The Halloween Party - Day 7: The Finale

[Goosh]

SPOILER: Click to show

Now you need to test it for poison. Somehow.

A manor stands on a lone hill in Tabloid Town, having nothing to do with any other creepy old manors that may or may not also be in Tabloid Town.

A crystal clear swimming pool, contrasting the slight neglect the rest of the house has fallen into, shimmers in the evening light. A mammoth garden, full of winding paths and tall bushes, lines the other side of the house.

The main floor's lights are on. A small figure scurries about the rooms, double checking them. The ballroom has a long table with snacks and beverages. A flurry of balloons float about the room, dancing to invisible breezes.

Everything is set.

The party will soon begin.

*~*~*

Goosh stood in the front foyer of the mansion, ready to receive guests for what was to be the NTWF's best Halloween party ever. He felt sharp in his tuxedo, the sound system was gently muffling the thick silence that had owned the place for so long.

The building had been a steal, too. The agent had said it was haunted, that strange things had gone on long ago. Goosh had said that the same could be said for all of Tabloid Town and bought the place.

He had sent a formal invitation by mass-Weewoo to just about every NTWFer. The manor, with its mulitple floors and twisting corridors, would definitely have enough room to hold them all.

He straightened his bow tie and the doorbell rang. The first guest had arrived.

[Sq]

Squiesh cleared her throat as the grand door of the manor swung slowly open with a squeaky groan. Her face lit up when she saw the Yurble on the other side, and she stepped inside, trying not to look like too much of a spaz. It was rather hard not to, considering the party invitation she had received had made it sound like it was going to be pretty spectacular.

"Nice tux, Gooshy. And holy cats, this place is huge! This is definitely going to be the best NTWF Halloween party ever."

She raised an eyebrow as her eyes scanned her surroundings. Wicked place? Yes. Wicked party? So far, no. Usually she was never the first to arrive to these kinds of shenanigans.

"Well, I hope more people show up soon!" She held a large plate stacked high with freshly baked orange-and-black cookiepies. Tearing the plastic off the top, she offered one of the treats to Goosh. "Cookiepie?" She smiled and nudged him with the rim of the plate. "I spent all day making them. And what's a party without cookiepies, neh?"

[Nova]

As Squiesh closed the door of the mansion, the brown doormat turned to a faint blue color, and then erupted in flames that were six feet high. As the flames settled, Nova's face appeared, smiled, and walked right through the door, as if a ghost. The doormat then returned to normal.

He surveyed the mansion, cobwebs, spiders, halloween decorations. Typical. Then he noticed Squiesh and Goosh to his right.

"Oh hello Squiesh! Beautiful dress. And Goosh! You look dashing as always."

Squiesh then offered Nova a cookiepie, and he graciously accepted, and then thanked her. "I hope I'm not too early for the party, no one seems to be here yet."

[Deleted]

At that moment, Kirby burst through the doors of the mansion and looked around. He was dressed in a tuxedo with an orange tie.

"Well howdidy doo there, everyone! I'm always late for these kinds of things, but I'm always fashionably la-"

Kirby looked around, seeing only Goosh, Squiesh and Nova.

"Hey, where is everyone? Am I... early?" Kirby asked. But soon, his eyes met the cookiepies. He walked over to Squiesh and cleared his throat.

"Why hello there Squieshie. I believe you have some cookiepies over there. I can has cookiepie?"

[Ginz ❤]

Ginz tentatively laid a finger on top of the doorbell, but didn't press it. Instead, she moved her hand to the doorknob and turned it. It opened. She was glad she thought of trying that first.

She stepped inside and looked around. Not so many NTWFers had arrived, but she liked it that way.

"Hi!" she smiled and waved at everyone, blushing slightly.

She realized everyone was dressed so formally, and she was wearing a costume instead. Granted, it could pass off as a normal dress, but she knew it wasn't.

It was a purple robe with golden decorations. She was also wearing a purple hat with small golden moons and stars on it to match. It was her MapleStory's priest costume, she was cosplaying as her. Hoping the others won't think she was the odd one out, she tried to act naturally.

"Ooh, snacks!" She exclaimed walking towards the long table.

[Nova]

Nova saw two more guests walk in the front door of the manor, Kirby and Ginz. He barely even noticed Kirby after he saw Ginz in her beautiful MapleStory priest costume and walking towards the lon snack table.

"Ginz," he said. "You look fabulous, head to toe!"

[Rider]

[glow=red,2,300]((SURPRISE! It's an event! Though honestly, people, I imagined I'd have more posts to work with. Comic (c) Hunty the Amazing and internetless.))[/glow]



[glow=red,2,300]The lights flickered back to life and Rider released the breath she was unaware she had been holding. The superstitious pirate would be the first to believe in ghosts, but the last to let them get to her.

Someone shouted that Ikkin was gone. Rider went to examine the scene of the disappearance.

No signs of a struggle, the dust had hardly moved from the spot. Sev hadn't come to the shindig, and even if he had, if he had teleported her out, he would have done so with a lot of shiny, obnoxious fire.

No, it seemed that their air mage had disappeared, as it were, into thin air.[/glow]

[♥ Lulu]

Lulu had been standing quietly next to the snack table, at the other end from the other NTWFers. She was muttering angrily to herself, possibly about the crumbs she had just got on her dinner jacket. Perhaps she would have been better wearing a dress, like the other females who had arrived, but she'd always loved tuxedos.

Her elven ears pricked up suddenly as the lights went dead, her eyes struggling to adapt to the darkness, the only source of light coming from the huge windows that dotted the room.

And then they were back up, as sudden as they had gone out. Lulu squinted, looking around at the confused faces of fellow members.

Somebody called out, saying that Ikkin was missing. Lulu frowned, wondering where the mage had gone.

[Craig]

This was the first time Craig had attended any of the big NTWF parties or events. He had arrived a little late, wearing a black tuxedo, white shirt, and orange bowtie, and had been wandering around the vast ballroom looking at the decorations and snack tables. He'd just picked up a glass of punch when the lights went out.

A few cries rang out. He turned around blindly, saying, "Is this supposed to be part of--" when someone pushed past him quickly in the dark, knocking the glass of punch out of his hand.

"Shoot." Craig turned back to the long table and felt around for a napkin. After a few moments of blind groping, in which he left a few punch-stained handprints on the tablecloth, the lights flickered back on. Craig located a pile of black napkins and grabbed a handful, bending down to clean up the spill on the floor of the ballroom.

"Ikkin! Has anyone seen Ikkin?"

Craig paused in his work and looked up. Several of the other party guests were looking around, confused, and a few people were clustered around one of the tall windows. Craig wasn't exactly acquainted with everyone who came to these parties, but he had heard that Ikkin was a mage -- maybe she was just pulling a prank for Halloween? He continued wiping up the spill.

[Fj0rd]

Fj0rd had wandered off almost immediately after she entered, exploring the mansion until she found the library. There, regardless of her long copper-colored silk dress, she plopped down in a dusty armchair and pulled the nearest volume close to her.

She only looked up when the lights went out, wrinkling her nose at the inconvenience. It was an old mansion, sure, but the power'd seemed reliable. Moving air brushed her face, and then was still. What, the place was drafty, too?

The lights flickered back on, but Fj0rd closed the book anyway. If the lights kept going out, it'd be impossible to read. She left the library and retraced her steps to the ballroom. Halfway down the last hall, she heard someone shouting: "--anyone seen Ikkin?"

"Not again," Fj0rd muttered. She ran toward the ballroom, cursing herself for wearing a dress. They were fine for looking good, but completely impractical for anything else.

[Nova]

Nova was enjoying the party, as he saw more guests arrive. He greeted them, and continued talking to Ginz. The lights suddenly went off, and Nova started to glow to help him see better. Unfortunately, this was one spell he had neglected to practice, so it was very weak. He couldn't see much, but he saw a faint figure run and push Craig out of the way, his drink falling to the floor.

He heard the shouts of Ikkin being gone, and immediately took flight and flew to where Rider was standing.

"I saw Ikkin a moment ago! Then the lights turned off, and I faintly saw a figure running. I couldn't tell who it was though." Nova said to Rider above the noise of confusion, his head hurt because he had to lean down to go head-to-head with Rider. "And I don't think the figure was carrying anyone, but I could be wrong. Maybe there's a trap door or something where Ikkin was standing. Or maybe this is all a Halloween prank."

[Celestial]

Celestial has arrived very late but quietly, not liking parties or social events. Being half-dragon, it showed that she was a loner. She had dressed for the occasion in longer, fancier robes that usual, ones that were covered head to toe in half-invisible dragons embroidered into the fabric that shimmered when it caught the light. Her boots had higher heels and instead of being a dismal shade of brown were a suave black. Wandering around and grabbing a snack here and there, she wondered if there would be a chance to have a few fireworks launched into the air so that the time wouldn't be a total waste. Celestial picked up a glass of water and drank it, not expecting the party to be very exciting.

Suddenly the lights went out. There were many shouts of confusion and several sounds of glasses being knocked over. Celestial managed to not drop her glass as she had lost her fear of the dark when she was young but was still very rattled. A few sparks came from her hand as she tried to start a fire that would give off a little light but it didn't work for a strange reason. Cold air blowing from the window always put the fire out. She heard some scrabbling and swishing but beyond that there was nothing unusual.

It came back on, hurting her eyes. Others were looking around in a confused daze. Several cries went up that Ikkin was missing. Speculations immediately followed and Nova claimed he saw a figure running through the dark. He said it could be just a prank but somehow Celestial doubted it. She put the glass of water down onto the nearest table and glided over to Nova.

"It could very well be a prank but what if it isn't? What if Ikkin is genuinely in trouble? Perhaps we could have a few people look around the Manor for her, just in case" she said with a hint of tension in her voice. They now needed some volunteers.

[Goosh]

Goosh had been hovering around, greeting various guests. Then, without warning, the lightbulbs had gone out. There were scuffles in the darkness as people tried to co-ordinate themselves. Then, in the same instant, the lights burst aglow again.

Goosh had not moved, but apparently Ikkin had. "She's not here?" he said, more to himself. "How...unfortunate." He looked at the few guests who were looking worried and confused. "Don't worry," he said to them. "I'm sure our kitsune has just excused herself for a moment. Please, enjoy the party."

When no one was looking, he left the room.

[Ginz ❤]

As soon as the lights went out, Ginz gasped.

Ginz had been very startled and she was certain she might have screamed if it wasn't because standing next to Nova, who emited a faint glow. She was glad not to be in complete darkness. The lights came back on pretty soon, and she was relieved.

Or at least she was for a few seconds. Then she realized among everyone else that Ikkin was gone.

Ginz stood there in shock, hoping it all was a joke. Any moment now, Ikkin would come out from behind a door and shout "April Fools!" even though it was October. But that obviously didn't happen.

Celes voiced everyone's worries, and Ginz knew instantly what she had to do.

"I volunteer!" she said loudly.

[Fj0rd]

Fj0rd pushed through the doors into the ballroom just in time to see Goosh disappearing into a hall on the other side of the room. She frowned, but Celestial's idea distracted her.

"Send search parties? Nonsense," she muttered. "Is she trying to get us all kidnapped?" Fj0rd leaned on the snack table to take off her shoes. "Stupid high heels."