Yet again, Todd found himself running, scrambling to find the exit to this crazy mansion once again. However, this time, he couldn't help but notice how quicker and easier he was running thanks to his new buff body. It made his mind wander. Todd was just feeling so good in his new body, and it felt good to run now when he used to hate running before. He should do this again, under better circumstances, of course. Maybe a shirtless morning run? Ack! Now wasn't the time for this! Todd could think about these things later, now he had to focus on getting the hell out of here.
Oh! This place looked familiar. Yeah, this was around that toy room he explored with Dean before they got separated. Yes! Just a little bit more, and he was out of this mansion! But, of course, it was not going to be that easy since just as he rounded a corner, Todd ran into someone. Someone that was floating and see-though! In fact, he looked a lot like that barbarian doll Todd stepped on earlier! Was that a spirit?!
"Oh, hey." The muscular spirit greeted in an unexpectedly casual and friendly way. "Well, look at you. You look great with those muscles. I've really outdone myself this time, huh."
The former stoner was dumbfounded. Not only did he met an actual spirit, but the spirit seemed nice, too nice. There was no way a spirit would be this nice unless they had an ulterior motive. "Y-you did this to me? Who are you? And why me?"
"Well, you can call me Amino, and I'm a muscle spirit that lives in the mansion. I sensed the insecurities you had when you picked up my doll proxy and thought you needed the boost."
Well, now Todd was a bit embarrassed that someone knew about his insecurities. It made him more distrustful of Amino, but part of him was also grateful to him for giving him these muscles. Though before he could question the spirit further, a voice interrupted their conversation.
"Halt! Who goes there. Er, I mean, is anyone there?" The voice sounded like Mike's voice, but it sounded a bit different for some reason. Not to mention there was a clanging sound accompanying it. Todd was about to investigate before Amino chimed in for the last time.
"Oh, I think that's one of your friends, and it looks like another spirit managed to get to him before I did. As much as I would like to keep chatting, I wouldn't dare intrude on such a happy reunion, so I'll see myself out then." And by seeing himself out, Amino meant him disappearing before his proxy's eyes. However, before he disappeared fully, he whispered something to Todd. "You know, you might be the one who can carry out my will."
Todd's head hurt. There was just so much to process, and there was still more as he saw that Mike's voice was not coming from a high school hockey player but a big, beefy knight that looked like he came out of a fantasy movie.
"M-Mike?! What happened to you?!" The former stoner cried out without thinking.
The knight's eyes squinted at Todd before they widen in realization. "T-Todd?! Is that you? W-What sorcery is this? Er, I mean... Well, actually, no. That's pretty appropriate."
"I-I could say the same thing," Todd started saying as he was trying to process what on earth was happening, but then he realized that he really shouldn't be doing this here. "But let's get out of here first. Come on, I think I know the way out."
Mike nodded and followed Todd, and surprisingly the two young men managed to escape the mansion without any else happening to them. Todd was relieved to be out of that mansion, well, until he realized that Arron and Dean weren't here with them and must have still been inside the mansion.
Great, just great! Just as he thought he was done with this place! Okay, the way Todd saw it, he had three options. One was just to wait and see if they could escape on their own. The second option was for one or both of them to go back into the mansion and find their friends. It would risk other strange things happening to them, but it was probably their best bet on getting the other two out of the mansion. The last option was for the two of them to abandon Dean and Arron. Maybe even have the police go looking for them instead.
Well, either way, Todd wasn't going to go ghost hunting again for a very long time.