Work Text:
~O~
“C’mon, Tory,” Jonah begs in a wheedling tone. “It’ll be cool.”
“It’s already cool from out here,” his girlfriend refutes, eyeing the mansion in front of them warily. The purple house has been famous for the last couple of months, people reporting music and strange figures moving around inside the abandoned place. Earlier, coming to see what was really going on had sounded cool, daring even. But now, parked outside and seeing the old mansion looming at the end of the long driveway, it doesn’t seem like such a good idea. For all that it’s abandoned the house is in good shape, standing impressively at the end of the driveway with the pale moonlight bleaching most of the strange purple color from the house.
“Don’t wimp out on me now,” the boy pouts before getting out of the car. Startled, Tory follows, not willing to be left alone.
“What are you doing?” She hisses as her boyfriend starts up the driveway.
“Just checking to see if it’s locked,” he answers innocently, continuing his walk. Tory goes as far as the end of the brick wall that borders the property, peering around it at her boyfriend as he goes towards the haunted house.
“I’m not going in there,” she says firmly, crossing her arms and glaring.
“Well I am,” Jonah returns, already walking up the driveway. Tory is quick to jog to the gates, clutching at the bars as she stares after her boyfriend.
“You’d leave me here alone?” She questions.
“Yup,” Jonah replies without regret, not even turning back. Tory glances between Jonah and the car, bites her lip, and groans loudly before sliding through the open gate and jogging to catch up with him. Jonah shoots her a superior look, prompting a quick smack to the back of his head.
“Let’s just do this and get out of here,” the girl grumbles, shoving open the front doors of the large house and stepping in with Jonah in her wake. Their bravado vanishes, however, when the wooden doors slam behind them. Tory squeaks in fear and clutches to Jonah, who clings to her. “It’s so dark,” she whimpers, and both of them yelp when, as if in response to her words, a purple flame blinks into life before them. The couple watch in horror as the flame moves, duplicating itself, and as the light slowly filters back into the room they can see where they are. It is a magnificent front entryway, with thick carpet and an ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling, with a grand staircase at the end of the room. Hallways lead away to the left and right as well as passing behind the stairs, all leading further into the house.
Jonah and Tory huddle near the door, shaking, until Tory shrieks. Jonah yells as well when he spots the pink forms emerging from the walls and floor, smoky limbs and heads with points, individuals defined only by the golden lights in their centers. More than a dozen of the wispy creatures surround the couple, the lights in their chests beating and pulsing in unison. The two humans hold each other tighter as the beings drift closer until Jonah can’t take it anymore. With a shout he runs forward through the mass, Tory right behind him. They dash into the hall to the left of the stairs, nearly getting chopped in half by a suit of armor for the trouble, and pause for breath in a long hall lined with portraits. Breathing hard, it takes Jonah a second to notice something wrong. When he does his eyes widen with fear as they follow the slowly moving figures in the portraits.
A lawyer with spiky hair gives him a cold look while a masked wrestler pounds his fists together threateningly. The picture of a priest frowns disapprovingly at them and the well-dressed woman sneers down at the terrified teens. Tory finally sees the strange portraits and drags her boyfriend away, deeper into the haunted house. The two stumble through the mansion, avoiding the randomly appearing pink ghosts and the murderous suits of armor. Tired, scared, and confused, the pair finally manage to navigate back to the front entrance. Jonah bangs his fists on the door.
“Hey! Help! Someone let us out!” He yells, banging again. Tory is torn between screaming for help and telling Jonah to shut up, scared that the noise will attract more ghosts. The decision is made for her when she sees the figure descending the staircase. Shrieking, the girl throws herself at the door alongside her boyfriend, thumping and yelling at the sturdy wood. Alarmed by her actions Jonah looks back and nearly jumps out of his skin.
Slowly making its way down the grand staircase is a skeleton in a dark purple suit, a gold heart pinned to its chest that thumps in time with the hearts of the pink creatures that are slowly filling the room. The skeleton’s head isn’t even connected to the body, instead hovering above the neck of the suit, its glowing pink eyes coldly observing the two panicking teens. Jonah is so scared of the figure that he barely notes the odd pink pompadour that glows atop the ghost’s skull.
Realizing that no help is coming, Jonah grabs Tory and looks frantically for an exit. There is none, all of the entrances blocked by the strange pink ghosts with the gold centers, and the couple can only huddle at the doors as the master of the house slowly approaches. Jonah whimpers when he realizes that the skeleton doesn’t even bother touching the floor, hovering instead an inch above the thick carpet with its arms crossed behind its back. When it’s only a foot or so away it uncrosses its arms and reaches forward, setting hands of shadow and bone on their heads. Jonah blacks out.
~O~
“Jonah? Jonah?!” The teen grunts, putting a hand to his head absentmindedly even as he flaps the other at the hands shaking him awake.
“What is it, Tory?” He asks, opening his eyes, and freezes. He’s back in his car, in the driver’s seat even, with a shaken looking Tory beside him. They’re still parked outside the haunted house.
“How did we get here?” He asks his girlfriend, who can only look at him in desperate fear.
“I don’t know,” she whispers.
“It left a note.” Facing forward, Jonah finally notices the black envelope perched on the dashboard, sealed with a cartoon skull. He frowns.
“Is that…a sticker?” He questions, reaching carefully for the letter. It is indeed a sticker that peels away easily to grant access to the note within, which is typed in a fancy script on normal paper.
“To whom it may concern,” it begins, the font curling across the page in a manner reminiscent of thorny vines. “I apologize for the fright you may have suffered when you entered my house, though you did so without permission. If you would be so kind as to contact the paranormal investigators known as the Mystery Skulls I am inclined to forget that this incident ever occurred. Regards, Master of the Manor.”
The couple stares at the letter for a moment before Jonah carefully folds it, putting it back in the envelope, and starts the car. As they drive away he says calmly, “Tory, could you please get my phone and search for Mystery Skulls?”
The girl does so without argument, staying quiet as they flee the haunted house.
“Got it,” she says after a minute.
“Do they have a number?” Jonah inquires. Tory nods.
“If you could call them, that’d be great,” he says.
“We’re just going to do what it says?” Tory asks, a bit of her usual spirit returning. Slowing the car, Jonah looks at her.
“What kind of revenge do you think a ghost like that will take if we don’t?” He asks, eyes boring into hers. Tory shudders and calls the number.
~O~
END PART III
BEGIN GUIDE
Random Scribbling’s Quick Guide to the supernatural:
There are four kinds of sapient life: humans, monsters, ghosts, and demons.
A human’s strength comes from their physical body. Those who are able to use their souls for spells become mages, a hereditary ability that waned with the banishing of monsters and has since experienced a resurgence with their release onto the surface. Mages who are directly able to influence souls or empty bodies are called necromancers.
A monster’s strength comes from their soul, but they have weak physical bodies. They are extremely magically powerful, and gain their power from their souls. Boss monsters have the most magic, but even the least powerful monster is more magically powerful than any human. Their weaker bodies, however, mean that any conflict between monsters and humans will almost certainly end with a human victory.
Demon strength comes from natural magic, magic that is naturally produced by the planet, usually along ley lines or in significant natural sites. Their physical bodies are somewhat weaker than those of humans, with magic levels varying depending on location. A demon is capable of absorbing any excess magic from the environment, or humans, and grows stronger the more they absorb, but will always be weaker than a monster. They have no souls of their own, but are as capable of compassion and love as any other being.
Ghosts are what occurs when a human soul with strong magical abilities is separated from their body in an area with a high amount of natural magic. The stronger the magic, and the stronger purpose a ghost has, the more similar the ghost is to the human they once were, with their energy and similarity fading the more they age. Ghosts who have been around for a long time fade into shades, or simple spirits. This fading can be delayed by absorbing stray magic from human souls, produced by souls undergoing a period of high emotion. High emotion can be anything from fear to excitement to extreme joy. They are not to be confused with ghost-like monsters, which are monsters, not ghosts.
Mystery is a demon, a kitsune who has been around almost since the monsters were banished. His weak physical body gives him shapeshifting abilities, while his time with Vivi and the other Mystery Skulls allows him to absorb plenty of stray human magic. Lewis is a ghost, fresh from death in a cavern full to the brim with both natural and demon magic, with a strong magical heritage of his own.
END GUIDE