House of Hallways

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Varda was quite exhausted! The trip through the odd house had been very taxing already, but when he had to make a quick trip back to the little town with a Glaceon on his back... Well, it certainly had been something, alright! Luckily he didn't have to carry his friend back, as they had been lucky and there was a Pokémon who could deal with their injuries for a small compensation, so they could just rush to the spooky weird house as soon as their legs – and wings – allowed them to! They had lost some valuable time doing this, but the bird believed he had done the right decision on his own, without Sova's help...

The house felt strange this time. They had been through such strange rooms on their first visit, but now the door they took sent them to an odd, extremely long hallway. It was rather narrow compared to many rooms they had seen before, but the hallway was wide enough to let a couple of Pokémon to walk side by side. There were no doors the bird could see, there hadn't been any doors for a while since the last one they took. As usual, there were various candles on the walls lighting up the gloomy house, some dark spots left behind by the dim lighting. The floorboards creaked under the pair of Pokémon and the old wallpaper was ripped in many places, revealing old wooden panels.


Current Energy: 38 (57 -19 from entering)

Varda replied with a chirp that didn't really have much of a meaning behind it other than just giving the Glaceon some kind of a response as he shuffled along with the sleeping Pokémon on his back. They'd manage, somehow! Surely Nevi would wake up sooner rather than later and there was no reason to worry about having to carry her wherever they were going! The floorboards creaked slightly under the bird's feet, parts of them feeling rather loose and worn down, which really did fit the house's rather rundown look. How old was this place, even? Had it always looked like this...?

Again the Altaria's gaze had fallen down to the floor, rising only when Sova spoke up, asking a question. He couldn't help but blink slowly, his head tilting and the long, streamer-like feathers on top of his head flopping over with the motion.
"Because... Something bad is happening and the solution to that might be here maybe?" Varda replied, confused. The question was weird. Weren't they all here for the same reason?


((Lucky number 7?))

Sova looked down at the ground, seeing that he would have to further explain what he meant. At least Varda gave a sensible answer though, as he'd been rather vague and he could see pretty much anyone not really understanding him, in hindsight. He sighed as he tried to figure out how to word it, but it was easier said than done.... or.... thought than said? Well, maybe just being upfront about it would be best, so he wouldn't confuse his friend.

"No, I mean.... why are you still here with me? I just attacked you. You know that, right?" he questioned, being more specific this time so as to not have any more confusion.
He'd truly meant to harm Varda, even if he hadn't been in his normal state of mind. He felt like it counted still even if he had excuses. Maybe it made him mad, even deranged, but he still had his free will. There was no excuse for having attacked like he did and he couldn't understand why the altaria was shrugging it off like it was nothing!

(....I hope not.)

Varda's head tilted even further, almost starting to turn upside down. Oh, right, what had happened there... Was a bit hazy. It was really weird, how his body was just doing things he didn't tell it to do, like it had a mind of its own. Did it have that? It sure felt like that! The bird stayed quiet for a moment, adjusting the sleeping Pokémon on his back gently as it was feeling like she was slowly starting to slide off the side.

"Oh, well," the Altaria cooed as he thought back, waddling along the worn out hallway,
"I don't really know what happened, there, it was... Pretty weird. I couldn't even stop and... You tried to help me to stop, right?" Varda asked with a smile, his head tilting in the other direction.


((Yeah 7 isn't enough. 10 maybe.))

Sova's head just hanged lower and his ears flattened as he heard that Varda seemed to think his intentions had actually been good. He truly didn't deserve such a friend who rationalized senseless aggression on his part as "help." His tail hanged low and dragged along the ground as he walked, his steps slowed to the point that the altaria would have to slow down to keep up with him rather than the other way around. It was very clear that he was upset, and for the first time in a while, he truly felt guilty for something.

Continuing to talk about this was getting difficult, the glaceon was finding it hard to push himself to continue to speak. But he knew it wasn't right to let Varda believe something that wasn't true like this, and for once, he wanted to do the right thing. "Varda.... no, I wanted to hurt you. Something happened to our heads and it made me mad, but I still had free will and I.... wanted to hurt you, please don't make excuses for me," he spoke quietly, his voice a bit strained from an emotion other than anger.

Feeling things like this wasn't something he was used to, it felt terrible and confusing. He'd lived a large portion of his life as the one being attacked, so when he was finally strong enough, he took to fighting back, sometimes even doing the attacking.... He rarely had to feel regret with this lifestyle. Sadness at times, sure, but not regret.

Nevi continued to lay limp and motionless, though her gradually awakening mind was beginning to pick up bits and pieces of the conversation. She wasn't sure what was going on or who was talking, but the pieces of the topic she managed to pick up in her half-lucid state made her feel bad.

(69. That should be enough.)

Varda opened his beak, but no sound came. His breathing seemed to stop for a moment, noticeable due to how loud it had been earlier thanks to his Nevi-carrying exercise. And then, his mouth closed. The bird's eyes looked puzzled. His feet slapped against the floor, each step slow and deliberate, following a rhythm that helped him keep going despite how tired he was. Something happened to their heads... Something indeed had. Everything was a bit hazy and confusing, it was difficult to get a clean picture. Had he wanted to dance, back then? Yes, but... He couldn't stop when he didn't want to dance...

"Did you hear the music too?" The Altaria finally asked, the gaze that had fallen to stare at his clawed toes looking back up at the Glaceon. He could kinda remember that echoing from another room back then, something that made it so difficult to stay put! But no one else had danced. Just him.


((Maybe. Just barely.))

....Music? Suddenly, Sova felt just a bit better for a moment, though this was only because his attention was drawn to the mention of some kind of music. He certainly hadn't heard any music, though perhaps that was just what Varda had interpreted the whispers as? Or maybe it was heard differently depending on who heard it. "It.... didn't sound like music to me. It was more like whispers," he began, pausing for only a moment as he tried to recollect the sound.
Honestly, he didn't really recall anything from that time-frame well enough to decide if it sounded at all like music. He just remembered it sounding like whispering to him.

He glanced up at Varda to see what the altaria's face looked like, but he saw more confusion than anger. "....Either way, it's no excuse, I still had control of my body even if you didn't," he continued, beginning to get a bit confused as to why his friend was more curious about the sounds than the ill-intended attack.
Did Varda even care about what he'd done at all? Was this bird truly so forgiving? Or was it still a case of misunderstanding?

Nevi listened as well as she could as she woke more and more, beginning to recognize the voice.... It was two voices. Right, she'd been traveling with some new friends. Well, one new friend, and uh.... someone less friendly. The less friendly one sounded upset, but she was still a little too out of it to understand why. She just continued to lay limp on the bird, enjoying her fluffy pillow.

(It'll certainly be a close one.)

"Whispers," Varda repeated, closing his eyes as he thought back on it. Well... Maybe? It was something very faint, but Sova hadn't heard it as music at all. Yes, there was like some kind of speech part to it, but he assumed that was more like, well, singing! From another room far away. Muffled by the walls. That was kind of like music, right? Maybe they had heard the same thing – or maybe they hadn't. It was difficult to compare, especially when the sound in question didn't exist anymore.

The bird's eyes opened as the Glaceon's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, looking at his friend once more. He frowned slightly, as Sova was so convinced that the whole thing was somehow the Glaceon's fault! How could he even be so sure when everything was so confusing! The Altaria shook his head.
"But... I didn't really notice it at first, either! It felt so... Normal. But when I tried to stop, when I really tried to stop... I couldn't!"


((Well hey maybe we'll figure this out for the next Halloween.))

This situation was really going nowhere, Sova couldn't stand his friend continuing wanting to be friends just because of a misunderstanding, and he was certain it was his fault. He'd still had his free will, and while the whispering had certainly made him far more irritable and aggressive than normal, it hadn't taken away his free will.... Regardless, Varda had at least tried to stop with the weird dancing thing, meanwhile he hadn't even made an effort to stop being so aggressive until the attack had ended. "No, I...." he started up, but was having trouble thinking of any more ways to further prove his point.

He just had to convince the altaria he'd done wrong, though. For some reason it was so important to him to be the bad guy right now, because he truly felt like that was where he belonged at the moment. "I never tried to stop, and I knew what I was doing.... The whispers were an attack, and it was meant to make me mad, but that doesn't excuse-" he continued pushing his view, but the voice of the froslass

Nevi continued to lay motionless and allow herself to be carried past the point where she was aware she was being carried and could get up, just because the altaria was very comfortable. Plus, she didn't really want to interrupt the important conversation the two were having, especially when she was learning a bit about the glaceon that didn't involve his random burning hatred for her. However, when it became apparent the conversation was going in circles, she decided to just go ahead and speak up to try and change the topic.

"I don't think he cares. Besides, it got to me too," she spoke just loudly enough to be heard before suddenly springing to life and lifting herself off her fluffy pillow.
She was a bit sad to leave the comfortable sleeping spot, but she didn't want to be a burden to her new friend! She didn't notice that she happened to have sprung herself straight to the front of the group, as she'd just wanted to get in front of the glaceon to get his attention. She still hadn't given up on getting the moody, psychotic fox to be at least a little nicer to her!

(Such a great way to celebrate the holidays.)

As the music stopped, five different ghost types surrounded Jak and his partner, quickly snatching the music box from where it sat. Jak was too shocked to process what had happened at the time. His eye twitching as the Pokémon has spoken. “The early bird doesn’t always get the worm you know. Sometimes, the early bird is the first to fall for the trap. Teehe~!” As the Froslas had said this, the other ghost types broke the music box down and ran off with the pieces, quickly followed by the Froslass.

Jak looked back where the music box had previously been, finally taking in what had just happened. Jak quickly got up and started after the ghost types. ”COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT! GIVE THOSE BACK!” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he entered the hallways once more.

As he ran through the hallways, he eventually lost track of the ghost types. His hope of getting rid of the darkness was half shattered. He now had to either find new pieces, or find the Pokémon that stole his group’s pieces. This left another bad thought in his mind, he had just left Noel behind! How was he going to get back? ”DAMNIT!” he shouted as he punched the wall, it left a small mark, and a twinge in his paw, not realizing there were others nearby at the time, although he wasn’t in direct line of sight at the time of his aggression.

Jak sighed as he started to make his way towards another doorway into a new hallway. As he had gone through the door, it quickly sank back into the wall, leaving no way back. He sighed at the realization that he had walked right back into this damned maze. Looking down the hallway, first down one direction, then the other, he saw a Froslass, Glaceon, and an Alteria, his anger building up rather quickly at the sight of the ghost type. He growled a bit as he stared at the trio. ”GIVE THEM BACK!” he shouted towards the ghost type, not realizing that this was a completely different Pokémon. He started sprinting towards the ghost type without thinking about the possible consequences nor whether or not this was the same Pokémon. He was going to avoid using any attacks if possible and attempt to pin the Pokémon down.

((Thanks guys!))

Varda still didn't really get it. Sova was just insisting that he had done something awful, even though something really weird had happened in the hallway a moment ago... Who could even be blamed for that? Was it their fault for doing whatever the weird whispermusic told them to? It had been really difficult to resist – the bird hadn't even noticed what he was doing until it was too late! He was about to answer, his mouth opening... And staying open, as he was interrupted before he even managed to start. The voice was familiar, not one that he had known for long, but... He knew who it belonged to!

The Altaria's neck craned and he looked over his shoulder, and excited smile on his face. Nevi was awake! Whatever they had been talking about, it no longer mattered. It was all forgotten, replaced by the ghostly Pokémon's awakening. The weight was off Varda's shoulder both figuratively and literally, indeed making him quite cheery. He could hear some odd echoes and sounds from further away, but he didn't even care!
"Nevi! You're awake! Are you–"

The blue bird's speech was cut short once again, a strange yell coming from down the hall – and very close, indeed! His head snapped in the direction of the sound, revealing a Pokémon glowing with the warm light of a flame... But this one wasn't a candle! Varda could barely even react before it was running in their direction, his legs glued in place.
"Ah! A ghost!"



((Now you just need to sign your name here and here, and we'll take your soul.))

Just when Sova was starting to feel a bit better as it seemed the not only Varda - but the froslass as well - had forgiven him, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worst. He heard the door opening not far off and glanced over to see.... well, someone far away. He didn't get enough time to register who or what it was before it suddenly shouted some nonsense and charged toward them. As the thing grew closer, he noted it seemed to be looking at Nevi in particular and figured this meant the froslass was its target. What was more, it was.... a charmeleon, which had a type advantage!

He couldn't just sit back and let his group be attacked by someone after what he'd done, he knew he owed it to both of them to stop this himself. He calmly stepped in front of the froslass and glared at the charmeleon as he did so, not at all worried about the type disadvantage. Something was bothering him about this, though.... the charmeleon's voice.... was familiar. He recognized it, but he wasn't sure where from off the top of his head.

Either way, the glaceon needed to worry about his group before why he recognized some random hostile stranger. "May wanna calm down," he spoke just loudly enough for the fire-lizard to hear, with his breath visibly cold as his body temperature lowered in preparation for a fight.
His fur began to bristle and freeze as he prepared for whatever fire attacks may come his way.

Nevi gave a friendly smile to the altaria, who seemed thrilled she was awake. She hadn't even noticed the charmeleon until the sudden shouting, which made her jump and turn around. Well, it was more of a.... like.... suddenly floating backward since she didn't have legs and was floating. She didn't really know how to react to a charmeleon suddenly coming toward them, with the context of the situation seeming to imply aggressive intent. What was more, he seemed focused on her, but what'd she done!?

The froslass drifted backward a bit in confusion and worry before the group member who'd just attacked her suddenly stepped in front of her. Was he.... guarding her? But why? They hadn't gotten along at all and had even just got through fighting, why would he even want to help if it were just her the Fire-type was after!?

(It is truly a good deal.)

Jak had completely ignored the blue bird’s exclamation about a ghost, continuing towards the group, preparing to jump the Pokémon once he was in range. However, before he got into range, another Pokémon had taken a step in front of the ghost type. Jak slowed down as the unexpected obstacle appeared between him and his target. Why isn’t it fleeing again? he thought as he noticed it not leaving the area. The only thing that came to mind then was that it thought it was safe with this group of Pokémon, still not realizing this wasn’t the same ghost type that just robbed his group.

Once he began to slow down, the Pokémon that had stepped in the way raised its voice, stating to calm down. The Pokémon’s posture made the comment sound even more threatening. He saw the ice starting to form on the Pokémon’s. His anger was still preventing him from processing who this was at the time as he angrily demanded “Get out of the way! I need those pieces back!” He still hadn’t figured out that he knew this Pokémon due to his anger. He was too focused on preventing the ghost type from escaping him again.

He hit his tail against the ground as the fire splashed slightly across the surface. The flame that had remained on the ground quickly flickered out of existence. If ice fox showed any sign of an attack, he was going to blast embers at it. However, if the ice type remains where it is, he will remain also and possibly calm down a bit if the ghost type decided to stay in the area.

Coaster carried out 5 launched of one Ruined Passageway :

, , , ,

((LET THE ROLLING COMMENCE))

Varda's head was spinning around, having a hard time deciding where to keep staring. Nevi had taken a step – well, a floaty kind of step – backwards, seeming to be worried about the newcomer... And Sova seemed to be just as worried, but the Glaceon instead was taking a step forward, positioning himself in the way. It seemed to work, causing the Pokémon the bird had thought to be a ghost to slow down, giving him a bit more time to inspect the stranger. He had thought that it was a ghost, but... It didn't really look like a ghost after all? It wasn't floating, it didn't look all ghosty, either. This Pokémon was more like... A lizard?

Maybe it was a false alarm, making the Altaria's posture straighten as he smiled happily. But then he remembered that this Pokémon was coming after them, looking like he wanted trouble, so... Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all! They didn't have just the ghosts in the house to be worried about, it seemed! Outsiders – or Pokémon he assumed to be outsiders – could also hurt them! The bird's feathers ended up getting fluffier as Varda braced himself, taking a tiny step forward while he kept an eye on the lizard-like Pokémon. The chilly dreariness of the hallway seemed to be pushed away by the warm light following the stranger...

"Um... Give what back?" Varda cooed, tilting his head and being as oblivious and confused as always. This time he could most likely be excused for his ignorance, but he certainly seemed like he had absolutely no idea about what was going on.


((Another Froslass already, get in.))

For once, Sova felt just as clueless as Varda as to what in the world was going on. However, he knew the charmeleon was being aggressive, and that was not something he was going to tolerate. Still, hearing the lizard's voice again.... he knew he recognized it from somewhere, but.... It took him a moment, but it finally dawned on him that he'd met a charmeleon before with an identical voice, at the Guild! Friends with that pichu, short-tempered, very easy to anger.

While angering this guy would probably make him sloppy, the glaceon didn't really want to get into any more fights for now. He was already fatigued and he still had some pretty significant injuries he wanted to watch out for. Scratches across the side of his face, a recently dislocated and relocated paw that was still sore, and some bruised or perhaps even cracked ribs, not to mention all the exhaustion from the constant walking and fighting. Still, even if a fight did break out and he was too weak to handle it - both of which he doubted - he had backup.

Sova began to walk calmly and slowly toward the charmeleon, glancing back to his friend who was asking what they supposedly had that needed to be given back. "Whatever it is, we don't have it. Now, it's three on one, so I suggest you back down, especially since your temper didn't get you very far with me last time.... Jak," he spoke calmly as he walked along, his glare being replaced with a smirk.
It seemed Jak had failed to notice who he was, but he was fairly certain his words would change that. If not, that was fine, he was certain he could avoid any harmful attacks assuming the Fire-type was even a threat to him.

Nevi just watched quietly as the traveler accused her of having something that belonged to him. She really didn't, though, she had nothing at all on her! What was even more confusing to her, though, was the glaceon's sudden protective nature toward her. It was clear that she was being guarded - and probably Varda too - as there was no reason for Sova to get in front of her and be so defensive otherwise. Had he had a change of heart, maybe? Was there more to the fox than just being moody and aggressive all the time? Either way, she knew he had a type disadvantage in this scenario and didn't want him to get hurt protecting her!

(Get in the van?)

Jak ignored the bird’s question as he continued to glare at the glaceon, waiting for some kind of response. After the glaceon began to speak down to him about some previous encounter, something ticked in his mind. Jak didn’t acknowledge it at first, but something told him that he knew this Pokémon somehow.

The glaceon started to approach him slowly and calmly, not showing any signs of immediate aggression. The second his name was spoken, he immediately began to think about what was going on in the immediate environment. He finally began to process the situation, the Pokémon in the room, and why he was there. He remained silent as the ice type approached him, the glare it had was replaced with a smirk. Jak looked past the glaceon towards the ghost type and watched its movements. It doesn’t even know what is going on…. he thought as he let out an aggravated sigh.

He let out another deep breath and stared at Sova straight in his eyes. He shook his head for a moment and then hit the wall. “Damnit!” He remained there for a moment and then looked towards the trio with a frown. “Sorry… You aren’t the froslass that ran off with the music box pieces are you…” he asked, directing the question towards the ghost type.

"I don't even have a bag, genius.  Where would I put them?" the ghost type responded to Jak’s displeasure. “Err… Not why I asked…” he said as he remained in his spot. He eventually turned back towards Sova. He sighed as he actually felt a bit bad about his previous display of aggression. “So… I take it you are here for the same reason then…”

------------------------------------------
“Teehee~, you shouldn’t rush to conclusions, as they may not be true.” A voice spoke out from seemingly everywhere. “You won’t ever get those parts back.” The voice giggled mockingly. As the voice had been speaking, Jak was practically spinning as he tried to locate where this voice was coming from. “Come out you Coward! Give me back those pieces!” he demanded as the flame on his tail burned more fiercely.

“If you say so, Teehee~” the voice responded once more as a Fog came rolling in from nowhere. How is there fog!? Jak thought to himself as he kept alert.  It wasn’t more than a few seconds after the fog had rolled in when another source of light appeared, then two more after that. The ghostly purplish light that glowed on each side of the group.

The voice giggled as the fog began to blue away to reveal the three Lampent, two of which were on the opposite side of Sova’s group, while the one was near Jak. Jak gritted his teeth as he still didn’t see where the voice was coming from, however he knew exactly who it was, it was the same froslass that had lead the gang of ghost types that stole the music box pieces. “Teehee~ now freeze! “ it spoke in a more serious tone, and with that, the air started to shift in the hallway from one direction to the other.

((DAT ROLL DOH! AHHHHHHHHHH!))