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Post by Celestial on Jul 30, 2011 19:11:18 GMT -5
Luna fell, much to Celes' relief. Her wounds were affecting her concentration much more than she expected and with her dominant hand's strength almost gone, she was not in an ideal situation, to say the least. However, she could not stop to think now. Before Luna had time to get up, Celes pinned her down on the ground, digging her right knee into Luna's back while using her left arm to keep her head flat on the ground. Her left foot remained on the ground to keep herself steady.
"Oh no, Albert won't be doing anything. He just...called somebody who can do something about you. Pastor Williams...in Entwuff village...owes me a favour. Which is just as well really...he's an excellent exorcist. Always knows how to cause a ghost a lot of pain but still...not completely get rid of them," Celes said, taking deeper breaths each time. It was only a matter of time before Pastor Willaims arrived. She only had to hold Luna until then. Then he'd take over and she better get out while he did his thing. It was doubtful that Celes would enjoy being in range of an exorcism ritual, even if she was not the target.
"Last chance befre the Pastor tears... you apart. Who is the last...mafia member?" Celes asked. Her voice was more pleading than she liked.
----
'Almost there. Hang on, Miss Teal,' Pastor Willaims though as he turned towards Netwaffle. He was already thinking about how he was going to do this.
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Post by Terra on Jul 30, 2011 19:48:42 GMT -5
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Nelly, in between blows.
"I don't know why any body would be appetizing," she continued. "My pies are beef. 100% beef."
"Ha, yeah, right," said Terra. "You only carried off those bodies because you run a hidden morgue behind the pie shop. Of course."
"You're ridiculous," she prattled on, narrowly avoiding a bullet fired right at her. "Murdering your fellow townspeople, then torturing them even in death, and now... slandering my good name! Madness, this is madness!"
"I'm not going to deny my crimes," said Terra. "But you baked people into pies! How have you not been arrested already? You have to have violated all sorts of safety protocols, at the very least! And who knows? You could've killed just as many people as I did. You certainly seem like the type."
She floated up above the crowd, pointing at Nelly and shouting, "This woman is a cannibal! She baked human flesh into all her pies! You saw her carrying off those bodies - what do you think she was doing with them? Did her pies taste like beef to you? I don't think so!"
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Post by Avery on Jul 30, 2011 19:57:39 GMT -5
"This woman is a cannibal! She baked human flesh into all her pies! You saw her carrying off those bodies - what do you think she was doing with them? Did her pies taste like beef to you? I don't think so!"
"I am not a cannibal!" the Narrator shouts, now wholly distracted from the battle. Fortunately, Terra's dramatic accusations have at least captured the attention of the GSIS men in the immediate area, who have halted the melee to listen.
Feeling like the whole town has their eyes on her, the Narrator warbles, "I am just a businesswoman. An innocent businesswoman And even if there were people in my pies-- which there weren't-- I myself never at them, and so... I am innocent! You would be the cannibals! Ha! Yes you, the people of this godforsaken town!"
Her heart is thudding madly. She wants the attention off her, but everyone's eyes seemed glued. Frantic, panicking, she whirls towards Candy, who still hasn't yet quite figured out how to properly grip a knife. She likes her apprentice, doesn't want to get the girl lynched, but these are desperate times. Desperate measures are called for.
"She's done all the dirty work!" the Narrator shouts. "Her! Innocent looking, I know, but appearances deceive. And I can't be a killer, that would be silly, I didn't arrive to town until after these horrid murders-- but her! She's been here all along!"
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Post by Luna on Jul 30, 2011 20:39:35 GMT -5
Luna was about to try and stand when Celes pushed her down and pinned her to the ground. Luna struggled but it was no help. Celes was pushing her right knee into her back, which felt horrible. She was pushing her face into the ground as well.
"Oh no, Albert won't be doing anything. He just...called somebody who can do something about you. Pastor Williams...in Entwuff village...owes me a favour. Which is just as well really...he's an excellent exorcist. Always knows how to cause a ghost a lot of pain but still...not completely get rid of them,"
"Exorcist? I thought we'd have a fair fight, but I guess the rich never play fair."
"Last chance before the Pastor tears... you apart. Who is the last...mafia member?"
The former blacksmith growled. "I'd never tell you. I don't care what you do, I'll be loyal to the last living Mafiao, even if it kills me." Luna hadn't noticed until now that she wasn't holding her arms down.
In panic, Luna put her arms back in an attempt to push up, she got off the ground some, but then it felt like she fell.
Wait...She did. Her whole body had fallen through the ground, and into a old theater. Luna didn't know how it happened, maybe when she was in panic she did something that let her faze through thing.
Luna didn't hit the ground, but she floated in mid-air. She looked around, and saw ghosts getting popcorn and things. She sighed.
"Gaawww....My back. And face...Ow."
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Post by Robyn on Jul 30, 2011 21:00:46 GMT -5
It took Robyn a second to become reacquainted with the typewriter. Before, she'd been completely trapped, immobile and locked in amongst the complicated wirings of the machine, but with knowledge of its anatomy came the freedom to move around it as required. She trembled as she reached for the handle, half-expecting some hidden curse to pop out and scare her as soon as she grabbed it. It never happened. The grip was cool and fitted, and Robyn could see her ethereal blood splashed across the blade once she pulled it out of the paper. It glowed in the darkness. Suddenly, she could feel the typewriter moving from the outside.
"Let me know if I'm disrupting your concentration, okay?" Icon said from outside.
Just make sure you don't drop me, and we should be good. See you on the other side!
Robyn reveled in how smoothly the message sent. The damage from the knife must have been an illusion, because the paper rolled up and out of sight faster than she'd ever seen it go. Icon had actually done a really good job of repairing this thing, considering how bad it'd been before. She gave him a silent kudos as she began to feel her way out of the typewriter's labyrinth. Everything seemed to be going faster than last time, and if she hadn't been so deep in concentration trying to free herself, she would have been afraid of how quickly her possible expulsion from this world was approaching. But she couldn't afford to feel afraid, not with the light already upon her.
She exited the typewriter as before, but with a much plainer display this time around. She supposed not being stabbed in the back at the same time had something to do with it. The plaza was in a state of chaos. The roars and screams of battle dominated the skies, and swarms of ragtag townspeople and suited agents rushed each other with all sorts of weapons. It was awful, more awful than any fight between the ghosts had been. The sheer scale of it was enough to make her head spin.
She looked down and saw Icon staring at the scene before them. His face somber but determined. She floated beside him, so reluctant to leave just yet. They watched as the blood and metal flashed and moved, a sick cinema.
"Like I said," Robyn murmured, "It's all up in the air from here."
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Post by Celestial on Jul 30, 2011 21:16:10 GMT -5
"The rich don't play fair. Neither do the smart."
Celes scowled. It was a shame that she got the most loyal mafia member. Still, she hoped that Pastor Williams could make her talk. Even the first letter of a name would be good enough for her.
Luna began pushing herself up, a desperate move but it got Celes panicked. She pushed down in reponse but suddenly, Luna was gone. How? What? Why? The girl was completely dumb-struck. She tried to think of anything she had heard during the past few days that might have given her any hint.
This place. What was it that Chane had said? Something about a ghost theatre nearby? Perhaps that was where Luna had gone. It most likely was not but right now, it was the best place to start.
----
He was here. Pastor Williams parked his car, taking care to not bump into any of the other cars strewn about. He got out, picked up his bag and set off towards the main square, which he figured was a good place to start.
A figure was sitting on the ground beside the pizzeria, one which was slightly translucent. It looked like...the pastor rushed over to where Celes was sitting, stunned.
"Miss Teal? I hope I'm not too late," he said, resisting the urge to touch her shoulder, an act which probably would not go down too well with the ghost. Celes turned around. Her face broke into a smile.
"I'm glad you're here! Come on, your target got away. I know where she is but it won't be easy to get to," she said hurriedly, her adrenaline beginning to pump again. Pastor Williams could only nod, trying not to look at the girl's mangled right arm or the injuries on her left.
Celes got up and ran towards a nearby manhole. She tried to open it, only to find her hands going right through it. The girl hissed. Thankfully, before she could get more irritated, Pastor Williams lifted it for her and put it down carefully beside the hole. Celes floated down underground, the pastor following her until they arrived at an old-fashioned looking door. Music and chatter echoed from the other side. Pastor Williams, needing no prompt, opened it.
"Don't kill her. Just get her to talk," the girl whispered in his ear. The pastor nodded.
The theatre was packed full of ghosts. Celes did not allow herselfto be distracted and quickly scanned them until her eyes stumbled upon Luna.
"There she is!" she shouted. It was all Pastor Williams needed. He put his bag down and opened it up. Every single ghost looked up at him, all of them guessing what would happen next. Ghosts know when one of their own is about to be exorcised.
"If you guys want to live, I suggest you get out now," Celes hissed at them. The ghosts disappeared quickly. It was just Celes, Pastor Williams and Luna.
Pastor Williams approached Luna, holding an intricate wooden cross inlaid with iron. He held it high over Luna, like a dagger. In his other hand was a lit candle with a wick dipped in holy water. Carved into it were the names of the disciples.
"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you shall be banished to the other side, oh restless spirit. Let your mind and soul drift away to ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven. Leave this mortal earth where you do not belong," he said calmly and cooly, letting the prayer sink in. There was more to it, of course. But this should be enough for now to cause significant pain.
((Note: I'm making things up here. xD I don't really know how exorcisms work and am just going with what sounds cool. Don't hit me if you try to exorcise evil spirits the same way and it backfires. ^^;; ))
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Post by Avery on Jul 30, 2011 21:17:23 GMT -5
They were battle-weary, weak and wounded, far outnumbered by the GSIS with their sleek weapons and endless reinforcements. Several people had been felled-- the town grocer, after escaping from the investigators back at Luna's, now lay in a bloody heap, a bullet fired clear through his chest; the little paperboy, not more than twelve-years-old, had risen to fight despite being told to stay behind by his parents, in the safety of the pizzeria. He had been knocked unconscious with no regard for his age, his face coated thickly with blood, his chest rising and falling indistinctly, shallowly. The GSIS were leaving no one alone. They were in a state of total war.
From the beginning of the battle, the man had been fighting. He wielded the knives pilfered from Luna's with expertise, slashing and stabbing, dodging the GSIS like he'd been training for something like this. To the rest of the town, he appeared to be a great asset. On their side. Surely not the last man of the mafia, the final criminal who had brought such calamity to the town.
But the man had his own motivations.
He couldn't let the GSIS discover his identity; he had as much reason to fight them off as anyone. After all, he'd murdered so many people. Plotted the deaths of so many more. Whether or not the GSIS had turned renegade, devious, they were still investigators in the end. Their job was to apprehend criminals.
And certainly, he was a criminal.
There was no doubt about that.
So he fought alongside the townspeople he'd betrayed, as a man with nothing to lose. The other citizens regarded him as a brother, an ally. A warrior. He did good work, too. And eventually the GSIS reinforcements stopped coming; there were no more of them left. A few of the more cowardly investigators decided to cut their losses, make a run for it. There were no more than a dozen of them left.
He was doing fine. He was saving his own skin.
And then... then a GSIS man knocked him off balance. A heavy blow. He fell-- tumbled-- the wind knocked out of him. A fellow townsperson rushed to his side, began to help him up.
Then she noticed the tiny glass phial that had rolled out from the man's pocket. It contained clear, odorless liquid, as ambiguous as any, but then there was the stark label adhered to the container.
For Enemies
(Three drops in her tea will suffice)
"You," breathed the woman-- breathed Candy-- staring at the man in horror. "It's been you all along."
The man knew he was exposed. Knew he should have dumped the poison the moment after he'd tampered with Glenda's tea. But it was too late for regrets now. Too late for excuses.
"Yes," said Drake said. "It was me."
**
There was no opportunity for lynching in the middle of such a battle. But after Drake's revelation, Candy had alerted Icon of the last mafioso's identity. Everyone in town had lost people they cared about, but Icon... with him, it was different. Robyn was different. He didn't fancy himself as a violent man; he was a reporter, not an assassin. But Robyn... she didn't deserve to die. And as such, the man who killed her did not deserve to live.
He slashed Drake's throat without a second thought. The mafioso didn't have time to defend himself.
And so he fell, the last of the mafia.
The town, it seemed, had won.
But at what cost?
Drake was a mafia member.
He was a writer by trade, moved into town not more than two years ago. All his books had been flops, and he was hurting for money. The mafia was rich. It presented him with options. So he joined.
After first just writing about them, Drake rose through the ranks. He became a main member. He was good with knives, and he enjoyed the work. After all, it paid well, and he could still write in his spare time.
Setting: Finishing off the last of the GSIS
I will leave this round up until Monday afternoon, then I'll put a "post-game" round up so we can tie everything up. Good job, town! The mafia has fallen at last!
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Post by Draco on Jul 30, 2011 22:06:20 GMT -5
Drake appears in the air a few moments later, still holding his sword.
"Oooh ghost sword, it's still shiny."
He shakes his head and looks down at the two who stopped him.
"So you got me, and you killed me, but there is one thing you didn't know! There is still another member of the mafia in town, and as we speak that person should have set up bombs throughout the town!"
A ghost of a man floats up to Drake, the town grocer... "Sorry boss.... I... I sort of failed.... I did set up some bombs, but I dropped the detonator when I died..." He points to a small box next to his dead body.
Drake and him watch as a random person steps on it. Nothing happens.
"Did you set them wrong?"
The grocer shakes his head, "No! I followed the directions and everything! I even set the numbers like the manual!"
"You set up a timer! What was it set to?!"
The grocer lowers his head and thinks, "10?"
A few seconds later a explosion can be heard as the Deli and Luna's shop explode in fire.
The grocer raises his head proud.
"You idiot! Those were the places I told you NOT to set up explosives!"
"But... But..."
"GAAHHH!!!"
He swings his sword at the grocer, but stops at the last second.
"You're lucky I still need a lackey, even if we are ghosts..."
He floats back down to Candy and Icon.
"Well, that didn't go as planned. So I'll just do the next best thing."
He begins to dance around, oddly on his own body.
"I fooled you! I fooled you! I killed Quintrell at the dance! It was easy! And I was going to get Icon next!"
He floats over to Candy.
"However, I was going to offer you a job with the Mafia. I'm not sure what, but I was. Or maybe I would have killed you too! HA!"
He floats above the group and dances around some more, then a small spark hits him.
"Ah! That stings! That really really... Wait... Pain is gone."
Nameless pokes his head out of a window with his Ghost Sparker, his GSIS uniform gone, tossed away to avoid being killed by townies.
Drake returns to dancing and laughing as he flies around town at random.
---
Meanwhile, in a quieter part of town, several living things stand together. Each wearing hats, mostly fedoras (and one top hat). They whisper to each other, but no one can understand them. Several cats and one puppy nod their heads in agreement and begin to walk away together. The Pet Mafia will live on.
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Post by Terra on Jul 30, 2011 22:10:16 GMT -5
Terra watched the scene in horror. Watched as the incriminating bottle fell out of Drake’s pocket, watched as Icon slashed his throat with a knife.
She hated feeling so powerless. There was nothing she could have done. Nothing.
The Mafia was dead. Everything she had worked for...was gone. She had failed. Miserably.
The whole mess could have been prevented if she had only been more careful.
Still. She had managed to destroy an entire town. That had to count for something.
And it wasn’t as if it was over yet. She still had plenty that she could do as a ghost. Lots of things to investigate...like the nature of death. And whether ghosts could die again. Permanently.
She drifted down to Icon and stared at him.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said. “You, a killer? I wouldn’t have thought.
“You were one of the ones I actually liked,” she said. “I can’t say that I outright hated many people in this town, to be honest, but you...actually seemed like you wanted to accomplish something. And I had to respect that.
She narrowed her eyes. “But then your friend had to come and stick her nose into our business. You understand that, right? We couldn’t keep her alive after that. She had to go.”
Her lips curled with a sardonic smile. “It was a lot of fun watching you struggle to come to terms with her death. You’re really sweet when you’re suffering, you know that? It almost made me...”
She stopped.
Her face split into an enormous grin. “Of course, you don’t have to deal with her death anymore, do you? Not now that she’s a ghost! She can stay with you for eternity now!”
She twirled her knife and glanced up at Robyn. “Unless ghosts can die again. And I plan to find out. Want to watch?”
She phased into invisibility and charged at Robyn with Luna’s knife.
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Post by icon on Jul 30, 2011 22:53:04 GMT -5
Icon wasn't even thinking.
Candy had told him about Drake, he remembered putting his typewriter on a nearby bench, grabbing the nearest weapon in reach, running...
And the next thing he knew he was standing over Drake's body, holding the now-bleeding knife, panicking. What the heck just happened? Hands trembling, he dropped the knife. Um. Um. What now. What was he supposed to do now there was something he had to do shoot shoot shoot OH RIGHT the snappy post-mortem one liner. "Well, Candy, I guess we took care of that..."
"...With breakneck speed."
He grabbed a pair of sunglasses, three sizes too big, from a nearby GSIS agent's corpse and put them on. Then he looked around in disappointment that nobody nearby was yelling, "YEEEEAAAAH" in an obnoxiously loud and annoying voice. Oh well.
He didn't know how to explain his feelings. Sure, he felt disappointed that everything had been drawn out for so long, that the peaceful town of Netwaffle had been reduced to a near ghost town in only a single week. But at the same time, the accomplishment of saving their town, knowing that they had been able to stop the Mafia from killing more people... it was a satisfying feeling.
And then Terra's ghost had to come down and break the satisfaction. Great. Just great.
“You were one of the ones I actually liked. I can’t say that I outright hated many people in this town, to be honest, but you...actually seemed like you wanted to accomplish something. And I had to respect that." Wait, hold on a moment. Was she... flattering him? He could hardly believe it. True, Terra had always been his friend, but after finding out she was responsible for murdering Robyn... he considered reaching for his stungun. He didn't know for sure if it was even possible for the weapon to have an effect on ghosts, but after all that had happened...
He had trusted her. Last night at the dance... he told her about Robyn's location in the typewriter, he had pleaded with her not to turn that secret against him... and then she had gone and attacked Robyn first thing afterward. That was just a low blow. He had made up his mind; if he could get her stalling long enough, perhaps it would be possible for him to take her by surprise and-
“Unless ghosts can die again. And I plan to find out. Want to watch?” He took a step back in surprise as she turned invisible and dashed off. He started panicking again as he yelled out "Robyn, run! RUN!" He grabbed for his stungun, planning to make a mad dash when-
"You're coming with me, kid."
A large hand came down on his shoulder. Dangit, he had forgotten about the GSIS agents! Who did they think they were, trying to take over the town?
The mafia might have been gone, but the town wasn't safe just yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2011 22:58:34 GMT -5
((LOLs at the Pet Mafia! I hope Ari's kitty isn't a member, mwahaha...))
She had been right.
Drake was a mafia member the whole time.
Well, what to do now?
All she wanted was something to bring her back to life.
Desperate, she floated to the center of the town and let out a loud wail.
"I said it was him!" she cried. "I knew it was Drake! Now stop fighting, please! No one else is going to die today!"
Ghosts might not be able to cry like the living could, but some sort of sad, blue mist did leave Ari's eyes as she spoke.
"Now...I want some gratitude..."
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Post by Draco on Jul 30, 2011 23:01:23 GMT -5
Drake floats out of the ground behind Ari, a evil smile. "You were right. Your logic was flawed. Heck, we didn't even think how the names linked up until you said something. But still, you were streeeeeeetching," his arms stretch far apart, something he thought was cool, "it a lot with Amati and myself." He then begins to poke her repeatedly with the sheath of his sword. ((And your kitty might  )) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2011 23:06:16 GMT -5
Ari squeaked as she was poked. Was he really going to do this?
"Look, Luna didn't really give me a reason," she said, turning to face him. "At least, not a very good one in my opinion. Did you guys kill me because you didn't want me to be happy? Drake, I thought you were decent enough."
After all of this, it seemed she was showing her true soul, quite literally. What she had hidden when she lived. Or something she didn't even realize was there.
She had some kind of strong love. Something Drake didn't have.
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Post by Draco on Jul 30, 2011 23:18:04 GMT -5
"We couldn't let you leave! HAHA!!! It's that simple! What kind of mafia are we if we let our prime targets just run off?"
He floated around Ari.
"Don't get me wrong, if we weren't in a middle of a murdering spree, we might have let you go. But at the time it was going on, it wasn't going to happen. Perhaps you could have sat around at home and kept quiet, we may have left you alone."
He floats around upside down.
"Meowingting, Meowington, wherefore art thou Meowingtong. Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Pfft, whatever, I lots where I was going with that. Really, you're nobility. It's true you could have hooked up with Meowington at any time. Do you think Joseph could have kept him away from you? He could fire him, sure, but then you would have stood a better shot!"
He floats close to Ari, a smirk on his face.
"And if you are nobility, why is it that you are in town living like a normy? Why not throw your power around a tad? Ah, it doesn't matter now. You're DEAD! The only way things are going to work out for you is if Meowington dies to! Hahahahaaaa!!"
He floats around Ari in circles, laughing madly.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 30, 2011 23:25:36 GMT -5
Candy shook, hurt. Not in the physical way-- she had discovered that Drake was in the mafia before she could begin to battle. She was hurt in the emotional sense. She felt betrayed, how Drake had killed them... And she thought they were friends! She clinger helplessly to Icon.
Drake's ghost popped up, startling her and talking about how he was going to kill Icon... And offer a job to her.
"Right," Candy yelled, lifting her head off Icon's shoulder to reveal a tear streaked face, "I may have been following you around like a lovesick puppy, but I'm no killer. I'd rather die than hurt my friends!"
She slowly dropped her face back down onto Icon's shoulder... But not before he made a stupid pun. She looked into Icon's eyes... And jumped as a GSIS man put his hand on Icon's other shoulder.
"You're coming with me, kid."
"No! Please don't take him! He's my only living friend...!" Candy yelled, remembering Nelly's lie.
Angrily, she kneeled down by Drake's body and pulled out the vial of poison, and yelled through tears, "He was only trying to protect us...! We've lost so many friends from the mafia, he wanted to kill Drake, the only living member!"
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))