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

[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."

[jageskro]

Her home. This made a lot of sense, now. "Let's go," Jag agreed, standing up and keeping her hand in his as they walked out of the room. "And let's not trust stars anymore, all right?"

[offthebeatenpath]

Em gave his hand a gentle squeeze as they left, and she bit her lip to keep from looking back before she closed the door behind them. "If you have a better idea, I'm listening." It wasn't a challenge, though, the way it might have been from someone else. The cards weren't giving her the guidance she needed for them to get out safely, and she didn't know what else to do.

[jageskro]

"I don't have anything, no, but your star guided us straight to him," Jag pointed out with a grimace.

[offthebeatenpath]

"The Star does not promise immediate success," she recited, "But a light in the darkness for a better future. And I knew he'd find me. Now that part's done. So maybe it was better to get it over with."

[jageskro]

"You're the fortune teller," Jag stated with a shrug. He was just the bloke who didn't feel like they'd found much of a guiding light at all.

Though he was glad to have his fire back.

[offthebeatenpath]

"I'm the Fool, wandering in the unknown." But what was she meant to learn in the journey? What cliff would she fall over next, and would she drag Jag down with her? "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you in there with me."

[jageskro]

"Dragged me?" Jag asked with a frown. "I don't remember you doing any dragging."

[offthebeatenpath]

"We only chose that door because I saw the star and suggested it. Wouldn't have gone in if I hadn't provided the light to see where we were. And you never would've gotten close to Cortez if I hadn't rushed in anyway so you had to save me. That's close enough to dragging." More than close enough for Em to feel like it was her fault.

[jageskro]

Jag stopped walking so he could talk to her, brushing his thumb over the back of the hand in emphasis. "Hey. We're in this together, all right? No dragging involved. And I'm safe because of you."