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Your room is quiet..eerily quiet. The faint sounds of voices nearby are audible in your mind, the only thing interrupting what should be silence. Your eyes narrow as you listen, pulling a pillow over your head to try and muffle the sounds to no avail.
The door to your room slowly creaks open.. a shadowy figure standing in the doorway. You quickly sit up, brows furrowed as you stare them down, reaching over to grab your phone that's laying on your nightstand with a shaky hand. They slowly begin their approach, arms raising and hands shifting to form claws..
You race to grab your phone, before pausing a moment..once you hear a familiar voice.
heheheh, this'll get 'em good-
Oh, it's Killer.
"Killer, what do you want?" You deadpan, rubbing tiredness away from your eyes.
"whuh- aw, c'mon! what gave me away?" He puts his hands on his hips as you shine your phone's light onto him.
"I could hear you thinking. You can't scheme around me, y'know- now answer my question." You cross your arms as he plops unceremoniously down onto your bed.
"fine, fine- night's got a mission for us to retrieve a little somethin' from an abaaandoned mansion.." He wiggles his fingers. "you wanna come? figured you might find it fun too."
"Aren't those places usually..haunted?" You frown, your mind drifting back to horror movies you'd watched.
"yep.. makes 'em all spooky. c'mon, don't you wanna check it out? you might find somethin' of value in there." He grins, standing up again.
"Weeelll...I gueeeess... but..the moment one of you guys gets possessed, I'm out of there." You deadpan, standing up and heading over towards the closet.
"i doubt that'd happen, buuut.. noted- i'll go tell the guys." He gives you a thumbs up, before shortcutting out.
You quickly rummage through the closet to find something appropriate to wear for the scenario, sliding a comfy jacket (reminiscent of the others') over your arms to keep yourself warm in the cold. ..Assuming it's cold, where you're going.
Crouching down, you pick up a backpack from the floor and contemplate what essentials you'll need before zipping it up and lightly jogging out of your room. Horror's there to greet you, leaning against one of the walls and observing as Killer and Dust argue over specifics of the mission. He's quick to notice your presence, reaching a large hand down to mess up your hair with a smile.
"surprised you're up so late. what'd he say to bribe ya into doin' this?" He raises a browbone, gesturing his head towards the two. You huff amusedly, gently pushing his hand off your head and holding it.
"He said I could take anything interesting, so I figured..why not? Hopefully we can do this quick." You close your eyes, focusing in on the sounds of your surroundings..listening for a faintly familiar voice..Catching it quickly, a good distance away.
Those imbeciles had better not..
Ah..he's close by. Sure enough, Nightmare turns a corner, silencing the two quickly with nothing more than a wave of his hand. His magical aura floods through the room, overwhelming..suffocating, even.
"Listen well. I am not going to repeat this again." He holds up a hand, making a beckoning gesture. You quickly join his side, standing beside him. He places his opposite hand on your shoulder as he speaks.
"This is meant to be quick, which means that I expect you three to not do anything stupid and get us caught. I am looking for specific enchanted items.. things that are valuable. Once I've found them, we'll go. In the meantime, I expect you all to keep watch and ensure things don't go south. As well as keep an eye on our newest member." He gives your shoulder a pat. "Are we clear?"
"crystal, sir-" Killer nods quickly, the other two following suit at a much slower pace. Horror scoffs, crossing his arms.
"Good." He huffs, twirling his finger into a circular pattern and opening up a large portal for the four of you to go through. "As for you..I expect you to be on your best behavior in here. Do not act foolish."
You nod quickly. "Yes sir."
"Good. Then let us hurry." He steps through, disappearing to the other side. You jump through next, the brief feeling of magic surrounding you bringing you to dizziness.. causing you to collapse the moment you reach the other side, holding your head.
"You'll need to adapt to that." He huffs, watching as the other three exit the portal. You quickly push yourself up, dusting the..dirt off your clothes, glancing around the forest you've found yourselves in. Okay..fitting location for an abandoned house. Yeah, you'll definitely want to get out of here quick..
"Let's go." Nightmare leads as usual, approaching the front doors and examining them. When he finds them locked, he turns to the closest window, summoning his tendrils from his back and using them to carefully pry it open. "You're up."
You nod, grabbing onto the windowsill and hoisting yourself up, pulling yourself into the home and landing with shaky steps.
"Can you hear anyone?" He asks, turning back as the others begin their approach.
You close your eyes again, taking a deep breath..and listening carefully to your surroundings.. You can't hear anything, coast's clear.
"No, all good." You give two thumbs up, before walking over to the doors and unlocking them from the inside.
"Splendid. Now then, let's split up." He quickly approaches the stairs, making his way up. You glance around a moment, contemplating which skeleton to go with, before deciding on Dust. You hadn't spoken to him much earlier, may as well do it now.
"Hey, Dust, I'm gonna go with you, is that okay?"
"fine by me." He gives your shoulder a light bump, leading the way down a long hall close to the two of you. Killer runs up the closest staircase, and Horror fades into the shadows..likely just choosing to go on a completely separate path.
"It's crazy dark in here.." You slide your bag off of one of your shoulders, unzipping it and taking out your flashlight, flicking it on and shining it around the hallway. Dust hums in acknowledgement and you take a moment to observe his eyelights, shining much more clearly now that the both of you are nearly shrouded in darkness. Two circles of red with mixtures of blue greet you, relaxed as they focus on your form. You simply give him a big smile, turning around to face forwards again.
From what you can tell, the house seems to be centuries old. The paintings on the walls depict various monsters you aren't familiar with, dressed in fancy attire of the age they lived in. Their expressions seem to be quite unhappy..you can see why Nightmare may have been associated with them at one point. Cobwebs are draped over the curtains, spiders easily making themselves at home in them. You're a little grateful Dust is closer to the window than you..you really wouldn't want to disturb them.
Dust occasionally tilts his head off to the side, lightly whispering as if someone were beside you both. You raise a brow in confusion, but decide not to mention it. Wouldn't want to upset him.
Your light drifts around the mostly empty hall, before stopping on a large, gaping hole in one of the walls. Crouching down, you wave a hand, motioning for Dust to look.
"..I could probably fit in here- I bet there's something hidden back there." You shine the light around, struggling to see clearly from where you're crouched.
"bet you 20g there's nothin'." He grins once you shine your light on him, and you give him a challenging smile In reply, crawling into the space.
"If I die, Horror gets my stuff." You crawl further in.
"why not me?" He leans his head in to watch you, making sure you don't hit yours.
"Just 'cause." You chuckle, continuing forwards until you reach the room that had been hidden away. Pushing yourself up off the dusty floor, you shine your light around the newly discovered room.
Various crates have been stacked in separate corners, an old fireplace resting unlit in the back of the room with various cracked photograph frames on it. There are a few old chairs in the room, and upon closer inspection you can spot some faint scratch marks along the arms. Eerie..
You take slow steps forwards, making sure to dodge any dangling cobwebs and heading to look towards the right side of the room. A chill runs down your spine as you stumble across an old mirror, silently waiting for a face that isn't yours to appear..but it never comes. It's still you, thank goodness.
The sound of something hard hitting the ground forcefully grasps your attention, luring you over to a bookshelf you hadn't paid much attention to upon entering. Crouching down, you shine your light over a book that had fallen, picking it up to read over the cover. It seems to be in a magical language..you can't quite make out the symbols. Maybe Nightmare would know? ..You decide to keep it, so you can take it back and ask him.
"Human.."
You immediately freeze, eyes widening. Hands clenching tightly around your light, and the book.
You don't know this voice.
A cold hand trails along your arm, up to your shoulder.
Don't look at it.
Don't look at it, not even a glance.
Maybe it'll go away.
It doesn't go away. And from what you can tell, it doesn't plan on it anytime soon. You feel someone sigh from behind you before ice cold, misty hands cover your eyes.
"Betrayed...Us..!"
You scream, but only for a brief moment..as everything goes dark.
A long period of time passes as Dust waits, leaning against the wall and listening for you. A figure silently approaches from the hall close by..Until he grabs their soul, dragging them over. Killer holds up his hands defensively, eyesockets slightly widened in surprise as Dust stares him down.
"woah, hey! okay, put me down. let's not do anything rash, dusty-" He grins sheepishly.
"i dunno..maybe i'll throw ya around a bit for fun." Dust deadpans, twirling his finger to spin Killer around.
"knock it off, would ya?" He huffs, before being unceremoniously tossed onto the ground. "where's the kid? don't tell me you lost 'em."
"in there." He gestures his head backwards. "they decided to go check it out. might find something of worth."
"oh, okay. you know how far back it goes?" He turns, looking into the darkness with narrowed eyesockets.
"not a clue. but i'm listenin' for 'em, just in case-"
Dust is quickly cut off by the sound of a scream, yours to be more precise. The two skeletons give each other a quick glance before hurrying in after you, wanting to make sure you're alright. Upon exiting the hole in the wall, they find you standing with your back to them in the center of the room, your face aimed towards the floor.
"hey, what happened?" Dust asks first, stepping out and letting Killer enter by himself.
You say nothing.
"why'd you scream like that? i know when you're messin' with us, and that didn't sound like it." Killer dusts himself off, flicking a spider off of his shoulder. "did ya get spooked, or?.."
You lift your head in response to his words, but remain silent otherwise.
"..you okay?" Dust raises a browbone skeptically, beginning to slowly approach. Killer places a hand on his shoulder, stopping him quick. He turns to him in confusion, before Killer gestures the shape of a heart with his hands, letting him put two and two together. Dust silently nods, an eyelight flickering with purple magic as he [CHECKS] you.
A long period of time passes as Dust waits, leaning against the wall and listening for you. A figure silently approaches from the hall close by..Until he grabs their soul, dragging them over. Killer holds up his hands defensively, eyesockets slightly widened in surprise as Dust stares him down.
"woah, hey! okay, put me down. let's not do anything rash, dusty-" He grins sheepishly.
"i dunno..maybe i'll throw ya around a bit for fun." Dust deadpans, twirling his finger to spin Killer around.
"knock it off, would ya?" He huffs, before being unceremoniously tossed onto the ground. "where's the kid? don't tell me you lost 'em."
"in there." He gestures his head backwards. "they decided to go check it out. might find something of worth."
"oh, okay. you know how far back it goes?" He turns, looking into the darkness with narrowed eyesockets.
"not a clue. but i'm listenin' for 'em, just in case-"
Dust is quickly cut off by the sound of a scream, yours to be more precise. The two skeletons give each other a quick glance before hurrying in after you, wanting to make sure you're alright. Upon exiting the hole in the wall, they find you standing with your back to them in the center of the room, your face aimed towards the floor.
"hey, what happened?" Dust asks first, stepping out and letting Killer enter by himself.
You say nothing.
"why'd you scream like that? i know when you're messin' with us, and that didn't sound like it." Killer dusts himself off, flicking a spider off of his shoulder. "did ya get spooked, or?.."
You lift your head in response to his words, but remain silent otherwise.
"..you okay?" Dust raises a browbone skeptically, beginning to slowly approach. Killer places a hand on his shoulder, stopping him quick. He turns to him in confusion, before Killer gestures the shape of a heart with his hands, letting him put two and two together. Dust silently nods, an eyelight flickering with purple magic as he [CHECKS] you.
..Well, that doesn't make any sense. You're clearly standing right there, aren't you?
Killer lets go of his shoulder, furrowing his browbones in contemplation. Dust simply shrugs it off, walking forwards so he can see your face. As soon as he goes to touch your shoulder, however, the face of a friend is not one that greets him.
With eyes glowing a bright shade of white, you raise a pocket knife you'd brought with you for safety, a smile on your face as you reach forwards to strike him. He's quick to act, surrounding your soul with blue magic and throwing you down to the floor.
"the hell do you think you're doin'?!" He shouts, turning back to Killer. "go get nightmare, somethin's wrong-"
Your body struggles, but soon begins pushing itself off the ground, agonizingly slow in its movements.
"what are you? you're not my friend, i know that for sure." He narrows his eyesockets as Killer shortcuts away, audibly heard sprinting down the hall outside.
A chuckle escapes your throat with varying pitches, a smile much too long for you stretched across your face. A chill goes down his spine at the sight, but he holds his ground..ready to defend himself if..whatever has you, decides to attack again.
"Nightmare..is here.."
Oh, great. Another poor soul Nightmare just HAD to screw over. Thanks for that.
"He...and all who follow him..must PERISH-"
With a hiss, the blue magic around your soul cracks, replaced with a strangely placed white fog as it returns to your chest. The entity is quick to charge at him again, puppeteering your body in abnormal ways to try and attack him again.
"if you can hear me, i'm sorry, kid- but i'm gonna have to make this hurt-" Dust's quick to dodge, blocking off a strike with a bone, pushing you back with it. "KILLER, get nightmare in here now!"
The entity falls back, quick to roll away from incoming bones forming in an attempt to cage you in, walking up one of the walls before jumping towards Dust once more.
He's quick to counter, browbones furrowed in frustration. How did this even happen? Surely he didn't leave you alone for that long, did he?
"...You were taken advantage of too, weren't you? Poor, unfortunate soul. Do not worry. I can free you from your horrendous fate." The entity makes you smile.
"yeah, i'm way too far gone, no thanks. now what you can do for me is let go of my friend, here-"
"Afraid I can't. Necessary.." The entity chuckles, before jumping up and aiming an overhead strike-
Only for the end of Horror's hatchet to knock them backwards, harshly.
"the hell happened while i was out?" He mutters, quickly yanking Dust off the ground by his hood.
"oh, y'know..vengeful ghost decided to show up..typical shit-" Dust deadpans, earning a scoff from Horror as the two toss bones down, now prioritizing trying to hold your body down until the others can arrive, all the while you're rushing around faster than the two can keep track of.
Your head perks up at the sound of movement nearby, tilting in confusion as a black mass wriggles and writhes its way through the opening in the wall, before taking on the shape of a skeleton.
"I gave you all CLEAR instructions..told you to watch them. And of COURSE, you FAILED to do even that!" The tentacles on Nightmare's back shift into sharp points, aimed at the other skeletons in the room as he stares them down, singular visible eyelight casting the room in a bright green glow.
Dust grimaces, before motioning his head towards your still-possessed body. "yeah, yeah, i know, i messed up, but we can argue about it after we get this ghost outta their body."
"The man of the hour.. I've been waiting for you to show your face around here." The entity raises your body off the ground, floating above the group.
"Ah, of course..couldn't stop bothering me even in death, could you? You needed my aid so dreadfully bad..And look where that got you." A grin stretches across Nightmare's face as he drinks in the anger filling the atmosphere, earning a glare from the spirit. "I am here for what I lent to you..I highly doubt you'll be needing it."
"You won't lay another finger on anything of mine, Nightmare!"
Nightmare turns his head to the three behind him, whispering to them.
"Keep them occupied while I set up what I need to. I'm sure you can do that, can't you?" He narrows his eyelight in warning. The three simply nod in reply.
"we can't use blasters, that'll cause too much bodily damage..they're still in there, y'know?" Killer thinks aloud, contemplating on what to do.
"then focus on defense until he gets his shit together." Horror pulls his hatchet back to himself.
"ah, fair enough-"
"Enough idle chatter! Nightmare, tonight you'll be joining me in death!" Your body charges forwards, slashing quickly.
Killer's quick to move in front of Nightmare, blocking off the attack with crossed bones. "nuh uh!" He knocks the entity back, sending you both flying towards Dust, earning another attempt at an attack. This begins a pattern of the two essentially playing ping-pong, knocking you from side to side.
Nightmare crouches along the ground, scratching magical symbols into the floor with his sharpened fingers, muttering words no one can clearly make out. As much as he would love to eradicate this spirit here and now, he currently has a hold on a dear friend of his.. so that's out of the question.
"You're all fools! Get away from him while you have the chance!" They charge towards Nightmare again, only for Horror to join the "game", knocking them back into the fireplace. He grimaces a bit at that, knowing that'll have side effects lately.
"we sold our souls ages ago, little late for that, buddy." He huffs, turning his head back. "night, are you done yet? takin' your sweet ass time."
"Patience would be appreciated." Nightmare huffs, continuing to make markings.
"patience ain't somethin' i can have when their life's on the line, here- how did you make 'em so mad?"
"They needed me for something. When I wanted something in return, they could not properly compensate me. And so I took something of theirs in return."
"..like?"
"The soul of a loved one."
"..that'd do it." Horror jolts when the spirit hoists you right back up, charging towards Killer and aiming an overhead strike. He's quick to dodge out of the way, getting a light scratch against one of his cheekbones.
With quick movements, Nightmare stands, holding out his arms.
"Stop fighting."
The three stop quickly, earning a confused sound from the spirit.
"If you wish to challenge me, spirit, then come and get me."
"..This human can hear your thoughts..you are scheming.." They narrow your eyes.
"Am I now?" He tilts his head. "Well, why don't you verify that for yourself?"
They pause for a moment, seeming to think things over in your head before abruptly charging at him, aiming to catch him off guard. Nightmare's quick to dodge, sliding out of the way as they fall right into the center of the circle, roughly holding your body down with a tendril and speaking a magical incantation. The three behind him put away their weapons as the spirit wriggles and writhes, shouting profanities at him and cursing his name.
"An idiot in death as you were in life. All that time and you couldn't even plan your revenge properly. How utterly tragic.." He chuckles, before focusing back on his spell.
"Justice will come to you, you BEAST-"
"Haven't heard that one before." He stomps against the ground, watching with a neutral expression as green magic forcefully tears the ghost from your body. Dust is quick to crouch down and catch you as you fall, keeping you close to himself as the white smoke begins to form into a ball.
With a calm hand, Nightmare grasps the ball..before shattering it in his grip, absorbing the energy from it.
"kid- hey, kid, wake up-" Dust shakes your shoulders lightly, earning an overly exaggerated gasp from you as you wake up, quickly looking around. He lets out a relieved sigh, messing up your hair. "hey. welcome back to life."
Your shoulders begin to lightly shake, before tears burst out of your eyes like waterfalls.
"DUUUDE, never let me go off on my own like that EVER AGAINNN- That was so SCARYYY-" You rub your eyes in an attempt to stop crying in front of the guys, but your emotions override your urge to look cool. "And my body hurts SO BADDD-"
"yeah, you're gonna be pretty tired after that.." Killer huffs, standing up. "night, did you find what you need or do you need us to stick around longer?"
"Take them home. I will handle the rest. Give them some monster candy for their injuries." He waves dismissively, exiting the room.
Horror's quick to pick you up, carrying you in a comfortable position in case you decide to fall asleep in his large arms. Dust grabs Killer's shoulder, then gently pokes Horror's, shortcutting the three of them back together. Your group lands in the living room of the castle, the air comfortably warm thanks to the lit fireplace. Horror sits you down on the couch, still a sniffling mess, motioning for the other two to sit with you as he exits the room.
"I'm never..ever agreeing to do something Killer suggests again." You huff, earning a snicker from Dust, and a scoff from Killer.
"had to realize sooner or later-" Dust earns a punch from Killer.
"hey, you were the one with them! you can't put that all on me!"
"yeah, yeah, that's true..i'm sorry. i should've paid more attention, i could've..prevented that." Dust glances off to the side, staring at a familiar transparent face glaring right back at him. You're quick to put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.
"..It's okay, Dust. I'm not mad at you. ..I should be more careful. I'm gonna be going on more missions with you guys from now on, and..I need to be more cautious. This uh...this was definitely a motivator.." You deadpan, staring at the fireplace like it insulted your bloodline.
Horror returns to the room, sitting down a bowl of candies in front of you.
"eat. it'll restore HP."
"Oh, that's okay, I'll-"
He narrows his eyesockets, a silent warning. You nod in response, unwrapping one of the candies and plopping it into your mouth. Well, at least it's your favorite flavor..You melt at the sensation, leaning back into your seat.
Dust huffs at the sight, thinking back to the scenario from moments ago. ..He..really hopes this isn't going to be a repeating thing. His eyelights drift to your form, barely able to stay awake. Poor thing, ghostly possession must've taken everything out of you..not to mention, their attacks. He grimaces at the thought of how you'll be affected in the morning.
But, at least, they can take care of you for now.
Killer pulls a blanket over you, lightly messing with you for being so tired, before letting you sleep against his shoulder. Horror shakes his head, putting a hand on Dust's shoulder.
"..don't blame yourself."
He gets up, walking out of the room. Dust tilts his head at that, confused. ..He's..not usually kind to him, so he'll accept this for now.
A light thud snaps him out of his daze, luring his gaze to a book that had fallen out of your hand. Huh..seems you managed to keep something after all.