He produced a ball of blue energy around his hand a second later and waved it around in a circle. A portal full of the same blue energy formed in front of them, and without much ado, Adam and Emily walked through it. On the other side they found themselves inside another mansion. Only instead of being bright and welcoming, it was dark and gloomy. It was all dark wood paneling and dark/muted colored walls.
There was a sense of foreboding in the atmosphere. It was enough for Adam to cling a little closer behind Emily. He gripped her shoulders like a frighten little boy. In the past Emily would've rolled her eyes and told him there is nothing to be afraid of. But here, she wasn't sure what to expect. It was the unknown factor of all this, she knew about as much as Adam did. They were both unsure of what to expect from a mansion like this. There could be booby traps and whatnot in ever room and corridor of this vast place.
She could've been watching too many movies, but the truth of it that is what she and Adam have to go off on for right now. It was like this mansion was designed to have the creepy factor permeated from every inch of this place.
Emily can hear the sound of her own heart thumping inside her chest as she looked around. Nothing else made a sound around them. It was dead quiet, like nothing happened here in years and years. It added to the sense of danger in the atmosphere, like something gonna happen if they don't be careful.
"This place gets my vote for creepiest mansion of the year," Emily commented softly.
"We should probably assume he's watching us too," Adam replied after a quick glance around.
What's to prove he is or isn't, except the fact about the tv screen thing earlier. Likely meant Emily saw the part with the alternative marriage between Murph and Melinda then. Still, that didn't stop the vibe from sending shivers up their spines.
Emily agreed, "Yeah. It does feel like he is now that you mentioned it."
The two slowly made their way from the entranceway over to the large wooden staircase to the side. There was a dark maroon carpet that covered the steps up to the second floor. And in front of the staircase was the doorway to the kitchen and dining room. Emily peeked inside, somewhat hoping to find Rhea there.
All was quiet. Shit of course what was she expecting, Rhea at the table with something she made to eat? She turned her head around to look in the direction of the living room which was also much of the same. Empty and devoid of any sign of anyone else. This doesn't seem to bode well to the hope that they are gonna find her soon.
"Hey Adam?" She felt some trepidation in asking this but she felt like it needed to be brought up.
"Yeah Em."
"Are you even sure Rhea is here?...I mean I'm not hearing or seeing any sign of her so far."
"She should be...hopefully. That portal was supposed to take us to where that guy took her."
Just after Adam's response, a loud audible creak was heard towards the ceiling. It send them both off guard. Moreso Adam than Emily who reeled back a few steps.
"Ahh mommy!" Adam blurted out while Emily just felt her breath hitched up as they both looked up towards the ceiling.
"It's alright Adam, probably just a rat. Or something equally just as gross," Emily's voice trailed off before she started to walk up the stairs.
"Yeah…" He could rattle off a few facts about bugs in homes in general, but even he got the feeling now wasn't exactly the best time.
Plus he was too high alert to even think of a suitable tidbit to tell Emily. So instead he just followed Emily up the stairs. The only sounds were the steps slightly creaking under both of their weights. Once they got to the top they noticed a long corridor in front of them. The longest they've seen. Grand decorations adorned the walls and floor, paintings of a time long past hung on the wall on both sides. But the atmosphere hadn't changed much, even the chandelier lights looked musty and burnt out. Exact same gloomy, depressive vibe as the rest of the house. Devoid of life. There wasn't even any evidence of any sunlight coming from any windows. And the reason was made clear a second later, there didn't even seem to be any rooms.
Except for one. And it was at the tail end of the hallway in front of them.
"Why am I having a bad feeling Cupun could've tied Rhea up in that room?" Emily admitted as she looked around.
Adam tensed up with worriedness, "I hope not."
The two started to walk at a cautious pace, Emily had decided to hold onto Adam's arm as she checked out the paintings. In any other environment, they both would've stopped to look and admire some of the Renaissance-esque paintings for a brief second, but these ones just added to the atmosphere. None of them creepily moved or anything like they were being watched. They were just run of the mill artwork that didn't make this place any more cheery.
"I kinda half expected the guy to go a little over the top," Emily gestured to the paintings, "Have the eyes move or whatever."
"Ooh like in Harry Potter! I've read the books and seen the movies. Hmm I wonder what House we would be in?"
"Cupun would probably be a Slytherin," Emily pointed out with a casual laugh.
Talking seemed to do both of them good, it was an apt enough distraction from the atmosphere of this mansion. Adam pondered on the thought for a second before he replied.
"Haha yeah he would be," There was a brief moment of silence before Adam began again. This time in a sober, but calm voice, "You know, I used to fantasize as a kid about finally meeting someone who had the same kinda...deal I had. Or at least someone to explain them to me."
Emily looked up at him as they kept up their pace, "That makes sense. Sucks you had to find out through all this."
"Yeah, this sucks for you and Rhea too. There wasn't any kidnapping shit or anything in those fantasies. It was more of a playdate-"
"Playdate?..."
"Sorry, a nice meeting over lunch or something," Adam quickly corrected himself.
Damn it. How did he get this bad with socialization that he still jump right into using more childish terms to mean something? He was a big boy, an adult. He shouldn't be using something a five-year-old would say if he wanted to get any friends. He has gotten that cue plenty of times. Mostly from the two people he cared about the most in his life.
"I get what you mean."
"Finding out the reason this way is fucked up to put it lightly."
Emily nodded in agreement, "Surprised the walls haven't started bleeding yet either."
She let out a weak chuckle and worriedly looked at the walls as if blood was about to gush out at any second. But of course they didn't and she felt a bit silly for getting a little over worried. Probably understandable the voice inside her told her.
Not before too long, they finally reached the door at the end. It was unassuming and yet ominous at the same time. Both Adam and Emily stared at it and hesitatingly glanced at each other. Too unsure of what they'll find on the other side and it didn't help that there weren't any telltale signs of anyone on the other side. No yell for help, nobody to open the door. Nothing. It just drove to raise their suspicions that Cupun left something horrible for them on the other side.
In the end, it was Adam who slowly reached for the metal knob. He opened it cautiously and peeked in before he opens the door all the way open. He took a step in with Emily right behind him.
"Sissy?"
There was something that slightly amused Emily that Adam still used that more childlike nickname for Rhea in a situation like this. Like he was a scared child rather than a man. She wisely kept it to herself. It was very clear the word still carried a sibling love kind of intonation. Plus she would feel like an asshole to correct Adam on age appropriate terms right now.
The room itself was strangely bared. Just walls, floors and a wooden framed window on the other side. Nothing else except for a wooden table in the middle with a doll on top. And it wasn't that creepy to begin with. It was kinda anticlimactic in a way? Emily wasn't sure, dolls can certainly be creepy, but this one didn't seem to be threatening in any shape or form.
"If this is Cupun's idea to scare the shit out of me then it's not working," Emily lightly teased as she gestured at the doll.
Adam softly chuckled, "Yeah, you would expect it to be alive or possessed haha."
The two fell into silence as they continued to stare. Something felt off about it the more they stared at it. They took a couple of steps closer and noticed how it was standing up exactly. It was on a little wooden stand.
Emily continued to go up to the edge of the table while Adam got distracted by what laid outside of the window. There was no indication of this mansion being anywhere on Earth or somewhere tangible. Instead it reminded him of when he took Emily and Murph through an alternative timestream. That is to say, it was nothing but a swirling mass of various shades of green. Just sans clocks.
"Adam..."
There was a note of muted horror and dread in her voice.
"You remember what your sister wore right?"
"Yeah why?" Adam glanced at her as he walked up to stand next to her.
"I think we found her."
Adam looked at the doll more closely and felt his blood turn ice cold. The little unassuming doll appeared to have taken the appearance of Rhea. Short brown hair, same blue suit just in a more wooden form. It was clear as day that that bastard transformed Rhea. And all this just because he got jealousy issues over a previous Guardian. At that moment, Adam felt knew no other emotional but ire and rage that surged throughout his body towards the person that was responsible for this.
The same bastard who was the reason he always felt less than human because of these superhuman powers. The same bastard who was one of the major reasons he had trouble connecting with other people growing up. Adam closed his eyes and clenched his fists tight enough to feel a dull pain. This was new, it was rare he felt truly pissed off, but this, this was unprecedented. Every fiber of him teamed with increased energy mixed with adrenaline.
How dare this guy used his powers on someone he cared about.
Emily noticed both of his fists glowed with the now familiar blue energy. It formed into a ball around his hands. She didn't really know what was going on. She was concerned for him and confused, especially when he opened his eyes and the entire eye was a shade of blue, not just the irises as usual.