[Closed] [Event] Halloween Contest 2019 and Quest Grader Tryouts!

Night had fallen upon the island of Black Drum yet the city was lively. This was due to an annual festival held here once every year at the dead of night. It was a holiday dedicated to the belief of ghouls, monsters and things that go bump in the night. It was also a way to respect the deceased. Everywhere was dimly lit by candles, areas decorated with pumpkins that have scary faces carved into them. Scarecrows which were usually used for farms were now among the decorations with much more twisted, and eerie appearances to them. People were of course out and about wearing creepy costumes, some more bizarre than others. Children ran about, playing, and even pulling pranks on others while some of the adults worked at stands, selling various spooky merchandise and treats.

One of the people who was working a stand was Noel dressed in a purple witch outfit. Her gloved hands lay clasped together on the surface of the stand as she sat behind it, her eyes mysteriously being covered by the edge of her witch hat while her face wore an expression equally as unsettling and mysterious. What was the little rabbit plotting!? Unfortunately, it appears that some unsuspecting children were going to find out….

Three kids who were snickering among themselves walked up to the stand. One was a girl dressed as a werewolf, the other a boy poorly wrapped in toilet paper like a mummy, and another boy dressed like a vampire with little cardboard bat wings on his shoulders. The children stopped their snickering and looked up at the rabbit mink who still didn’t utter a word or shift from her position. ”Um, he-hello?”  The mummy kid said hesitantly.

Again...no response.

”Maybe she’s dead.” The wolf girl said with a whisper. This prompted the vampire boy to quietly walk up closer to the stand as the other two hid behind him. He stared at the woman for a few seconds before crouching down to take out something from a bag he had with him. It was a water balloon. The vamp kid bounced it in his hand for a bit before throwing it straight at the woman’s face where it busted open upon impact, splashing her with water! ”Ack!!” Noel screeched as she fell rear first onto the ground. Turns out she was just sleeping the whole time…

”Who the, what the, where th-” Noel immediately got back up with mallet now in hand as she looked around frantically for her assaulter. She’d stop the moment she heard the kids snickering at her. Oi! Can’t a rabbit nap in piece around he-er I mean….” Without much warning, Noel jumped on to the surface of her stand before gesturing at the sign with her extended hands thanks to her devil fruit. ”WELCOME ONE AND ALL TA NOEL’S SPOOOOOOKY SHOP OF UNSPEAKABLE HORRROOOORRRSSS” Noel shouted with a wink and a grin as she wiggled her arms before retracting them to their normal length.

The mink’s shouting caught the attention of some passerbys, but they didn’t stick around for too long. The three children did not seem to be too intrigued by Noel’s little display neither. The mink’s grin slowly faded, and she stretched her neck and head out towards the kids, placing a hand under her chin. ”Hmmm, not impressed I see.” She then retracted her head and bounced down behind the stand where she started to rummage for some things. The mummy and werewolf kids looked at each other confusingly while the vampire boy yawned. ”Ta Daaa!” Noel placed a couple of objects onto the stand which the kids moved in closer to get a better look at. ”What are these?” The mummy asked leading Noel to grin. ”Why these are some of the most spookiest things you’ll ever find across the seas!” ”Just looks like junk to me.” The vampire kid added, much to Noel’s annoyance. ”Junk….JUNK!? I’ll have ya know that this is an actual severed hand from a rotting corpse!” Noel claimed as she picked up said hand. ”Looks plastic to me…” ”What about….THIS JAR OF ACTUAL HUMAN EYEBALLS?” Noel tossed the hand to the side and held up this jar, extending it out to give the kids a closer look. The vamp child rolled his eyes before slapping it out of Noel’s hand, causing the jar to shatter. ”Fake.”

Noel started gritting her teeth before showing the kid even more stuff. ”Well what abou-” ”Nope.” ”How abo-” ”Seen it.” ”Oh, but you haven’t seen thi-” ”Yawn.” At this point Noel’s eye twitched before raising up her final item...a frankenstein-esque den den mushi.

”...This?”

”This lady’s a quack.” the vamp kid said to his friends who then started to laugh. Noel then chucked the den den mushi somewhere and grabbed her hammer. ”OH I’LL SHOW YA WHO’S A QUACK, YA LITTLE SHI-” The rabbit mink quickly stopped herself, placing the mallet behind her back as she gave a forced grin. ”I mean...what do you kids think is scary then?” The mummy and werewolf kids looked at each other before the wolf girl responded. ”Ermm, we don’t really care about scary stuff. We just like pulling pranks.” ”Uh huh, and what better time than to do it during the Festival of Frights!!” the mummy added while the vampire gave an approving nod. This caused Noel to chuckle lightly before bouncing off of her stand. ”Ohhhhhhhh a couple a jokstas I see. Well then how’s about I show ya the work of a true pro?” Noel then pointed at herself with her thumb and winked. The kids all looked at each other before the mummy genuinely asked, ”You know someone!?” causing Noel to “deflate” disappointingly.

The mischievous children now accompanied by Noel were now on a pranking spree, something that was rarely seen during a festival meant for monsters, and scares! Who would have the audacity to play tricks on this night!? They went from doing Noel’s most classic pranks of shocking people with joybuzzers since she could no longer use her electro, sneakingly placing whoopie cushions  on to chairs and benches to more hardcore pranks from the three youths that involved egging people’s houses, and places of business, throwing toilet paper everywhere to even leaving banana peels on the ground that were colored to match the surface. These “little” pranks went on until the four troublemakers were run out of town, leading them to the outskirts of the island.

Noel, and the three spooky costumed children finally stopped running to catch their breathes. ”Me....me...thinks they given up.” Noel claimed, referring to the angry mob that was pursuing them. ”Y-yeah.” ”Mhhmm…” The vampire dressed kid didn’t say a word, he appeared to have been distracted by something. The other two kids went up to him to see what was up before they ended up looking in the same direction as him with shock in their eyes. ”You brats feelin okay?” Noel asked before stretching her legs over to get closer to them. The vampire kid then pointed in the direction of where they were looking. Noel looked up, and her mouth gaped wide open at the sight of an….

S-S-S-SPOOKY LOOKING ABANDONED MANSION!!

”Aww man...Of all the places to run to, w-why did we have to end up here” The mummy kid gulped while the werewolf girl shook her head. ”Isn’t that place rumored to be...haunted?” ”By the Old Hag of Black Drum…y-yeah.” The vampire kid then turned around and gave his two friends a sinister grin, made even scarier by his fake fangs. ”I dare one of you to go inside.”  the vamp kid said, causing the other two to shout a collective “WHHHHHAAAATTTT!?” which snapped Noel out of her little trance. ”Come on you big babies. That haunting stuff is just an urban legend anyway.” the vampire kid claimed, waving his hand dismissively. ”N-no way I’m going in there!” the mummy kid shouted. Noel just stood there and snickered lightly at the three bickering. ”Wh-why can’t you do it?” The wolf girl frantically asked the vampire. ”Cuz I’m in charge, and you two have to do what I say.” he replied with a smug expression on his face. ”Plus, I heard it’s really dusty in there, and I don’t care about that secret stash of carrots the old hag apparently kept in there…” the boy added, immediately catching the witch dressed mink’s attention.

”Wait wait…did you say….” Noel stretched one of her arms out towards the vampire kid and wrapped it around his shoulders before retracting her arm, pulling him in a bit, and whispered, ”....carrots?” The vamp gave Noel a plain nod before lifting her arm up from around him. Noel jumped with joy as she started to march on over to the mansion. ”I’ll give it a try! It’s just as the kid said, nooooo ghosts!” Noel claimed with a confident grin before stepping up to the porch. The three children then looked to each other, their expressions of worry, and fear being turned into mischievous snickering.

Noel slowly opened the old looking door, creaking with every little push. The mink took her first step in the dark looking house which was dimly lit by the moonlight outside. ”Hmmm…” Noel took a few more steps in before looking around which appeared to be a large living room like area with old beat up furniture. The mink placed her hands on her hips before claiming, ”Nyeheh, this ain’t so bad…”

As if the house heard her, the door behind her slammed shut!

The rabbit mink jumped up a bit in response and turned around to look at the shut door. ”Eh...just the wind.” Noel sighed before marching forth, her shoes squeaking with every step and the floor creepily creaking as well. Everything seemed relatively calm in this supposedly haunted house. Noel had no problems crossing the living room area, even deciding to jump around on one of the old dusty couches for a bit before it broke down. She then found herself in the abandoned dining area where there was a very long dining table witch maybe around seven to nine worn out chairs placed on both sides. Noel walked up to the table to see that there was a single fancy looking covered dish placed on the middle of the table. ”Carrots…?” Noel slowly placed her hand onto the handle, and lifted the top off revealing not carrots, but a swarm of spiders that immediately rushed out in different directions, causing Noel to bounce back in fear and land on her back. ”Eeck!” Noel managed to lift herself back up to look at the plate. The mink’s disgusted face grew pale as she saw… a severed hand pointing right at her!! Noel immediately stretched herself from out of the dining room, breathing heavily.

Noel found herself back in the living room...which now had a trail of a strange red liquid that looks awfully like blood! The mink stared at it, at a loss for words. Her heart began to jump even more, and at the corner of her eyes, she noticed stairs, but what really caught the rabbit’s attention was a mysterious light flashing up there with faint whispers. Noel stared in that direction for a bit before gulping, and shook her head. ”Cmon Noel! Ain’t nothin stoppin ya from gettin those carrots!” she claimed, pulling her mallet from behind her back and clenching it with both hands before slowly climbing up the stairs. Each step taken caused a creak which didn’t help Noel at all with her nerves. Finally, Noel made it up the long stairway. At the end of the hallway, there was an open room where this light source was coming from. The rabbit looked left and right at the closed doors before setting her gaze at the room at the end of the hall. It was a bathroom from the looks of it. Noel peeked her head in, and saw that the light was coming from the bathtub which was covered by shower curtains. Slowly, Noel opened the curtain and was immediately jumpscared by a small illuminating ghostly figure hidden under a white blanket.

Noel screamed at the top of her lungs and rushed out of the bathroom, closing it in the process. She was about to head down the stairs until she noticed a similar figure waiting for her at the bottom. ”Nope Nope Nope!” Noel ran back into the hall and went into one of the other rooms, a master bedroom. Noel closed, and locked the door before running up to the dresser, dropping her mallet and placing her hands onto the surface of the dresser while she catches her breath. The mink then looked up at her reflection in the cracked mirror, and watched as it slowly dissolved into an old hag like face that was decaying. It then screeched at Noel, causing her to scream in return as she picked up her mallet and smashed the mirror to pieces. ”That’s it!!!”

The rabbit, being fed up with this broke out of the room, and ran down the stairs, ready to fight the ghost downstairs with a combination of rage and fear. The moment she made it back down to the first level however, Noel noticed that the thing was gone. ”Eh...yeah that’s what I thought!!” Noel shouted with some uneasiness in her tone. Screw the carrots, Noel decided to make her way to the entrance. As soon as she opened the door however, Noel was greeted by three of those ghostly things. Noel let out yet another scream and crouched down with her back facing the figures and mallet over her head. ”Keep yer carrots! I don’t want em anymo-” The three “ghosts” then started to snicker which sounded awfully familiar. ”...Wait…” Noel raised her head and looked back at the them. The three figures stopped glowing and took the sheets off of them, revealing the culprits to be none other than those mischievous children!

”Ahahaha, should’ve seen the look on your face!” ”We got you good!!” ”S-sorry, but it was just too good to pass up!!” Noel’s dumbfounded and borderline teary face was then overshadowed by a more rage fueled expression. ”You….you….!!” Noel dropped her mallet and stretched her arms out at the children, wrapping them around the three before pushing them all together. ”W-wait, it was just a prank!” the mummy whined. ”Yeah, i-it was all his idea, I swear!” the werewolf girl claimed, pointing at the vampire who remained silent, and obviously afraid. ”Youuuuuuu reallllyyyyy…..” Noel then immediately retracted the three in for a hug. ”...got me there!” The mink laughed before booping the vampire kid’s nose shortly before he fainted from the fear he built up, causing the rabbit and other two kids to blink a few times.

The group was now leaving the mansion, the mummy and werewolf dressed children walking beside Noel and the vampire kid lying unconscious in the rabbit’s arms. ”So that hand was actually the one from my stand?” ”Yup! We managed to snag it before going on that pranking spree.” the wolf girl giggled. ”Yeah and we collected some spiders around the island.” the mummy kid added. ”Ah, and the blood?” The mummy boy lifted up a bucket of red food dye, and nodded in response. ”Oh, and creepy lights were just these.” the werewolf girl took out some flashlights and shined one to her face to make a sinister expression which led the other two to laugh. ”Man, I can’t believe ya little brats planned all of this from the get go. True pranksta prodigies.” Noel claimed with a nod. ”Oh but what I reaaaallllyy wanna know is how ya pulled off that mirror trick.”

The two children then looked at each other puzzlingly. ”Ummm, we didn’t do anything with mirrors.” Noel then looked at the children with an eyebrow raised. ”But...I saw some old hag in da bedroom mirror..” Noel claimed, causing the other two kids to look at eachother again before snickering. ”Maybe you were just so scared, that you imagined it? We didn’t do anything in the bedroom.” the wolf girl waved her hand dismissively. Noel then stopped in her tracks as the two kids continued to walk and chuckle.

”Yeah…”

Noel looked behind her, still able to see the house from a distance. There appeared to be a ghostly figure floating on the porch who appeared eldery. It gave a slow finger wave in the mink’s direction before dissolving into nothingness.

”....just imagined it….yup….”

Prologue

Within the uncharted islands of the north blue, lies a tale of no other.  Because the village has no name and their names unknown to others, does that mean they never truly lived? Such traditions lost, but these men have indeed lived, and this is one of their tales...

Crom Elkjær was born to a family of pirates called the Gray Danes, they served under the high king  Loke Høyer as a successful group of pillagers.  However, Loke had enemies and some people didn't agree to his rule. During one of the raids to take control of a village in the name of Høyer, he was counter raided by Simon Kjærsgaard, who convinced others that the star of Fenrir, the god that they worshiped, has chosen him to be next in line as the leader of the bandits.  The counter raid resulted in Loke's death and public execution. Those still loyal to the name of Høyer was threatened to be killed without a sword in hand, denying entry to Valhalla. Arms were deliberately chopped off before the killing blow to make sure that those loyal to the old high King had gotten the message.  Of course, Crom fought with honor, but he was wounded back at the village during the counter-raid and left on top of a pile of dead bodies.

But soon after,  a giant being from the sea came and swallowed them whole, the whole lot of warriors from both sides. The scent of death and despair attracted it. The blood they shed was even more than just the morsel delicacy of man,  but the limitations of man and the madness brought along with their ambitions. This village had a curse unlike no other,  the summoning of a particular sea king.  Crom could still remember it, even in his half-conscious stupor, he could still remember it's a foul stench.  A crash of darkness overwhelmed them, the beat of its heart vibrated the land along with its continuous thumps. A horrifying entity of decay and fury was brought to them by their actions, but it was not their tormentor. It only served as their boat across the river Styx to their true destination.

The torment was within the belly of the beast itself.  In this cruel world of horrors, what awaited Crom was sacrifice, insanity,  violence, and revenge.

---

The liquid drops on his face were warm and comforting as he laid on the meat-like surface of skin and flesh. This should have been the belly of the beast, but as he opened his eyes and stood with the support of his blade, he saw something much more horrific. Three bug-eyed eyes view their surroundings from their narrow sockets. A round nose rests below, but it's the giant mouth below that takes all the attention. A gentle smile reveals several large broken teeth and a large tongue. Thin wrinkled ears sit on each side of its huge, rounded head, which itself is covered in soft hair.
Its tall fat body is hunched over. Two average crooked arms dangle at its sides and end in small hands with curvy fingers, of which it has 8 in total. Its legs are muscular and are slightly bent, each ending in skinny paws. Its body was covered in small scales and its shoulders are broader than its pelvis, from which a tentacle-like tail grows.

There were so many of them, and they were eating the bodies of his men. The men who fought to protect their way of life and died with honor was being used as nourishment for such horrific creatures.

"Nooooooooo!"

With his pain seemingly gone, he raised his mighty claymore and swung it in the direction of the nearest creature.

*clang!*

The sound of the blade making a connection to the neck of the creature was met with some resistance, a dermal armor of some kind. However, the pure force of a man full of rage in the face of horrors was beyond any mystification that these creaturs could bring. Crom wanted to see their blood, he wanted them to pay for their transgressions against the sleeping dead.  With the head being lopped straight off,  he continued on his path of slicing through every horror humanoid that came his way.  He wanted to kill them all, but the person who had to die the most was Simon, he caused all of this to happen.

*Drip Drip Drip*

But walking further ahead, Crom started to notice something akin to egg sacks being laid about the corners of walls. They were people, but he could see the change, he could see them slowly morphing into something else. But it wasn't even the notion of change that gave Crom such fear, it was the look in their eyes. The last thing they probably ever saw was the beast, and to be spared from being feasted on, a fate worse than death awaited them.

"....."

He turned away, even with such a sight, his pity would be wasted on them. He felt like he was still alive to settle a score,  and braving such a dark and disastrous place was how he was going to get it.  The next corridor of this strange place awaited him with a bright light beyond it.

---

Walking to the entrance of the corridor,  Crom found himself in a different kind of scenery compared to what he was experiencing earlier.  A tall graveyard in a dire mountain top was what awaited him. Beyond the graveyard lies a large, dark room.  The only sort of light was the occasional green hue of wisps that flew around the area. The room itself was It's covered in puddles of water, dead insects and ash.

"What is this place?!"

With the light available, it allowed him to see an overgrown underground garden, long lost and claimed by time itself. There were even more of those glowing wisps, but they started to act differently once Crom reached this particular area. Every time a wisp would past through him, he would feel no initial pain, but would be plagued with memories of the things he did in the past. The people he enslaved and slaughtered in the name of his leader, it was a flashback of all the transgressions he ever committed.

He wasn't a good man, he knew that for a fact. But he was a loyal one, wanting to see his path through the end, regardless of what this strange journey had in store for him.

"...."

After gathering his bearings,  he went on into the next corridor.

The final...corridor.....

---

 
"Simon!!!!!"

As he moved forward through the impressive portal seemingly disguised as a cave entrance, Crom was immediately met by a hostile world. The land around him was burning, literally. Fires wreak havoc to everything that's even remotely alive, which by now is very little. It was almost as if the fires were alive themselves, Crom truly found himself in the infernos of a custom made hell.  The light played tricks on his eyes as shadows from a new landscape make his imagination go wild. It's because of this awful landscape that he couldn't help but feel danger lurking around every corner.

But there he was, Simon, fighting against other creatures with one arm. His other arm was burned to a crisp and seared off, the wound cauterized and throbbing with black soot.  Before those creatures got to him, Crom had to get to him first.  

"Out of my way!!!!"

Swinging wildly,   it was a race of time against the brutal creatures.  With each swing, his sword grew even hotter to the touch. The heat started to become unbearable, causing him to drop his weapon.  A bestial roar erupted from his vocal cords as he picked up one of the arms of the creatures he killed, using the fractured bone that stood out from it as a makeshift knife.  He was covered in blood, he was covered in burns, and his energy was failing him.

"Just a little more, you bastard!!"

With a last burst of his strength, he launched himself at the beasts, pushing them out of the way to attempt to stab Simon in the heart.

*Drip Drip Drip...*

But then it starts all over, the feeling of deja vu being a fleeting experience as he goes through the same trials once more. This was his purgatory, leaving him just at the grasp of revenge to begin anew.

A dream he would never wake from unless he changed his ways from within.....

---

This land was cursed, but not for the reason you believe. Bringing violence among man to the land was the one sin that couldn't be broken in this village, everyone who already lived here knew of the consequences.

There was no creature, there is no other world, just people who are frozen in a place like mannequins while being trapped in a hell of their own making.   That was the curse, the desire for violence came about the result of creating a neverending world of suffering.

As for the villagers, being alive and well, what do they do with such unwanted guests in their company?

Well....that's simple...

They eat them......

The end.

Daimarus mom had rather quickly filed for divorce suddenonly one day, but she only had a part-time job and made very little money, so finding a place to stay that was affordable and available immediately was tough. A friend of hers told her that she and her husband had a cabin home that was currently sitting empty and we could rent it practically for free ‘til we figured out something else.

Dai immediately didn’t like the house. Part of this I’m sure was due to my parents’ abrupt divorce and having my life turned upside down, but it was also just the house itself. He was now forced to live in a mountain town, and this cabin was way up a steep mile-long driveway. Beautiful pine trees surrounded it, but the house itself looked abandoned and out of place. It had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so Dai was forced to share a room with his younger brother. While his mother took the bedroom with the attached bathroom. It was a very ‘70s home, with wood paneling and dated fixtures. Some areas showed strange damage, like holes in the wall that were badly patched up. For whatever reason, He immediately refused to use the hallway bathroom. He wouldn’t even step into it. His mom never really asked me why or questioned it, but would allow me to use her bathroom.

One day, While Dai's mom was gone. She had left to go and to find but sadly failing with a lot trying to find whatever work she could, so I would be home alone a lot after school and on the weekends. Each time He received the Marine Hq call, He was by himself.
His mom always told us not to answer the door, but we should always answer the phone in case it was her. So when the phone rang one afternoon, Dai figured it would be his mom since no one else had there den den number yet. There was a woman on the den den mushi who sounded very concerned.

“Hello, this is Marine Hq, returning your call. We received your call, but we got disconnected,” the woman said.

DaI immediately got a sick feeling. He told her that He did not call Marine Hq, and she asked me if there was anyone else in the house who might have called. He would answer her saying "ugh I think you got this mixed up I'm was home alone" but DaI started to get worried that maybe that he wasn’t so alone after all. the pe would dispatch police to our address just to make sure everything was okay.

At that point, He was terrified to be in the house, so Dai sat outside and nervously waited for the police, who showed up in about 15-20 minutes. The officer asked me if He had called Marine Hq, and DaI said “no,” but they claimed I had called them. The marine officer just sort of shrugged, and said, [color=#000099]“This kind of thing sometimes happens. They say that it can’t, that the numbers can’t get mixed up, but it happens.” He did a cursory glance around the outside of the house and left after finding nothing.

Dai tried to convince myself that the officer was right. It was just a mixed-up phone call, and hopefully whoever did call got the help they needed. About a month later, the same thing happened. DaI got another phone call from the marines, saying they had received a phone call from my number. I told them again that it must have been a mistake. The woman on the phone scolded me a bit, telling me that Marines wasn’t something to play around with and I was preventing people from getting help. She didn’t dispatch any officers this time. Again, Dai got an uneasy feeling that someone was in the house, so Dai cautiously checked and made sure all the doors were still locked.

He doesn't know why, but He always kept the hallway bathroom door closed. Maybe because of the eerie feeling that he got from it. As he was checking the house, He just knew someone was in that bathroom. Dai was terrified. Part of me felt like He needed to open the door to check, maybe to prove myself wrong, but He was too afraid. So he just sat in the living room, watching that door. It was so quiet in the house, that after a few minutes he swore he started to hear faint little sounds coming from inside, like a kind of shuffling noise. He asked my mom to check the bathroom when she got home and she quickly looked inside. She made me come and look to see that it was empty and was letting my imagination get the better of me.

The marine calls happened three more times over the coming months, and only when He was home alone. The fourth time the dispatcher told me daI could face criminal charges for what he was doing and they would contact my parents. Dai hung up the den den mushi sobbing and terrified. Dai had that feeling like someone was in the house again, but if he called Marines, They probably wouldn’t even show up. I felt like the boy who cried wolf, only it wasn’t me. It was like someone was playing a horrible, twisted joke on me. He sat and watched the bathroom door again, hearing noises like someone dragging their fingers across the door.

He decided that his mom was right, and HeI was probably just letting my imagination getaway. Dai decided to try and leave the bathroom door open so he wouldn’t get so freaked out by the thought that someone was in there. Then he got the fifth marine base call. This time though, after he hung up the phone with the dispatcher, the bathroom door slammed shut. the sound of a wet hand scraping against the door. Blood slowly began to pool out from the seems from the bathrooms door

Dai ran. He ran down his steep driveway and found a place to wait until his mom pulled into the drive. When she arrived, she was angry with me for leaving the house, but she saw how upset He was. Maybe she thought He was acting out due to the stress of the divorce. Dai refused to be alone in that house again though, So we worked it out so He would stay later at school or go to a nearby friend’s house till she got off work. Not long after this, we got a notice from my mom’s friend that we needed to move out of the house because her mom needed a place to stay. Dai was so grateful to be moving out. He tried to tell his mom she needed to tell her friend that someone was wrong with the house, but his mom thought that was a ridiculous way to pay back someone’s generosity.

Dai moved around a lot in the next few years and tried to forget about that house. It wasn’t until I was older that I thought about it. I witnessed an accident and had to call the marines and the fear and paranoia all came flooding back. DaI decided to do some research, which honestly, He wished he had never done. A few years before we moved in, a woman was killed in that house in some kind of “domestic dispute.” It was days, though, before she was found, shut up in the bathroom blood seeping through the bathroom door and int the carpets. claw marks upon the bathroom door indicating a struggle to open the door

This was supposed to be a quick and simple mission, explore the island and get the treasure that lied within and bring it back. To be honest, Mezra didn’t even understand why this was a mission in the first place, as this was a task that made her feel like a pirate more than anything. Typically missions consisted of taking down different Government bases, not exploring random islands after all.

“You see, this is an island that doesn’t belong to anyone yet so maybe we can claim it as our own and make it into another base. It’s fairly small and from the reports of the scouts who were watching it, there doesn’t seem to be any danger here so you should be alright. We can’t waste any other high-tier members to go check it, so that’s why I called for you guys.” Her boss had told the group at their debrief, with little other information. Naturally, Mezra felt uneasy but the rest of them seemed fine.

“Relax, it’s just an abandoned island, Mez.” Jack, the group’s navigator said as their ship would edge closer onto the shore of the island. “At worst they’ll just be a few stray bugs, which are creepy but nothing too threatening.”

An audible shiver came from Merry, their medic who glanced around the perimeter of the island once again. “I don’t like bugs, do I really have to come along?”

Cepa, the swordsman, laughed loudly as he gently poked Merry in the back with his sword, prompting a small squeal from her. “Of course you do, how else will we survive here. Besides, Mezra and I will protect you, right?”

She nodded at his question without looking back. She felt an uneasy feeling in her stomach, one that she didn’t understand. Thankfully, it was the afternoon when they had docked here so they still had some sunlight. However, the entire task would take an entire day to do, thus they were all forced to sleep here overnight.

While Jack and Cepa seemed rather excited to explore and map out the place, Merry had hardly stepped farther away than the beach, instead of staring into the forest in front of her. “Feeling queasy.” She had told the three, “You can go ahead of here. I’ll just stay and clean up the place for tonight.”

While she wanted to stay with Merry to keep her company, Mezra ultimately decided to follow up with her other crewmates. Even if she was a medic, Merry was still capable of holding her own in a fight. Besides, she had to make sure the two meatheads wouldn’t get too much in trouble. Throwing her one last glance the trio would enter into the woods.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before all three of them had split up. The trees in the forest had oddly seemed to grow denser, the tree limbs closing around her until she felt as if she was suffocating. Instead, she ignored the scratches across her metal body and continued. Finally, she felt a cool blow of fresh air as she noticed the branches were finally relenting until she came into a village?

She had expected a clearing, but a village here of all places? It seemed unlikely. Silently, she walked towards the buildings, expecting to see some sort of life. Instead, she found nothing. Buildings sat there, empty, without any signs of life even from the insects. Curiously, she opened one of the doors to the houses to find it unlocked. Upon peeking inside, there was no one here. Everything seemed organized? The beds were clean and made, the furniture was in order and everything else was spotless. It was as if their original owners had disappeared.

“Hey!” A familiar voice called out, “Is anyone hereeee?” Immediately she made her way out of the house to see Jack sticking his head into one of the windows of the abandoned houses.

“Jack,” Mezra called out. He took his head out the window and smiled at her.

“Ay Mez, sorry about that, just tryna find you or Cepa but I got lost and found this cool place. It’s like nobody lives here which is weird.” He wondered, scratching his chin. “Maybe there was some weird disaster made them go elsewhere.”

Just maybe, although Mezra had doubted it. If they were, why were the houses so orderly? If they were trying to run away, chances were their houses would be in a state of disarray yet everything seemed fine?

A loud scream had caught their attention, both of them ready in their combat stance as they braced to face the danger that lied ahead. To their surprise though, all they saw was Cepa, fearfully slashing his sword over and over at nothing. “What’s up?” Jack insisted, running over to his teammate.

The words didn’t seem to calm him down, but rather make him even more hysterical than he was before. If it wasn’t for Mezra pulling Jack back by the collar of his shirt, he would have been slashed. Instead, she would approach him, deflecting his swords with her metal arms, causing less damage than if it was flesh. Grabbing ahold of his shoulders, Mezra would shake him a couple of times before a familiar light returned to his eyes. “M-mezra is that really you?”

She couldn’t help but shoot him a confused look, “Yes? What do you mean its really me?”

A whimper came out of the swordsman’s mouth, “I got lost and thought I found you so I called out to you. When you didn’t respond, you turned back and started attacking me. I got so confused, so I ran away to find Jack or something. But when I turned around I found my…” He began to stutter incomprehensible words, prompting Mezra to try and calm him down.

“It’s fine, you’re here with us now. It’ll be all ok.” She said quietly, patting his back although Cepa still didn’t stop shaking, only that he was trembling a little less.

She exchanged a glance with Jack as she did her best to comfort Cepa until he was at a state where he was finally able to talk. It took quite a while, but all they were able to do was get a single word out of him: “Copy.”

“You gotta be hallucinating,” Jack dismissed with a roll of his eyes. “How can two of you exist int he first place?” He didn’t get a prompt, only a series of incomprehensible words.

Mezra sighed, “It’s no use, why don’t we go back to base. I’m sure Merry is waiting for all of us.” She would begin to walk before she felt a hand close around her arm. Turning around, she was met with a wide-eyed Cepa with the most fearful look on his face.

”Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not?” She asked with confusion, although he still refused to let go of her arm. Sighing, Mezra would walk with him, hand still wrapped tightly around her arm until they made it back to the base where they saw Merry currently tending to a fire.

“Welcome back,” she greeted as she walked over to them. “How was the exploration? Also, are you ok Cepa?” She inquired, staring worriedly at her friend.

Jack merely shrugged his shoulders, “Something happened and now he’s really scared. Dunno why. Maybe things’ll be better with a little rest.” He suggested, “You’re the doctor so you probably know what to do. Mez and I are fine.”

Merry would gently take his hand, one that he readily let go of in favor of another. Cepa let out another whimper as she would lead him to the fire, “Why don’t all of you rest up. I also made some dinner, although as a warning, I’m not the best cook.” She said with a small smile.

“Might be a good idea,” Jack said, placing his hand on his forehead and shaking his head. “We gotta have the energy for the mornin’ anyways.” As Mezra settled down in front of the fire, she could have sworn she saw something weird in Merry’s eyes. One moment it was completely pitch black although once she blinked it was gone. Maybe it was just her imagination.



After eating, it was time for them to go to bed. Cepa had calmed down enough, although he still refused to sleep without one person taking guard. “Who knows if it will come in our sleep.” He said, eyes darting around constantly.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Merry offered. “I didn’t really do any exploring today anyway so it should be me.” Everyone quickly agreed to it and thus an order was created. Jack would be next, followed by Mezra and finally Cepa. With this decided, Mezra allowed herself to close her eyes and fall asleep.

Only to be awoken by the sound of screaming.

Immediately, she would leap to her feet and search around for the source of the noise. She had her weapons ready to fire, yet she saw nothing? She stared around with a confused expression on her face before looking at her teammates. Merry was sound asleep, meaning her shift had ended quite a while ago. That meant that it was Jack’s turn but where was he? It was almost as he had disappeared.

Silently, she would walk away from Merry and Cepa. Hopefully, they wouldn’t mind if she wandered around to see where Jack went. It could be plausible that he went to the bathroom, but that didn’t explain why he didn’t come back when he heard the scream. Maybe he went to investigate it as well? If so, Mezra prayed that he was alright.

The forest was even more difficult to navigate underneath the blanket of night. It was quite dark as well, being a new moon with almost no stars in the sky. All she could navigate through was with touch, which she did her best to get through. It was like she was blind, navigating through an unseen world until her fingers finally landed on something soft.

A scream sounded in front of her, and she would quickly ready a bullet in her arm, pointing her finger at whatever was there, when a voice spoke. “Mezra?”

“Jack?” She said with a hint of shock in her voice, “Why are you-”

“Out here? Well, I heard a scream as well and went to investigate. We are not alone on this island, Mezra. I just want to make sure that whatever that is, it is not near us. Right?”

She nodded, moving her finger down as she would then ask, “What are we going to do now?”

Mezra thought he might have shrugged, although it was difficult to tell what he did in this blanket of darkness. “Do you want to go figure it out?” He offered. She would take a moment to think before finally giving him an answer.

“Sure, but you’re leading I suppose?” She questioned, only to receive a laugh.

“I cannot see either, so it does not matter either way. However, since you insisted on me to do so, here.” A hand reached out to grab hers, causing her to recoil. “Do not worry, it’s just me.”

He began walking, prompting Mezra to follow closely behind him. Their walk was mostly silent, without Mezra or Jack to start up any conversations. However, she simply couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that she felt. The darkness around her felt stifling, even more than before. She knew that something was wrong, and she had a feeling of what it was.

Just like before, she would feel a light gust of wind on her face before she knew the exit was near. This time, there was some visual indication as well. With how dark the forest was, the light at the end of it seemed almost like the sun despite how dim it was. When they emerged…

They found themselves back at the village that they had come to before. Jack shook his head before shooting Mezra an apologetic smile. “I must have gone the wrong way, but at least we know where to head to again. We should get back before Cepa wakes up. Besides, I am tired and would like to sleep as well.”

Jack was right about to pull her back into the woods before she wrenched her hand out of his grasped and pointed one of her fingers at his forehead. He reacted with shock, “What are you doing Mezra?”

“I know you aren’t him,” Mezra said with hostility clear in her voice. She didn’t take her finger away from his head and would continue to stare at him with a stronger intensity than before. “Where is he?”

“Jack” looked at her with shock, clearly confused about what she was talking about. “What do you mean? I’m Jack, Mezra. I am your-”

“You are not my crewmate,” she interrupted. “First of all, Jack had never called me Mezra before, always Mez or something else. Why would begin doing it now all of the sudden.”

“Well, people can change and-”

“If that’s the case, why did you also start talking so properly. Jack hardly used any formal language like that, mostly contractions. Is that something else that you suddenly decide to do?”

Whatever that was in front of her only gave her a smile. It wasn’t the joking one that she knew Jack always gave her, but the one that chills down her artificial spine. It was full of malice, and without hesitation “Jack” walked towards her. “Oh Mezra, I did not expect you to be this observant. Although props to you though. You’re the first person in a long to figure this out.”

“Who are you really?” She insisted, half considering shooting this fake imposter right where he was standing. “Where is Jack?”

“Right here, you’re talking to him.”

“Lies. Where is he? Tell me or I shoot you!”

Jack laughed, sending more chills down her spine. “Do you really want to know?” She gave one small nod before he shrugged his shoulders in the same way the old Jack would do so as well. “Well, if you insist.” A shadowy figure would begin to walk up behind him.  Mezra couldn’t hide a gasp as she saw who it was and what it was holding.

“Merry? What’s happening here?” She questioned, completely confused about what was happening. However, her eyes widened even more as she saw that she was carrying both Merry and Jack’s severed heads.

“This is what happened to both Jack and Merry.” The imposter said, “You see, it is our duty as doppelgangers to kill our mirrors and take their place in this world. It is only this way we can stay here forever.” Soon more shadowy figures appeared behind both Jack and Merry, rather all of these were now shapeless. One prominent figure came up to her, taking a familiar form. “Now then, I think I should introduce you to your doppelganger Mezra.”

It looked exactly just like her. Every detail, every design, looked exactly like her. However, there was one unmistakable quality that distinguished the two: the eyes. Its eyes were pure black, just like the same type of eyes she had thought she imagined Merry had earlier. Only this time, Mezra knew that this was real The eyes seemed to be trying to stare into her own soul. It wasn’t long before Jack and Merry’s eyes would change, taking on this same quality as well.

“It’s nice to meet you Mezra, finally.” Her copy said, taking a few steps closer towards her. Left with no other choice, she had unleashed a gunshot. It merely raised a hand and caught the bullet, brandishing the ruined bullet in her palm. “I've waited so long to take your place in this world. Let’s not be too difficult ok?”

With her attack doing absolutely nothing, Mezra was left with no other choice but to run. She would turn on her heel and bolt, running as fast as her legs could take her. It seemed impossible for her to escape them though, for the moment she turned to look over her shoulders they seemed to be at her heels. “You can’t escape us Mezra, just give up.” At one point she promptly gave up looking back and continued to run forward for dear life.

She burst into the forest again, but their taunts still floated around the edge of her ears. “I promise I’ll make it painless if you just give in. Know what’s best for you. You will eventually submit.”

No, she had to live. Even if Jack and Merry were dead, she couldn’t die for their sakes. And Cepa’s too… Cepa! She didn’t see him back in the horde so maybe he was ok. With this little hope, Mezra continued to run as fast as she could, ignoring the scratching branches which seemed to slice into her metal body almost as if they were sharp knives. She had to getaway. She could see the light that was just there. Cepa too and-

Mezra was immediately greeted with the sight of Cepa, only this time there was a sword plunged right through his heart by his own doppelganger, an expression of fear permanently etched onto his dead face.

She couldn’t help but stand there in horror. All three of her friends were dead. She was all alone here now, doomed to follow in their fate as well. She could still hear their voice as she knew they inevitably got closer and closer. “Just give up Mezra, it’s alright.”

She wanted to so badly. Maybe this way she could finally end the pain of living. She could see her husband and child again, along with all her friends. Although it would be a shame that she would never be able to sail on the sea with her crewmates again. Especially since they just got a new boat…

The boat! She glanced at the vessel which was still docked to the shore. Maybe if she could get to the boat, she would be able to able to escape this island. She wasn’t the best at sailing herself, but Mezra knew her way around one after spending plenty of years on the sea. But how was she going to be able to get past this army of doppelgangers? It was risky, but her only risk was to sprint to it.

As the grasp of the doppelgangers grew closer, Mezra allowed her to take one deep breath before she sprinted at the boat. Cepa’s copy would lunge at her of course, but she would fire off a volley of bullets at its face until she had used up all of her ammo. While it wouldn’t hurt it at all, hopefully, it was enough to distract it long enough for her to escape.

She continued to run, kicking up dust storms in the process, but the boat felt so far yet so close. Just as she was about to touch the boat, it exploded in a display of fire and smoke. She had to shield her face from all the debris. There was nothing Mezra could do but look in horror as her last hope, her last chance at survival would burn up right in front of her.

“Like I said Mezra, there is no escape. You really wanted to play hard to get, so I’m afraid this is going to hurt. A lot.”

No. if Mezra was going to die, it wasn’t going to be on their terms. She was going to give up, but she definitely wasn’t about to be killed by one of them. If they wanted to take her place so badly, then so be it. But if she was going to die, it was going to be by her hands.

Mezra ran forward towards the sea, throwing herself at one of the larger waves, ready to be swept up in its cold grasp. The last thing she remembered before the wave fell down on her was how relieved she felt to die on her own terms.



She didn’t expect to wake up, but she did. Her body was currently being operated on by the mechanists that she was so familiar with, fixing all of the damage that had been sustained on the island. However, she couldn’t help but cry tears of joy when she saw them.

Later, when she was all fixed up, she would meet with the boss to debrief about all that had happened on the island.

“I see. Doppelgangers... Well, that’s concerning. I’ll let the other generals know if they see Jack, Cepa, and Merry that they are to kill them immediately. I’ll also keep a note not to send anyone there now.” Mezra couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that. “Now then, Mezra. I have a new task for you that I want you to take with this crew when you’re fully recovered mentally of course. Meet with this person when you are ready. Goodbye Mezra.” She nodded, standing up before walking out of the room.

Her boss stood up and regarded the woman that had just walked into the room. “I am afraid that now Mezra knows our secret we can never mention it around her ever again.”

The woman nodded, "Now then, when shall we introduce the three back into the army again? They have grown tired of being stranded on the island.”

“Wait a little longer. Once Mezra leaves, I’ll send another crew there and they can take their ship back.” With one final nod of respect, the two would leave. However, for a brief moment, both of their eyes would turn that same deep black color from before.

OOC Note: I'll be willing to be a quest grader if no one else works

"Like, zoinks guys." Shaggy exclaimed, "We've been like, riding down this long, dark, bumpy road all day."

"Rah, r-all ray!" Scooby echoed his best pal's sentiment from the back of the Mystery Machine.

"Relax you two!" Fred responded, dismissing their complaints with a wave. "Old man Jasper says theirs a house out here that's haunted by a phantom ghoul!"

"…*Gulp*…Like, that’s what I'm afraid." Shaggy groaned, his voice cracking from the fear.

"Rah, rhats rhat re are rafraid r-of!" Scooby yelped.

"Don't worry boys."  Velma interrupted, "There's no such thing as ghosts. There's a scientific reason for everything." She stated sternly, pushing her glasses up to reflect the light in classic anime fashion.

"Yeah boys, don't worry!" Daphne said with a smile, turning back over the bench seat to see Shaggy and Scooby sprawled out on the van floor surrounded by food particles and empty wrappers. "Ugh! Gross!" The red head exclaimed.

"Like, relax! Me and Scoob will clean it up, like no big deal, man." Shaggy said in a soothingly sublime tone, moving with the reaction time of a stone as he did so.

Suddenly, the Mystery Machine came to a grinding halt, the tires squealing as the brakes locked up and sent the van skidding down the abandoned dirt road. "Jesus, Freddie Jones!" Daphne shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Ahhh!" Velma screamed, her hands clutching at her now bloodied face, "Gwawd dwamnit, Fwed!" She shouted with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, Fred, like what the fuck, man!" Shaggy shouted from the back of the van, having tumbled onto his head and was now wedged against the back of the seat with Scooby's ass firmly planted on his head.

"I'm sorry guys! But there's someone back there one the side of the road!" Fred yelled as he slammed the gears shift in park and hopped out of the van. Daphne and Velma following quickly out of the passenger side as well.

"Like, me and Scoob will watch van!" Shaggy shouted from inside the safety of the vehicle, slamming shut the doors his friends left open.

The brave trio gathered together behind the back of the Mystery Machine, the dim red tail lights barely illuminating the foggy dirty road. "Hello!" Fred shouted out, "Is anybody out there!" He called out once more, with no response. "Huh, I could've sworn I saw someone." The astute blonde said, scratching his chin in a perplexed manner.

"I swear to fucking god Freddie, if you broke my nose for no reason…" Velma started angrily, a tampon shoved in each nostril before her voice tapered off as a large silhouette began to appear in the dense fog.

"YO!" The shadow called out before it came into full view, appearing as a tall mocha skinned manned adorned in gold. "How the fuck are ya?! Thanks for stoppin! Mind if I catch a ride?" Dax said with a golden fanged smile.

"Well we are heading to the old Beaudeir mansion to check out the rumors of it being haunted, where are you headed?" Fred said cheerfully.

"Well wouldn't ya fucking know it!" Dax gasped, "That’s where I'm headed too!"

"Well I'll be! Hop on in!" The teenager said, inviting a strange, heavily pierced man into the back of his van with his stoner friends and dog.

Dax climbed into the back of the van, pushing passed the mounds of empty dorito bags and mountain dew bottles before he nestled into a nice cozy spot on the shag carpet lined floor. “Sup, yo.” He said with a nod towards Scooby, completely ignoring Shaggy.

“Rup, ro.” Scooby responded in a cool guy fashion, prompting a jealous look from the left out Shaggy.

“It’s so crazy that we ran into yu out here! Going to the same place!” Daphne said, not realizing the absurdity in what she was saying.

“Yeah, real coincidence.” Velma, said, clearly the only catching onto the fact Dax’s final destination was going to be theirs no matter where it was.

“Yeah, really fuckin appreciate you guys giving me a lift there.” Dax replied with a smile. “So uh, is this what you guys do” He questioned, picking up a glass pipe. “Cause I fucks with that.”

“Like, hold onto your ass, dude, even just ten percent of my stuff will take you out.” Shaggy with aggressive smile, his attitude completely changing. The aura in the van grew heavy and the entire gangs eyes fell on Dax as they awaited his response, waiting to see if he was brave enough to anger the one known as Shaggy Rogers.

“Lets fuckin do it then my man! Consider my ass held!” Dax shouted, giving a solid two thumbs up, quelling the animal that was Shaggy.

“We’re here!” Fred shouted over the squealing breaks as they came to a stop in front of a decrepit old mansion.

“Wait, this is the place?” Dax questioned.

“Yeah!” Daphne responded gleefully.

“Well if this ain’t the most white people shit I’ve seen this year….” He mumbled, gathering up his belongings as he started to climb out the back of the van. “I’m getting the fuck outta here, good luck you dumbass motherfuckers.”

“Legend has it that the Beauxdeir family stashed away an ancient family gold somewhere inside the home and that for centuries people have looked for it.” Velma said, “Though it has never been found.”

“Gold?” Dax perked up, “Well why didn’t ya fuckin say that sooner.” His attitude doing a complete one eighty as he turned around and marched towards the modern ruin.

“Like, you may go in there, but me and Scoob are out!” Shaggy protested, “We can watch the van.”

“Not even for a-..” Daphne started before she was interrupted.

“Ralright, rive rus the rhuckin rooby racks!” Scooby growled, clearly having caught onto their food motivating gimmick.

“Alright gang! Let’s solve this mystery!” Fred shouted as he flicked on his trusty flashlight and led the way up the cracked and flora ridden pathway. Bats could be seen darting out of the shattered windows as the grew closer to the faded red door, the paint chipped and dried like the sun scorched lands of the desert. As Fred reached out to open it, the door began creak open on its own, the slow developing noise echoing throughout the abandoned home.

“Like, spooky.” Shaggy chattered in fear.

“Real fuckin spooky.” Dax echoed the sentiment.

“Relax, it’s just a backdraft.” Velma snapped, barging passed Fred to be the first inside of the mansion.”Hellloooo~!” She shouted, her voice carrying throughout the entire estate. Though she was only met with silence, “See? I told you guys.”

“Alright gang, I feel like the best plan is too split up and look for clues.” Fred said like it was a brilliant idea.

“Wait what..?” Dax muttered confused.

“Shaggy, Scooby, you two take Dax and check out the basement, Velma, you go outside and check out the hedge labrynth by yourself, Daphne and I will check out the master bedroom.” Fred barked out the orders one by one, all to the astonishment of Dax.

“Yeah, I got it now..” The Goldmonger mumbled, rolling his eyes as he wandered off with the stoner and his dog. “So uhh, this happen a lot?” He asked Shaggy as they strolled down the creaky wooden hallway, led only by a single flashlight.

“Like, every fucking time.” Shaggy grunted.

“You ever uhh, you know, fuck the shit out of the nerdy one?” Dax snickered, accompanied by a flurry of bro like elbow flurries.

“Like, Velma?! Fucking Zoinks man, she’s a prude.” The stoner moaned, “Ain’t like I haven’t tried, dude.”

“Relieve me, rhes ried.” Scooby interjected with a disappointed head nod.

“Ahhh” Dax nodded, gathering all he needed from Scooby’s response.
The trio came upon the basement door when a shrill scream filled the entire house. “Zoinks! Like, that was Daphne!” Shaggy shouted as he turned back to run the way they had come, only to be blocked by a large machete wielding man.

“Oh shit.” Dax said bluntly, grabbing Scooby by the collar and taking off through the basement door. “Get moving Shag!”

“Like, wait for me!” He yelled, turning back to run, however the machete wielding man was able to cleave off his left arm before he escaped, sending the limb dropping to the wooden floor. “ZOINKS!!! MOTHERF?UCKER! EWF WSD!” Shaggy shouted an agony as he tumbled down the basement steps.

“Help me out Scoob!” Dax shouted as they dragged Shaggy up against the wall and the goldmonger used his powers to stop the bleeding by casting the nub in gold. “That’ll do or now, we gotta move! There’s a second set of steps over there!” He shouted, throwing the wounded teen over his shoulder, “Let’s go Scoob!”

“Right!” The great dane nodded as he trotted after their golden guardian. The stairs led to the opposite side of the manner, which allowed them to make their way to the third floor where Daphne and Fred had gone. What awaited the trio was a gruesome sight, Fred was butchered  and his pieces were left decorating the interior of the room. His innards were strewn about like Christmas lights and his head was mounted on top of the bed post like a pike.

“Where…*bleghh*…” He attempted to say before throwing up, “Like where’s Daph?!” Shaggy shouted.

“Rook!” Scooby said, drawing their attention to a blood trail going off down the hall. “Rets ro!” The dog demanded, taking off down the hallway. The great dane rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Shit. Dax though, “Scoob!” He shouted as he rounded the corner seconds later, though he was greeted with an empty room and a dead end.

“W..where…s … Scoob?” Shaggy managed to say, his conditioned worsening by the second.

“Shit.” Dax gritted his teeth as he used his powers to cleave through the aged wooden walls like butter. There he was greeted with a secret passage back to the basement, scurrying down with the injured Shaggy still draped on his shoulder, Dax was greeted with Velma’s head at the bottom of the steps. “Hey Shag, why don’t you close yer eyes bud. Shag?” He said, shaking the lifeless corpse of the teen, realizing that he had taken his last breath, Dax dumped the body onto the stone floor.

“Help!” Daphne shouted as she came running down the hallway, her clothes tattered and stained with blood. “Oh thank god! It’s you! Please help me!” She begged with tears in her eyes as she embraced the mocha skinned man.

“Holy fuck, you’re still alive?!” Dax exclaimed as he embraced the terrified teen. "What the fuck happened?!"

"I...I don't know!" She cried out, "One moment it was just me and Fred and the next it was-..!" She started before being interrupted as she screamed at the sight of the killer.

"Oh fuck!" Dax shouted as he tossed the terrified woman intovthe machete wielding psycho and took off running. Leaving the helpless teen to fend off the attacker. "This shit is way to much for my fuckin ass." Dax mumbled himself as he ran out of the mansion, seeing Scooby hiding by the front door as he did so. " Ayo Scoob! We finna be out!" He shouted as he hoped into the drivers seat of the mystery machine with Scooby riding shotgun.

"Rhets rlow rhis ropsicle rand!" Scooby shouted as they sped off safely into the night with all the scooby snacks they could eat.

"It was a Friday the 13th, a very spooky day, really really spooky or so Lucilia was saying as she told this story, yes I’m referring to myself in the 3rd person you can deal. A friend of mine named Milo a doctor from drum island who spent most of his life, saving lives and working his daily runs in a wheeled machine called a white house it was a fantastic machine; a perfect white body with blue and white flags and it makes Donkey sounds oh it was amazing.”EEEE OORRR WEEEE ORRR”. Okay yes you may be thinking such a machine doesn’t exist in our world, and how on earth would I have seen such a thing, Well, I have another friend called Rilo who paints stuff and he told me this story originally and painted the important details. With this in mind I was pretty sure the machine in question actually had an actual Donkey inside, I know this because I think I ate the Donkey afterwards. Anyway Anyway moving on.  Outside was covered in snow as Milo woke up quite early in order to go to work; however, no matter how hard he tried for some reason he couldn’t open his front door.  He grabbed the handle with a grip of desperation and rammed his shoulder into the wooden door as hard as he could *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*. The door just wouldn’t budge at all, in fact, it wasn’t even shaking from the impact, it wasn’t locked or made of anything that shouldn’t be breakable *Loud Thud* *Bang* *Loud Thud* *Bang* he proceeded to kick the door repeatedly.  Milo looked to his right and gazed at a clock mounted on his wall as he started to become stressed. “Shit it's already 6.30, at this rate I’m going to be late for work, and at this rate hot blonde won’t sleep with me tonight ...Geez this is the 3rd day in a row”

Out of desperation he grabbed his pickup trucks keys and headed out the window, just low enough to drop from safely but with this, in mind, there was no way back into the building once he had left. His feet plonked through the snow leaving deep footprint impressions in the ground, the fog of his breath reacting to the cold becoming visible inches from his face. He climbed inside his truck and began to attempt to start his wind dail. It wouldn’t start. Milo would attempt to start it again and again without luck “Guess I need to call in sick, no chance in making it today, No Door… no Wind and no beli this early in the morning”. As Milo got out of his truck and started making the trek around his house to his front door, the same door that wouldn’t budge to investigate the situation while also trying to get inside his house his eyes would widen as he swallowed the saliva massing within his throat. Something had spooked him and put a real fear into his spine, something was really off, he could see tracks in the snow. Kneeling down Milo placed his hand within what he could only assume was a footprint, it was double the size of his hand.  "Rilo did you call me fat? Nevermind"

Travelling around his house following the tracks his heart was pumping faster, his addrenerlaine was rushing through his body and his hair had risen, part of him knew what it was and yet couldn’t believe it. The sun was rising and yet it was still quite dark as only a small portion was now revealing itself on the horizon, it wasn't until he made that final turn to gaze upon it, the sun finally had risen revealing not just the wonder of a blooming sunrise, but the strength and power radiating from the huge beast sitting against his front door, and it was very much awake, alive and ready for the situation.  Having never experienced the terror of a tigress putting him down on her breakfast menu Milo experience his life flash between his eyes, all the people he watched die at the hospital, all those he saved he knew it was his time and yet he could not move as; Time slowed down and curiously crept in, as if from a great distance, he admired her savage grandeur as she lay there staring at him, her colours seemed to ignite in the light of dawn, a combustible mix of burning orange and black gunpowder. Milo couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak and the weather was preventing his flight or fight response from kicking in, and yet for some reason the Beast a Great Tiger had yet to move. The tiger revealed its sharp claws and then dug them into the snow and bowed its head as if to signal, I mean you no harm, in fact, the Tigar didn't mean the doctor any harm, however, only a second passed before it stood up upon her mighty limbs and began walking towards Milo. Milo fell backwards and covered his head.  The beast would raise its paw and simply push away the risen arms and roared before taking a step to the side revealing its side. After some time Milo would lift his head in confusion as to why he was still alive, the Tiger was still their right in front of him. He would notice the Tiger was injured and needed help and just like that the entire situation changed the moment he realised the Tiger wanted help and was now his patience.   He collected his medical bag from his trunk and got to work.  

Over the next three days, he would Feed and Heal the Tiger, at which point the Tiger simply left. However, 2 more days would pass and once again he would be unable to open his door *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*. Once again he climbed out his window to discover Tiger Tracks “Has she come back to eat me? This time however he would find something different, something else. It was a Dead Deer dress in a Halloween costume “Wait” Rilo interrupted me telling the story “There was no dead Deer in the story” I placed one finger on rilos mouth and whispered “Don’t worry I’m just getting to the good bit” So where was I, oh I know. Dead Deer in a Halloween costume was left on his doorstep, a gift from the Tiger he saved. The blood of the door was still fresh and slowly staining his door and the path leading to his house, something he would need to clean with any chance to secure that blonde he liked so much. Though he did smile at the gift. “Em, where's the good bit?” I raised my eyebrow at Rilo and smirked my mouth started changing to that of a beast “How dare you spared false information, I’m not a Tiger. I’m an Ancient Dog “AhhhhhH”.

The End

Wait wait, Don’t leave yet I didn't eat Rilo nor did I kill him for something so simple as mistaken Identity Milo owed Rilo a lot of money, so i Dressed him up as a Dead Deer and gave him to Milo as a present.  Happy Halloween..... now look behind you....RARRR. "

---------------------------
Summary

Lucilia tells you the audience a story, that someone called Rilo was telling her in which she was actually apart of in the first place. Rilo had changed the truth of the situation making Lucilia out to be a Tiger which annoyed her, she also knew Milo owed Rilo money and that Rilo was causing Milo problems [like breaking his wind dail]. Since Lucilia felt grateful to Milo she killed Rilo and left him dead in a Halloween costume of a Dead Dear on Milo doorstep riding him of the debt he owed.

wc 1335

Spoiler:

OOC: I want to be a thread grader.

The clanking of metal and panting huffs were the only sounds that pierced the silent air. Talin, naked to the waist, soaked in sweat, his back furrowed as his muscle struggled to pull himself up across the bar he was dangling on. The source of clanking were the brazen plates that were tied with a hemp rope to his legs, hitting each other each time he pulled himself upwards. The number of times he had repeated this arduous task was irrelevant to him, having made no effort to keep count. He simply started and finished; the latter only coming about when his body, pushed to its physical limits, could do more.
Yet today, that would not be the case.

A series of firm but polite knocks sounded from the door that lay in front of Talin. The men knew well enough not to waste their Captain's time with trivial things like signatures or paperwork when he was engaged in this activity. Talin trusted the man who knocked knew that.

“Enter.” Talin husked, followed by the cacophony of metal as he landed on the thatch and wool that was laid as to prevent from another hole to be bored in the oaken floor that lay underneath. Lieutenant Fieldrige entered, his face showing obvious pallor. He saluted regardless, seemingly a bit shaky from the Talin’s glance.

“Things are a bit...awry, Captain.” Talin knew that awry could mean a range of things when coming from Fieldridge; be it having run out of eggs or a fleet of pirate ships were heading towards them and the ship’s guns are jammed.

Yet, he had only seen Fieldrige scared when they fought the minks. So maybe things were really awry.

“And why would that be?” Talin asked as he undid the brazen ropes, before giving a sign for the marine to be at ease.

“Well Captain, things got…well, dark”.

Talin looked at the timepiece that hung behind him. It was thirty six minutes past noon.

“What does Navigator Collins say?” Talin asked. Collins was more navigator than anything else, able to tell the time even when blind folded and put in a dark room; down to the minute and able to tell the weather simply by smelling the air. If he didn’t know, it was anyone's guess.

“Well… thing is, he was the one that ordered me to get you, Captain.”


...then things are awry.

---

"Can't 'xplain it, Cap. One moment we sailin' through smooth wata', then choppy 'eas, than this." Collins pleaded with Talin, his voice leaden equally with eccant as with panic.

Talin stood silent, his eyes sweeping from starboard to port, choppy dark waters was all that could be seen from the crow's nest. Talin had decided to talk to the navigator where the panic would not spread. Not more than it already had at least.

"I tell ye Captain, this ain't proper. This is 'rong." Collins whispered, standing on his tiptoes, barely reaching Talin's chest.

Talin's fingers drummed on the wooden lip of the nest, his mind trying to wrest reason from this very unreasonable predicament.

"Turning Back?" Talin offered simply, his voice tense.

"Compass spinnin' like a whirlpool Cap. Was I not on a vessel, could not say were astern and ahead be." Collins responded ardently.

Talin in gave it a moment's thought, his eyes not leaving the misty horizon.

"Any Land?"

"Nuthin' but reefs and wrecks for the next day."

The creaking of the wood as it stood against the slapping waves filled the air.

"Keep the course." The Captain ordered simply, grabbing hold of the rigging that lay to his right side and sliding down, not waiting for confirmation.

"Aye Aye, Cap." The navigator responded to thin air sully.

Things were really awry.

---

The gaslight hissed dully, the only sound bar the storm raging outside. Talin lay hunched over his desk, where a .44 Blackhawk Model lay disassembled piece by piece of cut white tarp, his hand holding it's hammer as he polished in a strong-smelling toupe oil with a worn rubber pipette. Small cardboard boxes lay spread around the table; pins, grips, cylinders, bolts and triggers resting on cotton.

One of the most powerful patterns of pistols in the service of the Marines; it could shoot clean through an oak mast and still have enough power to gore a man; a fact Talin knew first hand. This power came at the cost of being fully made out of steel, which made it far heavier than the normal wooden flintlock, and having a fixed chamber, which only held six rounds and needed to be reloaded one by one; factors that were imperative to allow the weapon to be able to fire with such power and not combust.

A cacophony of creaks and surprised yells broke the rhythm of waves lapping against the hull. Putting the hammer down on the tarp, he turned the copper knob that stood at the side of the lantern, shutting the gas off. Talin listened. The woosh of an incoming swell.

Talin sprang up on his feet, his hands reassembling the .44 with swift, mechanical haste; Cylinder in the frame. Fit in the barrel, the ejector rod clicking into place as he pushed in the wedge. Before he had the chance to pin the hammer, the floor underneath him slanted, knocking him clear off his feet and sending him crashing into the brazen tub that was stashed to the side.

Had the table not been bolted, it could have easily decapitated him.

Talin’s head rung against the lip, the echo of the impact filling his mind. Dazed and confused, his legs seemed to have no strength and his mouth filled with the remains of the food he had eaten in the morning; Two pieces buttered hardtack, with eggs, jerky and shrimp; the latter thanks to a lucky haul from the nets that hung at the sides of the ship. He did his best to swallow it all down, yet a drip of spittle escaped between his clenched teeth. A warmth in the back of his head suggested that something was either ruptured, cracked or broken and it wasn’t the tub. He clambered to the side, where his coat hung; the alignment of the ground creaking as it shifted to the other side. His hands felt the cold metal of a buckle, and pulled; just as gravity pushed him to the other side of the room. As he flew off, the holster flew with him, secured safely in a tight fist. His spine slammed against the table, sending the lamp flying, shattering as it hit the ground and raining glass all over Talin.

He needed to get on the deck. Quickly.

Before the ship had time to slam him back against the other wall, Talin grabbed hold of the ebony hilt that lay buried in the side of the holster, drawing the kukri before burying it once more in the wooden floor; which soon enough became a wall. The blade had found good purchase, yet the weight of the captain was no light load. He could feel the grip of the blade loosen, cracking wood as it started to slid ever downwards before the room swung to the other side once more. This time prepared, Talin braced himself against the feet of the table, escaping death from a caved skull.  

With a bellowing grunt, he forced himself on his knees; gripped the table and pushed himself upwards. Pain shot from most of his body as he did so. He grimaced; the taste of breakfast replaced with that of copper. He spit, yet alas the taste remained. The tidy arrangement of his table was no more; half the boxes flung all across the room. He searched the upturned boxes, searching for the last remaining piece.

Lady Luck smiled that flirtatious smile of hers.

Hammer into the frame. Pin in the pivot point. His heart beating wildly in his chest, he raised the chamber to his ear.

Click.
Thump Thump.
Click.
Thump Thump.
Click.
Thump Thump.
Click.
Thump Thump
Click.
Thump Thump.

Click.

Kicking the kukri clean off the floor, he snatched it out of mid air and slid it back in its sheath, after which he made a mad dash for the door before the ship could disbalance him once more.

---

Even before he had reached the deck, Talin could see the effects of the ferocious gale that was consuming the ship. The stairs that led upwards to the open where soaked; as if a cask had been spilt over them. Cold wind bellowed, spitting rain even before he had reached halfway through the corridor.

As he stepped outside, narrowly avoiding another marine slamming into him, he was met with utter chaos. The winds were whipping ropes and men alike, into the maws of waves that were bashing the hull from all sides, with force that seemed to dent eyeballs. The sky was nowhere to be seen, only grey clouds shifting around the vessel; the time of day it is impossible to tell. Albeit no Navigator, Talin was sure they were in the eye of a storm.

It was then that the wind died and the sea seemed to lay still, turning from a hungry whirlpool to unmoving glass. And the sound of hooves filled the air.

A herd of red eyed horned beasts burst through ragged sky, stampeding on thin air. Their hooves were red hot iron and their horns black as soot, uniform traits amongst the flying herd. Even at this distance, he could feel the heat of their breath as they snorted fire with each breath.

Footsteps sounded as Collins rushed towards Talin, doing his best to not slip on the slick deck, still drenched in sea water.

“Cap, ‘his bad omen, of the worst sort!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, yet it sounded barely a whisper compared to the slamming hoofs of the ghastly herd.

“Suggestion?” Talin said, as he drew the .44 and flicked open the loading gate with a thumb.

“Well, I ‘ouldn’t kno’ Cap. I just kno’ it’s as bad as ‘hey come.” Collins replied, his eyes till fixed on stampede. “The man are wantin’ to jump ship. Better than face whatever these haunts are. Cap.”

“One way to find out.” Talin husked plainly; punctuating his sentiment with the click of the loading gate snapping shut. With a single movement, the sights were set on the leading beasts.

“CAP-” That was all the Collins could get out before the hammer hit the primer.

The shot flew true and hit the nape of the beast with a gong-like sound, as if metal hit metal.

The cacophony of sound hushed.

The demonic crimson eyes all turned onto one point.

Talin.

---

A tremendous weight, akin to some sort gelatinous slab, seemed to shift off him, followed by throaty grunting and heavy steps that slowly faded out. His body quaked with pain, his lower torso and upper legs throbbing numbly especially. Even his eyelids somehow were in pain and the act of opening threatened worse.

Yet Talin was calm. He was in this position many times, being a man who drank casks of firewater when off duty and waking up in pain, in a strange position...

He slowly shifted his body. He seemed to be covered in some roughspun tarp.

… and yes, naked; was a very regular occurrence. So much so, he had devised a system to be able to get back on his feet, both metaphorically and literally, in the most efficient way possible.

First, Talin did his best to recall what occurred before he ended up in this situation.

Stormy Seas. Ghost Beasts. And strangely, not a single drop of alcohol involved. Neither was it Fisstech, Dream Ink, Bojack, NHC10, Angel Eyes, Hot Heat nor Ocean Green. After all, he was on duty. Talin might be wanton in his indulgences yet never when he was working.

Scraping of pots, clanking of metal and wood filled the air. Seeing this as his cue of enough respite, he painfully opened one eyelid to sneak a peek of the environment.

He seemed to be in some kind of cot that lay on the ground, his clothes in a pile next to him. Upon further inspection, this was a dimly lit cabin, the walls made of thatch or some similar material. The sound of what seemed to be water being boiled was coming from an adjacent room. He scanned the room for his knife and gun, yet it was too dark to search for them without going around the room. He drew short but deep breaths, preparing himself to brace against the pain and get up. Where the occupants of this hut allies or foes? Striking down law abiding citizens would not go down well, he pondered to himself.

Nevertheless, Talin needed to get back to his crew before he gets himself a court martial for desertion.

Yet before he could act, the thudding steps sounded once more. Feinting sleep, he loosened his whole body. Soon enough, he was lifted and hoisted on a shoulder. The being that was hoisting him smelt strongly of rotten meat and faintly of bleach. The odour was so strong he could feel his eyes tear up, even though they were closed.

Feeling movement underneath him once more, Talin took this as his cue to open his eyes again. The person that was carrying him, if it could be called a person, seemed to be made entirely of rolls on rolls of fat. His head was resting on what he assumed was a breast, but it could very well be just another roll of fat.

“Nanny Pupu had fun, now Nanny Pupu eat.” The being of fat said, it’s breath filling the air with the smell of burnt grass. A bubbling cauldron lay in the middle of the room.

Definitely a foe. Now he could act.

Talin bit down with all his might on the possible breast, before he slammed his knees in the back of the being, tearing flesh as he arched backwards and sprung off.

Spitting flesh and rags, he wiped off the blood on his lips with movement of his wrist.

A screech of pain filled the air as he finally saw his captor. Nearly as thick as Talin was tall, this hag had green flesh, which tasted like shit, as Talin now knew. It was wearing discolored rags, seemingly as old as it was, and a crimson stained apron, with all sorts of primitive bone implements tied to it.

“Nanny Pu-” She begun, but Talin had no time for monologues. He rushed in with a knee strike, hitting her belly in full and ripped out one of the hanging objects from her apron, which turned out to be some kind of chopping knife.

The Nanny belched, partially over Talin, her words now only a croak. Despite it, he remained engaged, not wanting his foe to regain balance.

Slashing at her chest, the sound of flesh of hitting dirt sounded as he cut off what remained of her bosom.

She clawed wildly at the Captain, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to drop the knife.

The hit reiganated all the pain in his body, yet Talin was now high off the adrenaline. Nothing short than a knife to his heart would stop him once he drew blood.

The hag took a step backwards, reaching for a meathook that lay hanging. Talin charged, cupping his hands as his arms did a twisting motion before slamming into the fat of her belly.

Hungry Tiger Palm. A dispectivily flashy strike, yet could send men twice Talin’s size flying off their feet.

Losing her balance, her legs lost grip and she reeled backwards, her head finding its way in the bubbling cauldron that was behind her.

The screams of pain were accompanied by the smell of fried bacon.

Talin’s stomach grumbled.

---

Having had to dress quickly in multiple occasions, it didn’t take long for Talin to be back in uniform; .44 holstered on his right and his knife at his back.

Thankfully, the pills he kept in a hidden pocket sewn in his boots, prescribed by Dr. Maximlius Payne, were still there. Extremely powerful painkillers, they had kept him going after the most turbulent of fights.

Chugging a handful, he checked he had collected all of his belongings one last time, before facing whatever obstacles lay in his way.

Prying a hole in the thatch with the edge of his blade, he could see that the cabin lay overlooking some kind of village. A monolith lay in the middle of the village, surrounded by droves of figures, all sitting around it, feasting.

Further on, dense woods, a jungle possibly.

In the distance, against the pink sky of dusk, a flapping flag. A marine flag.

Collins had said that no land was nearby, and any land not listed on a World Government map was a haven of scum.

A pressure filled the space behind his jaw. The telltale sign that the pills were now in full effect.

---

The sound of wood breaking filled the air, up from the hill where the holy hill were the shipbreaker lived. A boulderlike shape was rolling down with force, blood splashing with every bounce as it gathered speed.

Screams filled the air as the villagers ran out of it’s way, and the rolling corpse slammed against the monolith, which with a long winded groan, akin to that of a dying giant, collapsed onto itself.

Although he was out in plain view, the villagers were too busy trying to escape the falling debris to notice him. A solitary lone figure, standing on what onces was Nanny Pupu’s hut.
---

“He’s dead. That spooky shit we saw? It killed him.” One raspy voice said.

“But he’s Captain Roche; that man could be tied to a rock and thrown in shark infested waters and somehow find a way to survive.” Another, raspier voice, replied.

“Oh, things are awry, they are so awry.” Fieldridge helpfully added for the sixth time, but whose observation was ignored by everyone from the first time.

“He disappeared halfway through the storm. The ship barely made it out alive, let alone a man. Not to mention the fucking bulls. He angered the gods by shooting them.” The less raspy voice argued.

“The only god you should be worry about is your commanding officer.” Talin added.[/b][/b]