Haunted House GP

[londoncallingmods]

 The house doesn't exist, that's the first thing anyone who might find themselves inside it would want to know. Now, you might ask how one could find themselves inside something that doesn't exist, but you'd honestly be better off asking yourself how you could leave something that doesn't exist. After all, ideas and concepts can't be burnt or broken, and you can't breakdown a door that's not there- Or was there and then decided to be somewhere else for a while...

 

You wake in a house though, a house that doesn't exist. A house that defies the laws of reality. There are corridors that go on for days, rooms full of nightmares, and millions of doors that lead you anywhere but out. Trapped inside with you are dozens of other people, all searching for an exit, or an explanation.

 

Behind every door you'll find your darkest fears, maybe even memories you've tried to forget, or secrets you never wanted to share... 

 

(OTA! Here is your first of two Halloween gps! This one is, of course, set in the haunted house where your pup can run into anything you can dream up! Deadly traps! Spooky monsters! An existential crises! Top level your pups waking up or running into danger, and then go ahead and tag other players! Since this is all magic-y and spooky don't worry too much about time lines and who bumped into who first. Only rule is that your pup can't escape until November 1st! Have fun! Also, because there are two GPs going up this week, both are open to new top levels for two whole weeks! And, of course, you can keep tagging long after that if you want. :D I'll post reminders daily on slack.)

Comments

[offthebeatenpath]

"I don't know. But we're not safe here." Em was sure of that much. How and when the danger would come, she couldn't see. She shook her head, trying to clear it, to focus on the present, but it was hard, when she could see Cortez lurking around a corner, when Stryfe and Miranda were out there... somewhere. "There are people, mutants, and they're dangerous."

[jageskro]

"So they're stopping me from controlling the fire?" Jag asked, the only thing that made sense. "Let's get out of here," he added almost immediately, and reached for her hand to draw her along.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em felt clearer, more focused, the feel of his hand around hers helping keep her grounded in the now. It didn't do much for her fear, though. If only she had pictures, she could show him who to look out for. They did need to get out of there, but Jag had to understand first. "They might be. Depends on who. There's a blond guy, Cortez, whatever happens, don't let him touch you." Or me. "He cranks powers up to eleven, and you can't control it. It would be bad."

[jageskro]

"Stay away from blond guys, got it," Jag replied, still stalking down the hallway. He frowned when the turn in it only led to more hallway. "Are we in a fucking hotel?" It was the first explanation that sprang to mind to explain the length of the hallways, and the number of rooms.

[offthebeatenpath]

"A maze," Em said, realization coming with the words. "If it's real and not all in our heads."

They passed a door with a symbol carved in its surface, and Em paused. "A star to light the way. We should try here."

[jageskro]

"Sure," Jag said, and went first, opening the door onto a pitch black room. Even the light from the hallway seemed to stop on its threshold. "Yeah, we could use a star to light our way."

[offthebeatenpath]

A soft white light from the eight-point star Em projected cut through the darkness, illuminating the sitting room of a smallish flat. A tarot spread was lain out on an ottoman, with a nest of blankets tumbled in the big-enough-for-two-if-they're-cozy chair beside it. The aroma of a simmering pot of jambalaya carried from the kitchen. Em's throat tightened as she stepped into the room, and she had to blink against the stinging of her eyes.

Before she could say anything, Cortez came into the room through another door. "Too late little seer. You should have come with us when you had the chance."

[jageskro]

Jag was guessing this was the blond dickhead he was supposed to stay away from, and he caught Em's hand and tugged her back towards the hallway. "C'mon, Emma," he murmured, all the more urgently that he could feel fire close by, could feel it but again, not get a good grip on it, just like in that first room in which he'd found himself.

[offthebeatenpath]

But Em heard the crackle of fire, saw the play of shadows hinting at flame light in the next room, and her fear of Cortez and warnings to Jag were forgotten. She jerked free of Jag's grasp and ran into the flat.

Fabian laughed and lunged, his hand reaching out for her. "Oh, you want another dose?"

Habit or instinct, something drew Em's gaze to the cards on the ottoman, and the color began to fade from eyes that were fear-wide and hate-hard.

[jageskro]

Jag didn't think about it; he didn't have time to. That arsehole, whoever he was, was reaching for Emma, and he couldn't do anything with fire, so he lunged forward, straight for the bloke, and barrelled into him, tumbling them both back, and away from Emma.

[offthebeatenpath]

"No!" ripped from Em's chest as she rushed forward to get Fabian away from Jag before he could use his powers. She barely noticed as her sweater and jeans were replaced with a white gown, black wings spreading out from her back, a scythe in her hand.

After the demon fight in Bulgaria, Em had picked up a scythe a couple of times, just to get the feel for it, even though she'd hoped never to project one again. Then she'd gotten good enough at her projections she didn't have to be as familiar with the mechanics of what they were doing. But this time was different. She wasn't puppeting a separate projection; she was part of it. The muscle memory must have been enough, though.

The scythe arced through the air, its blade slicing bloodlessly through Fabian - and missing Jag, thank heavens - tugging at something inside before pulling free. Em stumbled at the rush of Cortez's life being dragged from him, the scythe blade dropping to the floor, the handle propping her up.

[jageskro]

Jag was scuffling with the bloke one second, and suddenly felt his hand around his throat, but before he could try to do anything about it, the bastard collapsed on top of him. It took Jag a couple of seconds to get over his surprise and look over at Emma, and then his eyes widened in shock. "Shit."

[offthebeatenpath]

Em was shaking, that awareness only slowly followed by reminding herself to breathe. She sat on the arm of the chair. It was closest, and her legs felt like they might collapse out from under her. She looked at the scythe in her grip, then at Jag, her eyes still white. "He deserved it," she whispered. "I couldn't let him hurt you."

[jageskro]

Her words made Jag look back at the bloke on top of him. The lifeless bloke on top of him, it only then dawned on him. His eyes were open but unseeing, and Jag was fairly certain he wouldn't find a pulse if he tried looking for one.

He pushed the body off of himself, then got to his feet and slowly stepped closer to Em. The fire was still burning next door, but it was probably best he didn't bring her attention to it just yet. And, he found with some surprise, he seemed to be back in shape, since he managed to put out the flames in just a few seconds, as he walked over to Emma.

"It's all right, bab," he told her, reaching a hand out to her. "He's gone now. You've saved me." He would really feel better once the scythe was gone. What the fuck was going on?

[offthebeatenpath]

She jerked back. "Don't. I don't know if..." It wasn't Cortez; he hadn't touched her this time. Somehow she'd done it herself. But she didn't know how, and she wasn't sure what would happen if she touched someone.

Em took a deep breath, then a shaky exhale as she let go of her projection - the wings and scythe fading as green returned to her eyes and she became herself again. "Are you all right?"

[jageskro]

"Better than," Jag assured her, and now reached out to take her hand. It ought to be safe, now that she was back to her usual self. "How are you?"

[offthebeatenpath]

Em held on maybe tighter than she should have, and she couldn't meet Jag's eyes. "I... I've never killed a person that way before." He deserved it. And the Cortez in her world had already been killed, in Genosha.

[jageskro]

"I'm still not sure you have," Jag told her softly. However she had actually done it; he wasn't sure asking her about it right now was a good move. "All of this can't be real, can it?"

[offthebeatenpath]

The tarot had shown her Stryfe, and these kinds of mind games would be just its style. But it felt real, and she wasn't sure they could treat it as though it wasn't. Something was obviously going on. But it wasn't all real either.

She picked at the upholstery trim with her free hand, memories coming back, and... "The fire, is it... What happened?"

[jageskro]

"I put it out, I can manipulate it again," Jag explained, relieved beyond words for that turn of events. He felt more like himself, now.

[offthebeatenpath]

"Then he isn't here," Em said softly, relief mixed with sadness. If Pyro were here, she didn't know if Jag would have been able to 'take' his fire, but either way, Pyro wouldn't have sat still or quiet about it. The alternative, that he'd been here and burned out as a result of Cortez's powers, she couldn't let herself consider.

But Jag being able to control fire again was a good thing, and she looked up at him finally, tears threatening in the corners of her eyes. "I told you to stay away from Cortez. You could've-" her breath caught in her throat, and she shoved at Jag's shoulder. "Don't scare me like that."

[jageskro]

"He was going to grab you!" Jag protested, letting her shove push him back a little, then straightening. "It's not like you left me much choice."

[offthebeatenpath]

She shuddered, remembering those weeks of Sabine in a fugue state because of Cortez, and the stories she'd heard of what he did to Nina, and the realization of what he could have done to her. But if he'd touched Jag...

"If it happens again," because who knew with this place, it might. "Tackle me, not Cortez. Promise me." As much as she feared the madness that probably lay in her future, and that Cortez could trigger with a touch, she feared Jag's fire burning out of control, especially if he had to live with what it did to her just as much.

[jageskro]

"If I'd tackled you, he could've grabbed both of us," Jag pointed out. "I'm not promising anything." Especially not if she wasn't going to promise to run the other way with him.

[offthebeatenpath]

Stubborn fucking... jerk. She should've known. "I thought... I thought he'd gotten to Pyro, I couldn't handle it if he got you too." She wanted to add that her powers out of control wouldn't kill Jag the way his could her, but with what she'd just done to Cortez - she glanced at the body lying nearby - she couldn't say that, could she?

"Can we go? I can't look at him, in my home like this."