[ Graduation Dungeon ] Amrita (Fin!)

[Enoh Love]

She had heard them coming down the stairs. The robes swishing on the concrete between the patter of warm feet slapping cold ground. The noise, however miniscule, was different from she would hear on any given day, and it was that unusual behaviour that had initially alerted her. Warning bells were echoing through her head and yet she didn't readily react to them, instead pivoting on her desk chair to better stare at the door, her arms resting casually on the rests while her legs crossed with a grace she never knew she had.

She was waiting for them, mentally daring whoever it was to even try to enter her room. It would be the last thing they ever did.

Something pulled down over her head, blocking off her senses; in nearly the same motion she was bound and moved out of her room. The attack had come from behind, from the closet she had written off as harmless...and it had happened so quickly she never got the chance to react.

That was, of course, until she found herself on the cold ground, staring up at a banner...

 

[Enoh Love]

Where was she? She couldn't place it right away, but the honest curiousity was easing into the very distinct feeling of dread. There were a few things she could recognize right away: One, that she was standing on a rickety front porch of a dark and nearly condemned house, and Two; there were other buildings around her, some completely dark and others with a small light in one of the windows. The buildings were blocky and unremarkable, which was a far cry from the decoratively twisted ones she had become used to. This wasn't Halloween, she could feel that much. The realization of where she was came with a shudder of dismay:

The Human world.

What was she doing here? More importantly, why was she here? She was not a scarer, and all of her career paths pointed her as far from the Human World as she could possibly get so, with all this, why was she here?

"...What would it take to get you to stop trying to kill us?"

Amrita heard her own voice, exhausted and terrified and yet stubbornly smooth. The voice of someone trying to hide just how scared they were, because it was important. Her grey eye shifted from plain building to plain building and her fingers trembled so hard she resorted to folding her arms across her chest and tucking her hands against the trunk of her body as if it would help.

"Can you make everyone in this entire world never set foot in the human world again?"

She remembered the piercing dark eyes on her as he answered the question. She remembered how badly the look had shaken her, even though he had been subdued and would never be a threat. Presently she was staring across the road, at the plain white door of a block house, but her mind was far away, reliving a pivotal scene in her history. The way she managed to keep eye contact despite all odds, though she could no longer hide the nervous stutter.

"W-well n-no, but...I'd try my hardest..."

She could never promise to keep everyone out, but she could promise to keep herself out. Since that day she had kept her unspoken word and had stayed as far away from the human world as the natural order would allow. Something twisted painfully in her gut, and for a long moment her nails dug into her own sides, her skin spared only by the layers of fabric she wore. Even just standing there she had broken her promise to the long-dead Hunter, and the knowledge was eating at her core. Which brought her right back to her initial thought: Why was she here? Did she need to prove something? Was someone watching? Did they know what happened, and were they testing her resolve?

Maybe this wasn't the human world at all. Maybe it was a trick, too; after all, she had been through many illusions in the past, some created by one of her best friends. If this was an illusion, then she wouldn't be breaking her promise, right? If it wasn't...well, she'd just apologize to the next hunter she came across. Maybe even decide to not possess them in repentance.

The faster she did this though, the faster it would be finished, right? In an imagined heartbeat she had unwrapped her arms and, actually, her whole body. The empty patchwork shell was left on the steps, sitting and leaning against the door frame as if passed out. Now in her Vetala form she ghosted across the road and into the house directly across from her, slipping into the house through an open window. First came the investigation of the house, sneaking through the hallways to see if anyone was up and about; it seemed that it was empty, and the light she had seen was from the fridge, which had been carelessly left open.

With a thoughtful hum she slammed the door shut with her foot, making it clatter to a close as loudly as she could. Nobody came, and as the fear of being caught subsided she decided to move a lot less quietly. Her next step was the second floor, hoping to find some sleeping humans so she could just get this over with. She got what she wished in the second room she went into, finding a smaller human peacefully asleep on a fluffy looking bed.

Moments later the Vetala was gone, but the child sat up looking strangely alert. He pulled his covers off of him and climbed out of bed, walking quietly out of the room and down the hallway, peeking into rooms until he saw a larger form in bed. Another male, it seemed. An adult one, and alone. By Amrita's guidance the child moved to stand beside the bed, staring unmoving at the slumbering form.

Apparently the creeper stare wasn't going to work. Too bad. After a long while the child moved, moving out of the room and back down the stairs. She had to move on her tip toes to unlock the back door, and after that it was short work to make it to the yard. The dark, lightless yard. There she left the child, ghosting from the child and into the darkness, laying low as the poor little boy looked around, clearly confused. All it took after that was some rustling leaves and a very low growl to send the little boy screaming back into the house.

Amrita didn't even wait for the door to close before booking it back across the street, practically diving into her patchwork body before heading straight back through the door she came from.

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8. Prompt - The World In My Hands
The room you step into shifts and spins. When it settles, something tells you you're in the Human World. What will you do? Will you harvest Fear the Halloween or Horseman way? Will you perform Tricks or Treats? You have full run of the Human World now. What will you do?

If in a group, you can either solo this out or hold a small PRP where you and your fellows have met up. Maybe you're at a cafe, maybe you're at a bar, or maybe you're all chatting online. Brag about your exploits, complain about how difficult it is to scare children; just ensure that it has ~something~ to do with your full run of the Human World.

 

[Enoh Love]

This room felt very different from the last one. It was nerve-racking and almost claustrophobic, so much so that it urged her forward, deeper into the room in hopes of escaping the feeling. Despite all of her hopes it only got worse, and before she realized it she was running as fast as she could. At first she could only hear the sound of her own feet, but she soon became increasingly aware that she was not alone. There was someone in here with her. Perhaps more than one, by the sounds of it. Her first instinct was to out run them, which she seemed to be doing just fine. The second instinct was to hide, and as she glanced around for a place to duck into, she realized there was nothing. A whole lot of nothing. It was just her, and whoever was chasing her.

...Wait, who was chasing her? Why was she even running?

The ghoul looked back, giving herself a second to see who it was behind her; she couldn't distinguish who, exactly...but what she did see was five figures hot on her heels. All of them wearing predominately white coats. Another quick glance back brought some familiar faces to mind; Robert, for one. Another was Otto. Nevada, and then the girl Stormy. The others she couldn't make out, but she had seen enough. Almost instantly the panic set in; there were Hunters on her heels, and she was alone. Totally alone in a room of nothing. The odds were so against her it was horrific.

But when weren't they? Really, when was the last time the odds ever worked in her favour when they were involved? There was only one way to get rid of those white-wearing pests.

Amrita skidded to a halt and turned on her heels, holding out her arms and settling into a small crouch.

She wasn't going to run, not from these parasites. She would never run.

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7. Prompt - Run.
You step into the next room. Something urges you further into the room, faster and faster until you start running. The walls melt away. You're being chased. Sneak a glance back. Who are they? Why are they after you? What did you do?

If in a group, this can be either a solo exercise or a group RP. Who fancies a game of cops'n'robbers?

 

[Enoh Love]

The next time she opened her eyes she was in a plain room. As she neared the centre she was surprised to see that it didn't change. It simply remained a bare, plain room. Too white, too clinical, too clean. Was the room broken? It was so strange...

Amrita turned to leave, but there was no door. Where the door should have been was instead a large glass window, embedded in the wall. With a small frown she looked around again, from left to right, and then behind her. Still no door, still the same empty white room with a glass window...and to top it off, this looked incredibly familiar. There was something about this room that she recognized, but couldn't quite remember.

A light came on on the other side of the window, drawing her attention to it. It was a row of shadowed faces in pale coats, a couple of them holding clip boards, but the one thing they all had in common was that they were looking at her. This was familiar, so familiar, why was---

Suddenly, she remembered. The too-white room, the clinical setting, the glass window and the people on the other side. This was that room, the one she and some of her classmates ended up in just before they were---

A scream tore from her lips and she sank to the ground, holding her head. The comfortable veil the lock had put over this particular memory had been ripped away, showing the gaping wounds for what they really were. "NO!" She screamed. "NOT this room! ANYTHING but this room! Please!" The surging memories terrified her, more intense than ever due to the side effect of the lock.

Anything but this room?

"YES." She cried out in response, still crouching on her toes on the floor, holding her head so tight it hurt.

That can be arranged.

The voice was calm, cold and familiar, but trying to place it was the least of her worries. There was the sound of a door opening, and a pair of large, cold hands gripping her arms tight to pull her to her feet. It was then she realized that something was put on her grey wrist; a bracelet, one that sang more painful memories in her mind. No, wait...it wasn't on her wrist, it was in the middle of her forearm, and it was tight. Why was it...

Oh no.

It wasn't her patchwork arm she was seeing, but her Vetala arm. Her real arm. Where was her body? The last time she was here, she was in the body Christof and Malodore had built for her. If she was here, in her natural form, then that meant that...

Oh no.

Oh Jack no. It was worse than last time.

They caught her again. They had her. They knew what she did, and she had just begged them to be removed from that room. Where would they take her from here? To the Weaponizing room? Or...or somewhere else? Would they even bother weaponizing her, knowing what she had done to several of their own? No, they'd be doing something much worse to her, she was sure of it. Terror seized her entire core and she could do nothing but let them take her down a too-white hallway. She was, for all intents and purposes, frozen with fear.

They had turned a corner and were rapidly approaching a door, one that she didn't recognize and quite frankly didn't want to. It was then that something wormed it's way through the terror in her core; her need to survive took root, and the once docile Vetala dug her disconnected feet into the ground. She twisted and pulled free of the Hunter's grasp, scrambling back a pace or two to distance herself from the room that would be her undoing.

As she moved backwards she grabbed at the bracelet on her arm, pulling it off as best as she could and thanking her lucky stars that her natural form had a severed hand. It clattered uselessly to the ground as the Hunter advanced, though a moment later she found herself backed into a corner. Well, at least they couldn't sneak up on her this way. She stood up with her back to the corner as the Hunter - whom she recognized now to be Robert - summoned his weapon. There was no way she was going to let him take her to that room, and even if she was on the island, she wasn't going down without a fight.

Amrita pushed off the wall, claws already swinging at Robert's stomach.

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4. Prompt - What Doesn't Kill You
You step into a room. It's a bare, plain room. By the time you reach the middle it warps and shifts, and you are left facing your greatest fear. What is it and how do you deal with it?

If in a group, this can be either a solo exercise or an exercise in group support as you take on everyone's fear one by one.

 

[Enoh Love]

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10. BOSS PROMPT
You enter a circular room. A fine, clean mist covers the ground. The clatter of steel and iron can be heard as a large figure emerges from the mist. Some may be jolted with recognition. Others may marvel at how large and foreboding the figure is.

The large, Green Knight plants itself in your way. Beyond it you can see something glimmering, something you want really badly: your diploma.

A large, shadowy javelin suddenly appears between your feet as you try to step forward.

"HALT. YOU SHALL NOT PASS."

Of course it was going to end with a fight. You ready yourself and prepare for combat!

The Hunter and the attack melted away, leaving behind another plain doorway. The terror eased from her heart, though she hesitated before continuing through. The last three rooms had been terrible, which only meant that the next one would be just as bad, if not worse.

When she was ready she pushed the door open, and two steps in found a light mist in the area, which was somehow not as terrifying as the grey of insanity fog. That was, of course, until she heard the clatter of iron and the screech of steel. The Knight loomed above her, rising from the mist like a nightmare from her memories. It was standing between her and her diploma.

"We meet again." She said, her voice low.  

[Enoh Love]

Amrita gave a cry as she darted forward, her fist swinging at the Green Knight.

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HP: 45 / 50
Damage: 2
Hits: 1 / 3

 

[Enoh Love]

She tried to duck a hit from the lance, but the sheer size of the weapon made it near impossible; her attack missed as she was sent to the ground.

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HP: 35 / 50
Damage: --
Hits: 1 / 3

 

[Enoh Love]

She didn't bother to stand this time, instead crawling under the cover of the mist to get closer to the knight. When she sprung up next, it was to send her fist into the armoured helmet.

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HP: 30 / 50
Damage: 5
Hits: 2 / 3

 

[Enoh Love]

She was still close enough to deal a small amount of damage, and this time, the knight reeled back just a little bit, as if thrown off balance----

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HP: 25 / 50
Damage: 4
Hits: 3 / 3

 

[Enoh Love]

The Knight was off balance, and Amrita took her chance. She landed another blow and it toppled over backwards, crumbling back into the mist from whence it came.

For a moment she stood there, looking around with her arms at the ready in the event it would come back.

It didn't, and so she moved cautiously forward, reaching out to snatch the green-and-grey diploma from the wall. Her Diploma. It was hers. All that hard work over the last few years was paying off. She had her diploma in her hand. Her emotions raged between relief and pride, her eye welling with tears as she unravelled the document.
 

[Enoh Love]

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AMITYVILLE ACADEMY

To all whom these presents shall have come: Greetings unto you.

Be it known that we, the Headmistress and Faculty of the Academy under authority of Fear and the Laws of Halloween, have admitted

Amrita, the Swift and Daring

the Rights, Privileges, and Dignities to which a Persons of Halloween with Amityville Experience may Expect.