Scene #7334: Inside the Tiger's Den

Owner	Pose
Samhain	MORGRAVE MANOR NIGHT John Morgrave was extraordinarily wealthy, and extraordinarily eccentric. One of his mansions, now closed off and unused, was the bastion of opulence, with secret pasages and many stories, though some say it was also a winding maze. However, one of the maintenance workers is said to have gotten caught in one of these passages, left to die, and now haunts the mansion. Therefore, the property was avoided. Until now. A treasure map has found, holding Morgrave's final treasure for 'the one who finds it', inside the haunted mansion. Ads have gone out. Ghost hunters and treasure hunters alike want it. Who's afraid of a ghost? Despite the ads, not many people have arrived. Outside the mansion's frontmost entrance, past the corroded gates and the outdoor fountain, are several individuals - it seems most people have chosen to doubt this hunt. Those who have arrived have already chosen to use aliases - they're all rivals here, so using their real name only causes problems. Two brothers, one in his late teens or early twenties, the other older. The former carries a backpack, the latter carries a revolver openly. BACKPACK AND GUNMAN. A young woman with blonde hair, wearing a necklace. She's got a pocket knife with her, and is fidgeting. Her boyfriend, a weaselly looking guy who seems utterly paranoid, with a wild hairstyle, is next to her. PENDANT AND MOHAWK. An older man with a big beard, carrying a satchel and smiling cheerfully. LUMBERJACK And then, it turns out there's a point of contention between Backpack and Gunman. Backpack appears to have hired THE GUIDE belonging to the property company to help them map out the house. Gunman's chewing him out, with words such as "You fucking hired their guide?" and "He's just gonna steal the damn treasure!" It's a dark night. The house has no lighting, so everyone's bringing flashlights. Anyone can enter at any time, but the group is all at an impasse before they start the race. This isn't the only entrance, either - there's a side entrance, for staff workers, but everyone seems to think the main entrance is the best, since that's where the Guide's going through, and he knows the place. What's your gameplan? The map indicates the treasure is not underground, and not outside, which leaves the main foyer, the second floor (where the guests stayed), the third floor (Morgrave's private floor), and the attic, though you'd have to progress through each individually due to the maze-like quality of the mansion.
Selene	On one hand, a ghost to try and make contact with. On the other hand, TREASURE. These are the conflicting desires of one of the masked treasure hunters here today, a brunette in her... Mid? Somewhere in her teens, wearing a rather clashing getup consisting of pastel tye-dye shirt, teal shorts, a red hat with little bobbers on it that make her kind of look like a chicken, and a mask that would be more in place on a luchador than anyone. In her arms, a black and red cat. Hovering behind her, a spiky purple head with limbs and a white eye mask that covers roughly 80% of its face. M.C., the leader. C.H, the muscle. T.C., the mascot. A new trio is on the case! "Hey. hey. Language, buddy." MC immediately scolds Gunman over his choice of words, gesturing at PENDANT and MOHAWK a moment later. "There's kids around. There might be ghost kids around, too." She's probably shorter than both of them. Upon heading inside, MC immediately starts checking out the foyer in detail. She's looking for books to shuffle, candlesticks to tilt, and other things that she can easily reach and nudge around to see if there's any hidden switches that she can trigger.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	I shalt acome, to fraist the spirit thither, per happes to help bigliden, if yet wel is him of wit. It is not treasure that interests the Green Knight, but the spirit which may linger here. Does it still have the faculties it did in life? Is there a form of justice that might help it pass on? Or is it merely an angry, vengeful thing, looking to strike out wherever it might? The maintenance worker, in death, left no family members behind, nor friends to mourn their passing. The only way to learn more of them is to seek out their shade and see first-hand. A heavily armored one-man riding craft touches down, its edges sleek and brutalist, its colors green and gold, with motifs of alien hounds pursuing prey. The figure astride that hoverbike is no less imposing, nor less green. His face hidden behind the visor of a horned helmet, he kills the bike's engine, where it hits the ground with a thud. As he dismounts, a cloak of green leaves billows behind him. "Hark," he says gravely, speaking over the argument between BACKPACK and GUNMAN. "I am cleped Bercilak. No want han I of yon tresour. I am ayen-comen to the gost, to see if him be mindli wel, or mad. Enterfere not with mine labourage, and I shalt grant the ilksame courtesi. Inclepen if thou art imperild, and I shalt help as able." With that said, he heads into the foyer. "Gost! Ayen-comen am I to thee, with no ille will. Art thou presencial? Shalt thou requethen me?" It doesn't occur to him that, even if the ghost is sane enough to speak, he might not know what the fuck he's saying. Or that he's pretty much being, to a T, the guy who instigates everything by provoking the Spooky Presence.
Linehart	The music is suitable for this place. It is an ominous, low theme. It hangs in the air like mist in the night. Notes trail off the massive, shadowy knight with every silent step. Where ought to be clanking steel and clanging armor there is only the music. It mingles with the flowing, lingering trail of smoke that is his cape, the scent of something burning that dangles in the air as he passes by. The music's deepest points are as dark as the cross-scar visor on his helmet - lit only by itself amidst a whirl of shadow. Here is a man, seven feet or more, who lacks not for purpose in his stride, if indeed it is a man beneath that armor, if indeed it isn't some fell ghost conjured from the atmosphere of the world. He doesn't speak to Pendant, Mohawk, Lumberjack, Backpack, or Gunman. He doesn't seem to even look at them, which might be a relief, considering that visor paints whatever he's looking at in a bloody red light. He hasn't brought a flashlight. It is possible that he doesn't feel he needs one. Someone heads inside. The Mirror Knight's steps do not slow. After all, if there's no reason to hesitate for politeness' sake, there's no reason for him to stop at all. The only change in his stride is that light falling upon Backpack and Gunman as Gunman yells. The impression is likely not a pleasant one. The trail of smoke behind the huge knight vanishes through the door as he walks past M.C. Once inside, a translucent blue computer window pops up slightly above and to the right of where his eyes should be. It's tracing his steps as he walks inside. Sure, he can't see anything right now, but that's fine. Blind dungeons are a thing, right? You navigate by the minimap. So he's gonna navigate by the minimap.
Samhain	"Fuck off." Gunman says to Selene, causing Backpack to wince. The couple both distance themselves away from the group, mumbling, with Mohawk taking the lead on their planning. The Guide...is trying to flirt with Pendant, who hates him on contact. He's pretending Selene doesn't exist, but then... Well, he has to deal with Selene touching everything. "Wait-" A candlestick flips. A passage in the wall slides open. It looks like...an open elevator shaft? "Ah...the elevator shaft. Good find. There's likely to be nothing down there, though, and the power's out, so..." The Guide approaches the shaft, turning his back towards it. "Nothing to worry about." Linehart, meanwhile, gets Backpack's attention, as he just wanders off. "That guy's not the ghost, is he...?" "No, dumbass, he's a knight, not a maintenance worker." His mean brother replies, as the group is kinda circled around the Guide at the elevator. Guide speaks up again, when Bercilak talks. "Don't taunt the ghost! We don't want to make it angry, do we?" He doesn't seem to actually believe in it, but is playing it up. Linehart finds one blip. It's a TREASURE CHEST. It is roughly up, through the maze. Because this is a maze level, he cannot find the exact room until he has GONE UP, but it's likely on the third floor or attic. The Guide's about to step away and close the elevator, when suddenly, a hand grabs him from behind. Someone's /hanging/ onto the elevator from underneath. Lumberjack quickly shines his flashlight, and the welding mask is spotted, before the guy drops down the shaft, Guide screaming. Lumberjack lunges forward, but realizes the drop and stops himself, while Pendant screams in panic, Mohawk grabbing her hand. Linehart notices the welding mask disappearing from the shaft. It's now somewhere Else, but where, isn't on his map. As he's travelling in the darkness, up the stairs... He's risking stepping in a beartrap. A really nasty one, straight away. Someone's definitely here, and they've left presents. There's shuffling upstairs, too, on the second floor. Multiple noises? That's...odd.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	The Guide's concern doesn't draw any immediately obvious physical reaction from Bercilak. If it even elicits a facial expression, that expression would be hidden behind the helmet. Unbeknownst to the Guide, he has actually opened his mouth to speak--but it doesn't do any good. The Guide is pulled into the elevator shaft, before the Green Knight can call his axe to effect a rescue. He calls it anyway, and slams the wall with the butt of the weapon, hard enough to crack the drywall. "COUART!" He wasn't provoking before. Now he is. "If thou wouldst strike a foe wepenles from bihind, I SHALT RIGHTEN THE FIELD!" His nanites begin to make minute alterations to the other hunters. For a time, they'll find their reflexes increased, giving them more of a fighting chance against the ghost. "Lede," he says, turning to face GUNMAN and BACKPACK. "The gost is preven a beste at bet, a couart at worst. Non-mo do I want to speke with he. I shalt conveien forth with thee, that I might overthwerten his wrathli quelling, and ishilden thee from peril."
Linehart	Ah. There's what he was looking for. Ghosts, ghosts will just happen. Random encounters all the time. Treasure you have to look for. Ghosts are a state of being, but treasure is a state of do. It's a thing you have to pursue. Activity. Verb. He's got a location! So... Well, he just starts heading towards whatever dead end seems like it should have stairs. He's basically just guessing, but hey, at least you can track him by the sound of his music as he walks through the place! So it's easy to figure out where he is if someone, say, wanted to follow him, or avoid him, or ambush him. How very inconvenient.
Selene	Success! And danger. And possibly a dead guy further down. "Welp. Let's go get our guy and stick to the plan!" Selene blurts out without actually bothering to elaborate on who the guy is or what the plan is, but it's easy enough to tell where she intends to go since she's already walking for the open elevator shaft. She does stop to gawk at Bercilak as he busts that wall, even letting out a brief giggle of childish glee before clearing her throat. "We're gonna need a light, so leave it to me! TC, do your thing." She stands there for a few awkward moments as the Torracat continues napping in her arms, only stirring once the trainer rustles the cat and places it on top of her head. Somehow, that gets the cat to awaken enough to puff out a small flame that lingers in front of its mouth, illuminating the elevator shaft. "Alright, folks. We do this by the books. If it's a vampire, run away fast while we burn the entire place down. If it's a werewolf, get the sticky rollers so we can do some research later. If it's someone in a mask, then..." Another pause, and she shrugs. "Didn't think that far. Let's-" She watches Linehart head off in another direction, furrowing her brow before shrugging. "... Ah, he's got this covered. If it really is someone in a mask, he might be able to scare 'em out for us. Let's go!" If BACKPACK and GUNMAN head down first, she'll follow up with Torracat lighting the way. If they don't head in, though, she whistles for the Gengar, then climbs onto its back as it starts climbing down the hard way. It could probably just jump down without any issues, but Selene doesn't look particularly sturdy.
Samhain	"Are you nuts? We're not heading down the shaft! It doesn't even lead to the treasure!" Gunman says to Selene, as Bercilak gets angry, scares everyone, and proceeds to command them to take charge. Gunman sighs, and shakes his head. "If we're in a big group, all he has to do is cut off our escapes. If we split up...we can get the jump on him." It's a foolish plan, but the treasure hunters all seem to agree. "Okay, we'll split into twos. I'll go with Backpack, the couple will stay together, Lumberjack will-" "No. I'll go with Gunman." Lumberjack replies. Gunman seems shocked, but before he can reply, Lumberjack continues his thought. "You have a revolver. I have military training. Should we get cornered, we can hold him off. The Elites here can shore up the other groups." Backpack says that sounds like a good idea, so Gunman acquieses. The group splits up. The couple stay on the first floor, heading deeper into the dining are. Backpack nominates that Bercilak comes with him, and they hit the third floor. Gunman and Lumberjack will go for the second. Selene will...apparently head down into the shaft. As she climbs down, she finds the Guide's stuff, shattered across the shaft's bottom. It fell hard. Yet, there's no blood. No signs of someone ripping the doors open. No signs of anything like that. It's like... They just disappeared. Linehart is heading up through the maze. As he is, avoiding the beartrap, he comes straight across two weirdos, lit by only his visor. One lanky and tall, one short and squat, in maintenance clothes wearing welding masks. They're like cariactures of a serial killer, and can't possibly be 'actual threats'. They carry hammers, yet, their combat ability seems like zero, as one points at Linehart, making incomprehensible noises. The other starts gesturing a noose to the first one, but he shakes his head. They start what can only be described as Who's On First, trying to communicate among each other when they can barely understand each other. They're directly in Linehart's way, but the way past them leads up. The treasure is Probably In The Attic, based on mapping from up here. Bercilak and Backpack take another staircase up towards the third floor. There's no attacks, apparently. But there is the sounds of screams. They come directly from the first floor. And a gunshot on the second?!
Selene	Upon finding the Guide's stuff, Selene takes a few moments to check his stuff for anything valuable. Weird electronics, notebooks, and wallets in particular will be snatched up, but she doesn't spend much time at the bottom of the shaft as she instead turns her attention to the elevator door at the bottom. "... Huh. Nobody messed with it? That rules out werewolf, then. Vampire, though..." She squints at the door while approaching it, giving it a few nudges to see if her feeble teenager strength can force it open. It probably doesn't, though, so the fat purple ghost steps in to use its weird ghost force to pry it open instead of letting the trainer injure herself. Selene tips her hat back, pulls a pair of sunglasses out of her fanny pack to wear, then clicks her tongue. "Breach and contain. Go, go, go!" She shouts just as those doors open, and the Pokemon spring to alertness at that. Once it's open, the Gengar dives through the opening with a rather agile roll for its shape, then blasts the interior of the room (along with the elevator shaft) with a flash of light. The Torracat leaps from Selene's head to the ghost's head, then scouts the immediate area. If there's someone with a weapon, it lunges for them first, biting the crap out of their arm to try and remove said weapon from the equation.
Samhain	The basement is completely empty, as Gengar pries the way open. There's no signs anyone was even down here at any point. There's stairs back up, but it's so dusty that... That the only option is a weird one. Teleportation, or something similar.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"So be it." Bercilak follows Backpack's lead. The third floor doesn't appear to have anything going on. Bercilak keeps close to Backpack, allowing the hunter to explore and investigate as he sees fit. The gunshot draws his attention, and he assumes it will draw Backpack's as well. He's no expert on ghosts, but a hunter such as he knows an attempt to split the prey when he sees it. As everyone attempts to investigate, someone else might be picked off. Not his charge. Bercilak scoops Backpack up, carrying him under his arm. "The second floor," the Green Knight says by way of explanation, as he barrels through the halls to the stairwell. His heavy footfalls are quite obvious to anyone downstairs. Just as obvious ate the hiss of microthrusters on his armor, slowing his descent as he leaps down the stairs. Even with that assistance, his impact with the ground cracks the floor. The sounds of 'heavy sprinting footfalls' and 'mysterious hissing,' in the context of 'dark abandoned, haunted mansion' won't likely do much for the morale of the hunters--if any yet live. He sets Backpack down. "Stay neigh-on," he says, beckoning for him to follow and lifting his axe and advancing slowly. Who's around the corner? Is anyone hurt? Is it the ghost?
Samhain	Bercilak heads towards the second floor, carrying Backpack, who squirms only briefly until he realizes he can't fight back, and submits. Bercilak heads to the second floor... And finds Gunman holding the smoking gun, several feet away from Lumberjack's corpse. Several rounds into the chest, in succession. Gunman's freaking out. When he spots Bercilak, he panics, but notices Backpack and is clearly relieved. "Oh, thank god. The welding mask ghost appeared! I shot at the motherfucker, and he disappeared again, and the next thing I knew, the bullets had hit..." He's clearly shaken up and afraid. "The ghost then whispered to me. It's in the attic. The treasure's in the attic. We should be able to find him there, right?"
Linehart	Alright. That's weird. Linehart watches the two in silence as they go through their strange, alien routine. He has no cultural background here, but he sort of understands a comedy segment in a game - there probably was a reference to this kind of comedy in Last Illusion. Japanese game developers tend to enjoy that sort of thing. A FEW HOURS EARLIER The clown walked out of the doctor's office, sobbing loudly. Tears streamed from his eyes. Linehart only stopped to see what was wrong - it's what he wouldn't do, so it must be the correct thing to do for a Hero. His hand went out to steady the clown. "I AM PAGLIACCI!" the man wailed, grabbing Linehart by the shoulders and staring wildly into his visor. The makeup ran furiously down his face. "DAY IN, DAY OUT, THAT JOKE IS ALL I HEAR! PEOPLE THINK I AM DEPRESSED! ALL DAY! BECAUSE MY NAME IS PAGLIACCI AND I AM A CLOWN! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!" "SHOULD I QUIT, STRANGE, DARK MAN WITH STRANGE, GLOWING EYES?!" Silence. The clown shouted, "AHA! I KNEW IT! YOU ARE A SIGN! A REAPER FROM AFAR! YOU HAVE COME TO KILL MY CAREER! WELL, HERE!" Pagliacci shoved his hat into Linehart's hands. "HERE! NOW PAGLIACCI IS DEAD, O REAPER! PAGLIACCI! NO MORE!" A final sob, and the clown wiped his face. The makeup ran free. "I am Pagliacci no more...I am no longer bound...no longer..." The clown faded away. Linehart looked down at the hat. Alright, then. RIGHT NOW Linehart's inventory opens. The window scrolls down as he walks over. He places an old hat on the the tall one's head and walks past. A validation of their humor. LOST: GHOST CLOWN'S HAT
Selene	"... Aw. So much for that." Selene sighs at the whole load of nobody in the downstairs area, and the Gengar gives the trainer a pat on the head as she scouts out what little she can of the empty basement. The dust is noted, and she slips roughly half of any money in the Guide's wallet into her fanny pack before sticking the wallet into an empty shorts pocket. "Okay, we're still looking at vampire, ghost, or wizard here. Unless... Brighter." The cat obliges, its flame growing brighter to illuminate the downstairs area better. Selene spends a minute just poking around at the walls and the ground, trying to find a hidden panel or fake wall to make sure she isn't missing anything downstairs. If she finds nothing, though, she'll climb upon the Gengar once more to head back up the elevator shaft. Their next destination: FIRST FLOOR. Someone has to keep an eye on that couple, after all!
Samhain	Pagliacci's Hat proves to be Super Effective, as the two mooks stare at Linehart, shrug, bow, and then walk off. They forgot they were supposed to be holding the line. But it begs a question, even if Linehart isn't likely to think about it: why does a slasher monster have mooks? Linehart can make his way up to the attic, though he'll find that it's a cluster of boxes, beartraps, hanging chained hooks, and other Slasher Movie traps he needs to either walk through, avoid, or cut down to get to the end of the attic, where there's a 'room' that holds the treasure. Selene finds some Cool Hidden Passages in the basement, but they don't lead to any Clues. Just stuff like a water fountain hidden behind a wall, and other Weird Rich People Shit. Upstairs, though, Selene finds a corpse. PEndant is sobbing over Mohawk's body, as he's been beaten to death with a hammer. She quickly grabs Selene, the smaller child somehow a protective sight. "He- he came in, and grabbed Chri- I mean- oh, what does it matter, Chris is dead, who cares about the treasure?! And then he pulled out a hammer, and started bashing away, saying he was punishing injustice! He stared at me, and then he just walked off, and I couldn't move, and- why?!"
Selene	Oh shit, that is a corpse. Maybe. Probably. Selene staggers a bit as Pendant grabs onto her, although that's mostly out of the physical jump than the actual sight. "Whoa. That's messed up. You said the culprit was a he, yeah?" Glancing back at the Gengar, Selene nods at the Pokemon as it moves to try and reassure Pendant with gentle pats on the back and a face that's actually visible. The trainer, meanwhile, moves to the body to place a hand gently on his neck and wrist first. She's checking for a pulse. It's probably unnecessary, but it's worth checking out regardless. If there is one, she'll work fast in getting some of her Pokemon-intended healing sprays out to just crank them open and pour right into Mohawk's face. If there is no pulse, then she gets right back up to scout out the area with the Torracat on her head. "Did you see which way he went? Was it the masked guy from the elevator before?" She sounds troubled as she asks those questions, though, already muttering to herself before (or while) getting an answer. "Something's not adding up here..."
Samhain	Mohawk is dead, unfortunately. The killer made sure of it. "Yes! Yes it was!" And then, she gestures up. "I think...I think he said something about the attic. I was in hysterics. Are we...are we going to confront him?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Agredy thy handgonne aneu," bids Bercilak. Once Gunman has reloaded, the Green Knight explains the plan. "Ward thou the rere, Gunman, make shout if thou espy the gost. Backpack, stonde bituhhen I and Gunman. I shalt form the van." He'll take point, escorting them into the attic, where it appears that Linehart has arrived ahead of them. "Al-heil," he says to the Mirror Knight absently, waving as he strides up to the nearest wall. He casually lifts that enormous axe and drives it through the wall. The blade splits it easily, the force of the blow spraying errant chunks of drywall and wood out from the gash he's created. One more such blow, and there is now a gaping hole in the wall which leads outside. The night sky is visible now, and in the hole which Bercilak has made, there begin to sprout little seedlings. In the span of seconds, they grow into spindly vines, growing gradually thicker and snaking their way outside. They cling to the side of the house, easily as thick as a person's midsection, leafy protrusions sprouting from the side like the rungs of a ladder. "There," says Bercilak, turning to Backpack and Gunman and shouldering the massive axe with one hand. "Atscape, shouldst thou nede."
Selene	"Yep, we are. Unless you want your boyfriend becoming another ghost and turning this place into a double haunted house..." Selene pauses. There were gunshots earlier, weren't there? "... Maybe a triple or quadruple haunted house, we gotta get this under wraps and stop the killer from killen...ing." She roots around in her fanny pack and digs out... A pocket knife! It's not particularly sharp and just long enough to cut an apple in half, and it's offered to Pendant. "Just in case. If you gotta go down, then go down swinging and slicing! Get that vampire blood everywhere so it's easier to track and stop before he gets the next person, you know?" The Gengar might be more reassuring than Selene already since its face isn't nearly as chipper. It's actually frowning with a modest degree of sympathy! Regardless, the trainer begins her trek up to THE ATTIC, looking to rejoin Bercilak and Linehart to see what's what.
Linehart	Why would there be a miniboss in between ENTRY and TREASURE? C'mon. Linehart's answer to that is a simple 'because there obviously should be.' If you're going for a goal, there's going to be: -Random Encounters Or A Puzzle (check: darkness) -Minibosses (check: those two idiots) -An atmospheric room change (check: right here) -A Boss (not checked yet) Well, first, he has to go through the atmospheric room change. Avoiding things really isn't Linehart's style. Dodging around them isn't really a thing he...does. And his magic doesn't do anything directly to the environment, so... Linehart just starts walking. Traps go off. Blades catch on his shoulders. He's huge, and that means he's getting caught by pretty much everything. The music picks up the pace as he gets more and more injured. Numbers keep popping up over his head. By the end of it he's just covered in weapons. Absolutely covered. He's got a bear trap attached to his arm. He's got a blade dug into his shoulder. He's got a chain wrapped around his face. But he's still alive, because, damn, the Penultimate Boss is a tough fight.
Samhain	Linehart sets off all the traps, meaning the others don't have to deal with them. As they all make it to the attic, wall busted open to create a ladder, they head into the Final Room. There, they find the 'treasure chest', a small lockbox, already dug out of wherever it was hidden. And there, they find the welding mask man, with the cap and the jumpsuit. Instead of attacking...he speaks. Monologue time. His voice is immediately recognizable to Selene and Bercilak. It's Sah. 5r"Ah, you've made it. The philanderer and the thief of a guide are dead, leaving the killer, two innocents, and my fellow Elites." Gunman quickly speaks. "K-killer?" "Your name is Rick. You came for this treasure, and brought a gun as insurance. Don't play dull." 5r"You-" "I was busy killing the man of infidelity. You shot him in the back, because he was the only threat to you." Gunman, or Rick, whatever you call him, his face goes pale. He's trembling in fear, as Backpack realizes, and turns towards him. "Bro...?" People would probably attack now, but Samhain is already moving. "Such grand and intoxicating fear. Your flavor is my favorite. Feed!" Silver wisps come out of Gunman's mouth and nose, straight towards Samhain's visor, where they disappear underneath. Gunman draws his revolver, and moves to start firing, when Samhain removes...a picture frame? "Now, tell them the truth! Show them your true fear, as one of us!" The blackened picture frame with a star-shaped protrusion on the back. Linehart probably realizes at this moment that Samhain isn't the boss. He's in the role Linehart once had, at minimum. The picture frame is thrown at Gunman. Suddenly, he's sucked into it, as Samhain catches his revolver. "Now, come forth, Fearsframe!" Tapping the frame to the revolver, there's a flash of light. And then...
Samhain	A massive humanoid appears. He has two legs, two arms, and a revolver for a body. He has a head atop the cocking mechanism, which moves as he fires and reloads. REVOLVER The Revolver Fearsframe starts aiming at Everyone But Samhain and Backpack, as he speaks in a high-pitched, warped version of his voice. "We needed that money to get out of debt! Everyone needed to die! Blame it on the ghost...now they all know too much. They need to die...we can blame it on the monster!" And then, the trigger is pulled. White orbs of light blast out at those targeted, trying to blast them through the walls and out into the courtyard. It'd be a deadly fall for a normal person.
Linehart	It's not hard to tell what Linehart is feeling. His music is always a dead giveaway. At the moment, it's tense. It's very tense. His entire body is telling him that this is justified. That this is Right and Proper. The other man, there, killing, is doing what the man is Supposed To Do. There's an order to this, a script, a sense of...sensibility...that Linehart's very core acknowledges. But. But that's just it, isn't it? That means it's Wrong. If he agrees with it - if he feels it's Proper - if he feels this is the Right Thing To Do - then it's Wrong. That's the only way it can work for a hero. If the villain knows it's Right, then it's Wrong. It's the simple frame of mind he has to work with; he was never made with anything else in mind. As Samhain speaks, Linehart draws his bloody-tipped spear and starts advancing. The weapon's glowing red light matches that of his cross-scar visor. The music gets harsh and fast. "I am Linehart, the Mirror Knight." The words are beeps - low, ominous beeps, the kind of beeps you hear in an old video game, but they translate to words in the mind perfectly well. They translate to tone. They translate to understanding. "My Sphere is Evil Knight." He swings the lance to the side as he marches forward. "My bloody spear will be your doom." The monster comes forth as Linehart shrugs off the traps. One of the blades falls. The light flares. The blade reflects. When the light is gone, Linehart is gone, too. And then, from the lockbox's own lock, Linehart emerges in a full run, a shoulder-check striaght for Samhain.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Samhain of the Slaughter makes his appearance, stating that everyone who died has done so deservingly. Yet... "What of Lumberjack? Didst he haven wright of deth?" Samhain's response is given, and it's a response he finds wanting. But he has no time to make his response, as the blast of light from the former (now literal) Gunman slams into his chest. His armor is blackened on the spot, and he falls to the ground. The weight of him, his axe and his armor is enough to send a cloud of dirt flying into the air. There is a gruesome crack as some vital part of him is broken--only for that same crack to sound in reverse as his body is mended by swarms of microscopic robots. Samhain says they can leave--that they must allow the formerly human Fearframe to let out its emotions. But something doesn't sit right with him. Does a monster like that not present some manner of danger? "And thene what?" Shouts Bercilak from below, apparently none the worse for wear, save scoring on his armor and the smoke which trails from beneath. "Shalt thou avenge the slain ungilti, and don Gunman to the sword? Or wilt thou let thy besteli hond-iwerk maken outrai freeli?" He's bellowing loud enough to be heard over the fight which is surely going on up there. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get back up.
Selene	".. Oh, hey! It's you! The job guy!" Recognizing 'Sah', Selene's tone is... Actually, it hasn't changed much from the usual chipperness she's spoken with throughout this entire excursion. She listens eagerly to what's really going on, between the intentions of the Guide, the murderous nature of the Gunman, and the infidelity of the Mohawk. Also, she gets a cool show out of watching Samhain feed off the Gunman's fear. Frightening as his visage is, the trainer's reaction is one of excitement rather than terror. "Hey. Hey. CH. Taking notes?" She nudges her Gengar with her elbow, the ghost Pokemon nodding and watching almost as intently as she is. The cat Pokemon does not look nearly as amused. It's standing up on all fours, its tail is flicking back and forth, and it looks ready to start belching flames. It doesn't direct any towards Samhain, though, but it does fire one off at the Revolver Fearsframe as it launches those orbs at (almost) everyone present. "Whoa... You should've told us to bring cameras and stuff!" Selene yells in excitement even as her Gengar grabs her to shield her from the blast with its own body, the trio going flying right through the walls. There's a series of pained grunts as they land in a heap, the ghost taking the brunt of the fall in the process. "We could've gotten footage and stuff! And then sold it to someone for the movie rights!" There's a brief pause, and then Selene pulls a red cell phone-ish thing. It clatters in vaguely mechanical annoyance as she taps away at the screen then starts... Recording? She's filming this. It might be a little too late for that idea. "But we gotta keep it interesting, so... TC! Bring down the fire!" The Torracat is all too willing to oblige, blasting a mortar-like fireball out of its mouth to try and land it dead center upon the Revolver Fearsframe.
Samhain	Revolver Fearsframe, the Gunman, knocks Bercilak to the ground, but is blasted with fireballs as he lands in the courtyard near the fountain. Pendant is spared by the fireballs, as she and Backpack stick in the attic. Samhain turns towards Linehart as he makes his threat... And then is shoulder-charged from behind. It cracks into Samhain's jaw as he turns, dislocating it instantly. At first, it seems like he's going to /completely ignore it/, as if it does nothing to stop him, until he hears Bercilak shouting at him, so he just relocates his jaw with both hands and a pop. "If you want to fight, this is no battlefield." He lifts a hand, and an orb of darkness flies straight at Linehart, as he leaps througn the hole in the wall, falling through a giant photo frame that appears in mid-air. Another one deposits him next to Bercilak, and he steps out of reach. If his words sound indecisive or unsure, it's unclear. His low tone masks it. "The Fearsframes' goal is to earn their happy endings. We must reshape the world to do that. We need compatriots. Fellow monsters, to create a world for monsters. While he's uncouth, I will not slay him for acting on his fears and desires." Samhain suddenly reveals that the black photoframe still exists, and inside is... The Gunman, Rick. That monster isn't quite him. It's just his emotions and fears. The actual Gunman is trapped in the photoframe, clearly incapacitated but anguished. Samhain doesn't attack yet again, allowing instead for Revolver Fearsframe to fire on Selene, Bercilak, and Linehart (should he come down), two shots each. He has to reload after that.
Selene	"Sounds cool! So they get their happy endings by..." As Selene mulls over how that works, the purple ghost and the fire cat work double time to keep her covered while also returning fire on the Revolver Fearsframe. The ghost howls as it takes both of the bullets meant for the Trainer, hoisting her out of harm's way for the first and not being quite fast enough to avoid the second. Its side fizzles with an eerie purple glow, but it remains still just long enough for Selene to latch onto its mask before it starts bounding around to try and keep the Revolver from getting a clear shot. ".. Oh. Right. Keep it flashy! Confusion! Fire Spin!" Selene shouts those commands, and her Pokemon take action almost immediately. The bounding Gengar's hands glow with more of that weird purple light as it slams them together, launching a massive ball of ghostly force at the Fearsframe. The Torracat, meanwhile, skids to a stop as it spits out a wave of flame at the Fearsframe's feet, those flames circling upwards like a miniature cyclone. "So they get their endings by... What's the end goal here?"
Linehart	Linehart's taken a fair amount of damage from the traps. He did, after all, have to walk straight through them - straight through a whole bunch of blades, a whole bunch of bear traps. So when the ball of darkness hits him, though it glances off his armor, it actually forces the juggernaut to turn out of his path, a stumbling-block moment as his heel comes down behind him. He doesn't fall - he's much too big to fall - but he comes very close. Samhain vanishes through the picture frame. Linehart's too slow to stop him. He's just too big, too bulky, and too injured. But... Well, the Hero wouldn't give up in that situation, right? The Fearframe is once more ignored, left to 'MC' and her pets to handle. Linehart knows how this goes. You make the speech, you do something terrible, you leave the monster, you leave. But... Samhain hasn't fully left yet. Linehart steps backwards into the lock and vanishes once again, like a sprite folding up and disappearing off-screen. Down below, where Bercilak and Samhain are conversing... A giant, black-armored gauntlet emerges from Bercilak's visor. Samhain can see Linehart emerging from the shining metal like some kind of horror movie monster, the red-cross gaze focused straight on the other 'penultimate boss.' A second hand emerges from the axe. Two of him!? Yes, that's right. The second Linehart, the clone, 'Trahenil,' is emerging from the axe, grabbing at the picture in Samhain's hand while the real Linehart distracts him!
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Two shots slam into Bercilak, cracking against the overlarge breastplate. The first shot scores it, the second splits a crack in it, sparks shooting out as some manner of internal machinery dies a slow, whining death. Black tendrils of smoke drift from the spot of the wound, carrying with them the smoke of burnt flesh for a moment. The impact forces the Green Knight slightly backwards, the breastplate falling off with a creak to reveal the smaller, more compact plates beneath--they've suffered some warping and scoring in places, too. If the smell is anything to go by, the heat from those blasts is still able to injure him through the armor, to some measure. But... Despite being shot three times now, Bercilak still doesn't attack, instead opting to ponder as the false Gunman reloads. "Acomen did I to fraist the spirit hither. That spirit and Samhain be the ilksame," says the Green Knight. The cracked breastplate on the ground behind him begins to dissolve, his nanites deconstructing it for materials, perhaps to reconstruct it anew later on. "But fraisten hath I, ne the les. Thou art wel mindli ynough to speke, and verily is Rick ofserven of his punishement--EI!" What is one supposed to think when there's a hand that's coming from their own helmet? He inadvertently assists Linehart by removing his helmet and throwing it vaguely 'away'--which happens to be towards Samhain.
Samhain	Samhain doesn't answer Selene's question directly. Instead, as the fire tornado and the ghostly force ball blast into the Revolver Fearsframe, it's stunlocked briefly, knocked backwards. She can get a good hit, but before she could get in a strike on a weak point... It smashes the barrel-chest into her, moving to just use the heavy weight as a bludgeoning force as it tries to reload. If it gets another reload off, that's six more deadly shots! Linehart suddenly appears in the middle of the visor. Samhain summons a hammer into his hand, and is about to strike, when the second hand emerges from the axe, and grabs at the picture! As the helmet goes flying at him, he moves to swing it out of the way (possibly hitting Linehart's arm). Linehart succeeds in ripping the photo out of Samhain's hand, who wasn't expecting that, but instead of shock, he gets a 'hrg' and a bitter laugh. "Clever." Linehart immediately gets the feeling that if he Destroys The Picture, something bad will happen. Looking over it, he can find a star-shaped slot on the back. If he can obtain the right star to put in there, then perhaps...? The Revolver Fearsframe is still there. Maybe...?
Linehart	Some numbers pop up above Linehart's hand as Samhain hits the helmet. Linehart's been taking a lot of damage this whole time, too. The music around him turns fast-paced, frantic. It sounds like he's in critical HP. The helmet bounces, and Linehart just sort of emerges from it torso-first, holding the frame in one hand. Then it disappears into his inventory, his glowing cross-scar visor locked upon Samhain's mask as he pulls himself free of the visor. The big Knight picks up the helmet and tosses it back at Samhain. "Your assistance...was much appreciated." That tone just sounds ominous. Are we sure Samhain's actually the monster between the two of them? Huge boots take a step forward. "I told you that I refuse." The beeping of his tone is as heavy as his motions. "I refuse your actions." "It is because they are right that I know they are wrong." He has no other words to offer to Samhain. Instead he simply holds out his massive gauntleted hand. "Now." "The star."
Samhain	Samhain replies to Linehart, speedily. "I don't have it. It exists inside the monster. You want it...ask him." He means that metaphorically, and doesn't attack Linehart if goes to murder the monster. In fact... He wants to see more of these Elites in action, if they'll be opposing him.
Selene	With Linehart and Bercilak keeping Samhain busy, it falls upon Selene to keep the Revolver Fearsframe in check. She's forced to slip the red phone thing back into her bag as she observes her opponent for weaknesses, for openings, for things coming straight at her. Even with the Gengar shielding her bodily from the attack, the impact of landing on the ground and bouncing off it a few times has the Trainer reeling in pain. "Oh, come oooon...! Geez, you're a..." Clutching her arm, Selene takes note of the ghost Pokemon not looking all that great, and she bops it gently on the head with a ball. "Okay, you done good. Now for the heavy hitters!" And then she's back on her feet with a spring in her step. Selene pulls a gray ball off her belt, winds up, then nearly drops the thing thanks to hurting her arm and side and almost everything else in that fall. Instead of a fanciful throw, she just presses the button, and out comes... An even bigger cat/bear thing. Its facepaint matches Selene's in that luchador style, and it shakes the ground with each running step. Also, it's running right at the Revolver Fearsframe. "Just like we practiced! Go for a Hurricanrana right into the ring of fire!" Selene shouts, but the giant Snorlax does no such thing. It does leap at the Revolver Fearsframe, to be sure, but only to aim a devestating drop kick at center mass. The 'ring of fire', of course, comes from the Torracat that's still managed to keep itself out of harm's way for the most part. It spits out two more gouts of flame, each aimed to the sides of the Revolver Fearsframe and erupting into dense pillars. It's not really a ring at all. "If you're really a Gun Monster, then... Show us the kinda heat you really got packing!"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak and Linehart strike a compact. Bercilak will attempt to free the star from the Fearsframe Gunman, that Linehart can use it to free Gunman. In return, Bercilak shall impart his judgment, whatever it may be, upon Linehart, in place of Rick, should the latter falter in his repentance. To that end, the Green Knight shoulders his axe and slowly advances on the Fearsframe Gunman, as Selene does battle with it. Smoke still rises from his armor, though now the smell is absent any burnt flesh, instead only the acrid scent of smoldering space-age fabric and warped metal plates. He lifts it high with one hand, twirling it slowly... The heavy-hitter pokemon is out. After Snorlax drop-kicks it, Bercilak moves with as-yet unseen speed. He drives the axe into the earth just as the heft pokemon's attack lands. A fissure is hewn into the courtyard, lawn, ornament, flower and shrub all falling into the chasm. It yawns longer and wider, safely avoiding Snorlax, but opening right under the false Gunman. It's very deep--but just wide enough to trap their foe's unwieldy body for a moment. Assuming his snare is successful, the Green Knight aims to end it with one stroke--sideways, across the hammer of the pistol-shaped Fearsframe, essentially attempting to decapitate it.
Samhain	The Snorlax Dropkick comes straight for the Revolver Fearsframe. It staggers, and then the fiery pillars blast into the gunmonster. As it finishes reloading, preparing to fire, however, the gunpowder is cooked up at the coincidence, and it explodes, blasting the monster backwards in a panic. Bercilak comes in. He traps the body, allowing the Fearsframe to explode and burn away without escaping the pit. But Bercilak doesn't let him suffer like that. The hammer is sliced in two, and the head comes off. REVOLVER FEARSFRAME - DEFEATED A silver star emerges from the Revolver Fearsframe as it wisps away into nothing, landing near Linehart. It's a perfect match for the photo, releasing Rick the Gunman. By this time, Backpack and Pendant have made it down the mansion, and are able to check out what's going on. Samhain...steps away, and creates another huge photoframe. He walks into it, and it disappears after him without a word. The police are on their way. This should be a long night, should the Elites not escape quickly, but they have enough time for their judgements, at the least.
Selene	As the battle with the Revolver Fearsframecomes to close, Selene reaches into her bag to pull out one of her homemade healing sprays. She sprays her injured leg a few times, glances towards the would-be treasure hunters approaching, then twists the cap off and just chugs the stuff with a quick shudder before jumping onto her feet. She watches as the silver star emerges, Rick the Gunman appears, and then she hurries over towards Backpack and Pendant. "So! Hey, silver lining, lady. Your boyfriend was a cheating buttmuncher and totally deserved it. And your brother..." She looks from Backpack to Gunamn, then back to Backpack with a awkward shrug of her shoulders. "... Good luck with that. Just let him know if he messes with this kinda stuff again, we won't be coming to bail him out!" Climbing onto the Snorlax as it approaches, Selene reaches over to scoop the Torracat onto her head before turning to Rick once more. "Better appreciate the chance, buddy! If you don't..." She grins cheerfully, looking vaguely menacing with the facepaint partially smeared off. "... We'll be back to finish the job." And with a rustle of head fur and a point in a direction, the trio of MC, TC, and Slunch are off to get out of sight before the cops show up.
Linehart	Linehart is the last to leave. When everyone else is gone, when everyone else has left but Backpack, Pendant, and Gunman, Linehart is the only one who remains. The ominous, massive Mirror Knight, in his roiling shadow, clad in smoke, monstrous red gaze upon Gunman. He walks forward. He grabs Gunman by the arm and raises him up, so that the undoubtedly shorter man reaches the cross-scar visor. Linehart cannot, after all, crouch. "Your second chance." "And your final." "Know that, should you cross me, your end will bloody and pitiable. There will be no magic picture to hold you in thrall. Only finality's grip. And know that I shall be watching." With that, Linehart walks directly into Pendant's pendant. The giant just kind of...vanishes. It will almost assuredly leave an impression on the man. After all...if the giant can go through reflections... Well...perhaps it's some incentive to keep his nose clean in a modern world. This may be a less kind torture than Samhain's.