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The dream begins with me driving my old car, approaching a house that doesn't look remotely familiar, but that I apparently have some business being at. Perhaps I'm visiting on of those friends I don't have yet? :3 I'm wearing my classic, every day outfit, which is the same black/gray jeans and purple t-shirt seen in my picture, on my fursona, and also Grey's clothes on the cover of This Forsaken World. Parking my car in front of the house, I climb out and walk across the lawn. The wind blows hard and I feel a chill. I look into the sky, only to discover that there's no clouds.

I continue on toward the front door, only to hear thunderclaps and feel a harsh wind. Grasping hold of the knob, I open the unlocked door, pushing it in and entering a foyer. I call out to anyone inside, but I don't use any names. I'm clearly looking for someone. As I head for the main hall, I see a staircase to my right and two rooms that open up on either side of me. A brass, electrical chandelier hangs from the ceiling on a chain, swinging from side to side. I look up to see the lights flickering, but only in that hall. I walk into the room to my left, which seems to be a living room.

“Sorry I'm late! Anyone home?"

No one answers. The lights suddenly begin to flicker in the living room, but as I turn back, the hallway is now perfectly fine. (This hints at the haunting, as every room was segmented and ghosts who couldn't attach to people or animals were stuck in rooms.) I don't think it's spiritual, so I instead open a pouch on my belt. I remove my Energizer Hard Case flashlight, using it to find the light switch. Flicking the switch, it doesn't seem to be functioning properly. Suddenly, as my eyes are focused on the lights, the switch itself explodes and the electronics all activate.

A sound system starts screaming, the flat screen TV turns to static and also screams, and my flashlight's LED brightens until it's so hot that I'm afraid it'll catch fire. This really pisses me off, because I keep losing the damn things. Suddenly, flowers start to sprout out of the hardwood floor, confusing the hell out of me. Then, out of nowhere, a horde of spiders appear, pouring out of the undamaged ceiling. Though not scared of bugs, per se, I sure as hell don't like them crawling on my skin, and I really hate finding ticks on me.

Now thoroughly freaked out, I bolt out of the room and back into the foyer, where all of the spiders vanish before my eyes and the electronics cease their shrieking. Only seconds later, it starts in the hallway where I'm now at. The chandelier shakes as the lights flicker and a screaming from what sounds like upstairs draws my attention. The scream startles me like any jump scare would, and I react accordingly; I spin around to face the noise/threat, and draw my concealed Kahr CT9 pistol. As I turn, the swinging chandelier comes loose, apparently fused to the ceiling by a hook stuck in the drywall.

It falls on top my me, slamming into my head and dropping me to the ground. I open me eyes and yelp at the sight of an anthropomorphic bunny girl, leaning over and staring at me. (No lie, this character is actually a part of the game. https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Harriet)

“Mmm... Hello there." She coos.

Hopping up, I see the faintly ethereal rabbit woman, who is basically Lola Bunny but without humanesque hair or ears pulled back in a ridiculous faux-ponytail. She places her hands on her hips, eying me from top to bottom.

“Who are you, and what the fuck is going on?"

“Well now..." She says with an almost lustful sigh. “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

“Platonically." I answer.

“I hope so." The woman giggles softly. “I'm Harriet."

Suddenly more creatures appear from out of nowhere. Dropping down from the ceiling is a massive spider, easily the size of a man's torso. Appearing from another room is a nervous looking cat. She walks like an anthro, with an oversized head and an almost cartoony look. (https://ghostmaster.fandom.com/wiki/Lucky)

“See what you did, Lucky? You bad little thing." The rabbit coos.

“Who did what?" I look back and forth between them.

Lucky backs away, her brow softened with shame. I turn to Harriet, who points toward the ground. Looking down, I'm horrified to see my own body. Lying face down, my skull is split and I can see some brain matter and a huge pool of blood. It's basically a recreation of an actual crime scene when I was in college for Criminal Justice; a man was bludgeoned to death by a “friend" of his. I turn toward Lucky, who stands all of shin-height.

“What the fuck!"

Lucky hisses and squeals in an extremely heart wrenching and somewhat pathetic way as I reach out and grab her. Lifting her by the throat, I shake her, only for Harriet to grab my arm very gently.

“It was an accident. She didn't mean to; we're just trying to scare you away."

“Accident?! Are you serious?! I'm dead! ... I hope to God my head doesn't look mangled!"

Dropping Lucky to the ground, I race down the hall and look at myself in the reflection on a nearby picture, finding that I look perfectly normal.

“Whew!" I breathe a sigh of relief.

“You're taking this rather well." Harriet remarks.

“I always thought I'd be shot to death before my forties, or maybe die in a motorcycle crash. I can't say I'm terribly surprised, but this?" I wave my hand at the ghosts. “This is a little disconcerting."

“We'll need to talk to the boss." A voice calls out.

Turning back, I see a human woman who looks like she's from the antebellum south. Walking with the ghosts, which includes Lucky and the giant spider, I pause to pick up my gun from the floor. Taking the weapon, I find that I basically a copy of it, leaving the “real" gun on the ground but taking a “ghost" gun. While still kneeling down, I turn my head and see Lucky, who's head is turned down and her eyes looking up at me.

“I'm... Sorry, if I hurt you." I speak softly. “This just isn't how I saw my day turning out, if you know what I mean."

Lucky steps forward, so I gently pet her head. I then pick up the ghost and carry her outside. I'm still really pissed off that I'm dead, but knowing that I can't do anything about it, I basically accept it and see what's going to happen next. Leaving the building, I find another ghost outside, the ghost who was controlling the weather. A hovering skeleton of a human woman, she wears a dated white dress and hood/cowl that makes her look like she's from the 15th or 16th century. A portal suddenly opens and the ghosts step through it. Soon, it's just me, Harriet and Lucky standing before the portal.

Turning my head toward Harriet, she smiles and nods, her eyes still scanning me. Grabbing my forearm, she pulls me toward the portal, and I step through it right after she does. Instantly transported to the otherworld, I find myself in an interesting, archaic manor. It's filled with ghosts, all of whom work for the same bureaucratic leader. Pretty much all of them are from the game, and I recognize many, but only through Déjà vu. Lead to an office, I find a ghost that looks like a grim reaper, who claims to be a “master". It doesn't seem to have a gender, and even the voice is androgynous.

“I see you're having an interesting day." It begins.

“You could say that..." I grumble.

“I was watching when my minion killed you; it was an accident. Things like this aren't supposed to happen."

“I'm sorry?" I raise a brow.

“Our order does not wish harm to mortals; we're called in only to scare them away and teach them to be more mindful of the ethereal."

“Well, you're doing a really good job." I facetiously reply.

“This turn of events is unfortunate, but my supervisors have advised me." It continues.

“Already? I just teleported here, didn't I?"

“Time works differently here." It replies. “Your soul has a lot of potential. It's already quite strong. Considering you died during a haunting, where the spiritual energy was already high, this isn't surprising."

“Yes, because that makes perfect sense." I sigh in anger.

“I've already been authorized, and as this was my assignment, I'm prepared to offer you a place in my team." The reaper speaks.

“Ah... And what good does that do me?"

“You died traumatically, and you're very angry. I can feel it. You're already a ghost; if you weren't, you'd never have seen Harriet or the others. I might as well give you something to do, a way to channel your energy."

“That sounds great and all, but can't you just... Show me the portal that takes me to the afterlife? There's got to be a heaven!"

“Oh, there is, but you can't go there." It replies, sitting back in its chair.

“Why not?"

“You're tied here. Your death was traumatic, and you're both angry and vengeful; I saw how you tried to strangle Lucky. If she weren't already dead, she would've been. You're stuck here with the rest of us."

Laughing at my plight, I grow incredibly angry. I draw my pistol, knowing it can't do anything, and take aim. I fire the pistol, emitting powerful blasts of energy; it's like swirling green lightning following a bolt of plasma. It blasts the reaper, shattering its bones and blowing a hole through the wall of the house. Ghosts peek through the hole, staring in awe at the damage. The master laughs and its bones regenerate, the body reforming before my eyes. It stands to my right, drawing my attention.

“See? They'd never let you in, acting like that. You'd be welcome here though, and we're a fun bunch. What do you say? Want a job?"

“Come on. Say yes!" Harriet urges.

Turning my head, I see her stepping through the hole in the wall, left by my angry energy. She stands beside the hole, her bunny tail swishing quite noticeably as she smiles warmly at me.

“... And I get to scare people?" I ask.

“Nearly to death... Nearly." The master replies.

“Fine." I sigh in frustration, holstering my gun. “What else am I going to do?"

“That's the spirit! Get it?! Hahaha!" The master laughs.

“Come on! I'll show you around!" Harriet chirps.

Stepping closer, she grabs my wrist and walks me through the hole in the wall, where I see some of the other ghosts. They're all warm and friendly, even though many of them are grotesque. Most of them introduce themselves with names from the game, and I find myself already gravitating toward Harriet, and Lucky, even though she killed me by accident in the first place; familiar faces I suppose. Lucky still looks guilt-ridden, but the fact that I'm not mean to her seems to make her warm to me.

As I'm meeting a few of the ghosts, Harriet explains how things work. She tells me about their fetters (this is what the ghosts attach themselves to in the mortal realm, because ghosts can't just be placed wherever you feel like) and when Harriet reveals her fetters, which are outside and children, I'm confused.

“You weren't outside, and I didn't see kids around."

“Oh, their daughters were upstairs. We made the babysitter flee before you came. You should've seen it!"

“Who found my body?" I ask.

“..."

It's clear from her silence that not only did the daughters probably see my corpse near the foyer and in my state I didn't or couldn't see them, but the ghosts may not have even considered or cared about the ramifications of that. I'm upset by this thought, but then I find myself thinking about my friends, their kids and the life I won't get to live. I can feel the anger all over again. Brushing it off, I'm introduced to more ghosts and escorted throughout the manor. As I'm meeting the twenty-something ghost and being given the tour of the manor, I can't help but notice how nice and welcoming they all are, and it doesn't feel like an act, an order that they're carrying out.

Harriet specifically seems to have an... Interest. (In-game her dialogue with the ostensibly human ghost master was highly flirtatious, and she admittedly “loves" humans and children.) Meanwhile, Lucky seems almost submissive, which I assume is her apologetic behavior. After meeting the ghosts, I sit in a chair on a third-floor balcony, looking into a spiritual abyss of eerie woods. Lucky is still hovering around me, though Harriet's temporarily disappeared. I can't tell if Lucky wants me to tell her I forgive her, just feels badly, or both. Sitting in the chair with her on my lap, I pet her head as she falls asleep.

“Hey, there!" Harriet suddenly chirps.

“Hi. Back so soon?"

“What do you mean?" She cocks her head.

“You just left a few minutes ago." I reply.

“You must've been in meditation; you and Lucky have been up here for almost a day."

“... Being dead is annoying." I sigh.

“Ready for your first mission? The boss wants you on this one, and we'll be working together!" She rather gleefully exclaims.

“I don't think I have any powers." I retort.

“You have powers. Most don't go out so soon after dying; the boss must think you have potential." She replies.

“I don't even know what my fetters are."

“You have three! Anywhere inside, since you died indoors, but you can also attach to firearms and stuffed animals, no matter where they are."

“Stuffed ani-"

Pausing for a moment, it's suddenly clear to me and the choices make sense.

“Okay, I can see that." I softly chuckle.

“You must be high energy. Most ghosts only get two fetters!"

“Maybe I am. I was pretty intense before I died."

“I like that." She coos.

“Yeah, I bet. Let's get this horror show on the road." I sigh, violently cracking my own neck.

“That's the spirit!"

Reentering the manor, the boss thanks Harriet for finding me, then takes a boney hand and instructs a few more to go. Lucky doesn't want to stay behind, clinging to my leg. She holds on in a way that says “I feel responsible for this guy so don't separate us", or at least that's how it feels to me.

“Oh, alright!" The reaper waves its hand.

Lucky gleefully jumps, only for me to pick her up. Carrying her in my arms like a pet or a doll, I walk with a few other ghosts, including Harriet and the giant spider. We step into a portal, but before I see where it is we're haunting, I wake up. This is one of the longer dreams I've remembered in such detail.

Addendum: From the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, for nearly 6-7 years in a row, I had a ritual for the month of October. Sometime in the first week of October, I'd take all manner of Halloween themed candy, like candy corn/pumpkins and skull & bones tarts and just sit down at night, playing Ghost Master. I'd play it as often as I felt like playing a computer Sim/Strategy game, and immediately after Halloween, whether I'd beat it or not, I'd erase the save and start over next year. I was thinking about that game for no reason, and this was the dream I had.