241) musical! (check-a-roo)
242) Nightmare Before Christmas Special! (check-a-rino)
243) Sweeney Todd special! (check)
244) Jurassic Park special! (checkedy-check-check)
245) Five Nights at Freddy's Special! (CHECK)
246) Back to Earth Special! (Check check check)
247) Portal Special! (check)
248) Three Musketeers special! (check)
249) Smiley Special! (check)
250) Halloween Special!
TWO HUNDRED FIFTY: HALLOWEEN!
"Welcome darling!" A man with long hair greeted, his pointed chin made his face seem thin and hallow, which made his twisted, gnarly smile all the more sinister. Dimentio flinched, not expecting such close contact with another living being.
"Do enjoy the show!" A man who looked almost exactly like the first man, but with shorter hair, greeted him from the other side of the closed in walkway. Dimentio stepped over a prop dummy that had been discarded in the small hallway.
"You left your friends to die!" the prop dummy grabbed his leg, "You've escape while they have died!" Dimentio tried his best to stay in the light from the hallway and fight the dummy off him, but was eventually overpowered and pulled into the darkness.
EARLIER THAT DAY
"Oh come on! This is the BEST place to go for haunted houses!" Acro pulled O'Chunks and Mimi along behind her.
"But I don't like scary things!" Mimi looked as if she was about to throw a tantrum.
"An I dun wan te spoil yer fun by chunkin' a poor lad shoul' 'e star'le meh." O'Chunks scratched his beard.
"Pleeeeeeease you guys?" She pleaded, "Nastasia, come on, don't you wanna check it out?" she practically begged the older woman to help her out.
"Ahem," Nastasia straightened her blouse. "Sweeney seems to think that this'll, uh, strengthen our," Nastasia cleared her throat, " 'family-like bonds'," she quoted.
"I think this'll be fun!" Timpani clapped excitedly as the group of ten got closer to the gates. "Don't you, dear?" she looked at Blumiere excitedly.
"Oh yes, fast traveling, death-cars of steel during the day," he glanced at the inflatable grim reaper by the gate, "horrifyingly cheap monsters at night. What could possibly go wrong?"
Acro, Icefox, Dimentio and Mr. L formed one rollercoaster riding group, switching partners for every ride, Timpani and Blumiere rode together on almost anything, unless Mimi was too scared to ride and Blumiere sat next to her as a way of persuasion, other than that Ewtad usually rode with Mimi. And lastly, Nastasia and O'Chunks were always in the same car on the rides, which scared Nastasia after O'Chunks admitted he was about to hurl as the ride reached its apex hill (that had proved for a hilarious picture).
At one point in the day, Acro, Icefox, Dimentio, Mr. L, Nastasia and Blumiere had done an escape room called Escape Mr. Karver.
"They're touching my dolls, my dolls, Georgie, they keep TOUCHING MY STUFF!" The crazed man screamed in Icefox's ear as she was looking in a bin filled with doll body parts. She whimpered and pretended not to jump. They were in a small room that had been deigned to look like a doll work shop.
"What does that clue say again, Nastasia?" Acro asked, looking up from a photo album laid on the large wooden table in the middle of the room.
"Just that we've got to put a head back in place." Nastasia read the note that'd been attached to a doll body they found.
"Your hair," Mr. Karver got close to Acro, the others held their breaths as they watched him. They knew he couldn't hurt her, but what was he going to do. Mr. Karver leaned closer and gave her long purple hair a sniff, "So beautiful. Georgie she'd make a pretty doll," Dimentio glanced at Acro's hands, noticing how shaky she was, he snickered. "Georgie wouldn't she make a pretty doll?" Mr. Karver talked to the large doll sitting on a chair in the corner. "Of course zis iz too much hair, we'd have to CUT IT!" Mr. Karver screamed in Acro's ear.
"I found the head! There's a clue under it!" Icefox exclaimed.
"Stop touching my things!" Mr. Karver screamed, storming pass them to a smaller room to the side where he plopped down in a chair.
In the end they had escaped with three minutes to spare, Acro shuddered as she looked at the picture of them with Georgie and Mr. Karver with a sign that said "We escaped!"
As the day passed everyone nearly forgot the threat of scares till music ceased around the crowded park, "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls," the group of ten stopped walking, "It is now 6 o'clock, which means our menagerie of maniacs have awakened to say hello,"
"No no no!" Mimi hid her face in Blumiere's back, "I wanna go home! We've had fun today let's just call it a day!"
"But we've stayed this long!" Mr. L protested.
"It's all very dull during the day, don't you want to stay, Mimi?" Dimentio ran his fingers up her spine, to which she turned back and threatened to bite his finger off.
"Come on!" Acro pulled them to the nearest haunted house, one called Cornered. As they walked through, however, the group noticed that the cheap costumes were looking more and more realistic.
"Miss!" A young woman in overalls ran to them, grabbing Timpani's arm. Then ten looked at her in shock, workers were allowed to grab customers.
"Acro?" Blumiere looked at Acro with confusion and fear.
"I'm sorry," Acro shook her head, "I don't know what's happening."
"Miss! You must leave! Meemaw McCobb's made a cornhusk doll of you!" She tried pulling Timpani away from the group but Mimi and Count had a grip on her, "He'll kill you if they find you!" The sound of chainsaws circled the group and the young woman screamed, she yanked with all her might and pulled Timpani away from the group through the cornfield.
"TIMPANI!" Blumiere tried to run after her, only for a large scarecrow-like being to block his way.
"Blumiere!" Timpani's cry was farther away. Blumiere attempted to push past the scarecrow, but found the chainsaw it was wielding to be real and cut his arm open. Blumiere stumbled back with a gasp, clutching his arm.
"We've got to get out of here!" Mr. L screamed. It took the willpower of most of the group to pull Blumiere away.
"Come on! I see the park!" Icefox called, running ahead, Dimentio and Mimi followed with Ewtad in Mimi's arms, followed closely by O'Chunks and Nastasia. Mr. L and Acro were behind them, each supporting Blumiere. As the last three neared the exit they heard it.
"Blumiere?" They stopped and turned around, Timpani stood back towards the maze, glowing eyes blinking between the corn stalks. "Why are you leaving?" Her eyes looked blind. "Why do you always leave me?" Her voice sounded weak as though she were about to cry, yet no emotion showed on her face. She slowly raised a hand out for him to take.
"No!" Acro and Mr. L pulled against him with all their might.
"We can't just leave her in there!" Blumiere screamed at Acro who looked like she was about to break down in tears. He screamed, fighting against the two to get to his wife, but Mr. L and Acro were stronger, pulling Blumiere out of the maze just as the gates slammed shut.
"Count!" Acro finally screamed, shutting the older man up, "Something happened while we were in there. The maze turned into the actual story it was telling."
"So we were in 1970's Iowa?" Mr. L asked.
"And those people were really the dead brought back by Meemaw McCobb?" Nastasia asked.
"Yes. I don't know how though." Acro admitted.
Icefox frowned, "Sweeney said this would bring us closer," she began to pace, "I think," she paused, "We have to go through all of them."
"All of them?" Dimentio demanded, "It was hell just going through one!"
"Well at least you're annoyed with the situation." Icefox scowled, "We don't make the list we just follow it." At this, the group began to argue, blaming one person or another for losing Timpani.
"Fine!" Blumiere shouted, "We do each house, and we don't let anyone else get separated."
"Okay, you know this place best." Nastasia turned to Acro, "Where to next?"
Acro thought for a bit, "The Catacombs." The group walked, ignoring the laughs and talk of excited park guests, no one else seemed to have experience what they had, and because of that it made them worry for Timpani even more.
"Why do we even have to play this sick game of Sweeney's?" Dimentio annoyingly whispered to Icefox.
"We've got to find out what happened to Timpani." She whispered back, "The woman only wanted Timpani, so there had to be a reason for that. And if Sweeney wanted us here specifically for the haunted houses, maybe there's an answer to this if we do them all."
"That's such a stretch it puts rubber bands to shame." Dimentio glanced at the workers dressed up in military vests, warning people to leave the Wendigo Woods.
They walked through a demon rave and to the Catacombs between France and Ireland.
The hallway was small and twisted one way and then another. They all held onto each other, O'Chunks in the front, with Mimi right behind him, Ewtad on her back like a backpack, Icefox behind her, Blumiere behind her, Nastasia behind him, Acro behind her, Dimentio behind her, and Mr. L behind him.
"Send us home," a ghostly voice whispered, making O'Chunks stop in his path.
"Put us back!" a woman screamed, breaking through the wall of bones to their left. She grabbed Icefox around the neck.
"Icefox!" Acro left go of Nastasia and Dimentio, pushing past the others to get to her friend.
"No! No! I didn't do it!" Icefox begged, her legs up on either side of the hole the woman had created, her hands on the hand around her neck.
"I've got you!" Acro wrapped her arms around Icefox's midsection.
"PUT US BACK!" The woman screamed, black, tar-like, saliva spitting from her mouth. Her body was slowly wilting away till she was just a skeleton dripping in the black ooze.
"I DIDN'T RAISE YOU FROM YOUR SLUMBER!" Icefox screamed at the creature.
Acro's grip was loosening, "Help me!" she urged the others, who were already pulling on Acro and Icefox, trying to pull her away from the hole in the wall.
The woman screamed and with a yank, pulled Icefox into her body, it was like watching a human be flip inside out and O'Chunks had to practically drag Acro through the rest of the haunted house. A blast of cool autumn wind hit their faces as a bright red 'Exit' sign appeared over an opening in the bones.
"Acro?" A small voice called, everyone else had just stepped out and had turned back to watch Acro slowly turn to face a younger version of her friend.
"I thought we'd be friends forever," Icefox while looking just as she had on her first day at Castle Bleck, everything from her shoulders to her waist was bone, no organs or muscle, just a ribcage with a distorted spine. "Why are you leaving?" Icefox's white eyes began to tear up.
"Oh, Ice," Acro took a step towards her, "I-I will always be here." Icefox reached out, and Acro began to raise her own hand, wanting to accept it.
"Acro!" Blumiere broke back into the maze, grabbing Acro by her other hand.
"Acro?" Icefox began to cry.
"Icefox!" Acro tried to grab onto her once more as Blumiere hauled her out of the maze as the door to the exit creaked to a close. Acro could see Icefox's sad eyes peek out from the tiniest crack before the door completely closed.
For a moment, no one said anything, they watched Acro sit in the middle of the demon rave silently, looking at the cobblestone ground in solemn silence. After a while, she stood and rejoined the group, "We go to Unearthed next." was all she said.
As they walked through Ireland, Blumiere and Mr. L tried to get Dimentio to talk to Acro since they'd both been the two closest to Icefox. But, whenever someone tried to walk closer to Acro she would just increase her pace. Only Ewtad was allowed to walk beside her, he held her hand, black tears rolling down his face for one of his lost mothers.
Unearthed was horrifying. Smoke filled their lungs as they traversed the house. Acro led the way with Ewtad at her side, Dimentio behind her, then Mr. L, Nastasia, Mimi, Blumiere and O'Chunks.
"You dare enter MY home?" A sinister woman's voice purred in the darkness.
"We dare conquer your home." Acro shouted back at the darkness. "I don't know how Sweeney brought you all to life but you will not take another one of us!"
"Sweeney?" The voice questioned, "My, someone has the wrong idea in their head."
They passed through the house with relative ease, only slightly disturbed by the human corpses and dismembered animals.
"But then again," the woman's voice echoed around them as they neared the Master Bedroom at the back of the house, "It's hard to have the wrong idea in your head-WHEN YOU HAVE NONE!" A large woman with equally large horns flew in from the window, shattering it and splintering the ancient wood that one surrounded it.
What happened next appeared to be in slow motion, The woman-Scarlett-attempted to grab Acro, only for Ewtad to be in the way. She grabbed the little creature by its white sweater and began to break through the opposing wall with her horns like a ram destroying a weak fence. Mimi broke her neck, reaching one of her extendable arms out to try and grab Ewtad. The remaining six watched in slow motion as Mimi and Ewtad were dragged into the darkest, deepest pits of the house.
"Mimi! Ewtad!" O'Chunks called, looking down the hole they'd disappeared into.
"What do we do? We're dwindling incase none of you had noticed!" Mr. L began to panic.
"What is to become of them? How can Sweeney possibly think this would bring us closer?" Blumiere covered his face with his hands, "Will we ever see them again?" He whispered.
"No, no, no-this isn't right!" Acro slammed a fist onto the wall, "I had him in my arms! I should have stopped her!"
"Everyone, just calm down!" Nastasia shouted above them all. They looked at her in shock, her indigo cheeks stained red, "Look, uhm, we should just accept what we will see." It didn't have to be said, they knew they would eventually find Mimi and Ewtad at the end of the maze. They couldn't afford to be stuck here with them otherwise how would they be able to complete the haunted houses? "How many do we, uhh, have left?" Nastasia asked Acro who was biting her lip.
"Four." Acro counted, "A zombie infested metro, a haunted lumber camp," she paused and swallowed, "A cult of vampires," Dimentio, Mr. L, and O'Chunks looked at Acro, Blumiere and Nastasia wearily, "and a sinister circus."
"We should hit them in that order." Dimentio spoke up.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Acro frowned, "The circus is the easiest to get through,"
"Each maze has corresponded to someone in one way or another," Dimentio mused, the others looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean by that?" Mr. L put his hands on his hips.
"Think about it." Dimentio looked at them, "The woman in the first maze said that they would specifically kill Timpani if she was found. Because someone had made a doll of her. She'd been cursed." Dimentio put two and two together.
A light went off over Blumiere's head, "Like how my father cursed her to wander for an eternity."
Dimentio nodded, "Icefox was a well practiced magician, performing feats that most human magicians would kill to do. But she can do it because of who she is. However, magic can be a pretty dirty business."
"And moving corpses from their final resting place can be a dirty business." Acro added, "Is this what Sweeney meant?" she turned away from the group, hugging herself.
"Mimi was cursed as a child by a witch."
"Like how Scarlett placed a curse on her house." Nastasia said, "But how does Ewtad fit into this?"
"That I don't know." Dimentio mused, "Perhaps because of how Scarlett's revenge fueled her curse and annoying fuels Ewtad?"
"In any case," Blumiere sighed, "We should get going." The remaining six made it to the end of Scarlett's Revenge, trying their best to ignore the cries of their youngest friends, begging to be set free. Mr. L and O'Chunks had nearly stopped before the curtain that separated the curse from the park, but Blumiere and Nastasia urged them on.
"While this is much more fun than the other houses!" Mr. L shouted over the hoard of zombies that had swarmed them, each of them using a respective attack to fend them off, "I MUCH PREFER WHEN THEY JUST PICK AND GO!" He swung out a green flamed fist, knocking an aggressive zombie back. They'd been walking along an abandoned metro when a hoard of zombies came at them with vicious speed and appetite, Acro had given them gas masks, unsure of the gas that was emitting from their hallowed chests and slack mouths.
"We can't fight them off forever!" Acro shouted over the groans, growls, and snarls of the undead. "This is an underground metro flooded with zombie-producing gas-"
"Where's Alec when you need him?" Dimentio sent a starburst at a particularly nasty looking group.
"If we stay any longa' we'll all be chunks!" O'Chunks slammed his fists down on the head of a brutish zombie.
"Then I suggest we find the exit post-haste!" Blumiere protected Nastasia, swiping out with his cane.
"Yeah-you guys go on ahead!" Mr. L shouted, they looked back at him, noticing he was on top of a power box, with most of the zombies moving towards him.
"Luigi!" Acro called, "We're not leaving you!" However, the others had already moved onto the next room.
"Someone's gotta stay, babes." Mr. L called, swiping at a zombie with a busted pipe. "Dimentio!" the jester came back into the room, "Get her outta here!" Dimentio nodded and grabbed Acro's hand, "And Dimentio?" the looked at Mr. L who now stood up to his full height on the power box, "Get us home, bro." Dimentio nodded wordlessly, then gave a two fingered salute which Mr. L returned.
"No, Mr. L!" Acro tried to break through the horde, but Dimentio easily pulled her away.
"You won't wanna see this, love." when they rejoined the others at an abandoned station he wrapped his arms around her, half to protect her from Mr. L's echoing screams, and half to keep either of them from running back to Mr. L.
"Nothin' teh do bu' move forward." O'Chunks sighed.
"Hopefully this nightmare will be over soon." Blumiere encouraged. They cut through a bathroom, a toilet exploding and splashing the five with murky toilet water.
"Bros?" They turned back, Mr. L appeared behind them, seemingly unharmed, "You were really just going to leave me back there?"
"Luigi!" Acro could have cried tears of joy.
"You were really going to leave me." Mr. L accused.
Dimentio grabbed Acro's arm before she could protest and go to him, "His eyes." He whispered. Mr. L's eyes were the same blank white as the others. Upon closer inspection, this Mr. L had his clothes torn in places and skin seemed to be rotting where it was exposed.
"We," Acro breathed tiredly, "We have to leave you here." She swallowed and ran past the others towards the exit.
"Bro?" Mr. L tilted his head at Dimentio who paused. "Why do you always choose her? I thought we were best bros?" Dimentio looked over the young man, he opened his mouth to say something, but heard Acro calling his name from the other side of the exit. Mr. L scoffed, "My real bro leaves me for his princess." He glared at Dimentio, "And my best bro leaves me for his princess."
"She's not my princess." Dimentio insisted. "She won't be part of our world soon. I've lost her so many times. Both her and Icefox." Mr. L scoffed, tears flowing down his rotting cheeks, "So I will do anything to make them both happy, even if that includes this suicide mission."
"Better do as your queen says." Mr. L growled, tears still cascading down his hallow cheeks. "Loyalty and all. Betrayer." He spat. The stab cut harder than Dimentio would ever admit in his six years of being resurrected, but it was enough to push him to the other side of the exit sign.
"Do you think you'll be taken at the vampire cult house?" Dimentio whispered as he picked up his pace and joined Acro at the head of the group.
"No doubt." Acro sighed, after a pause she added, "I wish I could make it to the circus," She looked up at the sky, a few dark stars glittering the midnight blue curtain that'd fallen over them.
"Is this supposed to be an annoyance?" Dimentio asked.
"Depends." Acro shrugged, focusing back on their road to the lumber camp.
"On what?" Dimentio asked.
"On if you're annoyed." Acro smirked up at him. They sat in sobering silence at a train station in Scotland, waiting for a train to take them past Festa Italia and then to New France. The train ride was even quieter they squeezed into the first two rows of a train car Dimentio, and Acro in the first one, Nastasia, Blumiere and O'Chunks in the second one. The five wondered how Sweeney, their annoying, author, made the houses come to life. Were other people being hurt? What would actually happen when they reach the final haunted house? Who would be the last person standing?
"What happens if we just send one person in?" Dimentio asked, "Could we cheat the system?" the lantern light above his head went out.
"I suppose that's Sweeney's way of saying 'no'," Acro reasoned, the light came back on.
"If only one person goes through, how, uhm, would we know if it's completed?" Nastasia asked, "Better we follow the, uhh, rules." She said.
"We jus goteh stick together'," O'Chunks said, "No 'oldin back. I oughta chunk tha' Sweeney in her jabber."
"Well aren't you the rude one?" A voice said in front of them. Sweeney stood on the ledge between the wall protecting the first row and the drop off the train. It was only moving at about three miles an hour. "Ah-ah-ah," She held up a finger to stop O'Chunks from flinging himself over everyone to get to her, "No standing on the train."
"What do you want?" Acro demanded.
Sweeney slowly blinked and glanced at her, "I want you to finish the game-"
"Well we're not very fond of your rules." Dimentio growled in annoyance.
This only made the author grin, "But the readers love this kind of thing. Grips them in and then," she made a slow motion across her neck, "cliffhanger," she moved her hand away once it had reached the middle of her throat. The train began to cross a long bridge.
"I liked this story much more when Acro was in charge." Blumiere spoke up.
"Well, people grow." Sweeney smiled sickly-sweetly at them. "Would you look at the time," Sweeney looked at her wrist, no watch visible on her wrist, "I must be off." she took a step to her left and plummeted off the side of the bridge, the six gasped and screamed, squeezing to their right to look to where she'd dropped off. The water below never splashed or rippled, the author disappearing back to the safety of her computer desk.
"Who do you think it'll be?" Dimentio asked, turning back to face the front of the train.
"O'Chunks. Brute strength," She said, "I'm using your connection to the haunted houses theory."
"So that'll leave me, you, the Count, and Nastasia." Dimentio counted.
"I think it's going to be down to you, Dimentio." Acro admitted quietly. Dimentio looked at her incredulously, "Think about it. Blumiere is a Tribe of Darkness member. Nastasia is an Ancient Vampire, and I'm a vampire princess for Grambi's sake. All of that kinds screams at a vampire cult 'Hey lookie here!' don't you think?" she asked.
"One of you has to make it out, how else will we complete the last haunted house?" Dimentio asked.
Acro took his hands, "I'm counting on you to get us home." she swallowed, "Or at least get revenge on Sweeney for us."
"I'll get us home." He squeezed her hand as the train came to a stop. The walk to Lumberhack felt like a death row prisoner going to his end, and several times they had to stop to collect themselves.
As they approached the Lumber camp they could hear growls of the undead once more, but this time, instead of sharp electric claps they were accompanied by the whirr of saw blades and wood chippers.
"What's the story here?" Blumiere asked Acro as they snuck around the camp, wanting to go as far as possible without being detected by the undead.
"A long time ago some of the loggers working here were horribly injured. Their wounds quickly became infected, and the men died within hours." Acro whispered as a lumbering man walked by their hiding spot. Nastasia trembled between O'Chunks and Blumiere. "As the other loggers on shift sat around mourning the loss of their friends, they heard a noise coming from where the bodies lay." Acro narrated as quietly as she could. "All of a sudden, the dead rose from the ground in a murderous rage. Any and all that were still in the camp were feasted upon. It's said the undead loggers prowl the forest in search of their next victims."
"Right." Dimentio breathed, "No pressure to make it out alive, I see." He mocked.
"They're blockin' the exit." O'Chunks pointed at their exit, "We've got teh ge' through some'ow."
"O'Chunks, no." Nastasia grabbed his arm as he pushed past them. O'Chunks looked at the smaller woman with surprise. "We're, uhm, getting through the houses together." She tried to insist.
"An we can' do tha' wivout someone stayin' behind." O'Chunks carefully removed her small hand from his arm. "Count," He bowed to Blumiere, "Take care o' them." he then suddenly scooped everyone into a hug in his gigantic arms. "You guys is the bes' family a chunks could ask fer." He sniffled as he sat them all down. "You lot jus' follow me."
"Wait, O'Chunks we should have a slightly better plan than 'follow me'." Dimentio tried to reason.
"HARBLE-DEH!" O'Chunks barreled out from their hiding spot and charged into the crowd of undead loggers, campers, and hikers. He fought while the rest made it through the exit. Nastasia and Blumiere only pausing for a second, wishing to join the bigger man in the fight.
"Go!" O'Chunks ordered. "Go!"
"You've got to make it through Bitten." Dimentio said as the four walked into the old 1700-1800 house.
"I can't." Acro said. Ahead of them by only a few paces, Blumiere and Nastasia were suddenly pulled from their sights, their echoing, and fading screams were all that reassured Dimentio that they'd been there in the first place.
"Stay for a bite, my dear." A charming vampire greeted them once they made it through the first hallway untouched. Dimentio was unprepared for what was to happen next. The charming vampire extended his hand as if he were asking Acro to dance and she was sucked from Dimentio's arms.
"Dimentio?" Acro looked over her shoulder, her scared face illuminated by a single, naked, red bulb.
"Acro!" Dimentio tried to reach her but the charming vampire turned as if he were, in fact, starting a dance, and once the flourish of his cape had ceased disorientating Dimentio he realized they'd disappeared.
"Acro!" Dimentio staggered across the large foyer, following the screams of victims and of Blumiere and Nastasia.
"Count! Nastasia!" Dimentio gripped the wall, the hallway seeming to turn on its side. He felt woozy, warm, and doubled over. The stench of thousands of victims, gallons of ancient blood, and countless decaying bodies overwhelmed Dimentio.
"Acro!" He called.
"Dimentio, how could you?" He turned, Nastasia stood behind him. Unlike the others, her eyes were not milky white, but crimson red. Her glasses broken and discarded at her feet. A vampire, cloaked in darkness, rose behind her and undid her normally well kept hair. "He betrayed you, didn't he?" the vampire asked, his voice velvety and making Dimentio nauseous.
"Why did you betray us?" Her normal hesitation was absent from her words. She took a step forward, her heels clicking on the hard wood flood. "We may not have liked you," Nastasia admitted, advancing on Dimentio, "But we were all family."
"No." Dimentio shook his head, "The count was going to betray us! I tried to save us!" She was now standing over him, Dimentio still doubled over from the stench and echoing words of the hypnotic vampires.
"We hate you." she said.
"No!" Dimentio roared, with a tremendous power, he shoved Nastasia back and ran further into the vampire house.
Turning a corner, Dimentio was taken by surprise as the once solid floor was replaced by sand, several vampires woke from the sound of Dimentio hitting the floor. Angered at being woken up, they began to hiss and growl at him.
"Even now, eleven years later," A voice said at the end of the sandy room, "You still disappoint me." Count Bleck, in his Tribe of Darkness regalia, stood at the end of the room. He, however, turned and walked out of the room.
"Count!" Dimentio roared, spitting the sand out of his mouth. He stood and chased after him.
"But I suppose," The Count was suddenly behind him, "That's to be expected from a common magician who cheated his way into my ranks." The Count's once porcelain smooth face was sliced like a poorly carved jack-o-lantern from the corner of his lips to his ears. The fire and rage inside him made his normally midnight blue skin glow, as if an eternal light was within him, and his once warm amber eyes now glowed a vibrant golden.
"And I would do it all over again." Dimentio growled, turning to fight him, but finding no one.
"Do you really think you'll convince Sweeney to let Acro stay?" Count Bleck asked. Dimentio shook his head, anger made the young man shake, "You could stay with her forever in here." Dimentio paused. Count Bleck floated pass, torn curtains parting for him as he walked through the house, Dimentio cautiously trailing behind. "You and Acro, here forever, where Sweeney cannot touch you." The Count continued. He stopped at a large wooden door, he knocked on it once with a gloved hand and stood to the side.
Dimentio stepped as far from Count Bleck as he could to get in the room, though it was unneeded as the door closed and the Count walked away as it did. Dimentio was left in a large room, a purple and red spotlight pointed at a spot on the wall next to him, though he couldn't see at exactly what as a large, velvet curtain stood in his way.
Dimentio walked around the curtain and the edge of the raised platform it was protecting. His jester shoes hardly made a sound on the black and white tiled floor. Dimentio forgot how to breathe as he took in the sight before him. Sitting, in the most beautiful gown he'd ever seen, was Acro. A silver crown rested gently on her head, and she sat with poise and grace on a throne of wood and purple velvet cushions. Dimentio looked her over, searching for any signs of injury or pain. Her eyes were closed as if she were sleeping, and her shoulders were relaxed, other than that, she appeared unharmed. Then he noticed it, the chains that connected her wrists to the wall behind her.
"Acro?" he questioned, stepping up to the stage she was sat upon. Acro let out a breath, her head rolling to one side, she looked pleased. "Acro?" he stepped closer, daring to reach out a hand, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" a small, tired, moan escaped her painted lips. Her thick lashes fluttered and she looked at her painted nails and pale hands chained to the wall.
She then looked up at Dimentio who gasped. Her eyes were a blinding white, with flashes of furious red veins as her breathing increased. "YOU!" She spat, her stood from her throne, walking as far as her chains would let her, "You keep me here! You won't let me leave!" She spat at him. "You won't let me go to my people!" Dimentio backed against the far wall, if she'd been an animal, Dimentio was sure she'd be foaming at the mouth. She continued to spit profanities at him, in languages he knew and did not know.
"I want you happy!" Dimentio shouted back, "nothing makes you happier than annoying me!"
Acro stopped her insults long enough to let out a single, harsh, bark of a laugh. "You?! Make ME happy?!" She insinuated, "YOU'RE the one keeping me TRAPPED!"
"You've been chained by the other vampires!" Dimentio argued.
"My people would NEVER betray me the way you've betrayed YOUR people!" She spat, fighting against her chains.
"It will be hard to stay forever if she's as feisty as this." The same charming vampire from earlier appeared behind Acro's throne. "But I heard you like to play games." Dimentio glared at the vampire.
"You're right," He stood to his full height, "I do like to play games." He ran forward, stepping up on Acro's stage despite her screeching protests.
Dimentio broke through the binds of the house that tried to cling to him. He could hear Acro wailing inside still, and part of him ached to go back inside. But, Dimentio knew the others would be suffering in their haunted houses if he didn't go to the last one. He wiped Acro's lipstick off his lips and stood up. With a heavy breath he set off for Circo Sinistro.
He ignored the happy park goers, and pushed past people when they slowed down. He ignored the sideshow outside of Tempesto and walked straight to the haunted house.
"Welcome darling!" A man with long hair greeted, his pointed chin made his face seem thin and hallow, which made his twisted, gnarly smile all the more sinister. Dimentio flinched, not expecting such close contact with another living being.
"Do enjoy the show!" A man who looked almost exactly like the first man, but with shorter hair, greeted him from the other side of the closed in walkway. Dimentio stepped over a prop dummy that had been discarded in the small hallway.
"You left your friends to die!" the prop dummy grabbed his leg, "You've escape while they have died!" Dimentio tried his best to stay in the light from the hallway and fight the dummy off him, but was eventually overpowered and pulled into the darkness.
Dimentio woke with a start, he felt his face, then his arms, body and legs. Once his breathing had settled he looked around, noticing his room was just as it was before Acro and Icefox had came into his room screaming about haunted houses.
"Not another one of these annoyances." Dimentio whimpered, flopping back on his bed. Hours later, Dimentio was woken with a start once more as a green skinned girl landed on his stomach.
"Come on you big, lazy, dummy! The girls say it's time to get up!" She bounced a few more times before Dimentio shoved her off. "Rude!" Mimi shrieked, fixing her dress and hair.
"Mimi?" Dimentio asked.
Mimi looked at him with confusion, "Yeah?"
"Mimi!" Dimentio sprang from his bed and wrapped the young girl in his arms. "Is everyone else okay?" he asked, looking Mimi over quickly. Mimi looked at him with a horrified grimace.
"Are you feeling okay?" Mimi asked, putting a small hand on his forehead.
"The others-" Dimentio shook his head, he snapped his clothes on and raced out of his room, floating at top speed.
Down in the dining room, everyone was enjoying a peaceful breakfast. Blumiere and Timpani sat close together, looking over a newspaper from the Mario Kingdom, Blumiere with his coffee and Timpani with her tea.
Nastasia sat across from them, a book on her lap and her toast growing cold.
Mr. L sat next to her, one hand covered in oil stains, the other spooning cereal into his mouth as he looked over schematics for his next project.
O'Chunks had just entered the room, a protein shake being guzzled as he walked with his plate of fifteen eggs and five sausage links.
Acro sat at one head of the table, yawning as she dunked her poptarts into some Lon Lon milk.
Icefox sat at the other head of the table, studying one of her spell books and waiting for her oatmeal to cool.
Ewtad sat next to her on the floor doodling with a green crayon.
Suddenly, Dimentio zipped into the room. "Timpani!" he rushed to the surprised woman and hugged her. Everyone paused mid bite or sip. Dimentio had never shown any kind of affection or even recognition to Timpani since she'd moved in.
"Uhm," Timpani patted his back, "Good morning, Dimentio."
Just as quickly as he'd hugged her, he'd moved away, looking Icefox over, "You're not hurt? You're okay?"
"Yes? Yes?" Icefox answered.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Dimentio demanded, holding up two.
"Two?" Icefox asked just as Dimentio put up a third.
"Two? No!" Dimentio shook his head, "But I thank Grambi you're safe." He kissed each of her cheeks. He then spotted Ewtad next to her on the floor and scooped the little creature up. "Ewtad, my little monster! You're okay? You're safe? You're unharmed."
"I'm fine." Ewtad smiled pleasantly, "Are you?" He asked sincerely.
Dimentio gently put him back down, "Mr. L, I think it's time you and I have a 'guys night in'!" Dimentio exclaimed, looking over Mr. L for injuries as he had with the others. Everyone was still in shock and simply watching the spectacle go on.
"Uh, sure, bro, that'd be awesome?" Mr. L looked to the others to see if they were just as confused, and they were.
"O'Chunks, you brave man!" Dimentio went to give the big man a big kiss on his forehead but saw his protein shake was dribbling down to his ginger beard and simply decided to stand before him, "You're unharmed, yes?"
"'ealthy as a 'orse." O'Chunks said slowly.
Dimentio moved onto Blumiere and Nastasia, "I know I've never formally apologized for my past behavior." He said slowly, surprising the group even more, "And while I believe I was doing what was best, I understand how betrayed you all felt, and I apologize." He gave his signature bow.
"Apology, uhm," Nastasia glanced at Blumiere who looked just as lost as her, "accepted?"
"And, dear, Acro." Dimentio took her shoulders, the young girl looked at the other table members with confusion and mild fear, "If you ever wish to return to your story, by all means, I wish you nothing but the best." He then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
So I went to Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream three times this year (All because of Circo Sinistro-I met ringmaster bae there).
And I was inspired by it for this chapter. It's a little late for Halloween, but still. Sorry if it gets scarier than usual (and it shouldn't be too scary, but for the tone of this fic it's kinda frightening)