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 Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:10 pm
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It was of no surprise that Mei had ended up at the haunted house for the millionth time. She was actually starting to feel like a regular here, but what intrigued her the most, was that she could have sworn she had seen a horseman here. Not just any horseman either, if her vision wasn't failing her, it was a certain horseman priestess. Now, she supposed she could just tail her for a while, and possibly relay her actions back to the hunters, but then there was the issue of being found out by said priestess. And with her and the horseman being on the terms they were, things weren't likely to go well from there.
Figuring it was better not to go in this alone, Mei decided to call on an ally this time around. "Hey, Gale. I'm at the haunted house, and I'm pretty sure Medea is here. I'm not sure why, or if she is here by accident like I am, but I was thinking of following her, and I could really use the back up if you're able."
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:19 pm
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He did not get the message until a few moments after the fact.
The morning had started off relatively normal. Gale had spent time with Stormy, did a little bit of training, had tried to ask Bix for advice about a possible date (and had promptly given up when Bix had gone on about wooing a lady properly). And now he was merely sitting in his house, pondering whether he should go do a bit more research on some artifacts he'd heard mention of.
His phone buzzing deterred him from his original goal, Gale hearing the soft sound as he came down the stairs of his house, towel drying his hair after taking a quick shower. Slinging the towel around his neck, he walked around the couch and picked up his phone, which was sitting on the coffee table.
The message was from Mei.
It was a surprise for many reasons, the most prominent of which being that he hadn't even heard from her for several months now. It wasn't that it was unusual, but after so long he had almost forgotten that he had a mole inside of Amityville.
The second reason being that Medea was at the Haunted House. Gale eyed his phone, feeling a sense of anticipation grow in his stomach. Tapping a finger thoughtfully against the screen, he typed out a quick message back.
LividPeas Text to Mei:Be right there.
He wasn't about to go alone, however, not after the recent spree of violent attacks. Gale thought for another moment, and then sent out two text messages:
Bittiface Text to Otto:Meet me in the Haunted House in ten minutes. Got a recon mission for you.
Eight Text to Candace:Meet me in the Haunted House with Otto in ten minutes. Got a lead on some Horsemen activity.
Then he slid his phone into his pocket, grabbed his white coat, and disappeared out the door of his home, making his way to the portals immediately.
<< Is this a wise idea? >>
Probably not, but this is what I do. Might as well take advantage of a lead while we've got one.
The Haunted House was probably the last place that Gale wanted to go right now, but he was not about to just leave Mei-Xiu alone in her situation, especially not when the head Priestess of the Horsemen was there. This was a chance to possibly discover some things about the way they worked; regardless, he was going to take it.
He wound up in a dark corridor where the portal led out.
"Mei?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:35 pm
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Otto was exhausted. There were pests bothering him for attention, his constant missions to Halloween for his golem mission. There was never a moments rest, really. But that was his life. Moments of reprieve here and there was all he could ask for, and not always receive. Barely anything he did was for fun anymore. He barely saw Eva either.
The teen was taking a power nap on his couch when the text came. A sleepy headed Otto blindly felt for the buzzing contraption on the nearby coffee table, falling over in the process with a mighty thud. Regardless of his fall, he checked his phone.
....It was Gale. He had work for him.
Recon sounded easy enough. The blonde dragged himself off the floor, stretched a beanie over his messy hair, slipped on his coat and shoes, and headed towards the portals. No rest for the wicked, after all.
He emerged into a dark hallway, instantly making the teen rigid and tense.
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 7:45 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:02 pm
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Thankful Gale's fairly quick response, Mei waited out the time by sitting down and out of sight. She only hoped that they would not lose track of the horseman, and have had him come all this way for nothing.
Looking up when hearing her name called out by the familiar sounding voice, Mei hoped to her feet and slowly motioned to towards Gale and the.. group? Well, she supposed it was to be expected that he would bring others considering who their target was. She knew the other blonde haired boil, but the ghoul.. she had no idea who she was, though she appeared vaguely familiar. Hopefully she would not kill her on site like some other hunters would.
"I am." She answered Candace's question as she approached. "Hi, Gale." She gave the other two a wary look before continuing. "Sorry, I originally planned to do this myself, but considering who it is and the place we're in, I'd rather not.."
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:14 pm
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Most of the time, when Amrita came across the Haunted House, she was in her natural form and she was angry. But there were rare occasions where she would wander in as Halloween saw her, searching the house for a very specific Hunter for any updates. So far she had come up fruitless, but then again her own side of the bargain was left just as empty. The point was, she wanted to make sure he was at least trying, and to let him know that she was trying as well.
When she remembered.
Which lately, wasn't often.
She still took it slow, not wanting to be too surprised by whatever she came across. When she heard the voices she paused in the hallway, creeping along the wall towards the room to get a better spot to listen in. There were two voices in the room. Neither of them she really recognized, but the third voice she did, and quite clearly so; Mei. Her fellow captive and bonfire enthusiast. She couldn't hear what was being said, but it was enough for her.
She rounded the corner, and was shocked to discover there were three Hunters there, standing in front of Mei. One of which she definitely recognized, but that never stopped her. Though her fist instinct was to launch an attack, her distance from them and their close proximity to the Broken Doll was enough to make her pause; if she attacked one, there would still be two left to grab her friend. Even if Mei took her lead and grabbed the second, the third would still have a clear shot. It was obvious to her that she couldn't lash out, at least not until the Monster could put some distance between herself and the enemy. The Patchwork ghoul decided to do the next best thing; she opted to get their attention.
"Get away from her!" Amrita growled loudly to the trio of Hunters, her body tense and her eye narrowed. "Now." The threat was clear in her voice, her hands flexing into tight fists.
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:56 pm
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He felt, rather than saw, Otto come up behind him, followed by Candace, and Gale opened his mouth to reply, but was saved the trouble by Mei's appearance down the hall. Gale gave her a small nod, started to answer her, but was again interrupted - except this time by the form of a snarling, angry Halloween student.
Gale didn't move from where he stood. "I am not going to hurt her," he said quietly, and as clearly as he was able. "Otto, Candace - this is Mei-Xiu. She's a friend of mine, and she will not hurt you, just as you won't hurt her."
He gave each of them a significant look, as though to ask for their cooperation in this, before looking back at the unfamiliar monster. "We're not enemies here, and even if we are, this is neither the time, nor the place to act on whatever personal vendettas we might have."
Gale glanced back at Otto and Candace. "Mei contacted me about the priestess Medea; she said she saw her and followed her into the Haunted House, and seeing as how all of our interests currently lie with the Horsemen and their plans, I thought it best to see what information we could gather from following her as well."
"I am not," he added, straightening his shoulders a bit. "here to fight. I'm here to learn, to gather information."
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:38 am
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Otto still wasn't entirely sure what this recon objective was. But since a Halloween student was here, and seemingly friendly with gale, he assumed she was tipping him off about something. Maybe himself and Candace were backup in case something went wrong. After all, it was the Haunted House. And lately nothing but bad things happened there.
The teen nearly jumped at the sudden angry call from a very familiar patchwork. Amrita. He'd met her once in the Haunted House sometime after his encounter with the body snatcher, and was at odds with her since they shared similar oddities concerning her limbs. He'd also met her while in a golem, to which he saw a whole other side of her.
Gale seemed to try and clear up the situation for now, and Otto kept his mouth shut so as not to ruin any semblance of peace they had. Otto was not known for his gentle pleasantries, after all. So in short, he gave Gale a quiet nod in affirmation. He wouldn't be attacking anyone. He usually didn't like to.
Otto listened in on Gale's explanation, but it made his own stomach turn. They were here because Mei had spotted Medea? Otto was understandably fidgety now. He both feared and loathed the Death Priestess. Horsemen as a whole tended to make his skin crawl, but that one was one of the worst.
He just prayed this would only be information gathering and not another Death sentence. Or worse. |
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 12:03 pm
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Candace luckily was not the kind of Hunter who attacked unprovoked, except in special cases. There were a few students who were considered a special case. This girl was not one of those students. Mei? Cute. "What are you, pretty ghoul?" Candace asked with genuine curiosity. Who it is? Who was this horseman lead? A look was given to Gale as she awaited an explanation.
That explanation would apparently have to wait. Her attention snapped to the girl growling at them. She knew that voice.
The hand on Gale's shoulder tightened. Her.
"Or what, Amrita?" Candace's eyes narrowed. This was the girl who had a Hunter coat. This was the girl from that day, the day that still bothered her if she let her mind wander back to it. The hand on Gale's shoulder relaxed slightly but her eyes were still narrowed at Amrita. She was so tempted to loudly warn the boys to hold onto their coats lest she take them.
"I had no intention of hurting Mei." Candace was being honest. Mei did nothing to her, she was not causing her any harm, so she would not be attacking the ghoul for no reason.
For now she simply listened to Gale's debriefing of the situation, her brow raising with surprise at the mention of Medea. "Is she still around? I thought Death was taking her place..why is she here..." Was she still a threat?
Nonsense. She was a horseman. She would always be a threat.
"I do not attack unless I am attacked," Candace said kindly, loud enough for even Amrita to hear. A glance was sent the patchwork's way. You heard the woman, she doesn't attack unprovoked.
"Is there anything in particular we should be looking for, Gale?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 12:41 am
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Thankfully, the group did not have to ask any further as right outside the old entrance of the Haunted House was the Head Priestess in full view. She was acting oddly, even for one such as her, pacing the area, which many Hunters from very first fight with Red might have been familiar with: this is where they had set up their base camp. Burnt and charred remnants of that time, from crumbling Runic gear, to singed wires, still remained, now stained an odd grey due to the thin layer of fog.
She paced a few more steps and then angrily kicked a broken remote over before moving to the stairs a few feet behind her. Even more oddly enough, Medea began counting them. One. Two. Three-
- It gave a hollow thunk to which she crouched over and then deftly pulled the floorboard out. With a sort of strange look, she unclasped a braclet and placed it inside, and then stood on that step, looking more like her usual prideful self. It felt very much like she was waiting for someone, while taking precaution.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 1:30 am
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It was actually quite surprising to her that she actually asked what species she was. Normally, people could figure it out from first glance. Or maybe, the female hunter was just being polite. "I guess your kind would refer to me as a living doll." Thankfully, things between her and the hunters were remaining quite civil, though, she hadn't anticipated the arrival of a certain patchwork ghoul. "Amrita?" Oh s**t - no doubt, this probably looked horribly bad to the ghoul. It didn't seem to help matters as their appeared to be some sort of history between them. Not surprising, considering everything.
Placing her hands on her shoulders, the doll shot a quick glance at the others before looking back to Amrita. "Its okay, its as they say. I know you're probably thinking this is insane, or stupid, but I promise I'll explain everything later." As for Candace's question on the whereabouts of the head priestess; she was about to get to that when the horseman was easily spotted right outside. Well, that was easy enough.
"What is she doing..?" She always found this horseman ghoul to be suspicious, but now.. what was she up too?
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:42 am
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He felt Candace's hand loosen on his shoulder, but she hadn't moved away just yet. Gale turned his head to give her a reassuring look, reaching out to grip Otto's arm briefly before letting go.
"Mei-Xiu and I have been talking for quite some time now," said Gale, by way of explanation. "Over the course of time, we have learned that it is better to work together than to mindlessly try and rip each other apart. Our goals are the same this time - neither of us trust the Horsemen, so instead of bickering about it, we decided to simply pool our resources and take a stance against a common enemy."
His eyes moved towards the one called Amrita. "I have no ill-intentions towards any of your kind right now," he said quietly. "I have made an agreement with Mei. It may not work out in the long run, but for right now, we are on the same side. You don't have to like it, but it's all we've got."
"Mei informed me earlier that it was Medea she saw," Gale explained, to not just Candace and Otto, but to everyone. "She is here somewhere, and I suggest - "
There were footsteps. Gale made a silencing gesture, crouching down behind Mei as the form of the Head Priestess herself came into view, pacing back and forth at the front of the House.
<< Well this is unusual. >>
What was that? Gale thought, and Jinhai was silent for a moment, rumbling thoughtfully.
"Did anyone get a good look at what she just put into that step?" Gale murmured quietly to the others. "It looked like a trinket of some sort..."
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:49 pm
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Amrita's attention drifted easily; she glanced at whomever spoke, but never focused all of her attention on them. She kept glancing at the other two, as if afraid they were going to do something while she wasn't looking. The smaller of the three was talking softly, which on it's own was something she wasn't used to hearing from a Hunter. He promised there wasn't anything suspicious going on - actually, Mei had contacted them? This time her gaze shot to the doll, but it was short lived; the female Hunter said her name.
The Female Hunter said her name.
"Or I will make you." She growled in response. Her body, which had just started to relax, tensed up again. A Hunter she didn't recognize knew her name. Was she one of the ones behind her tag? Was she in that room that day? Or...worse? Either way it put her on edge, which did nothing for the situation. "Had, huh?" Past tense. Meaning now she was thinking about it? Her hands flexed and unflexed, fingers opened and closing, just barely holding back the urge to punch that woman in the face. The way she stood, the hostile way she was acting...that didn't come out of thin air. It couldn't have come out of thin air, could it...?
"I'm coming with you." Her gaze focused, snapping back to Mei as the Doll's hands went on her shoulders. "I'm not leaving you with these people." She cast a very pointed glare at Candace, before looking back at her fellow student. "...I have an agreement with one of yours too." It was a grudging one, but it was there; perhaps this could help her out, too.
"And I won't attack unless she starts something. Ah, I'm sorry, I mean, they start something." It was an innocent mistake, honest! Not that she looked honest about her slip in the slightest. Of the three of them, that blasted female was the most hostile, and the one she couldn't help but be immediately concerned.
"Hmm?" She turned, however briefly, to see what they were looking at; Medea, doing...something? Waiting for someone? To the one with the strange voice, she murmured: "Sorry, I didn't see anything." And, for the first time, she sounded like she meant it.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2013 2:38 am
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Candace couldn't help but feel a bit of pride for the reaction she got out of Amrita. Good, she deserved to feel tense and cautious. Mei was off limits, but Amrita wasn't. She rolled her eyes at the patchwork's threat and the words that followed. "Have," Candace corrected with feigned irritation. This was so nice, to be able to piss off someone who angered her, someone who was partly responsible for ******** up everything she had been working on and forced her to start all over again. She realized it was petty but Candace couldn't resist, she was right there and didn't seem to have any idea who she was, she'd be a fool to not take advantage of such a beautifully presented opportunity. "Is there a problem, Amrita?"
Is it wise to rile her up, dearest? Though even Atropos couldn't help but sound amused.
Don't care for once.
I see. Well, just be careful. She doesn't seem as meek as she did before.
You've got a point..
Unless she starts something. Oh, this was going to be good. Candace's brow raised and all she did was smile, looking very amused by the blatantly non-accidental slip.
Cute.
"I think I'm in trouble, guys~." Candace chuckled. She would just play up the harmless thing. Nothing she had said had been a lie, she really wouldn't attack unprovoked, but Amrita was proving to be very fun to antagonize and all she had done was say her name.
Gale and Mei both got her attention when they moved and started crouching to look out a window. Candace was silent immediately, moving to stand to one side and watch Medea closely. There she was. She was right there, and without all that psychotic homicidal attitude and her crazed horsemen around she almost looked normal. Almost.
"Yeah, something from her wrist..." Candace kept her voice low, her eyes on the step Medea was standing on. What had Medea used to try to kill them? A staff, a mirror..? Any bracelets? None she could recall but with all the magic these things had she could easily try, huh? "I think she's waiting for something.."
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