The Cephalo Diaries 2017

The night of spooks is here!! Ghost and ghouls roam the night, and most dawn in their masquerade for a truly frightful experience!  Though, it's probably just people with a giant sweet tooth. Luanne, dawned in her witchy attire, walks up to her crush friend's house, tapping against  her door with a pair of drumsticks? Why? Nobody really knows her mind. "Hey, Abs~. Hope you're all set for tonight!" She said in a cheery tone, stepping back from door.

She was caught a little off guard, being that the anemone really just had to pause from fixing her hair when she heard the call, "er- yeah lu, lemme just. hrm.." Abigail was merely seeing if putting on her barrette was worth it for the costume or not.. Deciding last second to ditch it, Abigail, tossed the hat aside and made her way to the door, quickly stepping out and only poking her head back in to call, "C'ya pops, don't fall asleep with the candy!" A muffled have fun, be safe! was heard as she closed the door and dusted herself off, "hoo wee. ready as I'll ever be."

Lu is frozen, staring over to her with her mouth slightly agape.
Why does she have to be pretty? Why was this a good idea? 
The inkling shook out her head, keeping her hands on the tentacle pigtails she formed for the sake of this costume. A smirked cracked on her face, keeping her fist held out to her galpal. "Then let's get going! I just gotta get one more person, but she's really cool. She's gonna be our Luna, and her name's Val." She gave nothing but positivity when it came  to her, stepping  away from the porch to start leading the way to the other inkling. "Once we get her, we'll get our candy grabs!!"

She couldn't help but chuckle, noticing the stare and how the girl had to snap herself out of it.  Returning the fist bump, Abigail simply followed along, Luanne hasn't seemed up to accepting her compliments lately anyways.. play it cool, Abby. "Sounds like a plan~" She looked down at her costume, "Gotta give ya props for this idea though, lu. Pret-ty groovy."

Lu looks up and down at the costume she set up. Yeah! It does look ga-roovy. "Thanks, dude! Been hard at work for the last 2 weeks to make it look good." She gave off a toothy grin, hoping onto the sidewalk as they neared the destination. "You don't wanna know how many times I accidentally pricked myself with a sewing needle. Not. Fun."

Valerie seemed to pace around for a while in her house as she decided on whether or not to actually bring around this fake keyboard prop she decided to do after she ended up accepting to go as Luna. Didn't exactly knew the character as well as others but at least had the actual costume done so just thinking about whether she'd like to drag this prop around- also she didn't really had her keyboard everywhere like a bag or anything but mmmm the spontaneous prop making and effort that she didn't want to just keep asidee...  She took a deep breath in before leaving the house and- oh, there's Luanne! "Heyyy, Luuu!! I need a quick opinion-" Valerie soon went out, bringing along the cardboard prop with a makeshift strap to carry with. "Should I bring this along or nah?? Like on one hand, Luna does play keyboard, on another she doesn't bring it everywhere with her- on another hand I could use this like a makeshift long bag if I just cut this side open-- Oh-oh uh hello there- Luanne's friend, mm? I'm Valerie!!" She snapped out of talking about the keyboard to finally acknowledging Abigail, smiling brightly and all as well.

"ah so you're our Luna," Abigail gave a warm smile, "'m Abigail. And if y'see a little clownfish around here that'd be Mezzie." The anemone looked over at the prop,"...y'know that cutting it open doesn't sound like a bad idea.. imagine the candy haul you'll cop~"

"Yeah, dude! The load we'll get tonight would be great!" Luanne gave high support to the keyboard, holding her drumsticks up in the air. "Anyway! Yeah, this is Abigail, my cool as ice neighbor." She grinned towards Abigail, giving her a slight nudge as she  continued the introduction. "And, of course, this is Val!" She gestured towards her gal, finishing up the introductions. "So, shall we put a spell on this night, and bask in the horror?" Someone is VERY eager to get everything rolling.

"... Long bag it is!!" Valerie went grinning happily as she suddenly took out scissors and momentarily stabbed a part of her prop before doing what she said and cutting that one side open. Then went putting the scissors away and gave double thumbs up, putting on the strap of her keyboard. "Yep, I think I'm all set! Can't waaiit hehe...!"

Abigail only.. watched her get those scissors seemingly out of nowhere, cut that prop a new one and just.. cheerily have an okay to go? No she didn’t react to it. Just watched, as if accepting the process of events like it were just another part of life. She only nodded, “then, let’s get outta here~” the anemone began leading the way down the sidewalk..

Just further down the road stood a tall inkling. Outfit? Questionable. Looked like a zero effort attempt at a cop uniform. Not even the right color, just a neat, black shirt, an obviously fake badge and a name tag that looked more in place at an office than on a cop. Needless to say, the kid looked disappointed. Kid? Yes, while his height might not show it, his recent birthday was in fact his 17th, so by all means still a kid. But.. He was tall, he was old, and his mother convinced (read: persuaded) him to play the lookout rather than letting him do his own trick and treating. Aw, whatever. He got less and less every year anyway, since nobody believed he was still a teen, even if he still wore a cool outfit years ago. This year? He's only barely costumed, more to keep parents happy than himself. At least things were going alright, no eggs or toilet papers were thrown about, and the kids seemed to be roaming around happily...

Luanne basically shouted to the heavens in excitement, running past Abigail  as she approached the homes in the spirit of the hallow's eve!  Wait. What's this she sees in the corner of her eye? A dude without a costume? WHERE'S THE SPIRIT!
"Ay, you!" She shouted at him as she went to approach him. "Where's your- WHOA YOU'RE TALL, HELLO!" She quickly became flabbergasted upon seeing his height.

"Hah?" The almost 6'3, or rather, exactly 190 cm tall inkling kid responded. Partially out of boredom, partially out of not having paid attention to literally anything except whether there are cars around and everyone has to be careful. "..oh. Yes, I'm tall." A sigh followed almost immediately, as if resigning himself to the fact that he was, in fact, tall. Compared to other kids, anyway. "So. Uh.. Hi?"

Luanne waves at him, staring up at him as she kept her drumsticks at her side. "y'ello....so, any reason you're just wandering around...without even the slightest bit of a costume?" Lu...you don't just ask people these questions.

A frown appeared on the tall inkling's face, and a roll of the eyes occurred as well. "Reasons." Whoop, looks like he didn't feel like telling his life's story.

Luanne held her drumsticks out to him, narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you sure you're not dressing up as a 25 year old that has lost his way as a means of getting yourself alcohol?" Someone stop her.

He just stared down at her. "Ahuh." Yeaahhhh.... That wasn't very successful. "Well, I suppose there's one positive there. At least you're not assuming I am a 25 year old. That's a first, if anything."

Eventually Abigail caught up, merely took her time getting to the duo. Though after the other’s response, she brought a hand up and lowered Luanne’s drumsticks, “stand down, dusky.” The anemone paused, studying the large inkling for a moment before speaking up, “evenin’, fed. Lost your criminal?” She hoped for a yes, it’d be kinda sad if he were trick or treating alone.

"...Not exactly. Looking out whether there's one to catch, though." He sighed again. "Listen, obviously you two are out here trying to have a good time, and I'm.." The tall inkling looking sideways, eyeing the road. "...And I'm looking out for non-existent traffic to warn squids about. Seriously, I've never seen a car drive here on Splatoween.."

Valerie may have zoned out for a while there, but once back to reality, she went looking over at where her two companions went and- oh would you look at that. "Sean? Heeeeey, Sean! Been a while!" The girl went waving and somewhat running over with a small smile. "Gosh have I really not been going out a lot recently- feels like a long while since we last saw each other...! How have you been?"

The aforementioned Sean blinked for a moment.. "..Ah! Heeeey, Vallllll.. er.." He eyed the other two.. "I'mmmm just gonna stick with Val. Hi Val!" So there was one person in the other group who knew our tall squidkid. "It definitely has.. But perhaps it's a two-way issue. I haven't exactly been going to any of those.. dumb Truth of Dare things anymore... Not after last time... I guess I've been doing decent? ish? enough..? I think? I guess?" He looked away.. "...Hooow about you...?"

Valerie blinked for a while and stayed silent in thought until it seemed it seemed to suddenly dawn on her and she sheepishly scratched her head for a bit. "Uh- sorry for back then, dunno- but... Val or Valerie! Those are fine! Hahah..." She went saying to try and fix that part up a bit. What was with her and being childish back then with her name, haha... And then she fell silent again from hearing him mention Truth or Dare. Mm. This silence was less confused and more "oh right" or something.  "...I haven't been going to those as much either honestly, so same, haha! But uhhhh, beeeenn, been good I guess! What'cha doing today, hm?"

"Well, as I was just telling the girl over here.." He looked at Abigail for a moment.. "Ensuring no kids get hit by traffic. The same traffic that does not seem to exist on this day. Every year." He looked out into the street.. "Not even sure why mom pushed me out to do this. There aren't even any squids with toilet paper or eggs.. Kinda wish I could still... ah, never mind." He sighed as he spoke the ah.

Luanne pointed her drumsticks at him as soon as he finished.  "Wish you could still...what?" her eyes locked on him, fixating on him like a viper staring at its prey. "Sounds like someone's very wishful about something~."

“Wishful of tricking? ‘Fraid our group is only doin the treating portion.” The mint anemone let out a low hum, thinking for a moment, “why doncha be our ‘bodyguard’? Betcha moms just wants you to enjoy the night but that ain’t gonna be fun without some pals.” She gave a two finger salute, “Abigail, by the by”

"Wishful of walking around and collecting candy. Just a few years ago I was still doing trick and treating, had a costume, but.. look at me. I'm almost 2 meters tall. I supposedly got my height from my old man.. Nobody believes I'm still a teenager. Heck, there's people who thought my parents were the kids, since I tower over mom and dad.." Sean sighed. "So yeah, Splatoween is kinda.. ruined for me, I guess. There's almost nobody willing to believe I turned 17 not even a week ago." He eyed Abigail.. "..Ah, uh.. I'm Sean... I'd love to walk with you guys, especially since I'm just standing here otherwise.. I don't know what mom had planned, but if she wanted me to just enjoy the night, I'd been better off doing my own thing at home, though.."

“wait he’s really coming with us??” a small voice spoke up, and the pink clownfish merely peeled through Abigail’s tentacles, “b-but he won’t scare the people giving us candy, r-right? He’s... Big..”
Abigail brought a hand up to where she heard her small companion, gently pushing the fish back into the hair, “‘scuze her. She just wants candy.. wanna lead the way, dusky?”

Lu looked over towards Abigail, crossing her arms at the idea. Though, a body guard does sound very cool. What's a band without the muscle, right? her band in the future 
"Yeah! Plus, I don't mind sharing some of the candy with ya too!" He finally got out of his face, bringing a much more cheery attitude about  things. "And, hey...who's to say you still can't dress up? There's bound to be a store on the way to quickly grab something!" She shot a smile towards Sean, stepping up to him.
"And, if anyone tries to tell you that you're too old for this, I'll play a drum solo on their heads!" It was also at this moment she realized what Abigail called her. Dusky. Dusky? why does it sound adorable.. Luanne shook her head out, covering up her likely tinted cheeks. "R-right! Onward we go!" She shouted as she ran down the sidewalk.

Sean raised an eyebrow at the clownfish. "If anything, compared to me, you guys looks more like kids than anything, so you're probably more likely to get candy, rather than less." He shrugged. "But yeah, I'll gladly come along."

“Oh, gosh don’t fall..” Abigail barely mumbled. That cool front wavering as worry set in, watching her friend speed off. she followed along.. walking. Not running.

Valerie suddenly went quiet there, just looking at the other two talk with Sean for some reason. And sort of just went nodding along, though may have tried to slightly keep Luanne not be all so up in his face or something, looking a bit sad that his splatoween experience was ruined by his height or so man... She's 18 right now even and well- he had a point with the height but still. Saddening. And then looked over at Abby for a while and somewhat stared at her clownfish. That's probably Mezzie! Little cutie.  Nodding in agreement with what Luanne said and then deciding that she wanted to talk again now, Val went saying "Welcome aboard the candy train~" just for fun before actually following after Luanne in worry because woo boy. She may have been also running herself or somehow just speedwalking, just taking quick steps yet not looking like she was in a run hah. "Slow down a bit, Lu..! Might hurt yourself there...!" She called out, sounding worried even if she didn't look so worried or concerned. Hm.

Lu brought herself to a skidding halt, turning on her heels to face the group behind hr. "Ok! First things first, there's a little haunted house thing that I go to every year. seriously worth it to go to the end!" The chipper attitude of the inkling quickly lead her to start fucking running again, but this time with more of  a plan as she made her way to an apartment complex;

Sean nodded at Valerie.. Honestly, he still kinda fell out of place, considering he knew.. one person.. from what, two interactions, total?.. But well, he was literally just standing around before, bored out of his skull, so what the heck. Worst case, he'd go home. When a haunted house was mentioned, he raised his eyebrow. "Sorry, a wha-" Aaand she was already off. "...Did she start off with candy early or something...?"

“That’s.. just her default.” Abigail shrugged with a small grin, then began following her friend’s trail. “But yknow. Haunted house? There’s one down on Abyss. ‘pparently there’s king sized candies at the end of it.”

"... Yeeahh that's just how Lu is, haha." Valerie sighed but smiled as Luanne went off again, but soon started to kind of bite her lips. "...haunted house, huh...? ... Eh- haha, okay then...! Wonder how it'll be~" She somewhat shrugged off, of course following after and all.

"I ain't missin out on my king sized goods this year!!" Luanne excitedly shouted, making her way towards the "haunted house."  The smile on her face stretching from ear to ear  while she twisted her drum sticks in her hand. "Besiiiiiides, how bad could this REALLY be?"

"Ho boy, I can't imagine.." Sean looked at 'Lu' for a moment, then shook his head. "Well, let's hope there's a king sized candy for me in there, too.." He smiled, but.. well, even with a small group of people now, he still felt quite a bit awkward about the night. Regardless, he followed the three ladies.. and the fish.

The small lawn of the apartment building had its spooky charm.. spiderwebs on the bushes and littered on the floor, Jack-o-lanterns lighting the the walkway and steps, and lastly some blanket ghosts sprinkled here and there. It was cute! It was tame. A sea urchin was greeting some squishies at her door, happily giving the handful of candies to their trick-or-treat request. She was dressed in an over-sized sweater, sweats, and a large headband, likely as a hippie? “Ho ho!! Greetings, you four!” The urchin gave a wave towards the group as they came further into the building property, the little ones rushed past them, racing to the next house, “having a nice night, are we? Run into any spooks yet?~” she winked.

Luanne leaned back, staring over at  a Jack-o-lantern. "Oh, you kiddin me? THat thing is TERRRIIFYING!" She giggled, looking back up to the urchin. "I think we could use something  that could really cause the ink to run cold~."  She grinned devilishly, eager to get the shit scared out of herself.

“Mmmmmmm..” landlady shifted the bowl of candies in her arm, and set it aside on a nearby outdoor table, “I do believe you’re referring to my haunted house over here,” she rose a hand to the door covered in caution tape, “crazy things happening in there, man. But there’s a prize waiting for you if you make it to the end~ are you up for it?” A devilish look grew on her face, only making her look more sinister with her urchin self. 

“I-I-I don’t like this..” 

“R’lax, Mezz.. nothin’s real in there!” Abigail rose her hand to her companion, speaking calmly and smoothly as ever “just stay in there, okay? You can close your eyes if ya want.”

"Probably there's gonna be a bunch..." Valerie mumbled a bit but went quiet once more as the area came to view. She looked all around, appreciating the cute decorations for a bit, watching the little squishies as they ran by. And then looked over at Luanne for a while with a bit of a smile, waving over a bit at the sea urchin as well at this point. That grin though, woo boy it was already getting to her. She bit the inside of her mouth for a short while before forcing on a grin back and nodding. "Sure we can handle it!" Oh cod what are you saying, Erie.

"Ah, should be fine, right?" Sean looked at Abigail's fishy buddy. "It's just Halloween decorations, I don't think there will be anything dangerous." He gave the fish a soft smile.. But really, he wasn't very sure about this himself. Though for other reasons than fear. It was mostly because of the fact that he wasn't convinced of this being interesting. But, nothing of the sort showed on his face. He didn't want to disrupt the others' fun.

“Brave souls~ Then,” the Sea Urchin stepped over to the door, rattling its knob before she managed to get a full turn in, “it’s unlocked! Have fun~” She gave a toothy grin, stepping away from the door to allow the group in. 

As the group enters through the door, they are immediately met with a reflection of themselves. It’s only a few seconds of this light until all members get through and close the door, making an eerie squeak as it shuts.
Once it does, the lights begin the flicker. Just, mildly.. gradually growing more quickly as they walk.
The mirrors seem to become dirtier and dirtier the more they pass through. Smudges and splashes of black staining the walls ceiling and floors.. At the end of the hall, there will be a fork, prompting the travelers to choose a direction... and a bathroom.
Though the left doorway seemed to be covered with the same caution tape as the front door.. while the right passage seemed open since the curtain was partially moved to the side.
The door of the bathroom seemed to have a very out of place message, being written with a bright pink and a doodle of a.. soot? 

just beware the spider! ^u^                     
                 ^of 

Oh. A spider.

A spider? PSSH!! It's just something with 8 legs, and potentially deadly venom that can induce a lot of pain, and....death. Luanne gripped her drumsticks tightly, swallowing hard as she traversed through the haunted house. "See? It's not soooo bad. Gotta admire the effort though!" She tried so hard to make it seem like she wasn't all that scared.

The mirrors were already getting to Valerie, honestly. Though she tried her best to not show that, which ended up with her just weirdly smiling as they went through the hallway. She blinked a bit at all the designs at the end of the hall and well... Staring at the sign, her mind just kept thinking both good possibilities and bad possibilities, and ended up without saying just going over and carefully checking out the bathroom.

Sean stayed in the back of the group. What was getting to him was a yawn, but he managed to suppress it. Just cause he hadn't slept well, didn't mean he didn't realize it would be very rude to yawn in the middle of this.. That said, though. It was a nice attempt, but nothing really phased Sean. Sure it was a bit dark, but.. Well, so is his bedroom at night. Still, no need to show that to the others.

Abigail kept her gaze to the ground, not because of fear but rather she would begin to get dizzy from the rave. Noticing the group stopping though, she finally looked up to see what was going on. Well, one way was obviously open. But what if they just- “oh.” She watched as Val went into the bathroom. “Suppose we wait.” 

Meanwhile in the bathroom. Val would be greeted by your ordinary restroom with festive decor. Scented sticks in a cup that looked like a pumpkin.. leaf patterned shower curtains.. orange rug.. But behind the curtain you could hear shuffling, and a bit of garbles and snorts as the creature caught scent that a visitor had arrived..

Well. Valerie took a few moments just staring at the curtain in silence, even holding her breath at this point. With no thought of just going back out and joining the rest, she went and pulled the curtain away if she could.

BEHOLD. THE PUPPY SPIDER. Or well. A sea slug dressed as a spider.
The blue snail slammed his “paws” on the edge of the bathtub, giving a garbled bark as instructed.. but he fails to be very menacing for he was wagging his tail- er. gills. There’s a message written on the wall of the shower, and next to it, a small bag of biscuits taped to the wall.

RAAAGHHHGAHGAAAHHHH. THE SPIDERRRRR
Please close the curtain once you’re ready to leave, thank you! 
Oh, and give Goober a treat so he’ll settle down~ 

Goober didn’t bark anymore. He was just panting and stretching his head out, looking to be pet. Scary spider.

Maybe it was just all of the anticipation and expectations that she just kind of silently jumped back with the reveal of the puppy spider, followed by now heavy breathing and carefully petting Goober out of comfort right then and there. Possibly even trying to carefully hug the little guy without ruining his costume. She freed up an arm though as she reached for the bag of biscuits, getting one and feeding it to Goob and patting him some more. Took half a minute maybe before she unhanded the sea slug completely, closing the curtain and momentarily trying to get some of the slime off before going back out.
"....that was something." was all she commented with her weird smiling again, now wishing she could just stay in the bathroom- but no, she's gonna be experiencing this with friends. At least stay with them for one go through.

"Well, no screaming, and you have a smile on your face, so I'm guessing something enjoyable, and not scary." Sean had a goofy smile as he looked at Val. "Time to proceed then, ladies?"

"Heck yeah!" Luanne shouted, leaning over towards Abigail with a wink and a nudge. "Ain't so bad, huh?" She only said that to boost her own ego. She knows there's bound to be something to get her....though she probably also leaned towards Abigail to  calm herself down. "With Val as the beast tamer, we're sure to get out in one piece!"

Abigail nodded to the suggestion, peering at the two doorways. The right is obviously open so.. Though with Luanne’s words and actions she could only breathe a chuckle. Yes she read her perfectly... the squid was already on edge. “I’m sure we’ll be alright, gate. But I do got an extra hand if ya need it.” The anemone even slightly offered it out to her with a soft smile. She was waiting for the rejection at this point, but it was still cute. And if not then. Win win, right? Besides, she wasn’t lying about another hand to spare.. the other one was busy keeping Mezzie calm.

Valerie twitched a bit in response to what they were saying. Oh boy. Sure that last room was enjoyable, but who knows what would happen next, she was just starting to already want to get this over with in her head. "...sure! Suuuree...alright where to actually gooo...?" She went saying in a singsong voice while looking between the two possible paths.

Luanne slowly reached towards Abigail, but retracted upon seeing the two pathways. It was like she was playing eenie meenie miney mo in her head as she stared. One's open, and that probably indicated safety, but this is supposed to be a haunted house. Sure, it might be stupid to willingly get scared even more than you already are, but that's the fun of it!  Without hesitation, Luanne took the path on the left....signaling her own doom.

Abigail began to wonder if Luanne was a squirrel in her past life. All this time they were in between these pathways and only now she was considering which way to go. Either way, the anemone followed along. As Luanne moves the curtain, the group is met with darkness. The curtain closes completely when Sean passes though, leaving the travelers in the complete, pitch black silence.. If you feel around. You’ll be in contact with a rope hanging by your shins; seemingly acting as a guide.

"Ah. It's even darker here." Sean looked around. "You three still moving? I'm staying put until my eyes adjust, I think.."

Valerie stiffened up. Good lord they closed the curtain. Oh gosh. She was shaking a little, but felt the rope soon enough and kind of... Picked it up and tried a little bit of tugging on it.  "I-I uh... Maybe...there's rope down here though, uh..." She tried speaking up.

Abigail followed for as long as she could see, or well, as long as Luanne could see considering she was leading them in.. Once her vision was only black, she stopped. “Geez.. they really need to pay that electric bill huh?” Hearing Val mention the rope, the anemone carefully lowered her hand to feel for it and grabbing a hold, “Why ya lookit that.. Er, well..” hypothetically.

"I didn't know ya had night vision, Abs." Luanne teased, kneeling down to feel for the rope as well. It is pretty handy for going down further through the pith blackness,  "Whaddya think the big scare's gonna be? The darkness is a nice touch but it's never just darkness."

“I wish I did! Would make this a hecka lot easier..” Soon enough, those holding the rope would feel a tug, urging them to follow the rope. The more they “climb” the rope, eventually the leader will feel it become damp.. then dry.. and suddenly extremely wet. The rope would continue to feel wet in various degrees as they press on.. No telling what it could be with this darkness.

"Ah, a rope?.. now that you mention it.." Sean felt around and he, too, found the rope. "So.. uh.. are you guys moving forward..? I.. don't want to bump into you.."

"...w-well, I don't think we're gonna be getting anywhere brighter if we don't so...c-come on guys, ha, haha...!" Valerie tried to quickly say, though honestly her arms were feeling so tensed up and her eyes kept darting around for any hope that her sight would get used to the pitch blackness of this room soon.

"Ok, this is uh....getting kiiiinda gross, but I'M PUSHIN THROUGH!" Luanne shouted, forcing herself to progress through the wet rope. It was gross, it was icky, and very confusing, but she didn't want to think about WHY the rope was this wet in the first place

"...Gross? What do you mean, gross? It's.. just rope, isn't it..?" Sean asked from the back.

"You're about to find out soon, guy." Luanne responded back almost immediately.

"oh- eugh- okay that's..." Abigail stopped talking there. Just.. keep moving, don't mind the grossness.. 

Guess they don't need my help..

A voice, very tiny and seemingly near. She didn't speak any further.. but several more seconds in..THUD
it seems to have come from behind them.. then squishing sounds can be heard. As if someone were squashing meat..

Valerie was now shaking, but probably wasn't so visible with the lack of light, but kept pushing on. Though she probably didn't mean to, the feeling of the now wet rope- dear cod why was it wet- and the sounds of squashing meat or something with the addition of a random voice that wasn't anyone she knew she was with all sort of ended up making her quietly let out a muffled little "scream" as she didn't open her mouth, though there were moments of stopping as if sobbing a bit.

"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?!"  Luanne is not at all subtle, screaming in terror and confusion as she practically BOLTED further on the rope.

The heck? From the sounds of it, someone was now running. And screaming. From the sounds behind them? Guys, it's a haunted house, what did you expect.. Sean had to keep himself from laughing, but there was a gigantic smile on his face. Ah! That must be what was gross. Feels like the rope is.. wet? Pff, that and the sound behind them, heh. A+ for effort, at least.. maybe he should pick up the pace, though. He wasn't getting any closer to getting used to the dark and the damp rope triggered his clean reflex. He definitely wants to wash his hands after this is over.

The sudden voice definitely sent shivers down her back. How was she.. whoever she was, so close without touching them?? Next thing she knew, Luanne was running off, “urk- don’t trip!” Might as well pick up the pace too. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.. Just how long was this place?? 

Not much further. Something knew they were close to the end.. And in one final attempt, the squishing sounds stopped.. Dead silence again aside from the group of travelers. 

Teke.. teke...shfff... 

Teke.. Teke...shffff...teke teke teke 

teketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeketeke 

It was getting closer from behind. If it gets close enough you’ll feel dull claws at your ankles..

Luanne stood still, almost frozen as the sound persisted. "Whatever is there......FUCK OFF!"  She is not being polite, and VERY much sealing her own doom.

Very much sealing other's doom too, considering Sean's at the back. But considering he had paused for some time, it seemed there was yet space in front of him with nobody occupying it. Not that he would know, as his eyes are painfully slow in adjusting to this darkness. "Wait, who was in front of me again? I think I can barely make out something moving fast, but I'm not sure.." He said, with a smile. Why not add on to it all?

Valerie let out a little wheeze, slightly amused with what Luanne was doing but also very, very worried as well because of it. The feeling of the rope was still getting to her, just wanting to already stop touching it so that her mind wouldn't wonder off into some sort of fake reality or so and the new sound wasn't helping one bit. And then briefly looked over at Sean though again, lack of vision in this room so didn't really see anything, but more on trying to confirm placement somewhat. "U-uhm- you're behind me, Sean! ...Ithink..the others are going fast thoughsouhy-yeah...!!" Valerie started speaking quickly, deciding to try and match pace or at least get out faster while trying to not accidentally shove Abigail or Luanne or anything.

In the near distance, a light trickles in, indicating the way out.. 

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The sound would follow them all the way until they exited. Whoever was clamoring after them made sure to reach real close to the ones being scared, aka not Sean. Abigail let out a small eep when they came close to her, clawing at her heels.

Luanne  shrieked, shuffling her feet about once she felt something get even REMOTELY  close to her. "GetawayGetawayGetawayGetawayGetawayGetaway!!" She shouted, nearly hyperventilating as her legs kicked about.

A muffled snrk came from Sean, trying to contain his laughter. He definitely didn't want to laugh at the others, but their screaming.. it's just a silly haunted house! Now that there was some light in the distance, Sean thought he could see things move in front of him, but.. hmm.. nope, it might be a figure of his imagination. It IS dark, after all.. "Run! Otherwise they'll get you! I'll stay behind and stop them!" SNRK! Oh crap, that one was louder than intended.. He hoped nobody heard that.

"I'M OUT! BYE!"  Luanne shouted back as she took off right towards the light. The only time the light has ever been good.

“Glad you’re still getting some enjoyment out of it~” a voice would murmur behind Sean, as to not be heard by the others. 

Abigail would follow after, letting out a whew as soon as she got out. It was stuffy in there!

And at this rate Valerie just wanted out, and so there she went possibly crashing into Luanne and Abigail a bit, soon stepping away and getting her breath back by then.

Noting three figures sprinting through the light, Sean assumed that meant all three of the others had moved. "Eheh, sorry about that. I guess I'm just not easily scared by this. Trying not to ruin their experience, though." He replied, to the mysterious voice. "...But I definitely can't help messing with them a little bit, ehehe.." He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Well, good luck with other visitors." And then, Sean too passed through the exit.

“Tata~” you could hear the smile in her voice. 

Outside, Abigail stumbles some with the collision, but managed to catch her balance again with the help of Mr. Wall. “Lu, I love ya girl, but you prolly shouldn’t take lead next time..” 

The travelers were back in the hallway. The lights were still buzzing. But the curtain to the dark room was now closed. And the other doorway was free of the caution tape. And the sign on the bathroom wall had changed too, though still written in pink. RIP SPIDER There was a doodle of a bottle with a skull and crossbones on it.

"though who knows how it'll be if Lu is at the back haaaahhh..." Valerie quietly mumbled, still catching lost breath and then just... wait...what... They're... Back? "...oh wow, how did they...huh..." Valerie curiously looked around and then spotted the new sign on the bathroom and then seemed to stay silent and stare at it again before rushing into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, the shower curtain is closed. But there is no movement coming from behind it. It’s deathly silent aside from any sounds that may be from the hallway. If she were to open the curtain and peer inside. She will see the same “spider” on his back, his tongue sticking out... very.. dramatic like. A note was left on his belly, written in the same pink color: poisoned biscuits

Valerie quickly looked around, though soon went opening the curtain and then stared at Goob's "dead body". She wasn't completely sure how to feel, but seemed to kind of dramatically fall to her knees, head down, and a soft voice saying "Noooooooo, Goooooooobbb....." And then slight shakes, though honestly it's either crying or trying to not laugh.

sniff sniff.. The tongue rolled back up, and the snail rolled back over to his belly. He immediately pounced back on the bathtub wall, panting and wagging his gills. Pretty much asking did I do good? And I a good boy?? in dog-snail language. Another note stuck to his back. 

Of course he wouldn’t be dead! I’d be dead if she found out.. Go ahead and give another treat to the good boy! I promise they’re not poisoned. 

The treat bag is right in the same place it was left last, under the prior note written on the wall.

Valerie opened her eyes and looked over at the sea snail, grinning a bit at Goob. She gave him some pats and probably another hug all the while saying "good boy~". Very good boy! Grabbing another treat and feeding it to him once again, Val was giggling. "You got me there...! Such good acting...!" Such a nice place to be in a "scary" house haha.

Goober gives a garbled bark again, accepting all the love he was given. Once Val would let him go, the snail promptly turns around in circles a few times, and plops down to sleep. Looks like there’s a bed in the tub for him.

Valerie giggled, standing up straight and fixed her costume for a bit before going back out of the bathroom.  "Okaay, so... I guess we're going that way now...?" She went pointing over to the still open passageway.

Luanne looks up at the ceiling. "It was fun though, right?" She grinned sheepishly, bringing herself back up to her feet. You can see she's still visibly shaken from the thing, and trying to pass it off like she conquered it.

"No, no, it was terrifying. Real scary." Sean said, not even remotely sounding genuine, more sounding amused than anything. "Jokes aside, what is that spider on your shoulder?" There is none, but y'know. He wondered if she'd react. =)

Luanne blinked towards him, patting her shoulders lightly. She looked over at it before letting out a chuckle. "HA! Even if there was, I would have just made it my new pet." She snickered, placing her hands behind her head."

“If ya did, it would find a new home in Fuego’s stomach,” Abigail thought aloud, then brought her attention to the open passage as well, “alrigh. So in we go? Can’t stay in this pad foreva..”

Luanne holds her drumsticks up, nodding towards Abigail as she took lead again to get out of the hallway.  Perhaps this time she won't be a fool and nearly get everyone killed again, but this wildcard you don't really know.

"Okayy, haha...! Guess we'll continue on now...!" Valerie nodded and sort of went following after Luanne. 

Wandering into the right, it was back into darkness they went, but there were somewhat dim christmas lights lining the way. The lights kept flickering, on and off, but they seem to make a pathway until a new light source could be seen. A television screen. Seems like there aren't any available channels, there's just static letting out from the speakers... It lit up an area in front of two chairs, showing some splatters of dark "ink" on the seats and the parts of the floor nearby, all the more over in the corner. 
Other than static, quiet but still audible crying could be heard, sounding like two voices, a boy and a girl's, coming from a very dark corner from the other side of the room, seemingly pleading  

"Make it stop.." 

"She's going to come here.." 

"Help, please.." 

"N-no, no, stop it, please..!"

So Sean's joke fell flat. Didn't really matter. He still got her to react. Really though, he was having more fun than he thought he would.. Even if the scary, haunted house, was.. Little more than obviously fake. To him, anyway. His companions seemed to be more susceptible to it. Which, all in all, was basically what fueled Sean's fun. He didn't want to laugh at them, and he definitely wouldn't, but most of his good time was basically from being so amused at their reactions. Schadenfreude? Maybe. But still, he was only tagging along anyway, so he wasn't gonna ruin their fun.. Or.. Horror, anyway. If anything, the reaction of the actor from the last hallway proved to him he wasn't doing bad. As Valerie went in after Lu, Sean looked at Abigail with a sort of "after you" look on his face. He wouldn't go in before her. Being in the back made it easier to not ruin their experience.

Abigail nodded with a smile, kind of a silent thank you, before following the others in. Immediately she took in the environment, since this place seemed to allow them to have more visibility than the last. 

“whats that sound?” a tiny voice came from her hair as Mezzie resurfaced. 

“Static. Feels like they’re going for ‘the ring’ on this one..” She paused for a moment, catching the sounds of the pleading, then continued on still scanning the area. Where were they coming from?

Luanne stood still, looking around in place as she kept a firm hold against her drumsticks. "Ok, if something's trying to get me again, I'm armed!" She was quite the fool, yes, but this time she won't let herself be scared so easily! She is Luanne friggin Delavine, and this time she's at least a little more capable.  The inkling trudged forward, holding her sticks in both hands. "Y'know, I think that ring movie was the only one that actually made me laugh. It was so cheesy!" Luanne's ways of hiding her fear, are still not good.

Valerie kept blinking every now and then as if that could help her sight in here more aside from the light of the tv. She seemed to laugh a bit, though she kept glancing all around, not so focused on her friends. This was more of an open space with more lighting than the last one, she was really tempted to go looking around. She squinted at the tv screen, momentarily covering her ears as she went closer to it. Man that was some loud static though... And then venturing nearer to a corner behind a chair, the girl took a sharp intake of air, held her breath and went back to the others, laughing more even if she clearly looked terrified. "Hah! Hahah! Hahahaha! Nope, nopenopenoooopee, not gonna be staring at that longer oohh boy, ha ha ha ha!" She kind of went saying absent-mindedly, looking away from that corner yet also not at anyone in particular as her eyes couldn't help but still look around for anything they needed to do. 

"Please...listen to mee...!" 

"Make the static stop...!!"

The voices kept pleading, and noticeably, the static sound started to grow louder and louder, sounding like they didn't only come from the tv alone at this point. It wasn't to the point that it would hurt their ears too much, but it was probably becoming irritating to hear. The television screen started to flicker more.

Abigail watched Valerie making her small investigation, a bit tempted to follow after but she seemed stuck looking at the static on the screens. She was almost expecting a hand to smack it from the inside. The anemone was brought back to the current situation as Val retreated back to the group. Guess there was something unsightly there.. nonetheless, these voices were telling them to stop the static? Perhaps that was the key to move on? “Um..” Abigail sauntered over to a screen, using only one hand to shield a side of her head -being to protect the pink clownfish- and inspected it. It was just like any old monitor, right? The girl didn’t put much thought into what would happen after, just that activating the button would halt the noise. And she did just that, push the power button.

Despite the darkness, the light from the screens showed Sean perfectly what the two ladies in front of him were doing. As for the third, well, she was loud enough to keep him posted, leaving him to wonder for a moment just how effective drumsticks would be as a weapon.. Though just a moment. The sound of Val's laughing quickly snapped Sean back to reality. It seemed like she was scared out of her wits, and was mostly laughing to distract herself from her fear.. maybe.
Abigail seemed to have her wits with her for a bit longer, though turning off a monitor like that.. ...Well, Sean thought that was likely the worst thing to do. He bet the people around had planned for people doing precisely that. Oh!
He looked around, trying to find the source of earlier voices. Bet those 'kids' are actually dressed up as monsters and the sound of the static was the only thing keeping them at bay! That'd be a neat script to follow. So now Sean was anticipating what would happen next- not out of fear, but out of interest in how the others would respond.

Luanne trudged forward, keeping a tight grip against her drumsticks. Her breathe did seem to quicken as she progressed, feeling the level of fear increase, but absolutely refusing to be brought down by it. "S-so...The monitor's off now. Maaaaybe the kids will go away?" She thought out loud, chuckling sheepishly as she wandered over to Val.  "If I die, I'll let you have my violin." She whispered, trying to bring in some hope to herself. Her violin just won't go away so easily, but if it does leave it'll at least go to a very trusted friend. Luanne, once again, let out another sheepish chuckle, leaning against the wall as she tried to calm herself down. "Just kids...just kids. They can't  overpower anything."

Once the monitor was off all of the static was now silent.  And then soft, quiet, yet creepy music started to play from around the back end of the room. And the voices started to sound once more, though it seemed to be pleading for something different...

"Oh god- g-get away...!!"

"A-ah-! She's going to come here!!"

"Pl-please run now-"

"Go away now!!"

The christmas lights seemed to turn off and turn on again, but with the new lights letting them know a way out as opposite from there, scratching and sounds of something bumping into the walls of the room they were in were heard. 

"....we should be going now!!" Valerie said in slight hurry, now keeping a hold on Luanne since she was closest and decided to trust the lights' direction.

The sudden music sent shivers down her back. Abigail looked about the room as the voices had changed their requests, “somethin’s telling me we should leave..” obviously being captain obvious, she moved back towards the group, lightly ushering this backward as Val said. “Oh. There’s a door back there too..” Abigail noted

That's different. Not what Sean thought would happen. Definitely more interesting than just a wet rope in a dark room. He wondered for a moment what would happen if he'd just.. stand still.. But everyone else seems they wanted to leave. Shame, seems like it's getting interesting. "Ah, what, we're moving backwards?" Wait.. no.. aw dang, even though it's lighter here, that darkness is confusing. Still, meant he could stand still for a sec. "Well, you guys just.. move ahead, I'm coming after you." ...Wait, just how many times did Sean say guys? You're surrounded by girls, and you still say guys, gj, Sean, gj.

Luanne seemed to cling to Val tight, moving to the door in the back. She is shaky as all hell, but you can still see the smile on her face as she tries to ignore the very evident fear.  "All's cool, right?"  She chuckled sheepishly, squeezing Val." "Val...don't let me die. Not like this. I wanna go to heaven, and not be mad at Halloween." Luanne is probably losing her mind, and is getting closer to no longer being able to be saved. As if she could be saved to begin with.

"I know, of course I won't- it's okay- o-okay then, Sean...!!" Valerie quickly looked backwards to look at the others and then froze for a moment as she noticed movement from the shadows. 

With the tv screen off, most of the room wasn't lit aside from the christmas lights seemingly leading them towards the said door, though it was more of pointing towards there than completely lining up to the door. And a figure was now "standing" behind the group. Hair messy, maybe even looking like it was floating upwards, her arms being stained in black... And from what could be seen with what little light there was, it seemed like the figure's guts could be seen and she had no visible legs. Only her upper body. And then she soon screeched loudly, before moments later she went rushing at the group. Valerie immediately yanked on Luanne and went running for the door.

Abigail continued her ushering, that door wasn’t gonna get any closer to them if they didn’t get moving. But of course, it couldn’t be that easy. She noticed Val freezing up. And she only managed to glance back before the figure screeched- that was never a good sign. “Ooookaaaay time to go..........” her tone was definitely more apprehensive. Abigail didn’t see the thing rushing at them, but she made no hesitation to follow the others.

Luanne screeched, PROBABLY LOUDER THAN THE APPARITION, and bolted right off of Val as she made her get a way.  The horror, the sheer horror of the moment causing her heart to run laps. Her hand going to her beating chest as she makes her getaway.  "Why did I want this!? WHOEVER CONSTRUCTED THIS IS A MADMAN!!"  Luanne has lost her mind, and is probably close to just....dying probably.

Sean was just burying his face into his hand. Oh lord, the reactions, it was perfect.. But he definitely didn't want to, y'know, seem like he was making fun of them or laughing at them. Though the issue with schadenfreude is.. That he definitely was about to laugh at them. He was the last to move, though his pace was more leisurely than rushed. Making sure the others couldn't see it, Sean, as he walked away, gave a thumbsup to the.. Silhouette in the darkness. Woman? Ah, whatever...

Valerie was thrown off a bit with Luanne running on ahead, but didn't mind much as she soon followed her right after. 

The screeching sound didn't seem like it came from the actual actor as she seemed to stop to let them run off but stared at the lone inkling remaining before soon quiet giggling could be heard while the screeching was dying down as the figure placed her hands on her mouth. More movement from the shadows and now what seemed to be a boy with kind of spiky hair, holding onto a blanket wrapped around him, just sort of bumping into the girl and they were both giggling but keeping it quiet for not everyone to hear. If looked at more, it seemed like she was wearing a long black skirt for the imagery of her legs not being there, hah. The girl waved quickly at Sean for a moment before playfully pushing the boy back to where he came from. Seems like they did a pretty good job! 

Valerie was now audibly trying to catch her breath, no laughs this time to hide the fear as even her legs were shaking and now she was holding onto Luanne because god damn it she needs to keep hold of someone before her mind overtakes her perception of everything. "Honestly... I don't wanna...do this...again after this...aahhh..."

Abigail was holding her chest, chuckling a bit as she stepped outside, “haheh, that. that was a good one! Whew.” She blinked however, realizing Val’s take of it, “oh. Hey, we’re outta there now, it’s alright..” she reached a hand out to rub her shoulder. But hey! They made it out! The group was finally outside, at what it seems to be a backyard. 

It was mostly concrete, with a little vegetable garden off to the side, a shed in the rear, and it was all lit up by bright Christmas lights! In front of the shed, there was a table of the promised prize: king-sized candies, with a sign above it -a banner with the same pink lettering- saying 

“Congratz!! You’re alive!”. 

...there was something in front of that table too, however. She was faced away from them. But a lady with dark ink in a trench coat was seemingly watching over the candies, as if she were deciding which she had wanted.

"Oh, hey, sweet." Sean noted the sign and.. Paused. Someone standing there in a trenchcoat. "Y'know, though.. You all went first through the house, so you all should get your treat first, too." ... Whether this last person was also part of the scares, Sean wasn't sure. But if she was, he wasn't gonna ruin it.

Luanne was shaking, teeth chattering, and everything. Best scare of the night? Probably!  She tried to give  Val a thumbs up, inching towards the candy in view, but then stopped.  A person wearing a trench coat. Of al things, it's a person...in a trench coat. Luanne swallowed hard, looking up at the person as she took a step forward. "So-hooo.....haunted houses, am I right?" Why Luanne was trying to make small talk, even she doesn't know. A good distraction probably saves her from death as she tries to get candy.

The girl blinks, and turns her attention to Luanne. She seemed perfectly normal, just in a trench coat, and wearing a surgical mask. “...Watashi wa kirei desu ka?” She asked plain and simple and innocently. If you looked carefully, you might see her wielding something long and shiny, held against her coat.

Luanne stepped back, chuckling sheepishly as her gaze fixed on the shiny.  It seemed as though her pupils shifted around, staring at the shiny, and then mask. It's so normal, yet...something so terrifying at the same time.  "Ha, ha, ha....I'm sorry, what was that?" She scratched behind her head, dropping her gaze from the girl.

Valerie let out a shaky breath that may have sounded like weak laughter, accepting the rubs and then just sorta stared at the stranger by the candy and let Luanne approach her first when she then heard what sounded like Japanese and went closer to Luanne again. "...she's asking a question...about herself...?" She seemed to mumble.

Sean blinked, and eyed the lady. This is obviously still part of the haunted house. But he had no idea what the heck she just said.. So.. just stand back for the time being? Let the others see what happens..?.. He cocked his head to one side. This one seemed a bit.. eh.. weird? The other times he was just amused by the reactions, despite it being.. well, far from scary in his opinion.. This.. well.. he couldn't place it. Like they were referencing something, but he missed the reference. That was probably what was happening, wasn't it. Only one way to find out. "...I have no idea what she said.. I don't even know what language that is.. if it's not.. garbled or something.." He shrugged.

The girl tilted her head a bit, brown eyes drifting over to the other talking, “anata... nihongo ga wakaranai...? Mm..” She stepped a bit to face them better, asking in an innocent voice again, though it seemed to be slightly more forceful for an answer, “Do you think I’m pretty?”

Luanne stared up and down at the person in front of her, taking another step back as she swallowed hard. "P-pretty?" She said, a little shakily as she seemed to cling onto Val. "U-uhh...y-yeah! Very pretty." Luanne kept a smile on her through everything, trying to be just a little brave.

Valerie made a little shake of the head, quietly saying "iie", assuming that second question was if they could understand Japanese well. And just sort of just kept close to Luanne during this. "Uhm- yeah, you look really pretty...!"

...Do you think I'm pretty?.... Sean leaned his head over to flip sides.. Reminded him of something. But what. But what. He kept quiet. This was the others' party. He didn't want to ruin things. He looked to the side and stepped back a bit, leaning against the wall.

Her eyes seem to smile pleasantly~ but only for a moment. That pleasantness turned into a look of murderous intent, removing her surgical mask with her unoccupied hand. ..what it revealed was a disgustingly slitted mouth. Ripped skin from ear to ear.. and she asked, “how about now?” She stepped closer towards Luanne, the shiny object now more visible, which were a large pair of scissors.

Luanne's pupils shrunk to little dots. Her grip on Val totally gone as her lips fall open. "Uh..uh." She responded, shaking more than ever.  The scissorsThe mouthThe tone  Luanne fell on her rear, inching away from the "injured" soul, and not looking away at all. The poor squid fell speechless as she couldn't bring herself to look away.

Clearly the look on Val's face could say that she wasn't finding her pretty anymore, but she tried biting her lips shut as she became a bit more worried about those scissors and her friends here. She was shaking, but Luanne literally fell to the ground in fright and well, she suddenly remembered why her back felt a bit restricted all this time as Valerie stepped more in front of Luanne and now holding her keyboard prop in a way to maybe keep distance between them and also in case of the need of smacking. And with this sudden feeling of protectiveness, her mouth slipped.  "No."

Her face contorted into rage in just a second. “No? Nooooo?” She raised her hand with the scissors, angling the sharp object to strike down on the purple girl. And as she swung down.. she paused. The closed blades just inches from Val, and she stood for a moment.. before retracting her scissors with a giggle, “Didn’t take you for the protective type, Val eheh,” She placed the surgical mask back on -supposed it was much easier for the others to look at her without the grotesque make-up- and stepped aside, making the table more accessible, “So uh.. yeah, congrats! Hope you all enjoyed!”

"Heh." Sean had moved from his spot as he noticed Val.. Uh.. Arming herself with her keyboard prop .. And he walked toward Val, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Remember this is a haunted house, silly. You were about to hit someone... Hrm.. She called you Val, so it's likely someone you know." He removed his hand. "Yeah lady, it was neat. A++ performance."

Valerie's whole body tensed up and the most she did was raise up her prop in slight anticipation of what was happening and then was close to even twirling around to hit Sean with him putting a hand on her until she realized it was just him and then the actor...the actor called her Val. I. Who. She stared for a while, looking at everyone for a while before lowering the prop to the point of the sling being the only reason it's not on the floor again and a nervous smile was made on her face.  "...oh, right, hahaha, sorry, uh... Hahaha...! I... Haha... I forgot, for, for a moment there. I." She kept taking breaths to calm herself down as she took note of her surroundings again. Candy, haunted house, they're in costumes, it's Halloween. "...sorry about that- thank you and you were really convincing~ ... And some pretty nice Japanese there~" Seems like she was mostly back again.

Lu seemed to be glued to the ground, eyes widening upon the sudden movement of the scissors.  She was frozen, absolutely crippled by the fear that had overcome her.  Then it all just stopped. A very recognizable voice could be heard, bringing a sense of relief, and more fear over Luanne as she slowly got her shaky body up, sniffing as she willed a smile on her face.  "I-it was a good one..eheh." She opened up her arms toward her friend that she still kinda fears at the moment. "Gave me the best scare of the night. That's for sure."

All throughout, Abigail was quiet. Once Val seemed to calm down some, she simply followed along. Of course she saw the lady there, but she wasn’t too skeptical until she removed that mask. And holy moly- that was creepy. But it was over before she knew it and the anemone grabbed her piece of candy, stepping back into her place. 

“Ahaha, thanks! I uh- oh,” Torch sort of walked into the hug? Not much of a hugger, even worse that a hand was occupied with a potential weapon. She just gave Luanne a couple pats on the back. “Oh, geez, guess I gave a good scare to you two uh.. hope I didn’t ruin any good vibes eheh...” she rubbed behind her neck.

"You kidding me? I think you ended the evening on the best vibes.. hehe." Sean had a smile on his face, before he walked over to the candy bowl and grabbing his own king-sized goodie. He then turned to the lady. "..So uh.. You do this every year? I've missed out, it seems. Could've had fun Halloweens instead of miserable ones.. Though it all depends on the group I'm with, I guess."

“The company does affect the outcome aheh,” Torch agreed, “but no, uh. Holly does. The uh, sea urchin at the front?” 

“Yeah, this..” Abigail looked about them, “this is a new addition in’nit? You being here. We usually just cop the candies and ditch the joint.” 

Torch nodded, “yeah this is my first Splatoween around here so uh.. I took part!” She shrugged.

"Wow, hahah, well, you did pretty good! Don't worry! Hahaha~" Valerie seemed to nod, patting Luanne's back for a bit there before getting at least...2, at least two candies and then one extra to give to Luanne as she sorta fixed up her keyboard prop to carefully place the two pieces of candy inside and looked over at Torch. "Seriously though, nice acting there~" Valerie then jumped a bit when the door from before was opened again and quickly turned around to face whoever that was and- oh. 

"Hah, thought I heard some familiar voices there. 'Eya, Erie." Kuro, still in his usual black jacket, white shirt and shorts and shoes, stood at the doorway. If looking past him, the room was now lit as the two actors in there was fixing some of the christmas lights it seems. "Had fun?" He had a small playful grin on, now more so leaning on the door. And then he had one king-sized candy thrown at him with some force. Hit his forehead there, oof.  

"Wh-oh-di-didn't mean for it to be so hard, sorry! But also heck you...!" Valerie apologized but then soon also crossed her arms and kind of pouted at the guy. Now he had a hand rubbing his forehead as he quietly chuckled and waved his other hand dismissively, bending down to pick up the candy. 

"Eeehh, didn't expect for you to be the type to come into a haunted house, Val. Also sorry." He sorta shrugged.

"Hm?" Sean noticed the altercation between Valerie and.. huh. "..Kuro?" He shook his head. "I'm meeting several people I haven't seen in forever.. Now if one thing is spooky, it'd be THAT." Though he wondered if Kuro would recognize him. The truth or dare they met at was over half a year ago.. Sean looked away for a moment.. "...eesh. I complain about how awful those truth or dares were, yet I did actually meet new people that way, huh.."

Lu shook her head out, kind of tapping the drumsticks against her legs as Ashe brought herself to move freely once again. Heck, she even jumped up before grabbing her king-sized piece.  It seems as though the fright did get to her a little as she went silent, keeping her body calm as she gave a little wave over to Kuro. He definitely gave her  another great fright of the night, but Torch definitely won that prize.  "d-don't worry to much, Torch! What's Halloween without the scares, right?" She let out a small chuckle, clearly showing that's she's a lot more calm compared to before.

"Truth or dare?" Abigail mused, "maybe we should hold a night of that one, day, Gate. It sounds fun.." 

"ahah.. Perhaps the same company thought applies to that too heh.." Different hosts would be a very different game... but it's probably better to avoid it altogether. 

Are you guys ready? We've got another group coming up! 

Torch blinked at the sound, fishing her hand in the trench coat pocket for a walkie and responded into it, "ah, yeah we're getting cleaned up here!" 

Good! Coraline says your dog is getting rowdy in there, too. 

"he's a snail.." She murmured, but didn't say that part into the walkie, "rodger that." And she put the device away. "Ah, sorry to dash but we should probably get ourselves situated for the next group," She eyed Kuro with that before turning to the group again, "Have a good rest of the night guys, Happy Splatoween!" And she quickly made her way back into the flat.

Kuro raised a brow a bit at Sean, but soon seemed to snicker for a short while and waved a hand once, then waving again over to Luanne. "'Ey there, Sean, Luanne. Hahah, sounds like quite a day if you'd suddenly see everyone you haven't seen in a long time..." He seemed to trail off there for a while, staring at the ground, yet also somewhat at Valerie. "...hah, honestly, don't know why peeps kept on holding them, but it definitely did start up interactions, that's for sure." He lightly shrugged.  
Kuro then looked at Torch and pulled out his own walkie talkie, just listening a little better. "Yeah, pretty much ready soon...will do." He just went nodding and then gave a sort of salute-wave with just two fingers at the group right here, saying "c'ya" before going back in the room and closing the door. 

"...well, I guess that's that...?" Valerie momentarily looked around for anymore surprises, but there didn't seem to be much. "Well...! That was something, hm...?? Not gonna be doing that again anytime soon though, haha...!"

Sean made the mental note that the person Lu in their group was actually named Luanne. She was the only one who hadn't introduced herself. Well, neither did the fish, but he barely, if ever, communicated with them. "See you later.. I hope, haha.." He turned to Val. "It sure was something, heh. Time to leave?" Sean looked at all three ladies with him as he asked the final question.

Abigail looked over to the candy table as the actors left, reaching over for another candy and turned back answering as if she hadn’t done anything, “seems so!” The anemone began walking to the side of the building, likely where the exit was, “the act was great but with these delicious prizes, I don’t think we gotta stick around much longer.”

"Yeeaah." Luanne agreed with Abigail, walking by her side as she exited the area. "Plus, I think if I get that scared again I might actually develop a heart problem." She joked, stretching her arms out before turning right over to Sean. "And, you!" She said, dramatically as always. "You're pretty cool, man. Hope your night's going good!"

Seeing Abigail getting another, though she may have been seeing things, who knows- and with how Kuro took her extra candy with him, Valerie went to quickly snatch another piece to put into her keyboard and nodded to Sean's question. "Don't think there's anything else now that we're out here so yeah, haha." She followed after the rest.

"So far it has, Luanne." Presuming that's your actual name since you still haven't said it yourself.. not that Sean was gonna say that out loud, but he THOUGHT it out loud.. Good thing there's no such thing as psychics. Right? "Glad to hear you think I'm cool.." He effectively made it out with the others. "So then.. what is next on the agenda? I have nothing planned, so if you wish to drag me along, I likely won't decline, heh."

Abigail pushed against the gate, making a creaking sound as it opened, “Shop around And cop off more treat o’course~ Glad to know we’re gonna keep the po po on our side~” And down the sidewalk they go... when they went home no one knows... Eventually they did, I swear.