"She's right. Come. Can you show us a room as well?"

Motioning for Ash, Teal spoke to Mr. Gates as though what she'd just said carried absolutely no implications.

Ash and Mr. Gates exchanged a lookone confused, the other quietly terrifiedbut before either could say a word, Teal had already grabbed Ash by the wrist and started pulling him after the robot. Her grip was surprisingly strong, though the boy didn't put up much of a fight.

When she finally shoved him into a room alone with his ghosts, told him to stay there until morning, and slammed the door behind him, Ash wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to feel.

Relief was definitely part of it.

After asking Mr. Gates to show her to her own room, Teal settled next door. Before long, all three members of the Dead Hands had rooms of their own and were doing their best to figure out how everything worked.

----

Hours later.

"Zordon!"

Shooting upright in bed with his fists raised, Ash sucked in a sharp breath. Next thing he knew a deep gurgle rumbled beneath his blanket, making his face scrunch.

"Uuuuhhh... too much popcornBuurlp..."

Smacking his lips and scratching at his scalp, he looked around the room until his bearings returned. He'd been watching a show. Triss and Split-jaw hadn't liked it, so they'd gone to sleep inside his system. Piece by piece, everything started making sense again.

"Guess I fell asleepgyaahck, ew...that was gross."

A foul taste coated his mouth, making him nearly gag. Between the pizza, soda, and popcorn, it was the first time his stomach had ever dealt with anything like it. Indigestion on this level was a completely new experience.

His mouth felt like shaggy carpet and tasted about the same. Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed and shut off the screen. Remembering which episode he'd fallen asleep during, he made a mental note to pick it back up there later.

Opening his door, he expected bright lights, but the hallway beyond was dimly lit. Maybe it was for the guests' sake, yet seeing the long corridor washed in soft light made it feel like it was actually nighttime.

A little uneasy, he stepped into the hall and headed for the kitchen. He remembered the route specifically because he'd seen where Mr. Gates filled the pitchers, and right now he was dying for some soda.

Keeping one hand against the cool wall, he tried distracting himself from the uncomfortable darkness.

"Go-go duh-duh duh duuhhdoo doo doo doo doo. New Mighty Morphin"

Just as he was getting into it, a faint sound froze his blood.

"Hheeellllppp..."

It was quiet.

But it was there.

Ash's heart tried to leap out of his throat. No matter how hard he willed his body to move, he couldn't force so much as a finger. All he could do was stare at the shape slowly emerging into the dim light ahead.

"Hheellpp... m-me..."

"M-m... M-m-m-m-Min?"

He had to ask. What he was seeing made no sense. It was too horrifying to process.

What looked like a naked Min dragged itself into view, hunched over as sparks snapped from different parts of its body. Its skin glistened as though soaked, and its face was stretched with raw fear. With uneven, jerking movements, it pulled itself closer, fingertips scraping loudly across the metal floor.

"Don't... let... her"

Behind the broken Min, a pair of glowing yellow eyes opened in the dark. Then a second voice. Clearer, calmer, and unmistakably Min's. It made the broken one instantly freeze.

"You saw nothing."

"Hel!"

Before Ash could blink, let alone scream, the broken Min reaced desperately toward himthen was violently yanked back, disappearing as though none of it had ever happened.

Ash never got his soda that night.

Instead, he got an image burned into the deepest parts of his mind...one he'd never forget for the rest of his life.

Two naked Mins in the dark.

One broken and afraid. The other carrying the quiet certainty of a predator.

He didn't sleep for the rest of the night, either.

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