Saving The World In Spite of Ourselves

[Midian]

"He's a cat now," Dante said flatly. "He's turned into a motherfucking cat. I can't believe it."

Dante stared down at the cat, expressionless.
"A motherfucking cat," he repeated and began walking in the direction of the haunted house. Nadia dug around in her coat and pulled her scarf out, making a sling across her chest and putting cat-Trevean into it. She buttoned her coat up so that only his head stuck out and smiled down at him.
"Aren't you cute!"
"Thank you for carrying him, Nadia," Shola said, a hint of true gratefulness in her voice. At least she didn't have to.

 

[Kura]

Lilith watched in amazement, not because Trevean was changing form again-- that she was used to. But the fact that he had changed into a cat was what intrigued her. Her actions seemed to be beyond control as she stepped towards him, but Nadia swooped him into her arms before Lilith could get close enough. In an attempt to get the smell of feline off of her mind, she turned to Shola and followed close behind Nadia as the group walked.

"So, now that we've made a proper scene at that carnival, how are we supposed to get back in and get to the haunted house?"

 

[Falcon]

Well, Trevean mused as he was swept up into Nadia's arms and buttoned inside her coat, at least somebody likes me. He had a feeling that the brief flash of relief Shola had shown had not been because he'd be alright, but because she no longer had to deal with him. He was also sorely tempted to ask Dante if he'd ever had the misfortune of finding a hairball in his shoe, but kept his mouth shut. There was no point in intentionally making a bad situation worse.

"Hey, Nadia," He whispered up at the girl tipping his feline head back so he was staring at the underside of her chin, "I get the feeling that neither Dante or Shola like me much. If I've behaved badly I'd like to apologize." Lilith didn't seem like she disliked him either, so he stood a good chance of being on good terms with her as well, she did however seem distracted. He sincerely hoped the encounter with Dante hadn't shaken her up too badly. Or at least that it hadn't shaken her as much as it had shaken him. For a moment, as Dante had moved, Ttrevean had seen not him, but Bois. Bois had not been known for his good temper, and well, those were memories Trevean preferred to forget. If Dante ever proved to have the same tendencies as Trevean's old boss -

Still, better to keep his mind on the positive - like with Nadia carrying him Trevean was free to rest his leg. "Thank you." he told the girl.

 

[Midian]

Nadia couldn't resist scratching him under the chin (having never seen the fantastic before, it was hard to reconcile Trevean with his new form) and whispered back:
"I don't think Mr. Dante likes much of anyone... I guess maybe you can't see it but he's got these black marks all over him sometimes, like someone's hurt him real bad. Everyone's got some... But Mr. Dante's got 'em all over. Miss Shola has 'em too, got a real bad one over her heart... I think maybe that's why she's always cross with you. Well, that and you tease her."

Nadia giggled.
"I don't think you've done anything, anyway. Shola and Dante are both kinda grumpy," she murmured. As they reached the perimeter of the fair Shola cracked her wrist and summoned up a thick grey fog that coated the entire fair.
"We need to move quickly, I can't hold this for long. It should give us cover to move without being spotted too much."

As they quickly wove through the fair Dante took the lead, showing them the way to the towering haunted house. It looked like something out of a dime novel, all grey and badly overwrought and complete with grinning gargoyles. Dante rolled his eyes and dragged resentfully up the steps, kicking at the grey door overlaid in intricately-curled wrought iron made to imitate a collected of skulls. The door was surprisingly heavy and he jumped back, swearing. Shola stepped up and tried to push the door, but found it blocked by something on the other side. Suddenly whatever was there was dragged away and the door popped open slightly. Shola slowly pulled it open and stared down at the streak of blood trailing to the air grate on the floor.
"It's certainly realistic," she managed and led them inside. The door closed silently behind them and they found themselves in a wide foyer with scattered, cloth-draped furniture. Nadia shuddered and hugged Trevean closer to her chest. Dante had wandered over to the fireplace and squatted down, sifting through the ashes with a knife.
"There are teeth in here. Human teeth."
"M-maybe they're kids teeth?" Nadia asked and Dante shook his head.
"Nah, these are adult's. Real too."
"We need to be careful," Shola said softly. "Looks like there's a hallway on the left and stairs. I don't want us to split up here, so let's start upstairs and work our way down."

The stairs creaked loudly at every turn and as they made it up onto the little balcony that jutted out from the rooms it tilted suddenly, sending them all crashing to the railing. Over the speaker system a gruesome, corny laugh could be heard as the chandelier blinked. Shola pressed her hand to her heart.
"It was... Just part of the house," she said shakily.

 

[Kura]

After stepping into the haunted house, Lilith immediately regretted pointing it out to Dante earlier. She looked around, sniffing the air and wrinkling her nose at the rancid meat smell that filled the room. Looking around at the others, she seemed to be the only one to notice as she was sure that Dante would have said something about it by now if he had noticed it too. She followed the smell and walked along the trail of blood until she reached the air vent and tapped it gently with her foot.

"There's something very, very wrong here."

Taking a bit more time than she probably should have inspecting the area around the vent, Lilith quickly tailed the group up the stairs behind Dante. She stared up at him, thinking to herself and wondering why he couldn't just keep his mouth shut. He was right, though, he had been looking out for her since they had met. He could have left her to tend to her own broken ankle in an unknown world, but here they were now. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the loud laugh and blinking chandelier that frightened the rest of the group. Once they started moving again, she spoke in a hushed voice that she knew Dante would be able to hear.

"I'm sorry, Dante. I won't hit you anymore. I promise."

 

[Falcon]

A mark across her heart? well that would explain some things, Trevean mused. He was glad Nadia had told him. Not that he wanted anything to pain Shola, but now that he knew he could . . . Do what? What was it he wanted . . .
Trevean cleared the thought from his head. Focusing on what ifs and could bes would get them nowhere just now. He needed to pay attention to what was happening around him.

Unfortunately for Trevean taking on an animal's form granted him that animal's senses as well. That meant that the scent in the air was detectable to him as well. "It smells foul in here," He muttered, but as he was being carried by Nadia there wasn't much more he could do than voice the opinion, but he was pleased to see that Lilith at least appeared to have heard him as she did take some time to check the vent.

Long before they even reached the stairs and tilting balcony every hair on his feline body had puffed out. There was something wrong with this place, something very wrong. Perhaps it was his years of living on the darker side of things, or maybe as a nack he was simply more in tune with the "vibe" of the world around him, but there was something unnatural in the feel of the building. An undertone that seemed to throb in him. Something dark, like something was waiting.

It was as if a tiny knot of apprehension had settled right between his shoulder blades and was slowly growing larger. Every fiber of his being, feline, human, Nack or otherwise was screaming at him to get out of there and drag the others with him, by force if necessary. But he hadn't been lying when he had said he had strength for only one more transformation. He was stuck as a cat for the time being, the next 24 hours at least, unless he forced himself -

When the balcony tilted it was everything he could do not to sink his claws into Nadia for stability. "I don't like this place," he said forcing calm into his voice. "We need to leave . . ." he winced as Shola shook the balcony's movement off as part of the house's tricks. Trevean looked up at Nadia, he didn't want to frighten the girl any worse, but he had to make the point. "Shola!" he snapped, "when we were walking down the stalls you told me to tug your hand if there was something we should avoid. Well I'm tugging now. If I could I'd throw you over my shoulder and march the lot of us out of this place. There is something very, VERY wrong here!"

 

[Midian]

"I'm sorry, Dante. I won't hit you anymore. I promise."
Dante glanced over his shoulder at her, face impassive.
"What difference does it make?" he replied and shook his head at Trevean's vote to run. He wanted to as well, but unfortunately...

"Then we're in the right place," Shola replied and began trying the doors. The first opened to a blank wall and Shola made an annoyed noise, moving into the second. It creaked open reluctantly and revealed a rather plain bedroom whose best feature was a relatively well-kept four-poster bed in mahogany. A chair was turned to face the far corner of the room and the carpet was upturned where it had been scooted along. She stared at it for a long moment and suddenly it shot across the room, slamming against the desk it had been intended for. Shola screamed and jumped out the room.
"It's probably on a track," Dante said, but went in anyway and touched the carpet, running his fingers across the thick shag.
"Or not..."

And he joined Shola in the doorway. Shola collected herself and took a deep breath.
"I think we can all feel that something is terribly wrong here, but that means we are where we need to be. Let's keep looking around," she said and continued on to the next door. As Lilith passed the bedroom she saw that the chair was in its original position in the corner again. A drawer had popped loose on the desk where the chair had slammed into it and was now partially open. From ahead Lilith heard Nadia cry:
"Is that HAIR in the doorjamb?! Oh my God IT IS. Oh, ew, ew, ew..."

 

[Kura]

Despite better judgement, Lilith decided to walk back into the chair room. Keeping a wary eye on the chair to ensure her own safety, Lilith quickly glanced into the open drawer to find a single key lying among the dust. She took one last glance at the chair beside her before reaching in and quickly grabbing the key and turning on her heel to walk out. What she did not notice was the set of footsteps following hers in the shag carpet.

"Shola, look. I found this." She pushed past Dante and reached out her hand to show Shola the key. It was obviously old and somewhat rusted, but still seemed to be in working order. Without giving Shola ample time to inspect the key, Lilith snatched it back and walked forward, anxious to find the locked door. The first couple of doors had remained unlocked, their rooms containing little more than random pieces of broken furniture or obvious scares set up by the builders of the haunted house. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, they came upon the last door-- the one at the very end of the hallway. Lilith pressed her ear to the door, listening for anything that may be moving around inside. To her surprise, she did hear a soft shuffling sound that seemed to be just inside the door.

"Th-there's something in there.." She reached down to touch the doorknob and an intense, sharp pain shot up through her hand and wrist. Lilith gasped and dropped the key from her other hand and grabbed her wrist. "OW!" The skin on her palm was burned, small bits charred and still emitting a soft sizzling sound. She turned and looked desperately at Shola, eyes widened in fear.

 

[Midian]

Shola quickly summoned a cool ball of water that enveloped Lilith's hand for a minute to ease the pain and leaned to the door to listen. Someone seemed to be pacing, dragging their feet as they did so. Shola counted ten steps in each direction.
"It doesn't sound like it's artificial noise," she murmured and touched the knob with her fingertips, hissing at the heat.
"Uh-um... Um..."

Nadia was trembling where she stood, one of her braids raised high in the air by nothing. Suddenly it yanked her back and she fell flat, screaming in surprise and fear. Loud, hurried footsteps could be heard running across the floor and the trick balcony was activated again. At last the door to the bedroom slammed shut and the chair instead could be heard squeaking and slamming. Dante helped Nadia up and she adjusted Trevean in her scarf, hugging him tightly with one arm and smoothing her braid with the other.
"Do we have to go in there?" she whimpered and Shola nodded.
"We do, but you'll be kept safe. Don't worry Nadia," she replied soothingly and Nadia huddled closer to Lilith. A thin trickle of smoke had started to pour from under the door and the pacing became increasingly frenzied.
"Be prepared for fire," Shola said and Dante pulled Nadia to the back of the group.

 

[Falcon]

Trevean couldn't help but let out a yowl as Nadia was yanked backwards her arms squeezing him as she fell his injured leg pinched against her body.
He could feel her arms trembling when Dante pulled her up. Her shaking wasn't doing anything to help his nerves. Still, he had to remain calm. Fear fed fear or so the saying went.

When Dante pulled Nadia to the back of the group Trevean shifted around in her hold so that he was peering over he shoulder. Someone had to watch their backs. besides, he had heard somewhere that some cultures revered cats as guardians of the underworld, that they believed the animal kept spirits from escaping to bother the living. If this place truly were haunted perhaps there was some truth to the legends and his current form might be of use after all.

Goddess, but he really didn't like this place!

 

[Midian]

She yanked the door and immediately shielded her face, but the only thing that emerged from the room was a weak belch of acrid smoke. Inside footsteps could be heard running on the hardwood floor and a piece of furniture scraping as though someone had hidden behind it. When the smoke cleared they were faced with a mannequin whose arms had been replaced with legs. Carefully Shola and Dante made their way into the room, wordlessly splitting up to investigate while Shola waved Lilith back to stand with Nadia. When they reached the back of the room there was a deafening shriek and the mannequin fell to pieces. Dante jumped and whirled around, a knife already between his fingers.
"Fucking hell," he muttered, kicking one of the legs aside. Shola looked sick and shuddered, but then the charred cabinet in the corner of the room caught her eye. Although burnt, the lock remained perfectly shiny and new.
"Lilith, try the key on that lock," Shola said, pointing at it. As Lilith fiddled with the slightly-warped lock Nadia shuffled up to Shola.
"Um... Shola, I hate to ask, but... my neck's startin to hurt kinda bad from carryin a cat around on it. Could... could you do it for a little?" she asked and Shola nodded.
"Yes, give him here."

Nadia sat him on a dresser while Shola tied remade the scarf into a sling around her neck. More carefully than he might have anticipated she picked him up and tucked him into the scarf. He could feel how tightly she had bound her breasts down and hear, strangely loud, the beating of her heart. Absently she crossed her arms under his bottom to support him and looked over at Lilith.
"What's in the cabinet?"

 

[Kura]

The key fit into the shiny new lock easily. Lilith purposely moved slowly because, quite frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was inside. Obviously there was something inhabiting this place that they couldn't see, and she suddenly found herself wishing she had just stayed on the ferris wheel like Dante had told her to. She pulled the lock off of the door and stared at it for a moment before Shola interrupted her.

"What's in the cabinet?"

Wincing, Lilith slowly opened the doors to the cabinet. A cold breeze flew over her face and rustled her hair causing her to shiver as she opened one eye. There in the cabinet she saw sewing needles strung all over the shelves. Sitting in the very back among the needles sat a small mannequin. She poked it gently, then picked up one the the needles to turn and show Shola. "A little dummy-thing. And these are scattered all around in there. I don't know what-"

Her sentence was cut short. Suddenly a loud scream came from what sounded like the cupboard itself as it rumbled then fell. Lilith managed to jump back out of harms way just in time, then turned to Shola breathless and wide-eyed.

 

[Midian]

"How strange," Shola replied, peering down into the cabinet. "Nadia, where did you--"

The Haunted House of Horror is closing for the evening! Thank you for your patronage!

The mechanical voice was female and eerily cheerful with an edge of sweetened malice. Shola made an inarticulate noise of surprise and dove for the window, but the mechanized shutters slammed shut.

"Break the glass!" Dante called, but as Shola grabbed a candlestick to do it a great mass of blackness sprouted from the frame until it appeared that the entire window was covered in long, dull black hair that waved gently over the carpeting. Shola gagged and backed away, dropping the candlestick.

"It-- It's... It's HAIR!" Nadia cried, covering her mouth and shuddering.
"I don't think we're getting out of here until the sun comes up and dispels this," Shola said faintly, sitting in a creaky chair nearby. Absently she pressed her hand against Trevean's side. As quietly as he'd left Dante returned to the room, clearing his throat.
"Door's the same way."
"We'll have to make the best of it tonight, sleep in shifts. But first I think we need to check out the downstairs hallway," Shola said and as they piled out there was a deafening crash that shook the floor. When they made it to the hallway they found that the trick balcony had given way, crashing down to destroy most of the staircase and cover the floor below with rubble and upright cables that looked capable of skewering a person.
"Huh," was all Dante said, shaking his head. "Ain't that a bitch."

"I don't see another way down," Shola said. "I suppose we'll have to wait until they open everything in the morning and find us. I don't want anyone trying to get over the railing. In the meantime let's see if the water runs and find a place for us to sleep."

 

[Kura]

In one last act of desperation, Lilith looked down over the ruins of the balcony and grunted as Shola's observation proved to be true. "You can't be serious, Shola. How are any of us going to be able to sleep in here? For all we know that invisible whatever-it-is is watching us now. If it can push chairs, don't you think it could harm us if it really wanted to?" She hugged herself as she walked past Dante and down the hall, peering back into the room with the fallen cupboard and then into the part of the hallway that had yet to be explored.

"Should we go through and make sure everything is clear up here before we settle for the night?"

 

[Midian]

"Yes, let's hope we find a bathroom," Shola replied and began making her way down the little side hallway, trying doors. Most of them seemed to be false doors, but one opened into a cramped little bathroom and another opened into a blue bedroom. The spare, iron-framed bed was shoved oddly into a corner and the mirror was cracked. The folding closet doors were half-ajar.
"So it's this or the other one. Great," Dante muttered, shaking his head.
"Looks like it," Nadia said miserably. From the bathroom they heard Shola testing the sink and shower, finding them working.
"They both work," she reported. "Does anyone need to shower?"
"Uh-uh," Nadia replied. "But I am real sleepy. When's my shift gonna be?"

Shola nodded and patted her head soothingly.
"Go on to sleep, we'll figure it out later," Shola replied. Nadia kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket on the bedpost, taking Trevean from the sling and carrying him to bed with her. Nadia cuddled him against her chest and scratched his ears, at that moment sorely missing sleeping at home with the barn cats.
"Nadia, darling... You do know that IS still Trevean, right? Trevean, the man?"
"Uh-hm," she mumbled, already falling asleep. Shola sighed.
"Dante, I need you and Lilith to take first watch if you two can manage not to kill each other," she said and Dante shrugged.
"Sure," he replied and left the room, wandering aimlessly down the hallway. His steps were heavy and slow and his hands were shoved in his pockets.

Meanwhile Shola went into the next-door bathroom and Trevean could hear her washing off in the sink. A few minutes later she returned with her hair down and the bindings for her breasts and hair in her hand. Her shirt was suddenly quite a bit tighter and she uncomfortably tugged on it a bit before climbing into bed after putting the bindings on the little dresser. She rolled onto her back and put her arms behind her head, sighing.
"Goddesses... what can I do?" she whispered.

 

[Falcon]

Trevean didn't bother to complain when Nadia handed him over to Shola. He didn't make any snarky comments either. Truth was his heart was beating easily as fast as he could hear Shola's was, and he knew for a fact that neither racing pulse had anything to do with their proximity to each other but rather that both were far more frightened then they cared to let on. Strangely though, as Shola cradled him against her chest, Trevean began to calm. it was almost as if now that he knew for sure that she was as bothered by this place as he was, he had to grow a backbone and support her decision to stay. Somehow.

The screaming cupboard didn't help things, or the mechanical voice and the barred windows, and neither did the mass of black hair that suddenly seemed to guard the widow, or the rotten stench that came with it. The only good thing that came from the chaos was Shola's unconsciously reaching for him, as if she wanted to be sure he was still there. And then the balcony gave way forcing Trevean to hold back both a curse and an "I told you so." Goddess if only they'd gotten out of this place when they had the chance. He was even less happy that Shola seemed to think their best option was to wait the night out.

Nadia's cuddles were a surprise. Trevean very wisely did not object, or try the remark that there was another present whose hand he would prefer. He could tell the girl was tired, that she wasn't really thinking straight, as Shola's gentle reminder of who he was went ignored, and he was entirely shocked that as frightened as she seemed to be she could even fall asleep in this place at all. However, fall asleep Nadia did, and the moment her grip on him loosened he moved to a far more comfortable position on the pillow. Within reach if anyone needed him, but much further away from any, questionable, territory should Nadia regain her senses enough to decide to be proper. He was also in the perfect position to watch Shola as she reentered from her washing up, and Trevean had to admit that he truly did like her better this way. She looked far more like a woman he could get along with when her hair was down, compared to the unshakable ridged soldier she usually was. When she too lay down on the bed he had to question their sanity. Were they truly going to try to sleep in a place like this? A place he was beginning to think was alive?

Still, that didn't stop him from shifting around on the pillow and, hesitantly, placing his head on her shoulder where he could talk without running the risk of being overheard. He was positive the only reason the balcony had crashed was because someone had mentioned the front door.

"Goddesses... what can I do?" she whispered.
To which Trevean simply replied, "the best you can, the best any of us can." He paused wondering if he dared voice his next thought, and decided he had better anyway. "what do you think Piper, Blaze and the others will do when we don't return to the hotel on time? will they wait until morning? I know we don't have much choice but by then I might be able to manage enough of a shift to get everyone down to the first floor and from there . . . well worst case scenario I can slip under the door and see if there's a way to shut this place down from the outside. I-" he paused but decided he might as well continue, "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone in here. We both know what happens if I die, but nobody ever mentions what occurs should the opposite happen. I prefer not to find out. Besides-" here he gave her a grin she probably couldn't see on his feline face, "I like teasing you too much to run the risk of loosing you now."

 

[Kura]

Seeing as how Shola had decided that the group would surely be staying in the house overnight, Lilith decided to keep the lingering thoughts about how insane they must be to stay here to herself for the time being. She was happy to be put on first guard duty since she was nowhere ready to sleep, but not so happy that Dante had been put on guard with her. Once she was sure that the other half of the group was settled for the time being, she wandered off down the hall behind Dante, who had made his way back into the first room. As she walked by the fallen cupboard, she noticed that mannequin was no longer pinned underneath but now sat up against it. It's completely blank face seemed to be staring at her, and she could have sworn the head turned as she walked. Continuing to glance over her shoulder, she spoke softly to Dante.

"Dante. I need to shower. Would you mind just standing watch by the door? It won't take long." While waiting for his answer Lilith noticed a sudden pressure on her foot that she instinctively tried to shake off. When it wouldn't budge she looked down and let out a small gasp. The doll was now sitting on top of her foot with its arms wrapped around her ankle, it's limp head hanging backward and causing it's creepy little blank face to stare up at her once more. With a violent kick that sent her accidentally flying into Dante, the doll flew across the room and hit wall before finding a new resting place on the floor. Lilith managed to speak between gasping, shaky breaths.

"We.. should close the door.. behind us.."

 

[Midian]

Shola turned her head a little to look at him in the dimness.
"Truly you do take joy in teasing me. I suppose some of that is my fault," she replied and yawned. "As for the others... I hope they will wait to look for us until morning. I'm sure they will know to regroup at the hotel. I do not like leaving them unattended, even in the care of Lucas, and I less like us being here. However... For the night, at least, we are stuck. I wish we had explored downstairs first... But... How can I make good decisions all.. the time, even if I have to...? It's the weight of the world, Trev..."

Her voice grew progressively groggier as she drifted off into exhaustion-induced sleep. Her breath grew deep and slow and after a time her head lolled on the pillow so that her lips brushed his nose. Next to her Nadia murmured and shifted restlessly and in her sleep Shola slid a hand across the bed, touching the girl.
"S'okay... 'Milah... Go to sleeeeep," Shola muttered and Nadia seemed to still. They slept undisturbed until there came a crash from the bathroom.
----------------------------------------
Dante flinched and pushed her off of him, shuddering.
"Sure."

He shut the door and followed her to the bathroom, leaning on the wall outside and crossing his arms. As Lilith got under the (unfortunately ice cold) spray she could still hear him restlessly shifting outside. After a minute she could hear him speaking in agitated tones and with the water off his voice became clearer.

"No, no you-- You don't fucking own me anymore! Fuck you!"
"Aufhalten!" a cold female voice yelled and she heard Dante give an inarticulate cry of rage. There seemed to be a scuffle outside and suddenly Dante slammed against the bathroom door. The hinges gave and when Lilith opened the curtain she found him lying in a bed of door splinters, his lip busted and nose broken. He choked on the blood he'd accidentally aspirated and rolled onto his side, coughing and choking with his legs drawn up in a defensive position.

 

[Kura]

"Dante?"

Without hesitation Lilith ripped the shower curtain from its rings and wrapped it around herself as a makeshift toga. Unsure of how to proceed with Dante's history of being jumpy, she slowly stepped out of the tub and knelt about two feet away while taking special care not to touch him. She was sure that she had heard another voice outside the door, and though Dante was a little unstable, she wasn't entirely sure that he would inflict those wounds upon himself. Not unless something triggered him to, anyway. She glanced outside the door, but nothing seemed to be there.

"Dante, who were you talking to?"

 

[Midian]

"Nobody," he snapped, crawling away from her through the splinters. When he'd gotten over the threshold he began trying to pick them out, his fingers growing increasingly desperate and haphazard. He glanced back up at Lilith as though he expected her to attack him, blood still streaming down his chin.
"Nobody," he repeated, "Nobody."