Kael contacted the Fentons and said he wanted to come over regarding the portal matter. The Fentons were happy to have him. He made some small talk with Jazz and Danny. Jazz, still nagging him about going to school, listened as Kael promised she'd be satisfied once he got free of the trouble. He played online games with Danny, enjoying the company and the relaxation that had eluded him for a long time.
Later, he went to the portal room of the Fentons. The lab smelled faintly of machinery and ozone as Kael descended the stairs that morning. The hum of the portal filled the space, faint pulses of green light rippling along its arch like a heartbeat. That's a functioning portal, Kael thought. Jack and Maddie were already at work, grease on their hands, voices bouncing off one another in excited bursts of technobabble as they did maintenance on the portal.
"Morning, Kael!" Jack boomed, holding up a half-welded circuit board. "Today, you're gonna learn how we keep this baby from exploding and taking the house with it!"
Maddie interjected, calm and methodical. "It's all about ectoplasmic containment. Think of ectoplasm like a volatile particle soup—it wants to scatter, disperse, and tear through normal matter. The portal's stabilizers align ecto-particles into a lattice so they don't destabilize our dimension. Without proper containment fields, you'd end up with tears in spacetime."
Kael listened carefully, filing every word in his mind. He asked questions deliberately—curious but not too advanced. Maddie explained him phase variance, ecto-energy conduction, and thermal discharge rates, while Jack shared his knowledge on power conduits, shielding, and emergency cut-offs. Together, they solved his doubts.
"Knowledge is a scary weapon," Kael thought. "Not just fists or fire. If I master this, no ghost gets through without my say-so."
When Maddie left to recalibrate sensors, Kael studied the glowing portal arch. His mind spun with ideas of layered permissions—a gate that only opened for those he chose. Not today. But soon.
After returning home, Kael went to his bedroom, pulled a fresh notebook from his drawer, and drafted his training schedule:
• Mornings: academic study, portal theory, Fenton research.
• Afternoons: martial arts and endurance training (once moved).
• Evenings: ghost power practice, controlled experiments.
He knew why discipline mattered—Vlad, Walker, Skulker… all seasoned hunters. He couldn't afford raw instinct alone. He rested that afternoon after lunch.
In the evening, Kael called his mother's sister in Elmerton, a quiet town 40 minutes from Amity Park.
"Aunt Claire," he said, voice steady but tinged with grief. "I think I need a change… a bit of fresh air. Could I stay with you for a while?"
Her voice softened with relief. "Of course, Kael. You'll always have a home here."
After hanging up, Kael began his training in the dimly lit basement. He set up dummies and other materials needed for practice. He first focused on invisibility, flickering in and out of sight and bumping into a table once before vanishing completely, muttering about cursed furniture. He then tried intangibility, he passed through walls and solid objects—but misjudged one wall and ended up stuck, freeing himself with a frustrated grunt.
Flying into the air, he circled around the room, nearly clashing with a chandelier before managing to stop. Next, he practiced duplication, but failed to do so. Turning inward, he activated his time-sensing abilitly temporal perception, noticing every detail of the room, though he briefly panicked seeing his heartbeat in slow motion.
When he summoned the Blue-Fire Ray, it sputtered and fizzled at first, scorching the edge of a dummy's ear, but soon became a steady, precise beam that struck targets squarely. Kael then experimented with overshadowing, merging with nearby shadows of birds and animals. The results were inconsistent; he needed to focus to do it properly. Finally, he practiced suppressing his ghostly aura, moving silently without showing his presence—though a single sneeze gave him away.
By the end of the session, Kael was exhausted, singed, and slightly embarrassed, but exhilarated; each ability, with all its quirks and misfires, was slowly becoming a part of him. Finally, he pushed himself into the sky, hovering above Amity Park. The rooftops below looked deceptively calm, but he felt the air crackle with energy only he could sense. He didn't stay long—just enough to feel the freedom of flight and mark the streets and landmarks he might one day defend. He then called the day and went to sleep.
The next day, he went to the Fentons' house to learn more about the portal and explain his decision about moving to another town.
At lunch with the Fentons, Jazz, and Danny, Kael explained gently and rehearsed: "I feel like I need space. Aunt Claire said I could stay with her in Elmerton. It's nearby, so I'll still visit—I'd never just disappear."
Danny's face fell briefly but brightened. "Dude, that's fine! Elmerton's not far. You'll still come over, right?"
Jazz smiled knowingly. "A good step, Kael. Moving forward. Healing."
Jack clapped him on the back. "Atta boy! You'll come back tougher, stronger, ready for ghost-bustin'!"
Maddie gave a longer, measured look—sharp but approving. She understood change when she saw it.
By afternoon, Kael retreated to his study in the mansion. He thought about his future and the exciting changes ahead. He asked his housekeeper to start the legal procedure for changing schools. The teachers might not be happy to lose their best student, but he had his reasons.
That night, Kael shifted into ghost form again. He had failed in the initial control of overshadowing and duplication. He maintained focus and tried duplication again. It proved tricky—his copy appeared clumsy and could not be maintained for long—but it was better than yesterday. Encouraged, he moved on to overshadowing. He descended near the park and spotted a stray squirrel. He possessed the creature successfully. Slowly and carefully, he released the squirrel and returned to his ghost form, hovering shakily—a mix of achievement and relief coursing through him.
By the end of the night, Kael was both tired and happy. Some abilities—flight and temporal perception—were already showing good progress; others—overshadowing, duplication, and Blue-Fire Ray—still demanded concentration. Each misfire, each hiccup was a step forward, slowly knitting his powers into a cohesive whole.
Flying a lazy circuit around the city, marking landmarks, he returned to the mansion before sunrise. Inside, he wrote only two words in his training log:
"Initial Mastery Completed."