NTWF Mafia II: The Idyllic Village of Wafflenet

[Avery]

As Britknee waited for Tracy to respond about her totes kewl and creative claim that Primrose was an alien, the Julie chick started playing her mandolin. Like, um, what? Britknee like, didn't dislike Julie as much as the rest of the town but it seems totes obnoxious to start playing music in the middle of a super uber crowded shop. Especially cos like, everyone was sooo sleep deprived, and Britknee had the worst headache, and the last thing she wanted to hear was fragging mandolin music! Jeesh! Why didn't Julie at least play some kewl instrument like the electric bass? Because like, that at least wasn't high-pitched. And Brit had dated a bassist once, and he was sooo sexy!!

"Um, Julie!" she called. "Like, seriously? No one wants to hear you!" She glanced at Dove, who also looked like she had a headache. "Right, Dove?" she asked. "You don't wanna hear Julie, right!? Julie, Dove like, doesn't wanna hear you!"

Before Dove could respond, however, a low moaning sound like, diverted Brit's attention. It was coming from the middle of the shop... from... OH. EM. GEE.

Err Bear.

Was. Waking. Up.

The townspeople had like, tied him to a shelf, his wrists still bound with the chains he'd used on the citizens earlier, but like, his eyes had begun to flutter. He murmured something inaudible under his breath. Glanced around in a very confused sort of way.

"Umm, guys!" Britknee shrieked. "The hostage is like, waking up!"

[Terra]

Blaze was pretty annoyed at Britknee’s comment about her paranoia. No, she WASN’T accusing people, she was accusing ONE PERSON - but then Primrose was howling and she was distracted from this thought.

When Primrose stopped howling and crawled into a corner to sniff at the supplies of fish bait, Julie spoke.

"Blaze, stop," she started. "I didn't know because I was in Waffles No Nets most of the time, and no one came by to tell me. And then when Dove screamed, I thought she was in trouble, so I rushed right over there, and then we came back in time for the execution. I didn't hear about it before now..."

“A likely story,” Blaze muttered under her breath. Truthfully, she had no evidence for her suspicion - but Primrose couldn’t be wrong, could she? She’d been right before, about Don Dan and the others...right?

"Just leave me alone," she said to Blaze. "I need to think."

Blaze sighed. “Fine.”

“What are you going on about, anyway?” Annabel whined in Blaze’s ear.

“GO AWAY,” Blaze barked, shoving her away.

“But I’m your sister” said Annabel. “And we’ve hardly talked for years! I mean, now is as good a time as any to reconcile with each other, right? I mean, we’ve got nothing else to doooooo...”

She leaned against Blaze, looking up at her coyly.

Blaze swore.

“GEEZ, sister,” said Annabel, sitting up straight and scowling at her. “That’s a bit HARSH, don’t you think?”

“I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU,” said Blaze flatly.

“BUT I WANNA TALK TO YOOOOOOOOU -”

"Umm, guys!" Britknee shrieked. "The hostage is like, waking up!"

Blaze looked around. The inspector dude was, indeed, stirring.

Blaze sighed loudly, exasperated. “NONE OF THIS WOULD’VE HAPPENED IF WE’D ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, REASONED WITH HIM LIKE A NORMAL PERSON RATHER THAN BEATING HIM UP,” she said loudly to those surrounding her.

Looking at the inspector, she grimaced, and said, “I AM SO SORRY YOU’VE BEEN PUT THROUGH ALL THIS. SO SORRY.”

[Celestial]

Seeing Mick beg her to stop gave Diana a lot more satisfaction than it really should have. He was so pathetic, such a fool. Did he really think he could join the mafia just to earn a little cash on the side and leave without saying a word? No, the mafia were more than just a part-time job, they were a family. She smiled at the thought and took the life of another law enforcement officer, who fell down with a choking gasp as he gripped his heart and tried to restrart it, a futile exercise. As usual, she wiped her hand with her hankerchief. Being a ghost was so much better than being alive.

She stopped in her tracks as she felt something wrap around her shoulders. A rose drifted into her line of sight and Rocky's insipid words drifted into her ears. She could never stand such sappy, silly gestures and especially did not like it when others touched her. Touch was far too intimate for Diana, it made her uncomfortable having somebody else be that close. However she regained her composure as she listened to the speech Rocky made and smiled wryly at him.

"Silly little rock farmer, I can do both. My notebook is almost full and this town is reaching its end. They can fight back all they want but don't you listen? The damage has already been done. My colleagues and me have torn this town apart. Think about it," she gestured at the scene around them, "Would Wafflenet have become like this if we had not killed a few people here and there? Face it, no matter how much this town fights, it is finished. And conflicts always make more interesting narratives than mere everyday life. The job of a historian isn't too dissimilar from the job of a writer: we make things based on existing facts."

Just then Fluffle snuck up behind Diana, wrapping her leg around her throat. It was doubtful the pony even knew what she was doing but nevertheless, Diana found it incredibly uncomfortable. She reached into her jacket pocket for her pen again, intending to stab the pony in her hoof and make her let go but for some reason, the pony let her go and slunk away to stand by Mick's side. Diana smirked. All that potential, gone. The pony was a bigger idiot than the rest of them combined and that was saying something.

But then, the strangest thing happened: Mick decided to fight back.

He passed through her but nevertheless, the shock of Mick's attack made her gasp. It hurt. Diana turned to him, her face twisted and mangled by rage, her features twitching as though they were trying to rearrange themselves.

"You...you fighting back was adorable. You were like a guinea pig that fluffed itself up to try to threaten an attacker," she hissed as she regained her ghostly balance and composure. "But I don't have time for amusement."

She turned back to where the law enforcement officers kept hammering away at the door to Nets, No Waffles. Inside, she knew the townspeople would be cowering, afraid. Inside somewhere was also the last of her colleagues.

Diana smiled dangerously. She looked at Rocky and Fluffle then turned to Mick, gesturing at the pony and the other ghost.

"Fine, I shall leave them alone. But, Mick, don't you think this is an amazing? History repeats itself in concepts but never in details. They have hung three of us and only one remains. It is only a matter of time before they join us in the afterlife and the silly townspeople will win. Thus say the laws of chance and logic. But maybe I can help. Even if they die, I can still kill off the rest of this town. After all, you nevr said to leave them alone. Just dear sweet Fluffle and Rocky and/or Alex over there," she bowed. "The rest of the town is fair game. Imagine what an amazing narrative it would make if the law enforcement broke through the barricade only to find the whole town dead. Save one, of course. I will save my dear friend."

With that, Diana flew away through the crowd of police officers and drifted through the barricade in full scarlet glory to let the townspeople see her. She lifted her head proudly.

"Greetings, everyone, I'm back," she said plainly and simply, very out of character for her but Diana felt that it had the right impact without boring them. Sometimes, just sometimes, you had to have impact. Otherwise the government cut off your funding. But she did not have to worry about that anymore. In her hands, she had the power to kill. She had strength unlike that which she had when she was alive. Alive, she was the most physically weak out of the mafia. Dead, she was without a doubt the strongest and she relished it.

"Without him, you don't stand a chance. Those lawmen outside will break through and take you. Don't worry though, that won't happen," she grinned. "They will find every single one of you dead. Save one, of course."

With that, Diana lunged forward, her hand outstretched.

She felt a body against it but it was not the inspector. Diana looked into Tanya's shocked face. The waitress had leapt in front of the inspector and now she was in Diana's grip, quite literally.

"Sorry, dear. You did make the worst coffee and you were nice. But we do what is in our nature," she said and moved her hand agonosingly through Tanya's body until she reached her windpipe. Diana closed her eyes and concentrated, squeezing it shut. Soon, the waitress fell downd, dead and Diana took her hand out. She adjusted her glasses and turned to the rest of the townspeople.

[Gelquie]

Julie tried to focus on her music, finding a rhythm that would work for her attempting to relieve the stress she was feeling. At least she could still have her fingers do something, and that she could hear music from the instrument she enjoyed. Despite the situation and the sleep deprivation they were all feeling, Julie was starting to feel a little bit calmer about everything.

"Um, Julie!" Britknee called out. "Like, seriously? No one wants to hear you! Right, Dove? You don't wanna hear Julie, right!? Julie, Dove like, doesn't wanna hear you!"

Julie's playing faltered at the words. Didn't they like her music? Wasn't the music at least providing something better given the whole situation they were in? Wasn't it at least helping them think? As her rhythm went, so too did the speed of her train of thought now that the metaphorical track was broken. She was forced to stop not by desire, but from a snuffed out inspiration. Her home was destroyed and everyone's turned against each other as the town slowly dies. What did she have left besides her music?

She put a hand to her mouth as her lip began to quiver, now facing her own thoughts without the aid of music to guide and calm her. Before it got any further though, Britknee spoke up again.

"Umm, guys! The hostage is like, waking up!"

Julie glanced a look over to the Mr. Bear, who indeed seemed to be waking up, looking groggy. Blaze then immediately began yelling at him. As much as the words were kind by themselves, they were ruined by Blaze's yelling and tone of voice. She gulped, but before anything else happened, a ghost flew into the room.

No, not a ghost, a...

Oh no.

"Greetings, everyone, I'm back," the revenant said, passing through the barricade like it was nothing, and immediately going over to the captured inspector. Julie gulped again and trembled at the look on Diana's face.

"Without him, you don't stand a chance. Those lawmen outside will break through and take you. Don't worry though, that won't happen. They will find every single one of you dead. Save one, of course."

She stood up and looked in fear, frozen to the spot. She looked like she was really going to kill him. At least the lawmen would only arrest them, but if she manages to kill them all... Diana was already dead. Even if she had the courage, Julie knew that she was helpless... Just so helpless...

And then Tanya jumped in the way. Julie's eyes were wide as she watched Diana clasp her hand around Tanya's windpipe as she choked the life out of her. She tried to turn her head away, but she had to keep an eye on the malevolent ghost, so she tried not to stare at their faces. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening...

"Tanya!" Julie cried out as Tanya fell to the ground. But she couldn't move from her spot, couldn't risk getting too close to the revenant. As much as she wanted to help. Even though there was nothing she could do... Her breathing was staggered as she looked upon Diana, the psychotic look in her eyes searing into her eyes and into her brain.

"I-I can't believe it..." Julie gasped out, shedding a tear. "You... How could you do such a horrible thing?! How can you ENJOY all of this?!"

A part of her brain was telling her to shut up, to stop shouting at the murderous being. But she couldn't help it. She just couldn't fathom any of this. Couldn't fathom what had happened. Couldn't fathom her.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

((_{This post was going to be perfect.
The kind of post I dreamed of since this day was small.
But instead, it has cliches,
It's short, and seems to go one way,
it makes me doubt if I've ability at all xD} ))

“Leave Fluffle out of this!”

Fluffle's confidence came right back as soon as she heard her name. She stared at Mick, yet again trying to find the words that wouldn't come to her. He was defending her from his old partner for a reason, but she noticed something as he said this. Two things, actually.

One, Diana's utterly amused reaction that returned after the sheer discomfort she showed upon being hugged and wiped on. Did nothing faze her? Fluffle solidified her hoof and slammed it down, snorting. She may not be the most intelligent pony around, Fluffle thought, but she had something Diana didn't....

The second thing she noticed was Mick's face. It twisted and he squirmed with anguish as Diana spoke to him in that dangerously smooth alto. She wasn't the only one speaking to him--a man, an older man was...screaming at him? Words like selfish, cowering, mafia, shot her dead![/b] could be detected from the earpiece. Fluffle gasped. So that's why he didn't want her to eat it! Mick began shaking. Worried, Fluffle stepped forward one more pace. She didn't know what she'd do but she was determined to stop the terror in front of her.

And then he did the craziest thing: Mick jumped right through Diana! Diana gasped and twisted, Mick spun around, face failing to conceal his all-too-visible pain. Even his tail was as jagged as a cookie cutter, and were those sparks she saw flying off of him? Fluffle's essence didn't stir between her front hooves. It lurched and pulsated, creating a swirl of translucency and opacity in that spot, causing, in turn, a dull but powerful ache. Fluffle cried out upon seeing the apparition with an earpiece tackle the scarlet revenant. Her unused voice was as shrill and clear as a glass bell that hadn't been rung before.

"Michael...Angelo!"

She galloped to Mick and nuzzled him. Gently, of course, for he was in no condition for a full-on snuggle. She let out an inhuman croon, without meaning to. She used no words. No words were needed.

Diana provided them anyway.

"Your fighting back was adorable. You were like a guinea pig that fluffed itself up to try and threaten an attacker."

Why that little--she had said something afterward about leaving the three of them alone but not the townspeople and then she floated away, over toward Nets, No Waffles.

Fluffle turned to Rocky. They needed to get there fast. She didn't want to speak again, so she resorted to hoof signals to get her point across.

With giant eyes only a cartoon artist could get away with, Fluffle gazed pleadingly at Rocky and Mick. They had to come with her this time! They had to help her get a clear shot. Fluffle patted her bow and arrow hidden in her fluff. Her hoof brushed against the container of ghoul water she'd obtained not too long ago. These gentlemen could use it, she thought, so she lay it down at their feet.

An awkward pause ensued. Surely Rocky didn't want to be caught up in this, and she definitely didn't want him hurt. Mick had already gotten hurt and she couldn't risk him any further. Then again, did she have any right to go after Diana? To protect the place that adopted her as one of their own...yes, yes she did.

Fluffle beckoned the two close to her, and began to clip-clop, making one hoof at a time solid, to Nets, No Waffles...

[Terra]

"Greetings, everyone, I'm back.”

Diana’s spirit had appeared in the shop out of nowhere.

“Oh, GREAT,” Blaze said.

“What’s that?” said Annabel, her hands on Blaze’s shoulders as she hid behind her, shaking.

“Ghost of a killer, very evil, be quiet,” Blaze whispered sharply, as she watched Diana.

The revenant was eyeing the inspector, who was still bound up - "Without him, you don't stand a chance. Those lawmen outside will break through and take you. Don't worry though, that won't happen," she grinned. "They will find every single one of you dead. Save one, of course."

Blaze’s eyes widened, and the following sequence of events happened too fast -

Diana lunged at the inspector, and the woman who worked at Waffles, No Nets - Tanya? - jumped in front of her.

"Sorry, dear. You did male the worst coffee and you were nice. But we do what is in our nature."

Then Diana’s hand went into Tanya’s neck, and soon after, Tanya fell limply to the ground, dead.

“NO,” shouted Blaze. This was horrible - they’d killed Diana and yet she could still carry on killing beyond the dead - God, how were they going to stop her now?

She looked at Julie, who was crying. Maybe she had her suspicions, but what did it matter if they could still carry on doing what they were doing after they were hanged? What good would it do, what difference would it make?

It’s not fair, thought Blaze, staring helplessly at the scene before her. How could they fight a ghost? What could they possibly do to stop this?

Next to her, Primrose’s hair was standing on end, and she was growling at Diana, ready to charge - but Blaze said “NO, Primrose,” in a commanding voice, and Primrose backed down, still eyeing Diana warily, but making no movements toward her.

Then Blaze felt a pressure between her shoulders and nearly staggered forward as Annabel practically collapsed onto her back, burying her face in Blaze’s shoulder, shaking, crying.

Slightly shocked, numb, she turned around and took Annabel into her arms, where Annabel fell into her embrace, sobbing into Blaze’s jacket.

Blaze held her silently, wordlessly, staring into space.

* * *

Chrysanthemum was in sight of Blaze’s farm. He bounded toward it at top speed, and he could see that the wolves - who were now outside Blaze’s flood-stricken home - had noticed him running toward them, and were watching his progress toward the pack.

He had a very important message to carry, and they would soon receive it.

[Avery]

Julie looked like, sooo broken when Brit told her the truth about how no one liked her music. Like seriously, what had she expected? The mandolin was such a dumb instrument, jeesh! Did the chick really think that people enjoyed listening to the tinny whine of it as they sat in a super duper terse hostage situation!? Umm, hello! Britknee knew the people in this town were dumb, but gawsh!

... and then the ghost of the Diana lady, the one the bumpkins had thrown out of the attic window, appeared and totes murdered Tanya. Britknee couldn't help it: she screamed. Or shrieked, really.

"Noooo!" she yelled as Tanya's body hit the like, ground. "Nooo! Who will make me diet waffles now!? Mick is dead and you're dead and noooo!"

Only after she'd been screeching for thirty solid seconds did it occur to Britknee that like, lack of diet waffle makers might be the least of her worries. Like, what if the ghost of Diana came after her next!? Or worse, Snuggles!? That would be like, sooo awful! OMG! She had to protect herself!

"Diana!" she called. "Dianaaa! Like, you should know that I totes wasn't even there when these idiots threw you out the window! I like, totes would have stopped them if I could! I AM INNOCENT! So like, keep that in mind, okay!?"

At least Britknee wasn't the only one like, disturbed by the ghost murdering Tanya. The Julie chick was crying and lamenting, which at least, like, on the bright side meant that the chick had temporarily stopped playing her annoying mandolin. Hurrah! Although Brit guessed that was kind of a small consolation in the face of Tanya being totes dead.

Meanwhile, from where he was chained, Err continued slowly regaining his bearings. With cloudy eyes, he stared aghast at Tanya's corpse and Diana's ghost. To be honest, Brit like, thought the guy might think he was dreaming, 'cos he still hadn't said anything. She didn't exactly blame him. And anyway, Brit like, knew it was better for him to be super duper disoriented because at least then he wouldn't start trying to break free from his chains or anything. Clearly the townspeople had enough problems without Err Bear compounding them further.

SPOILER: Click to show

((Narrator Note: The next round will begin early tomorrow afternoon, after 1pm EST. There will be another TIME SKIP, to the next morning, so please keep that in mind if you have any time sensitive posts you'd like to write before then!))

[Lizica]

"Alien lady! Like, don't you think we should kick that wolf out!?"

Tracy had been extremely busy explaining to the old town detective exactly how much of an irresponsible, despicable bozo he was when she heard Courtknee trying to get her attention.

"Because like, I'm totes convinced she might be working for the aliens, you know. The aliens, Tracy!"

Tracy temporarily turned from the eyesore that was Jenkins in order to take in the scene a little better. Other people were yelling, others were talking, some were barricading, Blaze's wolf was howling, and Julie was playing her mandolin. It took a long moment amid the noisy, tense, and desperate atmosphere for Tracy to process what on earth Courtknee was asking her.

Blaze? She was suggesting that Blaze was the traitor working alongside the aliens? How could that be? Blaze believed Tracy about the aliens, and Tracy trusted her. It may have been entirely possible that Primrose was sending a coded message via howling, but-- ...Wait--Courtknee believed Tracy about the aliens, too? Yes, of course! She was from the city (where surely reports of extraterrestrial activity were rampant) AND she also owned the dairy farm where several cows had been abducted in years past. She understood.

"Thank you, Courtknee!" Tracy cried emotionally. If others understood about the aliens, there must still be a way, a real way to fix this. "But," Tracy added uncertainly to Courtknee, "this is a tricky situation because the aliens are extremely devious. The major question we must ask with regard to the traitors is whether or not they have something to gain from the aliens--"

From the back wall, Inspector Jenkins muttered, "Maybe everyone is allied with your precious aliens, because they were promised they'd be able to &$#@ leave this town--"

"QUIET, YOU!" Tracy yelled at him. "You have no idea what's at stake, and you never have!"

Jenkins scowled and opened his mouth for a comeback, but he caught sight of something behind Tracy and turned as white as a sheet. Tracy turned: It was Mr. Osilon's ghost, positively glaring daggers at Jenkins. Tracy felt relieved and was surprisingly cool with this new development. She brightly turned back to Jenkins--who screamed at the top of his lungs and staggered backward, knocking down a wall display of lures.

"CHAETURA!" he screeched from beneath a small pile of fake sardines, his sunglasses and beard knocked askew. "S-STOP INFECTING US WITH YOUR--DELUSIONS!"

"You remember Mr. Osilon Crane, right--"

"I REFUSE TO SEE THIS! I-I'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE, AND N-NO FANATIC, BIRDWATCHING HALLUCINATION IS GOING TO--"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by someone who yelled even louder:

"Umm, guys!" Courtknee shrieked. "The hostage is like, waking up!"

Tracy glanced back around. Mr. Bear was definitely stirring. Why had they kidnapped him, again? Was the town really that desperate for an authority figure to abuse?

"Why don't we let him go and swap him out for Inspector Jen--..." she had begun to suggest. But--...

"Greetings, everyone," said the blood-red, transparent figure of Diana Palladio, "I'm back."

With little preamble, she had lunged. The waitress Tanya gasped. The entire tackle shop had its breath caught in its throat, as if the townspeople, too, had been choked to their very deaths.

And Tanya fell.

Their collective gaze swiveled back up to the historian, who was nonchalant, casual, smiling.

"...She's not a hologram," Tracy whispered to herself, her breath suddenly coming in quick, random bursts. "She's not a hologram."

Tracy, pale and trembling, glanced back at Jenkins, who was even more pale; she glanced at Mr. Osilon, his face hard to read behind his goggles; she glanced at Julie, who was crying; she glanced at Dove, who was staring; she glanced at Blaze, who was holding her broken sister; she glanced at Courtknee, who was yelling; she glanced at Tanya, who was lying in front of Aaron Bear with distorted purple marks on her neck.

She glanced up at Diana, who adjusted her glasses and smiled at the townspeople's various reactions.

"I--I gave you a hat!" Tracy managed to sputter. "I--I gave you a hat--a hat with laurel leaves--a hat with laurel leaves to protect you--to inspire you--I made you a hat with--my own hands--because I wanted--to protect you--and protect this town--they--they were laurel leaves--sculpted with--with vein details--I made--you a hat with laurel leaves--even though--it wasn't very good--I made it--for you!"

[Draco]

Rocky floated there as Diana flew away. He wanted to continue talking, but wasn't really sure what to talk about honestly. He however flew after her.

After what she had done to Tanya, he floated up behind Diana once again. He poked the back of her head with a rose.

"Excuse me, but I do not think you will be welcomed to visit the G-Host Club now or in the future."

While poking he was sure he might have phased into her head once or twice... That was a odd feeling...

---

Elsewhere there was a grassy field. Bright warm sun rays covered the fields, and there were ghostly cows as far as the eye can see. Cow #3 floated up to the field.

"Moo."

She turned around to see a wise old cow with a beard.

"Moo?"

"Moo. Moo. Mooooo."

"Moo?!"

"MOO."

"Moo..."

Cow #3 looked at the field then poofed away. She awoke back on the streets of town. She floated around until she floated up to Brit. She floated up behind her, through her, and looked at her.

"Moo."

She floated away and down the street again.

[Robyn]

The shop had grown restless, especially in light of the fact that the kidnapped inspector was beginning to wake up. Dove didn't know what to do. If only, she kept thinking, if only I were in my cosplay and looked amazing and had the power to put an end to all of this confusion and despair. If only I could be the one to end this suffering! Looking around, it all seemed rather hopeless. Blaze-san and her sister were shouting and whining; Britknee-chan was trying to egg her on into saying some derogatory things about Merlot-san's music; Chaetura-san was engaged in a horrible struggle with that no-good Jenkins-san fellow... Dove nudged her forehead onto Brutus's shoulder.

"Hanging in there?" he asked. She groaned back, too dismal for words. Ghosts were flashing their colors outside of the window, their ethereal glow filtering in like light beaming through an aquarium. They were mostly pale blue, but there was one as red as a blood garnet that confused Dove. Had she seen that spirit before? Who was that?

Her question was shortly answered for her by Diana's intimidating and sudden presence in the room. Dove shielded her eyes; the scarlet burn flaring off of the godmother's form was blinding.

"Greetings, everyone, I'm back," Diana stated. As if she were talking about the weather. Dove narrowed her eyes. Gossip about the identities of those killed tended to circulate quickly after said killings were done, so it was no secret about Diana's affiliations now, but Dove knew deep down that even if she hadn't been aware of Diana's sordid past, she'd still get the same shivers of indignant fury down her spine as she was getting right now just by looking at her.

The woman was evil, and Dove was sworn against evil. She tensed beside Brutus, who was staring at the revenant in horrified awe. It took her a moment to realize that this might be the first ghost he'd seen so far. What a shame it had to be this piece of work.

"Without him, you don't stand a chance. Those lawmen outside will break through and take you. Don't worry though, that won't happen. They will find every single one of you dead. Save one, of course."

The seriousness of her threat needled everyone into a stunned silence.

Brutus glanced quickly to Dove, and voice faltering, said "I- I want you to stay behind me, if she tries anything, I'm going to--"

"Brutus," Dove murmured, dropping the honorific, "I appreciate the offer, but she's a ghost. I don't think it's your area of expertise."

The two friends then watched, terrified, as Diana sent Tanya to her doom with little more than some concentration and a touch.

Everyone was afraid. It was obvious. All of her neighbors-- dare she say friends?-- that she'd gotten to know over the course of this unfortunate series of events were now scared of yet another threat to their happiness and safety, and she was SICK OF IT.

Maybe it was time to forget the whole magical girl charade. Maybe it was time to just stand up for something on her own. And stand she did. Dove stood up, ignoring Brutus' hushed orders to get back down, and pointed a finger at Diana Pallada's cherry red face.

"You. You know, I could start off by commenting on how evil you are, and how none of us here would have ever thought you to be so low of a creature to stoop down to the levels that you have, but it'd honestly just be a waste of my breath. We all know what you are, who you are. What you're capable of. I guess a lot of our neighbors were capable of things we'd never want to believe.

But at least they're gone. Don Dan hasn't been spotted since the hanging. Mick, too. What dark force lurks in your heart so powerfully that you feel the need to quench your bloodlust even after you've shed your mortal coil? We already have ENOUGH to worry about. The last one of your coworkers is hiding in plain sight among us. We're in a delicate hostage situation. Things are stressful."

Dove then rifled through the pockets of her skirt, retrieving little mounds of salt in each hand. She untucked a necklace with a vial from her shirt and proceeded to make a line in front of the townspeople with the salt as she continued to speak.

"Now, you're bored. I empathize. Eternity without a fulfilling purpose is a sad, sorrowful experience, I'm sure. But this is a town of fighters, and don't think we won't fight you back with everything we've got left in us to stay alive. Don't think that /I/ won't fight you. I used to think that I needed a fancy costume and name to be able to do anything, but I've learned since then. I'm Dove Byrd, and I've survived this far, and that counts for something. Also, my knowledge of the occult based on different animes I've watched over the years has lead me to believe that this salt circle will effectively keep you from touching any more of my friends, and if that doesn't, we're both going to find out if holy water really can melt a demon from the inside out."

Dove shook the little glass around her neck.

She REALLY hoped her quirks were going to be enough to save her, or else this was REALLY going to be an embarrassing way to go out.

[icon]

Oh goody, it looked like Jenkins was suitably terrified of his presence-that was a good thing. Osi floated up to the man and tried to give him a spectral finger to the stomach, though that probably wouldn't do anything but give him a slight shiver. He wasn't one for retribution, but Osi rather thought that slight shivers were pretty reasonable, especially considering that the ex-inspector had, y'know, skipped town and left them all to die.

He was about to wave his arms through Jenkins even further, before the man suddenly stopped and looked elsewhere. What was he up to now? Osi risked a glance up-

Well pigeon dung, it was Pallada. What was her problem? Sure, she was trying to wreak unspeakable havoc on all the townspeople and destroy them with her variety of dangerous and lethal skills, but would it have killed her to do so less prominently?

...Actually, come to think of it, her ability to use lethal skills while going unnoticed was what had raised trouble in this town in the first place, and at least now she was making herself visible. Osi mentally retracted his previous comment.

And while he did, she'd killed that server lady without as much as flinching, as much as a pang of sympathy. She was terrible, she was a monster. And, from the looks of it, she would try to kill the other townspeople as quickly as she could. And they were hardly doing anything to stop her! That Blaze was standing in shock, and Miss Chaetura was trying to reason with her-reason, of all things! They were going to get themselves killed if somebody didn't act-

Wait.

What was she doing?

Oh, cripes. He blinked under his goggles; she, of all people, was trying to confront Diana, with some sort of... salt and holy water? Why did she even carry salt in the first place? Chalk it up to her weird animes, Dove was going to try to fight the revenant, and she was going to fail and get killed--

But that isn't a certainty, is it.

He stopped at this last, unbidden thought. He looked at Dove again; she was trembling, sure, but there was something burning underneath that, some sort of confidence, some spark that seemed to say: I have this. Trust me.

The last time he'd stood indecisive to her action, it had nearly killed her.

This time, he wasn't so sure that would happen.

[Tiger]

Through fear and pain and rage, Mick still had room for surprise. Even without the raspberry-sound, he recognized the voice that called his name – and there was no absence in his chest when Mick felt his heart swell. Fluffle bounded past the revenant and to Mick’s side – he had no idea why she not only stayed but followed, knowing all she knew about him and Diana – but the simple nuzzle was suddenly the most comforting thing in the world. He looked up at the glowing revenant, focusing on the pony’s soft fluff to dull the unnatural hot prickling in the idea of his veins.

“You...you fighting back was adorable. You were like a guinea pig that fluffed itself up to try to threaten an attacker.

But Mick had rattled her. He knew she hadn’t expected the attack – which of the mafiosos would? And he’d done something – surprised her, disturbed her, hurt her – something.

Diana was not a woman long or easily perturbed; Mick’s heart would have pounded at her smile and his hands tensed against Fluffle. "Fine, I shall leave them alone. But, Mick, don't you think this is an amazing? History repeats itself in concepts but never in details. They have hung three of us and only one remains. It is only a matter of time before they join us in the afterlife and the silly townspeople will win. Thus say the laws of chance and logic. But maybe I can help. Even if they die, I can still kill off the rest of this town. After all, you never said to leave them alone. Just dear sweet Fluffle and Rocky and/or Alex over there. The rest of the town is fair game.”

“No – Diana, you can’t…”

“Imagine what an amazing narrative it would make if the law enforcement broke through the barricade only to find the whole town dead. Save one, of course. I will save my dear friend."

The last mafia member.

She swept away; Mick tried to follow but the movement sent fresh jolts of pain down his arms and tail. Alex trailed after her instead – “Alex – Rocky – don’t!” But the ghost didn’t seem to be listening…there wasn’t much Mick could do when he felt barely able to fly.

A scraping sound, wood on cobblestone, drew Mick’s attention back to Fluffle. She’d procured from who-knew-where a container full of something that sloshed…but the sound was disjointed, like the liquid inside just froze in place or disappeared completely. Mick picked it up and glanced inside – perhaps opening the lid of a strange box wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but Meta had told him enough times that he was an intellectual waste of oxygen. The strangest…water? Mick had ever seen was inside, and it reminded him of the ghosts themselves.

…Hmm. Ghost water…could it do something to a ghost?

A voice tried to come through Mick’s earpiece; he cringed, expecting another verbal assault, but he couldn’t make out any words. Even identifying the voice as Meta’s or someone else’s was impossible.

He met Fluffle’s eyes. “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it,” he promised.

The pony headed for Nets, No Waffles, and Mick followed at a higher distance. His tail still jittered with the after-effects of flying through Diana and a part of him that felt like bones ached with a gnawing burn. Revenant – a disease ghost – flying through Diana might have poisoned him. Fitting, he thought grimly.

It took surprisingly little effort to make the container of ghost water transparent; Mick swooped into Nets, No Waffles just ahead of Fluffle, nonexistent heart notably not pounding. At least his shaking wasn’t rattling the box.

Inside – Tanya lay at Diana’s feet, still as stone – Alex was pestering the revenant with a rose – the townspeople were in a righteous fury (Mick heard Dove say he was gone and was suddenly grateful for his invisibility to the living – at least they couldn’t give his position away with surprised glanced as he phased through the wall) – Osilion’s ghost was beside Tracy, who had found Jenkins, a man Mick had never seen before was groggily waking up in the middle of the room…

Mick didn’t know what to do – throw the ghost water? Had Fluffle had other plans for it? Fly through Diana again? His stomach ought to have contracted at that thought, the burn in his limbs definitely increased – but it would buy Fluffle time to do whatever she planned to do, give the townspeople a moment’s space, maybe he could actually distract the revenant from living targets…

Surprisingly, the ghost’s answer was inspired by his lost passion – when decorating a waffle, why choose between syrup and fruit, when you could use both? He dropped down, into the floor, opened the crate of ghost water – a voice warbled through the whine and static in his earpiece; ”GHOUL!” – and shot back up to phase both himself and the crate of water through Diana. No waste of the water beyond what sloshed over the sides – hopefully some guaranteed pain on the revenant’s part – certainly a distraction, if it worked.

He just hoped Fluffle could make her move quickly.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

Both Rocky and Mick had done their...jobs, she thought, as they floated ahead of her into the building. She thought that they were both incredibly brave, and, in their own way, certifiably insane. She stopped in her tracks. Mick shot up through the ceiling, his tail twitching and half-there body convulsing. He was still holding the jar of ghoul water. Did he just pass through Diana again?! It looked as though there was less water in the jar than before, from Fluffle's vantage point on the ground.

Speaking would have made her instructions clearer. After all, it was almost obvious that Mick didn't quite understand her intentions when he'd said to her, “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it,”. She had almost facehoofed but his eyes met hers at that point. All the pony could do was nod. And then he had snatched up the crate and floated ahead of her.

What he did was... Close enough. Fluffle thought that since ghoul water was hard to find AND that it could be used to make ghostly cupcakes, which Diana probably hated, the water itself would burn the fire-colored revenant. Or it would probably turn her purple.

But nope, Mick barreling out of the ceiling gave her another idea. He marked Diana's position in the building.

She knew where she had to aim.

Making cupcakes, muffins and cookies wasn't all she knew. Bringing happiness was most of what she knew. The other part of what she knew was that she wasn't someone who stood on the sidelines for too long. What had she done? She'd wiped off Diana's own bad feeling stain on her back which had no effect at all, she'd done nothing when Mick had dived through Diana to save Rocky and the pony, and she provided a weapon of sorts.

Fluffle's eyes narrowed. It wasn't enough. She would show the force of evil. She would show everyone.

Fluffle reached into her fluff and rummaged for her bow and arrow. It wasn't damaged but it had been left in the fluff so long, it was furry in itself. Hopefully that didn't affect her already poor aim. Nay, that was a bit harsh. Her aim was only good in a pinch, and boy, was the town in more than just a pinch. It took one pinch for Diana to murder someone. Surely Fluffle would not fail.

While searching for her quiver, Fluffle's hoof brushed against something that felt wrinkly, as though it were made of tinfoil. Tracy. Fluffle put on the hat, remembering how Tracy had pushed underneath her to help her stand, and she remembered Tracy's generosity in giving her that hat.

Fluffle closed one eye. She nocked an arrow into her slightly furry string, making sure that the end of her arrow and her string were perpendicular to each other. Her essence between her front hooves pulsated, something she did not need it to do, but the involuntary habit of her ghost body helped. She willed her hooves to stay steady as she raised her bow, the nocking point aimed precisely in the column Mick had shot out of. Fluffle pulled back the string with some effort. Her bow was still reasonably heavy, heavy enough to make her entire body tremble if she held her position for more than a few seconds.

Fluffle drew the string just past her cheek and exhaled. It didn't matter that the bow wasn't designed for ponies. She was designed for it!

Fluffle saw a trickle of ghost water ooze from underneath the barricade and readjusted her aim. The arrow was to small to split the essence of a ghost, but she trusted it enough to do something.

Fluffle tilted her right hoof, releasing the arrow. The blue arrow spun and twisted around the front of the bow as it pierced the night, the barricade, a human without harming her, and the...

A scream rang out. Fluffle's wasn't sure who it was but it was somewhat satisfying.

[Celestial]

The commotion she caused was amazing. The townspeople reacted instantly to her presence and the death of the waitress, responding with almost universal outrage. Diana hovered in place for a brief moment over Tanya's body, letting their cries wash over her before she turned to reply to each accusation in turn.

"How can I enjoy all of this? That is an interesting question. Perhaps my time with the mafia has given me a taste for blood or perhaps I had it before and my time with the mafia merely satisfied it. Either theory is plausible given the current evidence," she shrugged, smiling even wider as she could see how much her appearance had disturbed Julie. She hovered close to Primrose, stroking the wolf a few times, showing it all her malign intent. There was nothing that wolf could do to her anyway so she might as well be nice to it, even if there was no purpose to it. The townspeople would be waiting for her next kill. They were anticipating it, wanting to see what she would do next. It was a morbid fascination and Diana might indulge it but first, she had to build up the tension.

She ignored the hysterical ramblings of that silly valley girl that proclaimed the latter's innocence. As far as she was concerned, Britknee was not worth the time. She was stupid, she had no purpose and she would die like the rest of them, without memory and without mourning. That was how everyone died in the end, although some more horribly than others. Diana really did not understand why they were so scared of dying anyway. Death was inevitable. And in her case, it was glorious. She did not have to pretend to be something she was not anymore, she did not have to comply with all the rules of being alive. All her urges to kill and hurt and terrorise she could enact.

Yes, it was likely that she was a sociopath. No wonder she had felt nothing when Stal died. No wonder she went into a discipline which rewarded both wordiness, snobbish intellectualism and the ability to distance yourself from rampant death. Judge on its own terms, wasn't it how things went? She was always good at that. After all, moral judgement required a morality of your own. It required empathy for those who were hurt. And Diana, as the last few days had proven, had none of those things.

She was snapped out of her thoughts, rudely of course, by the alien conspiracy theorist. She shrugged.

"Yes, you did. The crown of laurels in Ancient Rome was given to those who had won a martial victory, in Ancient Greece they were given to athletes and poets. In more modern times, they were given to those in academia. I suppose all of those fit me, depending on how you stretch the definition," she smiled at Tracy, "But to protect me? From what, this town? I thought I needed protection from them before but now, I realise that dying was the best thing that ever happened to me. And you know, there really is no such thing as aliens. There is no evidence to prove it. It is much more sensible to assume that no such evidence existed instead of believing in an enormous coverup which had left no traces, something highly implausible."

Diana grabbed the ghostly rose from Rocky that he was poking her with, growing increasingly annoyed at him. She threw it away towards Err Bear and turned to face him, whipping out her pen and pointing it at his neck. Perhaps it looked ridiculous. She did not care. It had a sharp point, it would be enough.

"I don't care about your g-host club and I would appreciate it if you did not touch me again," she hissed, removing her pen sharply. "Thank you."

She turned lazily to listen to Dove spout her self-righteous attempts to be inspiring, to call her out on her evil. Diana brushed off the accusations with a smile and tried to come closer to the silly little otaku girl. However, she line of salt made her pause. She could probably cross it, yes, but as she came closer to it, she felt somehow drained. Her colour did not falter, thank goodness, but she did feel weaker than before. She needed to gather her strength before she crossed the line. And since she was a creature that was technically sent back from hell, the holy water would hurt her. So she stood up straight and looked Dove in the eye.

"Mick is weak and Dan has not yet had time. I have had plenty of time and I just want my results. The fun I get from terrorising you is just a bonus. I am here until my punishment down below is ready for me. For now, just let me enjoy myself, maybe publish a book on how the town of Wafflenet was destroyed and what factors of the surrounding region contributed to its destruction. Mafias don't just appear out of thin air, there are social and economic factors," she stated, looking around at the fishing shop. These sorts of shops usually had an aquarium in them or at least some container of water. If she could knock it over, the salt would be washed away.

Suddenly, the discomfort and ache of being passed through came over her and she grimaced, turning around to see Mick with a whole crate of ghostly water. Some of the water dripped down her insides, making her look like a crimson, Diana-shaped glass jug, something which she hated greatly.

"Mick, you trai-" she broke off as the ghostly arrow slammed into her shoulder. She flickered and went pale as pain, genuine pain, pain she had not felt since she was alive coursed through her. The screech that came out of Diana's mouth was inhuman, making anybody who heard it shudder. Red ghostly essense trickled down from the arrow, filling the room with red smoke, smoke that was almost certainly poisonous.

Diana tore out the arrow, sending a puff of that red smoke into the air. More soon trickled out of her. The arrow may not have physically hurt her, she did not know how ghosts worked, but it hurt too much for her to concentrate. She looked up in rage at the townspeople but she did not have the strength to go through Dove's barrier or confront her when there was a threat of holy water. The water may not even been so holy but it was not worth the risk. If she was hit with it now, it was likely that she would not recover.

So she did the only thing she could in her rage: took it out on the nearest target she could hurt. Diana knocked over the crate of ghostly water and grabbed Mick by his hair with her good arm, bringing him closer, within range of the stuff that was bleeding out of her.

"You have distracted me for now, Mick, you and your pony girlfriend. But I am going to take you with me," she hissed at him. "You won't stop me getting to this town." Diana turned back to the crowd. "And you, my friend, avenge me. Avenge Dan. Finish what we started."

With that, she dropped him and vanished, phasing out of Nets, No Waffles to recover, although exactly how ghosts recovered she did not know.

[Tiger]

Mick had braced himself for pain, but it wasn’t the sort of thing he could really prepare for. Impossible heat like a fever blazed though his incorporeal body; it was all Mick could do to keep on course and shoot out through the roof without letting the container solidify or just crashing back to earth.

He had less success with the later; he had just enough time to see Fluffle aiming her bow, a look of purest determination on her face, before he slipped through the roof again, clutching the ghoul water to his chest. Diana’s screech racked his ears and he thought the earpiece shot off a few more sparks. Smoke started to fill the room – they needed to get everyone out –

Someone seized his hair and Mick lost his grip on the ghoul water – he tried to catch it but lost his concentration instantly when he was dragged around to meet Diana’s eyes. The smoke had a smell to him, foul and rotten, and his chest hitched with an urge to cough that he couldn’t fulfill. "You have distracted me for now, Mick, you and your pony girlfriend. But I am going to take you with me. You won't stop me getting to this town."

Mick turned his face away, trying to avoid the smoke. His tail was starting to go weak rather than jolting around into various sharp-edged shapes. Diana turned away, too, to address the crowd. "And you, my friend, avenge me. Avenge Dan. Finish what we started." The revenant hurled Mick to the ground, where he half-phased through the floor before getting his bearings – though he wasn’t sure barely keeping himself off the ground and heaving for breath could be called ‘bearings’. He closed his eyes - at least Diana was gone. For now.