AU:Ladies and gentleman of all ages...May i have your attention please...
You'll probably have noticed that there are lengty pauses between chapterupdates. While i was the one who came up with the stories and put them to paper (or computerscrean)...My partner Unknown294 , is the one who's doing revisions on them, making them the best they can be. Unfortunatley unknown294 has a lot going on right now and isn't able to keep up with the work. So we decided to RELEASE BOTH "ink virus" and "starlight asylum" in their current state so people no longer need to wait for the next chapters. Having said that, yes the revisions will keep going till the fics are completely done but in the meantime you can still enjoy them as they are.
By the time everyone claimed their individual seat, Benicio returns with both hands carrying the intended items: the package and briefcase. Striding steps take him to the end of the long, oak table where a plush seat made of black wood outlining red cushions awaits. Laying the two down, the demon looks up. Surprise shows on his face when he finds all the family members attentively staring at him, no doubt having questions formed in each of their heads while the demon was gone. The atmosphere of curiosity is present, yet brings a sort of oppressive ambiance with it.
Their expressions made Benicio chuckle. "First time for everythin', I guess..." He murmurs, both forearms coming to rest upon the table. "Alright, let's get started, everyone! The sooner we get through this, the sooner all of us can go back to doin'..." His wrist gyrates during the mid-sentence pause, "whatever it was we were doin' earlier."
Abel, who is the closest to the mob boss's right, idly and noiselessly taps his fingers as he spoke. "That's rich comin' from ye. Most of us have been waitin' on ye to get ye ass in the gatherin' before bearin' us down with more of this kind of crap." The vocalized annoyance and his patience draining in its gauge made itself abundantly present.
Guess the angel didn't get drunk enough like Benicio thought he'd get, considering that, not too long ago, the cartoon boss overheard the toon telling actual funny jokes.
"To be fair," Ill-mannerliness drips out of the toon boss's cheery voice like resin. "I was lookin' forward to doin' another one, but... didn't expect it to be this soon." The shrug came next. "Can't blame me for this happenstance." The demon gets a glare from the rebel angel. An innocent grin and held-up hands reply back. "Really! I may lie my ass off sometimes to get by in life, but this time, I'm tellin' the truth here!"
Pie-cut eyes roll in the angel's sockets, his almost-in-controlled protest slipping through a low grumble. "Alright, I get it. Now, stop beatin' 'round the bush 'n tell us what the hell's goin' on already."
Allaying hands come up. "Alright, alright. Cool ya ass down, Angel! ... An' I thought ya mellowed out from the party by now." Benicio mumbles out of teasing unpleasantness.
A smirk flickers on Abel's lips before it goes back to irritability. There was less heat in it now. "Ye simply thought wrong." His crossed arms relax on the table.
The demon simply flips the bird right back at him. That gets some chuckles out of the group.
"Gets some meds after this, alright?" As Abel half-heartedly nods, Benicio casts his sight upon all of them once more. "Anyway, here's the gist of what had transpired earlier..."
The mob boss recaps nearly everything that had occurred when the other members were hanging out in the room. From the moment he spent outside by the tree, to when he meets the stranger, then to him agreeing to the request. Even the beneficiary of the reward helping them out during the drought business months. Of course, there were questions thrown at him and the demon gave his answers as best as he could. In return, however, he bends the truth here and there as to not raise suspicions. If the henchmen were to find out about him actually letting the stranger inside the headquarters and how reckless he was during the agreement…
Well, Benicio isn't depending on anything hopeful there any time soon. At best, they could give him a yelling match like there's no tomorrow. Although, he would definitely try evading that like a toothache if he could.
When he finishes, everyone's looking at him with a mixed bag of emotions. Although they weren't sure how they should react to all of this information, each of them their basic expressional outputs: Apprehension, some banal, and a little concoction between askance and grimaces. All of them share their concern - it being more pronounced on the female toons and Gizmo than others.
Fonzy's the first to speak, hesitance showing in his facial features. "I mean no disrespect, Boss, but to me, you've wandered into another trap..."
Abel slams a fist on the tabletop, having not forgotten the numerous heists that went haywire on them years past. " 'N damn well again, at that!" The thud startles some of the members, especially Fonzy, who's been sitting behind him.
Benicio squints his gaze at the two toons, raising his hands defensively in the process. "Okay, okay. Ya guys are probably onto somethin' here."
The angel gives him a disapproving tch.
He sets his now clasped hands back on the table. "I must admit, though, the guy appeared completely sketchy to me, borderline bein' weird..." He shook his head. "Actually, havin' said that... I may be the one borderline bein' weird 'cause he made an offer I couldn't refuse."
"Could've denied him 'n shouldn't have involved yerself in 'nother deal in the first place. It's not that hard to do." Abel chides, leaning his crossed arms a little more outward. "So, why didn't ye refuse him?"
Benicio shoots a pointed squint at the angel's inquired face. "I have my reasons for not refusin' the guy, Abel." The expression then shifts into a more easy-going one, equipped with a small grin. "I'm just basically takin' the opportunity by the balls, is all. Nothing else to it." Agonizing monachism of tension declines when saying that. "Besides, it's an old buildin' in the middle of a creepy-ass woods outside of Toon Town. What can go wrong?"
Many groans and sighs, eyeball rolls, and a "Screw you!" meets him. Several of the members wore impassive faces as he grins at them. Others either facepalmed or shook their heads disapprovingly, thinking of him as a dumbass for saying that cliché line. The saying was the last thing they wanted and expected to hear from their leader, the usual jokester.
Benicio, on the other hand, is pretty impressed with himself through the evidence of his chortling and "Well worth it!" comment.
It's Boris's turn to object. "How about everythin' can go wrong? I'm sorry, Benicio, but I've to agree with Fonzy here. This offer just screams deathtrap like the others we've done before." Several of the members agreed with him.
Luna reminds the demon of one more little fact. "Plus, I've told you earlier, sir; ve do have enough money to last us for long vhile. Ve can get by longer if things go well." "And how much did that man offer you anyvay, sir?"
On cue, the mob boss swivels the case around so that it can face the toon henchmen and opens it up. Everyone's eyes go wide at the sight of the currency notes.
Jack whistles. "Well, I'll be dahmned..."
Benicio leans back, rests his elbows on the armrests of his chair, and places the fingertips of each finger against one another. "I know, right?" A cross of his legs dispenses calming control. His tail sways back and forth like the tail of a playful cat.
"I'm tahkeeng a guess zat ziss eesn't ahll of eet." Diana remarks. She gets a chuckle out of Benicio.
The ink demon's grin widens. "Nope! I've already accepted half of the amount an' the questionable package." He then puts on a mocking "Oh-woe-is-me!" face, "Although, I'm... afraid my refusal to give this assignment that should've involved everyone's consent has become irrelevant by now! So..."
Oh, Abel isn't gonna like where this is going, not one bit. That miserable feeling shows itself on his face.
Pretending to merely shrug, he turns the chair towards the window behind him, watching the bright moon hanging high in the sky.
He doesn't want to immediately give away the reverse psychological stunt he's about to pull, but the demon toon couldn't help the mischievous expression slowly forming on his face. "As this'll be a simple job, I wanted to try bringin' the entire family with me."
Abel begins listing things off. "By leadin' us into 'nother fan-fuckin'-tastic adventure that's usually filled with traps, other mobs, any one of us getting imprisoned, anythin' else that'll get us killed... Need I got on?"
Benicio only grins. "Nah, we're good! Anyway, think of it this way: It'll be a great team buildin' exercise!" A gleeful grin tries to peek through the woeful facade. "But, alas, since I know everyone doesn't wanna go, I'll just head there, all by my lonesome self...''
Gizmo jumps up at this, slamming his gloved hands on the table. "Feck dat! If yer tink I'll let yer go al' by yerself, yer got another tin' comin'!"
Deeralyn worriedly nods, seconding the crow's opinion. "W-We can't let the boss go all by himself! Wha-What if he gets hurt an-an-and we're not t-there for him?! I-I wouldn't handle it!" Her hands shoot up to cover her worry-creased face.
Alice shares Deeralyn's sentimentality, placing a comforting hand on the deer toon's right shoulder.
Luna smiles confidently. "I'm vith Deeralyn on zis one. Kan't have anybody injuring and recklessly killing zemselves," She shoots Benicio a playful, jeering look, "especially Boss here." A quiet, mocked scoff answers her back, eliciting a chuckle from her.
Elymas joins the metaphorical fray, mellowed confidence brought to the table and reasonings at the point of convincingness. "The lady makes a fair point, you know. Benicio is our boss and, worthwhile, the leader of this family. As propper henchmen, it is our duty to defend and assist him in the worse and best of times, including having each other's backs."
'Holy hell…' Benicio thought in surprisement. Hearing the sudden support coming from many family members sets out new possible outcomes. He didn't believe in chances most of the time as their worth is similar to luck and when that luck comes, it turns to a Diabolus Ex Machina before getting better. To think that this chance is right in front of him in the form of reasonable motivation. This, he ecstatically learns, leads him to think the henchmen are actually going to agree to do the job with him.
With his closed eyes full of glee, mouth formed into a Cheshire cat smile, his reverse psychological plan has succeeded! He mentally patted himself on the back.
Abel, on the other hand - the poor fellow, can't reason himself to believe in what he's hearing right now!
Looking at the mafia boss, he raises his arms in an exaggerated manner, his disbelief showing clear as the light of day. "Are ye serious?! Yer full of hogwash! Nobody's seriously fallin' for that act of yers! Am I right, guys?" Silence replies back to him. That one glance at the others tells the angel that he's not gonna win this one. He takes on a drooping posture. "...Guys? Ye with me here?"
The henchmen just keep staring at him, making it clear they're on Benicio's side.
Giving up, the angel crosses his arms and scowls like a pouting child when realizing he's standing alone in this decision-making battle."Ugh, fine! We'll all go! Happy now?!"
Elymas's sympathetic eyes land on Abel. "It is not that we don't understand your intentions to deny this, Abel. We, besides a few of us - No complete offense," The add-on went to Alice, Boris, and Deeralyn, "are used to acquiring these assignments and the dangers lying within them. This is beneficial for all of us for the business has been in a decline
Once more, like he's riding on a carousel, the demon spins his chair around. His once playful expression shifts to one of seriousness in a matter of a second when facing Abel's direction. "I'm as sure as the fires of Hell, Abel. If I didn't place any confidence on everyone, then I wouldn't trust myself. Even if I've tried to be persuasive, I couldn't find a better family than the one I have now."
A hint of fear can be heard as Deeralyn asks in complete shock. "W-wait, me too, sir? Do I also need to come on the assignment?"
Benicio delivers her a sympathetic smile as he rests his head on his left hand, the other arm now lying on the table. "That's the idea sugalips. Like I said, I'm plannin' to consider this a team buildin' exercise, and ya're part of this family are ya not?"
"Y-Yess boss, but I have never been on a mission before. I c-can't do anything, just help people who are hurt".
"Well, that's why it's called team buildin', isn't it? Ya're not alone in there and I expect that the family protects each other through thick and thin. This family has some stronger members, and some weaker members, but everyone has an important role to play. Besides we just need to deliver the package, so I'm sure there'll be no violence involved."
Abel starts to cough, as he mumbles the subtle message of; "Wrong …...again..." in between the coughs, making the mafia boss annoyed.
"Okay feathers, we got the point…..can we continue or am i gonna need to put ya on a time out first?"
"Wait….what?"
"Act like a child, get treated like a child…..consider yaself warned, cherub." Benicio playfully sways his tail before aiming his attention to the others; "Now are there any more questions?"
Diana is curious about one more thing as she raises her hand "I have one, how ahre we going to get zere? seence ze entire fameely's going, your cahr ees out of ze question. Besides I don't have a death weesh and only three of us can fly."
"You forget one thin' dollface, I can create ink portals, remember?"
Elymas his face turns into one of concern. "Surely i don't need to remind you that our demonic powers have a draining effect on us."
"When ya go all willy nilly with your demonic energy, yes… I'm just goin' to open a portal, that's all. Havin' said that, I can only take us for about 10 miles, meanin' we're gonna have a hike of another 10 miles".
Diana doesn't like what she's hearing; "A hike, een a forest? Are you keeddeeng me, ziss ees gonna ruin my shoes. "
Jack doesn't seem to agree however, smiling at the fairy; "Oh come on Diana, ziss ees gonna be fun. I've always wanted to hike een ze woods, besides, you can fly so I don't see any problem."
"Easy for you to say nahtureboy, you're a faun, but I guess you have a point. "
Benicio's grin grows even wider; "Well, I guess everythin' is settled then." He looks at Alice, Abel, Boris and Elymas as he continues; "We're gonna leave at 8 in the mornin'. If ya four like, ya can always spend the night here, there're just enough rooms left in the sleepin' quarters."
The four toons look at each other and nod, agreeing to spend the night. With that, the mob boss concludes the meeting. He watches as everyone gets up from their chairs and makes their way towards their assigned rooms. Once all henchmen are out of sight, the demon gets up himself, grabs the money and package and goes towards the garage, where he climbs the stairs.
Entering the second floor, he places the money in the vault and locks it behind him. Next he walks into his loft and puts down the package on the round table. After that, the mafia boss goes to his bathroom and takes a nice warm shower, after which he pours himself a shot of whiskey. The alcohol filled beverage, glides through his non-visible throat as he finishes it in one go. Lastly, he takes the circular stairs leading to his bed and crawls onto his soft mattress as he fastly drifts off to sleep.
The first rays of light announces the arrival of a new day as there's a lot of buzz coming from the Benicio family headquarters. Everyone is already awake as they are getting ready for the job, though some of them seem to have a mild case of morning grumpiness which is easily cured with a cup of coffee. Luckily Jack and Elymas were friendly enough to prepare said beverage and breakfast as they were the first to wake up that morning.
Just when they finish their meal, Benicio comes walking into the living quarters while he yawns.
"Morning boss, want some coffee?" Jack reaches for a mug.
"No thanks, i had some upstairs."
The faun places the mug back on the shelf and helps the others clear the table. Once everything is done and everyone is ready to go, they all make their way outside.
The henchmen stare at the mafia leader, Boris asking; "You sure you're up for this?"
Benicio stares at his old friend with a raised non existing eyebrow while placing his right hand on his chest; "Ya've any doubt in me? Don't underestimate me Boris ol' buddy. After all we've been through, I thought you knew me better than that."
His last word is still echoing through the air as his eyes turn completely black with red glowing irises and slit pupils, black veins start to appear from underneath the ink demon's feet, forcing the others to take a few steps back. Once there is some distance between Benicio and his henchmen, a black inky hole floats in the air behind the mob boss, serving as their doorway to a new adventure. The ink demon grins as he takes the lead and enters the inky blackness first. Everyone stares in awe as their boss slowly disappears into the dark portal until finally his tail finishes the transition.
The family glances at each other, kinda doubtful to enter the portal. Gizmo however, who doesn't wish to lose sight of their boss again, takes a deep breath and practically dashes towards the portal, expecting the portal to lead to some kind of tunnel, which would in turn lead to a secondary portal in another place. Little did he know he was dead wrong about that, the second his limbs went through the inky doorway he was already at the destination. Surprised, Gizmo stops mid dash making him tumble on the ground.
As the crow is lying on the floor covered in colorful leaves, one of them ended up on Gizmo's head. The toon faces his boss who was patiently waiting for his henchmen but is now trying to contain a laughing spree at the sight of Gizmo. The demon offers him a hand, stating; "Jeez Gizmo, I know ya're excited about the job but this goes a bit overboard, don't ya agree?"
The toon crow blushes as he gratefully accepts Benicio's hand, who helps him to stand. Embarrassed by his awkward entrance, he quickly lets go of the boss's hand and starts to brush the dust and leaves off his body while he takes in his surroundings. They were standing in what appears to be the world's creepiest forest.
The trees are big and old looking, having lost all their leaves. The leaves lie dead on the cold muddy earth, crunching under their feet as few of them float a short distance over the ground with the help of a cold gentle breeze that pops up once in a while and to top it all off, there's this thick mist in the air, hiding the critters and environment from their sight.
"Be the 'oly, yer weren't kiddin' whaen yer said we were gonna de 'misty forest'. They jist as well, cud 'av called it de creepy forest."
"Ya're not scared now, are ya?"
Before the crow could answer, he is interrupted by the other family members who finally are brave enough to penetrate the ink portal. Benicio shows the best sheepish grin he can master; "Finally guys, I've been waiting. Took ya long enough."
The mafia boss doesn't get a reply, instead Abel starts to nag; "Okay, if this place doesn't scream trap, then I don't know what does."
The mob boss rolls his eyes but doesn't answer. It takes a while before Alice, who is the last of the family who goes through the portal, joins the others. By the time the group is complete, everyone is looking at the trees in awe, trying to see through the thick fog.
"Well, this is it. Where to now boss?" Fonzy asks, still facing the trees as his ears lie flat on his head.
Being answered with silence, Fonzy's ears perk up when he faces his boss, only to find him bent over, leaning on his knees while gasping for air. His eyes turn back to their piecut state as the black portal dissolves and turns into an ordinary puddle of ink on the ground.
"You okay there boss?" Luna asks, placing her left hand between his shoulder blades.
Benicio pants, waving a dismissive hand; "J-Just need to catch m-y breath. Give me a s-sec."
Elymas gives Benicio a worried glance; "My goodness, I did try to warn you about this. Please try to take it easy for a while."
Taking a few gasps of air, the ink demon gives him a comforting smile ; "Relax would ya? I'm fine, you guys took a bit longer than expected to enter the potal 's all. Take an example to Gizmo over here, he was here in a jiffy."
The crow holds his head high, a big smile adorning his beak, his shoulders lean back with an expanded upright posture whilst placing his hands on his hips and puffing out as his proudness emits from his body. It makes some of the family members giggle as the sight is cute to behold.
Jack rubs the back of his head; "Gosh, sorry about that boss. In all honesty, we were a little nervous to enter the portal. You're used to it but we ain't.
"Hey, don't worry about it, I don't blame anyone. Look, I'm okay, we're good to go."
The mob boss takes the initiative and grabs a rope from his hammer space behind his back. Without saying a word, he ties the rope around the family members' waists, deserving a lot of confused glances in the progress. "Before any of ya guys ask….. Ya all probably have noticed the thick fog, the rope's to make sure nobody'll get lost. Last thing I want is for someone to pull a houdini on our ass. Once you get lost in this forest, chances of us finding ya back is as good as not existent, the mist would definitely make things harder."
Finally he ties the end of the rope around his own waist and leads his family through the thick fog. All goes smooth as the group makes their way through the misty woodland, even though there's this eerie atmosphere. It's very silent as none of them make a sound, too focussed looking in front of them since they are scared to get lost. Once in a while they can hear the rustling of leaves or twigs crack, seeing silhouettes in the mist though they can't tell who or what it is. Sometimes the shadows would disappear in a blink of an eye, making them think they're seeing things.
Eventually the group startles as the sound of crows occasionally breaks the silence. At first everyone thinks Gizmo is trying to prank them until Jack points up at diverse trees, revealing multiple nests of animal crows.
Alice smiles and jokes; "Hehe, seems like we have found your family Gizmo".
Gizmo shows a mischievous grin; " 'eh, that's totally not true so 'tis, me family is way better lookin' than dat, lill' missy."
To that, Alice angel pouts her lips and places her arms crossed in front of her chest; "Little? I'm bigger than you, you're literally the smallest member of the family."
"I'm not short, I'm jist compact an' ridiculously adorable. at least that's what me creator used ter say."
Everyone starts to laugh, including the angel and crow but soon the feeling of pleasure gets replaced by uneasiness while the group continues the journey, as the creepy atmosphere makes them tense. The family practically gets a heart attack as Diana suddenly starts to scream her lungs out, as if she was being stabbed by someone.
Worried and fearfully, the mob boss faces the direction of the fairy; "D-Diana? What's goin' on over there… Are ya hurt?" He tried to look at her, but the fog is making it difficult to see, though he can hear that she's upset.
Deeralyn who's standing in front of Diana answers instead; "I-It's alright boss. It seems she stepped in a mud pool. Her shoes are ruined".
Benicio rolled his eyes; "DIANA! Ya practically scared us to death. Now stop being a dramaqueen, we've a job to do, remember?"
"Sorry boss, it won't happen again. but those were my favorite shoes."
Benicio runs a hand down his face and sighs; "I did tell ya yesterday that we were goin' to the forest. Why in hell did ya wear your favorite shoes?"
"I was planning to fly, I didn't know you were going to tie me to the others. I didn't know this forest was THIS misty".
"Look, when we get home I'll see what I can do about your shoes, but now we're on a job and i need you to focus, ya think ya can manage that? Yeah? In that case I suggest we keep movin'. "
Benicio turns around and continues to guide his family through the forest while he hears Diana yell; "Thanks boss, you're the best." Putting a smirk on the demon's face.
Boris rolls his eyes as he mutters; "Wimmen…."
Abel, who's walking behind the wolf, smiles; "I know, right?"
Luna,who's on her turn walking behind the angel continues the conversation with a growl in her voice; "What about them?"
Boris and Abel simultaneously gulp as they both answer; "Nothing..."
"Yeah, that's what i thought." The female wolf smirks, squinting her eyes.
The rest of the hike goes well, until Benicio comes to a halt, making the others pause too. The fog seems to thin out a bit as they can see a bit better. They are standing in front of an old metal gate with arrowheads on top, connected to the gate are big walls that are enclosured around a big piece of land, separating it from the rest of the misty woodland. On top of the walls, you can find barbed wire.
"Well, only one buildin' in this forest, this should be it." Benicio mumbles just loud enough for the others to hear.
Abel stares at the big building behind the gate finding itself in the center of the land surrounded by the big wals, it is old and worn out, yet the place looked like it was designed to keep people or something inside, it gave him the creeps. "Last chance to go back. This place just doesn't look safe."
The mob boss faces Abel's direction, doubt obviously present on his face. He had to admit that the angel makes a fair point. That stranger back at headquarters, the ruined state of this building, it is all very suspicious, yet at the same time, it piqued his curiosity. Besides, they could use the money. Eventually he turns around and stands in front of the gate, grabbing two of the gate's bars and squinting his eyes, trying to see any hint about what this place contains.
That's when he sees a sign in front of it, reading it outloud; "Starlight Asylum."
" Asylum? As in a hospital for the mentaly diseased?" Luna asks with a crack in her voice. It is audible that she's nervous.
"I dunno, ya're the doc, so I guess ya should know. It has to be a human thin' though. Don't have any "Asylums" in Toon Town."
"Yeah, probably because humans designed us to be loony, they expect us to act crazy. For humans the situation is a bit more serious though. If humans were to act too 'loony' they are considered crazy and so a danger for themself and others, so they tend to lock those people away in asylums, trying to "heal" them with help of diverse therapies."
The family is staring at their doctor, some confused as Benicio suddenly asks; "How do ya know all this?"
Luna sighs staring at the ground while she absentmindedly rubs her left arm; " I…..Before I left my studio, I got medical lessons from the doctor who works in the infirmary there. He was an old friendly man who worked as a field medic in the war. I got a lot of medical books from my creator to read when I had some spare time. One day the old man saw me read them and offered me to give actual theoretical and practical lessons, that's when he told me all about this."
The mob boss gives her a sympathetic smile, which soon turns into an expression of concern. "Hmmm, this doesn't bode well', I trust humans just as much as I trust the cops. Though we already came this far, it would be a waste to turn back now."
"It's your call bossman." Abel stares at the mafia boss, shrugging his shoulders.
Again the ink demon looks at the gate, his family stares at him as they wait for his decision. Eventually he places his hand on the gate and pushes it open, creating a loud screeching sound in the progress. The next few seconds is met with a deafening silence, just the sound of crows and the whistling of the wind can be heard. Taking a deep breath, Benicio starts to make his way onto the domain.
The henchmen glance at each other, worried feelings creeping up on them as they too follow their leader onto the enclosured land while Abel whispers; "Right, hellhole it is."
At first, they think they are standing in some type of front yard, that is until they lay eyes upon the many gravestones that are skewered around the place. They are old too by the looks of it, you can tell by the many cracks on them. The graves are decorated with old welted flower bouquets and some of them had old broken toys on them like teddy bears or dolls.
Benicio looks at Luna, asking; "D-Did they lock children in here?"
"Some asylums have a children's ward, yes. But make no mistake, the humans in an asylum can have a large variety of disorders. From Adults believing they are children to humans who believe they are possessed by the devil…." Luna suddenly pauses as she just realises what she has said, noticing Elymas and Benicio staring at her with unamused expressions. She adds; "Sorry about that, i wish i could say i was joking but unfortunately it's true. My point is, humans who were locked in an asylum could do the craziest things. It wouldn't be that weird to see adults play with toys."
"So humans in here are crazy coucou bonkers, got it." Fonzy repeats while he looks at the building, his tail almost in between his legs like a cowering dog.
Jack smiles, he looks like a child that goes to an amusement park; "Ooh, spooky, isn't this fun? It's just like going into a haunted house."
Benicio gives the faun a condescending smile; "Heh, there's no such thin' as a "haunted" house Jacky boy."
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that boss, never say never."
"Tsk, whatever." The ink demon rolled his eyes.
Upon inspecting the front of the building, they notice all windows are boarded up with bars. They reach a big wooden double door, which serves as entrance to the old what seemed to be abandoned establishment.
"Jeesh, high walls with barbed wire, blocked windows, this place starts to look more and more like a prison instead of a hospital." Boris utters, rubbing the back of his head.
The wolf gets no reply as Benicio knocks on the door. Nothing. He tries again, yet for the second time they are greeted by nothing. Losing his patience, the mob boss pushes open the door. At the same time the doors fly open, a gush of cold wind blows past them inside the building, sending a shiver down their spines. His tail is swaying back and forth while he leads his family inside.
Upon entering, the Benicio family untie the rope as the entrance door slams shut behind them, frightening some family members in the progress, though Benicio doesn't make a big deal out of it; "Meh, probably just the wind."
They find themself standing in a spacious lobby. Weirdly enough there seems to be electricity still running through the building as the lights were lit. To their left is the reception desk with next to it a hallway. To the front was a big double staircase leading to the first flour and in between rested the entrance of a corridor. To their right, you can find another hallway.
The middle of the lobby contains a centerpiece wish is a big statue of a beautiful young woman with long curly hair. She's wearing an off-the-shoulder dress with long sleeves and holds her arms open as there are what appear to be three stars floating in the middle of her hands.
The floor is black and white tiled as the lower half of the walls are covered with white smaller tiles while the rest of the walls are painted mint green. Some spots are already missing their tiles as they had fallen on the ground, shattered to shards and the paint on the walls is starting to peel off. But what made the place look really disturbing was the puddles and splatters of dried human blood everywhere.
Abel whistles; "It looks like there has been a massacre in here, if this place isn't a deathtrap I don't know what is. This building could be haunted."
"Would ya guy's stop it with the haunted bullshit. For the last time, there's no such thin' as gho…." Benicio suddenly feels something grab his leg while he gets dragged towards the corridor as he continues what he was saying by screaming; "...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOSTS".
The mob boss can hear his family scream for him as his heart almost beats out of his chest, panic overtaking him, while he grabs Shirley and starts shooting at whatever is dragging his leg, even though he can't see anyone. After five rapid shots, Benicio's leg gets released as he swiftly jumps on his feet and dashes towards his henchmen, completely out of breath.
The group stand around their boss like a protective wall, frantically looking around trying to find the invisible presence, but soon find that whatever had dragged their boss away is gone as all stays quiet for a while. As the coast seems clear, Abel had a smirk on his face as if he wanted to taunt 'You were saying?' but gets stopped by a raised hand of the mob boss. "Don't ya dare go the "I told ya so" route or so god may help you, there'll be hell to pay."
Elymas walks up to Abel and lays a gentle hand on the angel's shoulder as he whispers in his non-existent ear; "May I suggest to keep the taunting to yourself just this once. I can tell he's bloody serious this time. It's not worth it."
The angel waves a dismissive hand in front of his face. "Okay, okay, just this once."
"At a boy." Elymas smiles as he gives Abel an appreciation pat on the shoulder.
Once the group recovers from the scary event, The mob boss slowly makes his way towards the entrance door to lead his family outside, but as he tries to move the door, it doesn't even budge. He starts rattling the door impatiently. "What the hell? We just came through this door. How is it locked?"
Boris stares at his old friend all confused; "Locked? That can't be". The wolf is next in line to try the door only to face the same results.
"There, now ya believe me?"
"Oh we believe you boss,the question is, how are we going to get out? The windows are blocked by bars and other than this door we don't really know another way leading outside." Fonzy informed.
"Hmmmm, the way I see it, we've two options to get out…" The ink demon glances at Elymas who instantly knows what Benicio is up to.
The mob boss his eyes shape back to black ovals as the red glowing irises and slit pupils reappear henchmen automatically step back as they know what is coming. This time however, black ink starts to run down the demon's face as he's using extra demonic energie, completely covering the left side of his face so only one eye remains visible.
He's about to open a portal, but just as the inky black hole appears, the portal becomes unstable and explodes. Ink splatters fly everywhere in between the dried up blood as Benicio is leaning against the wall, his eyes returning to their piecut state and the extra ink on his face disappears as he's completely out of breath.
"What the hell was that?" Boris asks while he runs up to Benicio for support.
The mob boss slowly shakes his head; "I-I don't know, this has never happened before. I-I suddenly felt drowsy, like there was no oxygen in this place. I seem to be fine now, though."
Abel looks around the lobby, the ink splatters make the place look even more eerie than it already is; "Great, now it looks like toons were massacred here as well."
"So, now what?" Boris continues.
The ink demon soon recovers his posture and glances at Elymas once more. The entertainment demon sighs; "Perhaps i may be of some assistance, allow me to try as well".
Elymas closes his eyes, it stays quiet for a while as the family is looking in anticipation. After a few seconds, he snaps them back open and just like with Benicio his eyes are completely black oval shaped, but with purple glowing irises and slit pupils. "Hmmmm, it seems we are experiencing quite the conundrum."
Benicio rolls his eyes, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground; "Would ya stop messin' around and get to the point already."
"Very well, normally I am able to connect my mirror to every mirror in the world, which are quite a few can you imagine and so create a doorway through the mirrors, but for some reason I am only able to connect to a few selected mirrors at this moment, all of them being located in this building."
"Okay hornheads, let's pretend we're not all demonologists. What the heck is happening with the two of you?" Abel crosses his arms while he raises a questionable eyebrow.
"Regrettably, it seems, something is blocking our ability to leave this establishment. To make matters even worse, I can feel this strange sensation, It makes me feel o so slightly tiresome. Like this very place itself, is draining the energy out of me." Elymas his eyes turn back to normal as he puts his demonic powers to rest. Next he quickly ads; "though strangely enough, I seem to do better now."
Luna is not comfortable with the situation;"i'm not expert in demonic magic, but i zink it's safe to say, you both should lay of paranormal hokus spokus for while. same goes for everyone vith magikal abilities."
The Benicio family suddenly gets startled as a mystic ghostlike female voice echoes through the lobby. "I can hear you breathing, no one here in 'starlight asylum' does that anymore. I would hide if I were you, he will be here soon when he finds out there are new subjects walking around."
The mob boss is desperate for some information."Who's comin' soon? What subjects? Look whatever the hell ya are, we're just tryin' to get out."
"Hehe, you're funny mister. Good luck with that, we've all been trying to do that for the past twenty years, but he won't let us. You're all living though, his rules don't apply to you guys. Perhaps you people are the solution to our little problem. The key to freedom lies in the truth, if and only if you manage to figure out what has happened here, you may leave and we will be set free."
"Come on lady, can't ya just tell us what has happened here? We ain't got no time to play little detective. We were just hired to deliver this package."
"I'm afraid it's not that easy. He's so powerful, he keeps erasing our minds. All we know is to be scared of him and his subjects, but you guys are different, you're all still alive. He can't erase your minds. Yet, you can end up as his next subject. Before that happens, you need to find three keys, unlock the stars and she will reveal the way. Maybe the content of your cargo can be of help."
Jack buts into the conversation; "Now that you mention it boss, what's inside the package, I've been dying to find out."
Benicio looks at the faun while he takes the package out of his hammer space and holds it up so everyone could see it. "A little curious much, ain't we?"
Jack starts to blush while Deeralyn ads; "To be fair boss, i've been curious too."
Able continues; "Heck,we've all been curious, now everyone be quiet and open the darn thing already."
"Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to open it." Benicio's tail is swaying again while a mischievous grin is plastered on his face.
He starts unwrapping the package, as the brown paper is torn and ripped away, it reveals a little wooden box, it's decorated with a beautiful engraved design and in the middle of the lid, there's a scarlet gem. Benicio feels something on the bottom of the box, he turns it around to check it out. There seems to be a few words engraved there as he reads them outloud; "De carcere ad mortem…"
Everyone with exception of Benicio, Elymas, Alice and Abel is confused as Gizmo eventually utters; "Euhm…. Bless yer?"
Elymas chuckles; "Oh no no, he was not sneezing. 'De carcere ad mortem' is Latin, it means 'Prison of the death'".
Luna's curiosity gets the best of her as she asks; "Okay,how in the world do you know Latin?"
"Oh, I am not the only one who can speak and read Latin my dear, these fine gentlemen and lady can do it as well." He aims his left hand towards Abel, Benicio and Alice.
The wolf crosses her arms in front of her chest while giving a doubtful look. "Let me guess, it's a biblical thing."
"One may think so, yes. I have to confess that being a demon or an angel has its advantages".
Luna rolls her eyes; "Figuerd as much."
The mob boss opens the lid, revealing a small mirror underneath it. The inside of the box is decorated with a red velvet fabric. While the box is being opened a beautiful melody starts to fill the lobby with its sad sounding tunes. The family is silent while they enjoy the song, but as the music is playing, suddenly the lights start to flicker. Benicio quickly closes the music box, putting an abrupt halt to the calming melodie. The moment he does, the lights go completely out. The group find themselves surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from Alice and Abel their halos, but it was very dim and they could barely see anything.
Before anyone can do something about the darkness, everyone becomes paralysed with fear as they hear Deeralyn scream and cry. Not only that, but the scream stops without warning.
The mob boss can't even describe how worried he is while he starts to imagine the worst scenarios in his head. Afterall, the nurse had never been on a mission before, but he insisted that she needed to come as well. He would never forgive himself, if something were to happen to her or anyone else of the family. "Deeralyn… Sugalips, ya okay?"
The ink demon's heart skips a beat as he is met with silence.
Luna also gives it a shot. "Deeralyn….Sweety, please say something."
The lights flash back on, blinding everyone for a few seconds. Once their eyes are adjusted to the light, they discover that Deeralyn has vanished and with her Fonzy and Elymas have disappeared as well.
"Deeralyn? Elymas? Fonzy? …...Where did ya go?" A hint of panic can be heard in Benicio's cracking voice, while he frantically looks around in the hope to spot them. Disappointment adorns his face while his tail hangs to the ground and his shoulders droop as the three seem to be genuinely gone.