"So the writing appeared on the floor... and said to watch the sixth episode at night?" Aiden asked, looking a little bewildered at the strange 'request'. At first, the rest of the group had been a bit dubious about Jesse's experience with the weird ink tentacles (or, well, whatever they were), until they'd seen the literal black rings of ink around Jesse's wrists from where the ink tentacles had seized ahold of her to keep her down.
They were no longer dubious about that.
"Yeah. I don't really know why, though," Jesse said, absentmindedly rubbing at her arm using Lukas's sleeve. (He really didn't seem to mind.) Reuben was attempting to lick the ink off Jesse's arm as well.
Neither attempts were working.
"That's weird..." Maya trailed off thoughtfully, biting her knuckle thoughtfully. Hadrian picked up a second later, the slightest note of concern entering his voice. (This made Otto and Harper exchange confused looks.)
"But the ink tentacles weren't trying to hurt you? They were just trying to keep you from... dissolving, did you say?"
Jesse nodded slowly, flexing her hands absentmindedly and accidentally bumping Reuben's nose and disturbing him from his task of trying to get the ink off of Jesse's arm. The pig was flexible though, and started nuzzling her hand, expecting her to fondle his ears. He was not disappointed. "Yeah... I don't really get why, though. I mean, I did start dissolving last time... but it never finished or anything."
"Well, we still don't know what was up with that," Harper pointed out, lips twisting together slightly. "It could've just been an extenuating circumstance that kept from Jesse dissolving last time."
There was a long pause as everyone absorbed that, before Dan asked, to try distracting everyone from the grim mood falling over the whole room, "Jesse, didn't they give you a bunch of 'warnings' last time?"
"Yeah, uhh..." Jesse racked her brain, trying to recall the warnings they'd given her. "Watch out for murderers, don't underestimate... uhh..." There was a name lurking in the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite remember it. "... something... and to put the books in Becky's library, whoever's that is, back where we found 'em... oh!" She snapped her fingers as she finally remembered one of the warnings.
Actually, now that she thought about it, it was the first warning they'd given.
She didn't have the best memory, alright?
"They said to watch out," she said slowly, trying to remember the exact wording of the statement, "because I might not be as lucky the next time we had an incident like that."
"So... maybe, this time if you'd touched the memory, you would've totally dissolved into it or something," Jace reasoned, eyes widening as he realized what that meant a moment later. "That... oh. It's a good thing those ink tentacles kept you down, then."
Lukas's arm tightened around Jesse protectively.
"Yeah, no kidding," Gill murmured, his own eyes widening.
"So... I guess we're watching this at night?" Milo asked, trailing off tentatively when he felt the Founder's eyes land on him. He wasn't sure how to react to her, anymore. She... bothered him a little bit.
There was a short silence as everyone thought about it, before Reginald raised his shoulders and then let them drop again in a little shrug. "I... guess so."
Aiden glanced out the window, where he'd still been standing the whole time as they discussed this weird new 'situation'.
His eyes widened a bit as he actually got a good look, without any ghosts- or memories- or whatever they were- to interrupt him at the landscape outside. "Uhh... guys?" he asked, voice dropping to a lower, slightly more nervous volume.
Cassie got up off the couch and got a good look herself, taking a deep breath as she saw what he was looking at. The sky was only just darkening, but it was already heavily overcast, the clouds rolling above them looking nearly black. The wind had also picked up, blowing around some of the trees and some loose leaves. "Oh. Well... that's not too great."
The low rumble of thunder punctuated the conversation.
"Off to find some more pillows~" Jesse hummed, skipping along the hallways of the huge house. It had only been about ten minutes since they'd heard the first signs of the approaching thunderstorm, but it was already pouring rain.
How weather works in this word, Jesse will never know.
The group had split up into groups to try grabbing some things for their nighttime watching of the episode. Jesse and the rest of the 'Hybrid' order had gone off to go find pillows and blankets, Ellegaard and Magnus deciding to tag along with some of them along with Em, Ivor was making some potions to make sure they could stay up all night and for other purposes, Hadrian, Mevia, Otto and Harper had apparently decided they were going to go attempt to cook some food, Cassie and Aiden had gone with Isa and the other two Sky Citizens to both help them find some extra blankets, and to keep the three of them from killing each other.
The gladiators had gone off with Nell to see if there was anything to do in any other location, and the YouTubers were just chatting, since everyone else told them they had everything else covered. Lizzie had offered to help out, but Jesse told her "nah" cheerfully and gestured for them to just sit in the dining room and chat or something. (She totally didn't request for them to keep an eye on the Old- the Ancient Architects to make sure they didn't blow up the kitchen or anything like that.) Gabriel and Soren were going around to see if anyone especially needed help, but with everyone already busy, there wasn't much they really needed to do.
Jesse popped her head into the Phantasmagoria-star room from earlier to see if there were any pillows. There really weren't, but she poked around the room a bit more to see if there was anything she'd overlooked.
That's when she spotted a few sheets of paper resting on the desk. When she leaned forward, she noticed that both of them were the same, with the words "Rules of the Phantasmagoria Hotel" emblazoned across the top in fancy cursive.
"... huh." Jesse picked up the sheet, taking a good look at the gold embellishments decorating the high-quality paper. "I've never heard of the 'Phantasmagoria Hotel' before..." She reevaluated the paper. "Well, if the paper is this fancy, the hotel's gotta be really nice... now, let's see, what are some of these rules?"
1. Please keep the noise level down.
"Well, this one makes sense..." she mumbled.
The hotel has only been minimally renovated since its initial construction in 1798. The walls are thin and you may disturb other guests while they are trying to rest.
2. If you see a famous guest, please do not bother them unless they are clearly ready for it.
"Oh, I guess a lot of famous people come to this hotel."
They do not appreciate being bothered when they are obviously at the hotel for work or to relax.
3. If the furniture appears to have moved since you've last spotted it, please call a hotel staff member for assistance in moving it back. The furniture can be a bit heavy to move by oneself. Ignore if the staff member puts a piece of paper on it- they may be marking it for the cleaners to explicitly clean.
"But why would the furniture move at all in the first place?" the black-haired girl asked aloud.
She received no answer, of course. She would've been alarmed if someone had answered her, actually.
4. Do not go into the library without permission. The library has no exits or secret passageways leading out of it except for the main doors, so if you are locked in, you will be locked in until the door is unlocked from the outside.
"Well that's... worrisome. And does this say secret passageways...?" Jesse reread that to confirm that, yes, the pamphlet or sheet or whatever it was said 'secret passageways' on it.
5. If you can hear singing when you're using the shower, call the front desk. The pipes are rather old and are rarely fixed, so there may be faulty problems with the pipes and the way sound travels through them.
"Uh, I'm not a plumber or anything, but I'm pretty sure that's not how pipes work..."
6. Press the '1' button in the elevator to go to the lobby. There is a sign on the elevator button, but to be clear, our first floor is the lobby. "Oh, well, that's helpful to know," she mumbled to herself. She would've talked to Reuben if he were there, but he wasn't. Alas.
7. If you hear someone talking to you on the elevator, do not respond unless there is someone else with you in the elevator. This rule is fairly self-explanatory.
"... why this is a rule for the hotel is slightly worrying."
8. Please keep your clothes on when not in your own room. Public nudity is considered indecent.
Jesse decided to just not even comment on that rule.
9. Do not use the stairs unless in an emergency. The staircases are being cleaned and checked for safety for the next few months. A few guests have injured themselves on a 'trick step', and a few others have claimed that the portraits on the staircase have been staring at them.
"Why does the hotel have a trick step."
10. If you or another guest feel as if you're feeling a bit not like yourself, call the front desk immediately. There is a small chance the mentioned party may be possessed.
"... this hotel is starting to worry me a bit."
11. If you hear voices under the bed, do not feed them.
"What?!"
They will not harm you if you do not bother them, but if you try to feed them they will soon begin expecting regular deposits of food and it will take an irritatingly long time to rectify the situation.
"An 'irritatingly long time to rectify the sit'- is THAT all they have to say about it?!"
12. Please do not touch the historical artifacts. They are protected by glass and 'guarded' by signs that read 'Do Not Touch' for a reason. We are not responsible for if a guest becomes possessed.
"No, no, this hotel- this hotel is seriously starting to worry me!"
13. Do not use Ouija boards in the hotel. We are not responsible for any damage that may or may not be caused by the Ouija board exploding from an overload of spirits.
"What?!" Jesse repeated, voice rising a little higher in surprise.
14. If you see an instrument playing on its own, shut the door immediately. The player of the instrument may or may not be shy and there is a chance they will not react kindly towards the spectator.
"I'd be more concerned that the instrument is playing on its own-!"
15. If you ever see a statue on any floor above the 4th floor, call the front desk and keep your eyes on it. Every statue that we have is on display in the 'museum areas' on the first four floors.
Jesse was starting to get more than a little worried about this hotel. How was it still in business?!
16. If upon entering the elevator, you see a button for the 27th floor, do not press it. The Phantasmagoria Hotel is only 26 floors tall including the lobby. We don't have a 27th floor.
"Wait, what?!" Jesse's hands were trembling a little bit right now.
17. DO NOT EVER GO UP TO THE ATTIC.
The emblazoned words across the paper were in all caps, making it evident that this was one of the most important- if not the most important- rules of the hotel.
The Phantasmagoria Hotel thanks you for your cooperation. Enjoy your stay!
"Probably won't, but thanks..." Jesse stared at the paper, a majorly disturbed look on her face. "Is this a prank? Why would the hotel staff even print these sorts of rules...?"
Now that she thought about it, this had to be a prank. No hotel would actually have some of these things as rules. Yeah... probably one of the hotel staff members was a huge prankster. The owner of the room had probably gotten a huge kick out of the sheets and brought them home. Yeah, that made sense.
A sudden skip of doubt in Jesse's mind.
... right?
Her introspective thoughts were disrupted by a much louder rumble of thunder. Jesse looked up, thinking for a moment as she glanced absentmindedly at the rain now lashing the windows relentlessly, before slipping the sheet of paper into her pocket and leaving the room, quickly shutting the door behind her.
She could see if any of her friends knew what this 'Phantasmagoria' hotel place was. Probably not, but it never hurts to check.
What she didn't spot was the figure that literally materialized in the room a moment later, crossing their arms and tilting their head at the shutting door and the missing sheet on the desk.
"Hmm."
Jace dropped the huge comforter he'd discovered in one of the spare rooms on the bed. "Whoof! I didn't expect something made of feathers and cloth could be so heavy."
"I know, right?" Lukas chuckled, rubbing his back absentmindedly as he set down his stack of pillows.
"You boys are wimps," Petra told them with a laugh, chucking a pillow in their direction from where she was situated near a couch. Lukas turned to deny this fact, but managed to get a pillow to the face.
It was an incredibly well-aimed pillow.
"Now, now, children, behave," Ellegaard told them teasingly, adding a comforter to the Order's couch before moving to add one of the extras to Ivor's. "I'm sure he's gotten sidetracked making potions in the basement... he probably won't min-"
Right as she put the comforter onto the chair, one of the blue figures literally popped into existence, the comforter dropping into place on top of her as if she was actually taking up space.
Ariza was slumped in the armchair, a book resting on the arm of the chair with one hand keeping it trapped in place as she snoozed. Her chest rose and fell with each deep breath, steadily and slowly.
Ellegaard glanced at Lukas, Petra, and Jace with wide eyes, as if confirming that she wasn't hallucinating Ariza just literally appearing on the chair. Magnus had been in the middle of throwing some more pillows onto the couch, but he stopped, as if Ariza was actually able to sense their presence in the room and he didn't want to wake her up. Em paused in her own task, a huge pile of blankets and pillows piled up in her arms, poised to dump the contents on the floor and waiting to see if Ariza was going to wake up or something.
Suddenly, Ariza's hand twitched.
"Mmm..." Her brow furrowed. "I- no..." She shifted a bit, shoulders trembling. "I don't want..."
Silence for a moment as her teeth gritted, her entire body starting to go tense in her sleep. "I'm sorry..." she murmured in her sleep, rolling over slightly. "I tried, I-" her breath caught. "No. No. No, of course I didn't want you to- Em, I didn't-"
Em's head snapped around to glance at Ariza a little more urgently.
"I tried, I really did, of course I would never-" Ariza's breathing was becoming more heavy. "- Em, of course I would never want you to die!"
Shoulders tensed throughout the room.
"I thought I was fixing things. I tried to fix things!" Ariza gasped in her sleep, her entire body tensing even more than it already had. "I didn't think it was going to happen, you told me to fix things, and I-I t-t-tried- you told me- Em, no, don't go in there! Don't get in that thing, Em-!"
Suddenly, a blast of thunder thundered throughout the room, and Ariza shot upright simultaneously, making Ellegaard leap away as if she was some sort of dangerous flame or something. "NO!" she screamed, eyes flying open to reveal, that for a second, her irises were glowing slightly, a flood of tears spilling over out of her eyes down her cheeks.
Her breath caught as Ariza's eyes darted around the room, noticing none of the real figures standing there staring at her as she tried to regain her bearings.
"No. No. No, no, no, no, no," she whispered, over and over in a bizarre, frantic mantra, putting her hands to her head as she tried to steady her breathing. "No. Em's- Em's gonna be fine. Emily will be great, she will be fine. I can still fix this. I can still fix it. I can still-" Ariza's voice broke, and her eyes seemed to flicker red slightly. Something on her shoulder twitched.
When she looked up again, her eyes were wide, and with that desperate expression on her face combined with her wide eyes, Ariza looked nearly insane. "I have to fix it."
And with that, she disappeared from sight.
There was an extremely long, extremely uncomfortable silence in the room as they stared at the spot Ariza had been occupying.
This... vision. Or memory. Or whatever it was supposed to be.
It had never been this sinister before.
Before anyone could say anything else, Ivor came back in, setting an armful of potions on one of the couches to avoid dropping them all. "Hullo, made some potions, what did I miss?" he asked in a single breath as he tried to keep the potions from all toppling over and smashing.
Ellegaard opened her mouth to tell him, and then shut it, unsure how to phrase it. She began again a few seconds later, but then shut her mouth again, unsurely.
And then suddenly, the lights flickered, and then shut off with a loud, mechanical groaning. The screen seemed to be on, but it was still just a black screen. The only reason they could tell it was even on was that it was emitting the slightest glow. Even so, it was so very pitch black in the room that you could've flailed a hand half an inch from their nose and they wouldn't have been able to see it.
"Whoa!" Em exclaimed, blinking rapidly to try to adjust her eyes to the darkness. "What the heck just happened?"
"The thunderstorm must've knocked out the power a little bit," Ellegaard said shakily. "Uh, does anyone have a flashlight, potions of Night Vision, anything?"
"I, er, I might, but, ah..." Ivor shifted a bit. Was that the sound of soft footsteps, or just rain drumming on the roof? "I can't see where the potions are, let alone what type they are. I usually have to rely on smell, but if I can't even tell where the potions are, I might just end up smashing them all."
Jace suddenly yelped. "Petra, don't brush me like that!"
"What are you talking about? I'm over here," Petra called from where she'd been standing before the lights had all blown out.
"Lukas, is that you, then?"
"No, I'm about ten feet from you-" Lukas got cut off by Jace letting out another high-pitched yelp.
"Something brushed against the bottom of my arm this time! And it's way colder than just now!"
Footsteps seemed to sound near Em, and the burly girl whirled around, eyes narrowing a bit. "Hey... is someone there?" she called into the darkness, but got no answer.
"Did you hear something, Em?" Lukas called from where he was sitting on the floor- he'd been knocked down earlier by Petra's pillow.
A beam of light suddenly flickered to life on the floor, illuminating Jace's legs, Reuben nudging it with a snuffle. Jace picked up the flashlight and shone it around the room, looking around uncertainly. "I... didn't bring a flashlight earlier. Did you, Lukas?" Jace shone it around experimentally, making Lukas wince as Jace inadvertently shone it right into his eyes.
"Uh, no, I didn't."
"Then..." Jace stared uncertainly at the flashlight, before there was another flicker, a loud hum, and the lights came back on, illuminating the troubled expressions of everyone in the room.
Was someone else in there with them?
A/N: A lot shorter than the previous chapter, but this was just a bit of a introduction to the Episode 6 arc.
Get ready to see more than enough suspense, mystery, and maybe a touch of horror than this story really needs. x3
Oh, since I've finally done it...
Time for y'all to meet Azira. Warning; Azira is me... but she curses a lot. And flirts a lot. And is really horny. And doesn't wear a jacket. And has a tattoo. And only comes out when I'm really mad.
...
Basically the opposite of me xD
So, uh... yeah, this is Azira. :3
Azira: 'Sup f*ckers.
Be polite.
Azira: That is being polite.
No, that's- well, actually, now that I think about it...
Azira: See? Told you, b-
Haha, okay, shut up and go away. Or do you want me to take away your job as the narrator?
Azira: You wouldn't.
I would.
Azira: ...
Azira: F*ck I can't tell when you're bluffing. Fine. See all you b*tches later.
AZIR- ah forget it... Anyway, if you wanna see Azira's profile pic, check out my DeviantArt, I posted it yesterday x3
Oh. If anyone can correctly guess where the inky stuff came from, well, kudos to them.
RQTC: GUYS GUYS GUYS MCSM SEASON 2 IS CONFIRMED I THINK AND I'M GETTING WAY TOO EXCITED SQUEEEEEE
the indecisive bird: Yee :3 / Actually, there is a reason besides creeping them all out so much xD / ...? I'm confused too... xD / x3
LunarStarsMoons: (laughs) Sleep can be irritating. / Heehee x3 / No violence involved. Just me screaming like a banshee xD / (nods) / I KNOW RIGHT
homeworkoverload: You're the creator, you traitor, hey! / I think so x3 / I think TellTale only makes games on certain platforms, but I'm not sure which ones...
Emily The Avenger: (laughs) I have destroyed her.
sailor . mikuchan: Oh, you'll see~
LittleAngelbun: (laughs) Congratulations, dear. :3 / (laughs) / Not a tumblr... like a Wordpress or a Blogspot or something. Oh xD / Yes indeedy x3
CrystalTearsofFaith: I laughed when I made that name up lol / Yeah, but I got pissed too. / Yep!
RapidSammi: xD I did too
BeliTheGhoti0304: Finally xD / Nahh it's fine you'll never piss me off. / Not actual murderers... (thinks) ... well, actually...
InsaneAcrobat: Since I only know about 7 and just repeat them, definitely the portals. There ARE a lot of cushions, but there are definitely more portals. / x3 / Cool :3 / Bai!
LegoGirl794: You are right, especially since I don't have any siblings xD / (laughs) Yes, that was a fun chapter to write. / (laughs) He already had one when he said 'don't noogie the blonde'.
Rabbits rule: Same here. / ... / It's fine. Thank you.
SofiaTheWriter88: (smiles cheerfully) / Nah, it's fine. I don't mind!
RavenBlaze4850: Thanks! / (grins) / No. If anyone can correctly guess where it came from, well, kudos to them. (cough) It's really obvious if you take a look at Azira's profile pic... / Yay! / Er, nope. Are they good?
AquaK13: (blinks) ... what? / Yes, it is a person. :3 / I know, right? I did the same. It was so fun~ / (grins) / Bai!
x.X. A.L. X.x
