Venn flashed back and forth from one side of the room to the other. He was impatient to be off. Even though the trip to the house would force him back into his source, he wasn't going to let that stop him.

Zip jerked back as Venn appeared in front of him yet again. "Stop that! You're going to ghost touch me before we even leave!"

Venn sighed, but stopped appearing randomly. He sat on Reed's desk and swung his legs.

Reed glanced over with a faint smile. "You doing alright?"

Venn touched his chest wound without thinking. "I should ask you the same thing. You've only been out of the hospital a week and now we're going to be chasing ghosts. You sure you should be doing this?"

Reed didn't miss the fact he had dodged the question. "I'll be alright, Venn. You worry too much. Now. Answer."

By way of response, Venn glanced over at Zip. After making sure the younger boy wasn't watching, he hunched forward and clenched his fists. "No better and no worse than usual," he said softly.

Reed wanted to give Venn a hug, but to do so would be deadly. "I'm sorry."

Venn shrugged. "I don't regret my choice." He straightened himself back up, flinching ever so slightly just before he was sitting straight. Somehow, despite the fact he should have been sitting normally, he still looked like he was lounging.

Reed gave no response to this. He checked his pack again before zipping it and pulling it on. His rapier tapped his leg. "You ready, Zip?"

Zip turned and grinned. "I've been ready since early this morning. You're the one who didn't gather all his gear."

Reed smiled and started for the stairs. "Great. Then we're off."

Venn stayed on the desk. He sat there until he felt his source, which sat in Reed's pocket, pulling at him. He let himself be tugged into the clockwork.

Venn was able to reform just outside the house. He appeared next to Reed, looking up. He took in the tall house. It seemed to be tilted slightly to one side. It reminded him of the burning house he had run into as a young boy.

Reed and Zip started for the door. Venn stayed back. Reed glanced over his shoulder just before going inside. "You coming Venn? There's no iron line."

Venn brought his gaze away from the house. "Yeah. Just a minute."

Reed nodded slowly and hesitated before he vanished inside. He left the door open.

The ground around Venn's feet had gotten frosty. He looked down at the patch of frost. He watched it glitter in the light from the streetlamps before he noticed a splash of red just beyond the cold circle. A single rose. It had a thin sheen of ice, but not enough to hurt it. It shimmered like a drop of blood.

Venn studied it for a minute. He had never really seen the point of flowers, but this rose was something he liked.

He reluctantly pulled himself away and headed into the house. He couldn't let Zip and Reed have all the fun without him.

Zip and Reed both psychically felt the shift in the house the moment Venn stepped through the door and started snooping around. The air was thick with tension and it was especially focused around Venn.

When Venn reached the living room, he crossed his arms and scowled. "You got a problem with me?" He demanded of the house.

Zip jumped and looked at Venn. "What?"

Venn got a malicious smirk on his face. "This ghost doesn't like me here. It's trying to subtly make me leave."

"I wouldn't antagonize it, Venn," Reed warned. "That could get messy very quickly."

Venn grinned as his green ghost fog started to swirl around him. The temperature grew colder. "Oh come on Reed. I've been stuck in my source with nothing to do for days. Let me have a bit of fun."

Before Reed could say anything to stop him, Venn flashed away. Something fell in the upper level. The tension in the air snapped. An enraged, ghostly scream tore the air. Zip collapsed, putting his hands over his ears. Even Reed, who didn't have much listening talent apart from hearing Venn, heard the scream though it was muffled.

The chill in the house grew stronger as the spectral battle began. The wailing of the spirit continued. Zip forced himself up, still covering his ears. "We need to find the source!"

He didn't really need to shout, but Reed didn't point that out. He nodded. He almost said something, then realized Zip wouldn't hear him. He had felt more of a chill in the bathroom before all of this, so that was where he headed.

Ghost fog billowed down the stairs. Two blurry figures flew through the air, one green one burning white. The green figure was obviously the more powerful of the two, giving away that it was Venn. He flicked around the white spirit, not bothering too much with any sort of form. He would lash out randomly, making the white flicker.

Reed scoured the bathroom for any hint of a source. Zip leaned against the doorframe with one hand to his forehead. The loud ticking that was let loose when Venn wasn't controlling himself mixed with the scream of the other ghost was giving him a headache.

The fight moved to the hallway and it was very clear that the white ghost was trying to get to Reed and Zip as well. Both ghosts seemed to be tiring.

The white ghost flew at Venn, the figures were more blurred than before. Venn lunged to block the ghost and the two collided in a flash of intense Other Light.

Reed was quickly distracted by the intense battle only a few feet away. It was hard to not be transfixed.

The two spirits quickly became twisting coils of plasm. Venn's green blocked every move of the blinding white. The motion started to slow. The pocketwatch in Reed's pocket vibrated slightly, growing painfully cold.

Venn's plasm wrapped tightly around the white blob. He squeezed tighter and tighter until the white flashed and vanished suddenly. He reformed into his normal shape. He was a bit blurry around the edges, but otherwise looked fine. The pocketwatch stopped vibrating.

Venn slumped against the wall wearily. "She's gone. She went to the afterlife."

Zip pushed himself completely upright. "Well I don't hear any more wailing."

Reed didn't sense any more psychic tension. He studied the exhausted, lightly fuzzed specter that was Venn. He wasn't making it up.

The three stood in the hallway for a minute, giving Zip some time to recover from his headache. Reed would have waited for Venn, but Venn insisted they not worry about him. He'd be shoved into his source during the ride home anyway.

When Zip was stable enough to walk, they headed outside. Venn vanished when they got into the cab. They were heading home.