View source for 601/The Haunting of Starlight Manor

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2023/10/15
|Location=Starlight View Mansion
|Synopsis=The exorcist squad of a guy with evil magic and some lady from an island?? investigates Nephrite's house!
|Cast of Characters=38,81,73
|Tinyplot=Inner Conflict
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>After texting 'hey can you help me with some more ghost nonsense?' and arranging details, it was pretty easy for Hematite and the Ginga Otome to sort out a kind of plan of attack. They teleported in outside the sight of the mansion and anyone who might have been watching, just a bit away in the woods, down the not-quite-a-road. Then Hematite dropped his henshin in favor of his school uniform, which he was still wearing, and they started walking.<br><br>"The architect is haunted too, I forgot to say. Not sure if she's possessed, or more like the butcher, just sort of spiritually slimed with dark energy and ghost stuff," Darien says, pushing his glasses up. "But there was definitely something moving the chairs. Okay, I'm going to call Pyrite in -- she's a ghost, and she doesn't like shrine maidens, because she used to be a-- you know what, long story, but I'm going to tell her not to give you trouble because you're here to help."<br><br>He calls out, uncaring if any construction folks or the architect or her son can hear, "Py-tan, did you hear that?"<br><br>The house looks like any other house under construction, at least from the outside. They're past the point where Neph was drinking outside, they're well within sight of the place now. "Don't give Agemaki-san trouble, she's here to help!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Darien's shadow seems to be... Textured. At first it could be construed as just the new pavement or the forest floor or something, but the way it has a certain persistent pattern to it, as if existing in three-dimensions... At the sound of Darien's voice calling out for Pyrite, the surface of his shadow ''moves''. It seems to bunch up, like a dirt mound made of something slick, and black, and made of many strands all flowing away from the central point.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just the upper half of a girl's head emerges. Pale skin. Long black hair all around. Glowing red eyes rolled up to look at Wako creepily, with obvious hostility.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_r bg_n ++ hr">ENEMY.</span><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With the liquid hair flowing into her mouth whenever she opens it, she says airily, "Aah... I understand... No trouble." Then the puddle of hair just remains there, always Darien's shadow, always facing Wako wherever she moves.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This is starting off ''great''.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"I feel like I should say..."<br><br>Wako has stayed transformed, mostly because she doesn't especially pay attention to the existence of a Veil and thus doesn't see a great distinction to begin with, except that her clothes are fancier. They make a bit of an odd duo, therefore, Darien in his uniform and the Galactic Maiden in her sparkling gold-trimmed white getup. <br><br>Also, she instinctively floats like two feet off the floor the moment the ghost girl's heed peeks out of Darien's shadow. ''Eep.''<br><br>Her voice is pitched rather a bit higher when she manages to recover the thought she'd been voicing. "--Even though I am a shrine maiden," she manages, "our shrine is a little different. It's not like I have a lot of experience with spirits." The ghost is ''watching'' her. Oh, that's unnerving.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Pyrite," Darien admonishes, "how can she tell if there are spooky things in the house that she needs to clean up if you're a hundred percent being spooky at her the whole time? And ''what'' do you understand? Here, listen--"<br><br>He turns around so he's facing his shadow, and bends down with his hands on his knees, and just. Addresses the half-a-girl-head puddle of liquid hair like she's Being A Sibling Oh My God. "I have a real question for you, and then you should probably go make sure there are no unicorns invading the attic of the dorms. The real question is, ''is'' whatever is haunting the architect ''you''? Or is it Himeko? Or is it part of all of you?"<br><br>He glances up at Wako. "She won't hurt you. I'm sorry though, I feel like there's not enough warning in the world."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyrite rises up a bit further from the puddle, reaching up to grab at her big brother's sleeve with thumb and forefinger, tugging protectively like the little girl she is in addition to being a complete monster. "I understand. No causing trouble for priestess. No attacking. No accidents on the stairs. No strangulation with hair. No drowning in the tub. No scratching to death like a cat. No draining life force. No cutting out her eyes with scissors. No tearing out her teeth one by one for my collection. No--" She would probably have kept going, but then she remembers she was asked another question.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She hesitates then says, "Do not know. Is not me from now at least. Probably not Himeko or the other Himeko. Definitely not the one in the shrine." Pause. "Maybe it was Shiro. I will investigate."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she disappears back into the hair-shadow. She pops back up seconds later. "I asked Shiro, and he said no. Well, what he really said was 'mew', but I believe that to be 'no' in cat. Shall I question him further? Perhaps some lamp oil will loosen his tongue, which is had by him, as he is a cat." Pause. Then the most deadpan laughter ever. "Oh-ho ho ho ho ho."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another pause. "...Do you think there may be a unicorn in the attic? There is a door that has been locked for some time, so the unicorn is probably dead by now. Maybe I can fix it and then I will have a mount!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>Wako witnesses this whole exchange with increasingly wide eyes. "There is definitely not enough warning in the world," she informs Darien quietly.<br><br>It probably won't actually ''help'', but for now she continues hovering, feet tucked loosely underneath her. Takuto believes she's not afraid of ghosts, Wako reminds herself. Is she going to fall short of his faith in her? "You had better just... tell me what I should purify," she says after a long hesitation. "I wouldn't want to get, um, your sister... caught up in it by accident."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>Darien nods to Wako. "That's what I've just determined."<br><br>He looks down at Pyrite again, his arm out where she's tugged it, and he looks both indulgent and affectionate. "If you find a dead unicorn in the attic, yes, do fix it. I think Shiro could use some unicorn company. He won't ride around on my shoulders, but he's a cat, he doesn't do what he doesn't want to do, lamp oil or not."<br><br>He reaches further, and ruffles her hair. "If you find anything in that attic that ''isn't'' a dead unicorn, please check with me before you do anything to any of it. But you should go check now, and I will check in with you later. Agemaki-san and I will finish up here. She doesn't want to hurt you and might have to do wide-area purification, so I am trying to keep you out of harm's way by sending you to look for unicorn incursions. You can stay only if you are very careful and leave if it gets dangerous for you."<br><br>Then he straightens up and gives Pyrite a crooked grin. "Best apprentice."<br><br>Finally, he gestures broadly toward the house and looks at Wako. "Let's."<br><br>"Mishima-san?" he calls out, louder, as he opens the front door of the place and starts inside, then holds the door automatically for Wako. "...Sanji?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyrite takes her leave. But only after giving a warning to Wako while eyeing her suspiciously despite the reassurances and praise. "Do not exorcise the house. All is one for a house. Like a body. If exorcise while I am here, I will get caught too." Then she slowly sinks into the shadow, the hair slurping up into the darkness as she departs, leaving Darien and Wako to enter the Starlight View Mansion.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The only sound that accompanies Darien's calls is his own voice echoing down the long, long corridor from the first step into the house and as far as can be seen. There are fancy lights, like torch sconces, on the walls, spaced apart evently, all the way down the corridor. And, if experience suggests anything, it is that optical illusions may play a part in figuring out where to go.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This would be a really atmospheric time for a storm to hit, but sadly no sign of it.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another thing there's no sign of?<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;People.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There were no workers outside. No sounds of construction inside. Just a great big empty house, built under the influence of madness.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The hard wood floor does a great job accoustically of making there every step sound loud as frick too.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"...all is one...?" Wako muses over that statement distractedly as she trails after Darien - still floating, at first, but when she reaches the doorway she settles lightly back to the ground and commits to the act of stepping over the threshold. <br><br>It's quiet. Throttling down a sense of anxiety, she looks around her as Darien's voice echoes down the corridor. "I didn't exactly ask many questions before, but - whose house is this?" Without entirely realizing it, she's being careful to step lightly, an unconscious effort to minimize the too-loud noise of her steps on the hardwood. "Was it because of your sister that you got involved?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"The house belongs to a really good friend of mine," Darien says a little absently, frowning down the hall. He glances back at Wako and gives a reassuring smile. "One of my best friends. He's a student too-- while the place is haunted, he's staying in the dorms. My sister's involved because she's, a, a ghost, and b, her name was under the wallpaper in the basement? So I just wanted to make sure the big haunt wasn't, you know, actually her. Because Masato-kun was definitely starting to lose his mind, spending all his time here. The architect's son is the one who said that his mother hasn't been his mother while she's been working on this place. And... the construction crew's supposed to ''be'' here, maybe they had an attack of good sense and quit. I'm going to shout really loud, I'm sorry."<br><br>Before he shouts, Darien himself also transforms -- he might as well, given the bone monster in the butcher's shop and its lack of fond intent toward him. "IS ANYONE HERE??" he shouts really loud, into the echoing recesses of the house.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, with Darien turned into Hematite, and yelling extremely loudly, suddenly there's no echoes. No sound at all, really. Like it just got swallowed up by a wall of silence.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After several seconds, a deep, deep voice slowly calls back from the depths of the mansion, as the walls, floor, and ceiling all creak, "DAAAARIEEEEENNNNN..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>Wako ''jumps'' as that deep voice resonates from what feels like every corner of the house, and this time the "''eep!''" escapes her throat out loud. She does not come back down, once more lofted a good foot or two into the air and just hanging there. Glowing very faintly pink.<br><br>"...friend of yours?" she asks Darien in a strangled voice.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"The house ''owner'' is," Hematite says in an equally strangled voice, and he can feel every single hair on his body because they are all standing on end. Luckily his hair's too long to stick straight up, you know, jesus christ on a crutch. He slidesteps forward. "Joke's on you, that's not my name!" he yells again, this time not nearly so loudly.<br><br>Another slidestep forward. "Are you going to hate me if I say we might have to uhhhh-- look in the basement. It was definitely empty last time I was in it!" Things he doesn't say: Nephrite performs magical rituals there.<br><br>"I am ''not'' going to suggest splitting up. But I can, uhh. I can go down in the basement and look. First. If you want to wait outside. That's okay. I'll just explode whatever it is and teleport directly out and maybe then you can just purify the whole thing??"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"I am ''absolutely not'' going to wait outside by myself!" Wako protests immediately. Her eyes are huge. "Have you never watched even a single movie? Geez!"<br><br>Deep breaths. ''Deep'' breaths. "We can look in the basement," she says, with more determination than she looks. "You're not going by yourself. Usagi-chan would ''kill'' me if I let a haunted house eat you, especially after you asked me to come help with it in the first place."<br><br>The question of how much she hates the suggestion goes unanswered.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There are blind corners that crop up on either side. If they manage to find the one that Masato went down originally, which lead to the living room area, and the dining area with all the tables and chairs, and supposedly an elevator in the room beyond that... Well, it only goes up. Because that makes sense.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Backtracking will eat up time, and this doesn't feel like a very welcoming home. But there is someone waiting for them near the secret panel they had to go through to get here. Sanji Mishima. He looks like he has seen better days.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I heard you yelling. What are you doing here? It's not safe." He is very frazzled, but his voice is calm. He just... Blinks owlishly from behind his eyeglasses, like even this low level of indoor light is taking some adjustment.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"I never really watched movies, nah," answers Hematite absolutely irrelevantly, his voice a little thin, and the only reason he is not grabbing for Wako's hand is because Usagi would kill them both probably.<br><br>And then it's a labyrinth and Hematite's getting ready to just teleport them into the basement -- which he hasn't wanted to do, especially, since he wouldn't know what they were teleporting into -- when they finally get to the secret panel again.<br><br>"Buddy," says Hematite, blue eyes wide, face pale, "friend. Why are ''you'' here? Where's your mom? My friend here can, you know-- do things to help. That I don't want to actually say out loud because it's probably listening, right?" A beat. "The house answered when I called so I ''presume'' the house is listening. Did you know she's building it to resemble a shrine? A specific shrine-- over and over--"<br><br>They are both dressed outlandishly. Sanji isn't commenting. Sanji is either wise or an impostor.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>It may or may not help anything that it takes Wako a good several seconds and change to remember that she is, you know, ''floating''. Hastily and with a distinct sense of chagrin, she puts her feet back onto the floor before she scoots up a little nearer alongside Hematite to regard Sanji carefully.<br><br>"Hi," she offers, because it seems rude not to. She's trying to get a sense of whether there's anything ''off'' about Sanji, anything that seems like he might need purification from... but it's hard to tell for sure when the entire house around them is crawling with spooky vibes. "Should I, you know...?" Her hands vaguely shape a sphere, which probably doesn't make much sense to anyone except maybe Hematite.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sanji squints, and takes off his glasses to clean them. "...Sumimasen. Have we met? I'm sorry. I can't seem to remember either of you." He then puts his glasses back on. And blinks some more. "...The house answered?" Well, that sounds like a normal thing that normal people say. He backs up a bit, out through the secret panel into the hallway. "Uhh... Yeah. I knew she was... A shrine? How did you find that out?" He is clearly wary now. "She went up to the attic for something." He glances away, down the hall, as he finishes backing up. "I don't know how you think you can help, young miss, but you shouldn't be wandering around in somebody's house. Especially not in the middle of the night. I'm waiting for my mother to finish confirming whatever she's doing, and then we're leaving too."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Middle of the night? Was it night when they arrived here?<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, it doesn't matter.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It is now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>Hematite's lips purse, and he closes his eyes for a second, then takes his glasses out of literally nowhere and puts them on and says, "Darien Shields. I was here with the house's owner, Masato Sanjouin. We came here with his blessing, you can call him if you want. Agemaki," he says, gesturing to Wako and half-stepping aside so Sanji can see her better, "is a miko. You have a ghost problem."<br><br>He glances back at Wako, then, and makes the bubble gesture with his hands, and nods firmly. "You definitely should," he confirms. "Just in case."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>Just in case. Wako nods back to Hematite, her expression set and serious, and then turns her full attention back toward Sanji. "Sorry," she tells him with genuine feeling, bringing her hands up with palms turned outward--<br><br>The shield glimmers into being around him, a sphere of transparent pink. Its radiance is soft and steady, reassuring in its purity, at least to the one person here guaranteed to not be under the influence of any negative energies. "If you don't need this," she promises, "it won't do anything to you."<br><br>She stops short of pouring any purifying energy into the confines of the bubble, though. Pyrite's warning echoes in the back of her mind.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sanji squints further. "...Oh. Huh. How strange that I didn't recognize you. My apologies, Shields-san, and... Agemaki-san?" As much as modern Japanese may not consider themselves to be superstitious, there's still that underlying, almost programmed response of, '...But what if?' that is perhaps why things like youkai and magic are even still able to exist here. So, though the mention of her being a miko might seem foolish to some... Sanji hesitates. Then nods. "If she is replicating a shrine in her blueprint... Then I suppose a shrine maiden is an appropriate countermeasure."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He bows to the Ginga Otome. "If you would, please help. I don't know who that woman is, or if she used to be my mother, or if my real mother is out there somewhere or..." He swallows. 'Or worse' he doesn't say. "But I have no one else to turn to. No one else believes me. The crew all left because of the strange noises and... Things." He shakes his head as he straightens up.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Please," he begs, desperation in his eyes, and pain in his voice that he hasn't been able to share with anyone. "There's nobody else!"<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A giant knife blade suddenly rams down out of the ceiling, nearly splitting Sanji in two. He flings himself back reflexively. The blade slides back into the ceiling, then carves through in another location, at an angle that almost allows it to catch Hematite and Ginga Otome.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh boy.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As the massive knife slides back up into the ceiling again, a little voice speaks to Hematite through the connection he shares with Pyrite.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''It was not a unicorn.''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The knife tears through wood and plaster and insulation and everything once again, on the far side of the room, and then begins carving straight towards the three of them. It severs some wiring.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a bright electric flash, and the smell of burnt o-zone.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everything goes dark.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>It seems counter productive, in this moment, to point out a second time that what she does is not exactly ''exorcism''. The poor guy seems genuinely distressed. Wako answers his bow with one of her own, reassuring as best she can. "I'll do what I--"<br><br>Her words break off in a shriek as the blade splits the ceiling. Mercifully Sanji is already within her shield; he flings himself back and she catches his momentum to pull him farther out of the way, toward herself and Hematite--<br><br>--the knife blade comes down again, this time closer.<br><br>"''Wawna!''" Ginga Otome cries out. The shield around Sanji seems to invert itself for a moment, a flash of energy that resolves itself into a larger shield reinforced by Wako's uplifted hands. It glows all the brighter in the sudden darkness, casting a faint radiance on the three of them within the curve of its energy. The emblem on her chest shines as well, bright and steady.<br><br>"Hema-san," she gasps, "if I have to--"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>''Timing, Py-tan! We're getting stabbed by a ceiling right now! But you can tell me what you found up there--'' goes Hematite's somewhat frantic mind in Pyrite's direction, while in that shield bubble with the other two, with its faint glowing light. The knife coming at them, at least, should bounce off-- or press, or whatever it is that animate knives do--<br><br>"Can you hold it? I can teleport us outside, and if you think your barrier with the cosmic sky thing will work then do that, Masato-kun is going to ''lose his mind'' if his house gets all screwed up again--" Dark energy. Dark energy makes him put the house's structural integrity on the list at all. Hematite hasn't forgotten Sanji! He reaches out to grab hold of Sanji's arm and says, "If we get you outside, stay there. If that's your mother we'll save her okay?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everything is dark except what is illuminated by Ginga Otome's barrier. Dodging a knife several times larger than Hematite is hard enough in an enclosed space, let alone in the dark, so this is a good thing. Sanji is freaking out, totally unable to parse what's going on, except to scream a lot and cover his head.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyrite answers, ''There was nothing at the dorm, so I came back to see the attic here, as I originally suggested. There was no unicorn here either, but there is a doll house.'' Pause. ''I did not disobey you. This is self-defense.''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The knife plunges up through the floor, collapsing the hallway by shoving it up into the ceiling thanks to everything already being a mess.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"''Explain to me how this house is not already screwed up.''"<br><br>Still, he's got a point - at the worst it probably can't hurt. "I don't need to be outside for that," Wako says, glomming onto Sanji's arm on the other side of him from Hematite, her other hand still extended to support the barrier against the enormous knife. "ZERO TIME!"<br><br>From their current perspective it may be hard to perceive the sudden dimensional shift into that timeless space. Unless Sanji disappears. <br><br>Then again, with the hallway collapsing around them and only Wako's barrier to keep them from being buried in the wreckage, they may have more immediate problems.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Pyrite's telling me something-- shit, she's in the attic! Py-tan, I told you I was trying to get you out of the house to keep you safe! Stop stabbing us! Just-- step away from the dollhouse!" Hematite says a little desperately, and then there's Zero Time, and the screaming in his ears is ''done finally oh my god'' and they're being shunted up through the floor toward the attic, and Hematite's just thinking--<br><br>''Neph is gonna killlll meeeeeee''<br><br>--and he rips off his cape and shoves it at Wako. "It's armor! Put it on, drop shield, and hang on!"<br><br>And then, because Mamoru Chiba is really smart and at the top of his class and is an excellent tactician and always has incredibly good plans that even survive first contact with haunted houses, it is all according to keikaku that as soon as Wako is hanging on he rockets them up through what's left of the ceiling, up and up, crashing through another floor probably, up into the attic.<br><br>If he doesn't get an artfully torn uniform and some dramatic scrapes out of this he'll honestly be a little disappointed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The rise through the new dimensional locale ends abruptly at the attic. Or rather, the hallway at the top of the stairs that leads to the attic door. That door is bright red, and recently opened by the looks of it. No more knife stabbing through the walls or ceiling or floor, but there's a woman lying on the floor, one of her legs and her boot visible around the corner of the partially-opened passage. There is also a ghost girl pinned to the wall once Hematite and Ginga Otome go inside. She appears to be being restrained by a... Flying doll house. One with lots of devastating-looking, structural integrity-threatening holes, very coincidentally shaped like something that has been stabbed by the wakizashi in Pyrite's hand, while her other hand is trying to hold the doll house back from pressing against her further.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She notices the other two. "...Ah." is her acknowledgement.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"''What?!''" It's a pretty reasonable response that Wako has to the words coming out of Hematite's mouth, all things considered. "You want me to - wait, are we in a ''voodoo dollhouse?''"<br><br>Hematite is enough taller than Wako that even floating, when he shoves his cape at her it nearly goes over her head, like tossing a sheet over a birdcage to make its occupant go night-night. She paws her way clear of the enveloping fabric, until it's somewhat more properly draped around her and she can kind of see. And, because she's entirely too familiar with impulsive boys tossing out madcap spur of the moment plans that somehow work out - she releases her shield and hangs on for dear life.<br><br>What happens next is, frankly, all a bit of a blur, at least until she cracks one eye open and gets a look at Pyrite, pinned by the dollhouse. "Please tell me I can purify that."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Yeah-- you know-- I think so?" Hematite gasps as they go up and ''stop'', and then he only faintly registers the downed woman before they clatter through the door. "Oh, Pyrite, honey, that's awful you poor thing-- yes, Agemaki-san! Let me get it away from her first so you don't clip her--"<br><br>And that's exactly what he does, he lunges forward and makes a grab for the house, wrenching at it to pull it off of Pyrite if he can, to hold it away from Pyrite so Wako can bubble the thing and pour in the purification.<br><br>Hopefully it doesn't break apart while they're in it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hematite successfully wrenches the doll house away. There's the vague sensation that everything is spinning, jerking, and flying around outside of this room, in accordance with how the doll house is being handled, but that's an 'out there' problem. Sanji's mom seems to be waking up as she suddenly takes in a breath -- presumably after not breathing for a while. The doll house continues to try to move this way and that, struggling against the grip on it. Looks like this is a dicey situation. The purification timing will need to be very precise...!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>The moment Hematite has the dollhouse clear of Pyrite, Wako clenches her teeth against the unnerving sensation of motion-without-motion and focuses her attention on forming the tightest shield she can, engulfing the battered and damaged dollhouse in a sphere of radiant pink.<br><br>This means she's also captured Hematite's hands in it, a fact she realizes with a spike of mild panic in the same moment she pours purifying light into the bubble. "Let go of it!" she yelps, too committed to stop now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"OW!" yells Hematite, nevertheless trying to hang on until he realizes that Wako has the thing in a shield, at which point he lets go and pulls his hands out like he was reaching into a furnace. "Fuck--"<br><br>But then he realizes he let go of the thing, and he almost falls as he stumbles closer to Pyrite to wrap his arms around her, getting to one knee on the floor. He shuts his eyes for a second, trying to fight back the feeling of dizziness as the house shakes.<br><br>"Py-tan if this is hurting you, get out of the house! Take my shadow to your shrine--"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Doll House is purified. Dark Energy flows out of the windows and doors, as it rattles and shakes inside the barrier, until it stops moving completely. A bunch of little dolls come pouring out when the visible black mist is gone. Most of them look like Himeko, or a version of her recently encountered in that strange doll shop, but there are others. Puella Red, Hematite, a Yuki-Onna (Snow Angel Mou Fubuki) of some kind, La Crima, Shiro the black cat, little Himeko, big Himeko, and three more dolls that aren't done being painted.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From how they look, however, it appears that there is one each for Ginga Otome, Sailor Moon, and Nephrite. Among two of the Doll Shop Himeko are two dolls that look like Sanji and his mother, but dressed as that version of Himeko. Like...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Like it was intended for their identities and perhaps bodies to be overwritten with that of a ghost.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For her part, Pyrite just hugs Hematite back. "All is fine. No hurt. It was not a unicorn." she assures. Eventually, the shaking stops, and they're all left in the attic room, with the architect gradually fading out of existence as the ectoplasmic goo covering her dissolves into aether, and she joins her son in being shunted into an adjacent dimension outside of Zero Time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>The shaking and rattling has stopped. That's a good sign... right?<br><br>Wako takes a moment or two to breathe before she looks over to Hematite and Pyrite, still holding the dollhouse in its shield for not. "Is... everyone okay?"<br><br>Define 'okay,' perhaps. The unconscious architect's disappearance, she'll also take as a good sign, Zero Time working as it should. Even so, she's reluctant to release the dollhouse quite yet - instead she tilts it carefully within its sphere of energy, just to see, and watches with slightly disturbed fascination as the dolls tumble out of it.<br><br>"What are all of those?" Still holding the house suspended, she reaches carefully into the shield with one hand to pluck out the half-painted effigy of herself. "Is - is that ''me?''"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"Good," murmurs Hematite, still hugging Pyrite. "I didn't think you were disobeying, I was just very, very alarmed and didn't know what was happening."<br><br>He finally lets go most of the way, still with one arm loosely around Pyrite, and he nods to Wako. "We're all right. You're okay too, I guess, if you're asking," he says with a little chuff of a rueful laugh. And then he leans in, letting go of Pyrite for real so he's not dragging her anywhere-- the intent is right there in his mind, careful and affectionate, the feelings only stronger after these months of their being practically part of each other.<br><br>He leans in and peers into the dollhouse, then at the dolls themselves, and he makes an unhappy face. "That's you, yeah. Because you're involved -- this is everyone who's been involved with the dolls, with the house. The architect," he gestures at the fading (then gone!) woman, "was kind of possessed, I guess? Residually possessed? by the entity that's trying to make herself-- itself, maybe-- a body. Or steal one, perhaps." Herself, he said, and he meant it. He's certain it's some part of Himeko.<br><br>"Let's get out of here. I think we can all fly, right?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Umu." Pyrite affirms. She is eyeballing Wako and the recently purified doll house, but can definitely fly. However, she treats Hematite's question as an isolated thing, and does not go from there to, 'He must intend for us to fly out of here.' Instead, she just slurps herself into Hematite's shadow, the darkness reaching for her like a long black tongue, coiling around her, and then she's gone in a blur of motion.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why fly when she can shadow-hop?<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"No worries," she says, as she pokes her head out briefly. "Will tell you if there is danger."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The walls start to collapse inwards, jaggedly, unevenly, but quickly, as though they are inside of a soda can that is in the process of imploding.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...Ah!" is her surprised noise of realization. "I think there may be danger but I am not sure."<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The ceiling starts coming down too, accordioning itself and the walls in the process.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yes. There may be danger imminent." she affirms and ducks back into the shadow.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"That's--"<br><br>It's all Wako gets the chance to say in reply to Hematite, before the ceiling starts coming down on top of them. Everything else happens in a rush, instinct taking over. Between one heartbeat and the next, the shield she'd held around the dollhouse expands, engulfing Wako and Hematite both. As the attic collapses, she rockets the sphere of light straight upwards, punching it - and herself, and Hematite, and the dollhouse and all its creepy little doll residents - ''through'' the falling ceiling and the roof of the house entirely, out into open air under the dazzling prismatic galaxy-field of Zero Time.<br><br>"''What the heck?!''" she gasps.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>And Hematite's got his hand over his chest, startlement still writ large on his face as he watches the house crumple. "We didn't crunch the dollhouse!!" he protests. And then he puts his hands out all of a sudden, touching the inside of the bubble with a look of horror on his face. "The architect and her son! Quick-- quick-- drop your zero time! The real house, I left them in the real house!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thankfully, the pocket dimension or demi-plane or whatever the heck that room was in the attic appears to be the only thing collapsing. The real house is... Still standing. Undamaged. And without all the weird, crazy extra rooms and stairways to nowhere and dead-end hallways and all of that. It's just Starlight View Mansion, as it should be. And the two mundane folk are there, frazzled, but unharmed. They'll probably want to take a break from any more jobs for a little bit though.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>Horror flashes over Wako's face when Hematite mentions the two civilians left behind in the house. Without a second thought, she focuses on the barrier maintaining Zero Time's stasis; the starfield sky dissolves into normalcy, and the noise of the city around them returns as the barrier comes down. <br><br>She's already looking down anxiously at the house below them to confirm that the damage done to it within Zero Time has also been undone. A breath of relief escapes her at the sight of the roof, intact and uncollapsed. "They're okay, right? They should be okay--" Not waiting for an answer, she begins to descend, still dragging the dollhouse along within her shield.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"They look okay-- but they probably won't be okay if they see us flying and then see the dollhouse," Hematite says, his breath evening out after his own sigh of relief. "I can jam it in my side of the closet in my room, unless you know of someplace else we can put it for now. I don't want to risk leaving it back in the house."<br><br>Then they're touching down, probably on the side of the house, and Hematite hesitates before dropping his henshin. "Should I just teleport it away now and come back?" he asks, but at a normal conversational volume.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyrite pokes her head back out of the shadow. "...Why keep it? Is it a birthday present for me? I have never had a birthday present! Allow me to forget seeing it, so that it will be a surprise!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:73|Wako Agemaki (73)}} has posed:'''<br>"You can have it," Wako informs Hematite promptly. The dollhouse is still floating, at least until Darien lays hold of it. She hasn't dropped her henshin or her shield yet.<br><br>She glances down at the doll of herself, still gripped in her hand, then holds it up to shop him. "I'm going to keep this one, though. There isn't one of Takuto-kun in there, too, is there? Fluffy red hair, maybe with a gold star?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba (38)}} has posed:'''<br>"... I want to check it for clues," Hematite tells Pyrite, looking a little put out. "You can have it for a birthday present if you want. After I check for clues and also-- yes," he switches to talking to Wako, "Definitely keep that one. But no, your friend's not in there. We definitely--"<br><br>He rattles the dollhouse and nothing beyond the previously spilled dolls tumbles out.<br><br>"--emptied it. Okay. Be right back," he says as he scoops the dolls back into the house.<br><br>He teleports away with the house, right out of the bubble, and then teleports back, outside of it. "Should we check on them, or let them be alone?" A pause. "I kind of want to tell him that that's definitely his mother but I don't think that would help."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:81|Himeko Soryuu (81)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyrite does not return after Hematite leaves. She has spent quite enough time around shrine maidens for one day thank you very much. At this point, the less they bother the civilians the more likely they'll invent a story in their heads and forget what really happened. What's truly, incredibly important here, even more so than the status of Masato Sanjouin's home, is the fact that Pyrite has confirmed there were no unicorns involved. And so, the moral of this adventure is this: Always check if there is a unicorn in your attic.<br> <br>
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