Curiosity Killed The Cat

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel   free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse).      tw   for  blood,  death  and  physical  violence  mention.

It was cold.

So very very cold.

And he felt so…heavy.

Arthur couldn’t remember what happened prior to waking up, last he remembered is that they split up to explore the cave; Vivi and M̛y̗̺s̗t̬̗̜͢ͅe̹̳͘r̶̳̳͚y͏̜ went toward a path that sloped down. He followed Lewis up the other path, the whole ambience of the cave made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, even more so as he watched L̢̜ew͚̣͖̳̮̩̻i̛̼͙͓̠͉s͎̫̰̞̩̳͙͝ ̬͈c͓a̼̲̖̺̳͓u̙̫͖̲̠̪͡t̗̗̣̮͉͕i͕͉o̺̫͙̗̺u͔̬s͈l̳̻̘̺̜y̛ ̵͍̥̘ma̫̤͓͚̞͉͞k͏̜͙̹̯̩e̫͚̻̞̮̲͇͝ ̰͖̕h̝͉̳͖i̡͎s͓̱͓̺̖ ̹͈͉̻̼w̪̗̦̖̣̜͢a̝̪̥͇̲̯y̺͎̱̻̠͚̣͠ ̦͠f̮͍̹̞͇̬o͔͙̫̻r̳̞ͅw͏͖̙ͅa̤̻̗̝r͎̼̳̝d̢̬ ̘̞̩̭͙̱t̵̥o̙̩̲ ̫̹͙̘͓̫̹t̹͜h̠͍̯̪ḙ ̴̭̹̻e̶̦ͅd̺͇̟͈̘̺g̵ͅe҉̼ ̯̝͕̦̖̫̬o̳̲f̳̣̤͜ ̥̘̦t̵̟̮̠̫̯̲h̴̯e̛ ̴̘̻c͚̳͍͇l̼͖̻̦ͅi͏͖̼̩f̬͙f̟̲̬̻͓ ̸͔͚̤̼͍l̟͍͕̲̘̠̳o̗̺̱̻o̤̦̲̳̲k̨͓̤̯͇̩̰͓i͙͕̜͚͉̙n̞̩̖͘g͡ ̢̭̗̬̪͇͓d̷͙̗o҉̪w͏̥̹̜n͍͔̹͚͔ͅ, h̳̥̝͉͚͓̝̻͠e̵̢̳͉͈̦͓͍̞͙ͅ ̛͙̫̯̦͖̫̤ẉ̰̪a̫͈̞̖̪̦̫̻s̷͕̠̠̠͜ ̨͙͔̘͖̯̘̖͘s̛̲̞̙͔o̮͇̦̯̘ ̹̼̖̜̬d̸̛͍̹̗̣͓̲̫ͅe̸͕̖̕f̺̟̘͕̠e̢͕͈͞n̡̹̘͝s͖̤̺̹e̜̟͓̠̥͕̼̩l̷̛̗͔͉͎ͅe͡҉̗̠̣̜͉̦͠ͅs͓̲̥̮̦̲ș̗͇̫,͚̼͘͢͞ ͚̹̝̜̭͉ş̷̶̮͙ó̵̥͉̲̫̪̰̩ͅ ̥̳̰̼̮̮͈͝r̺̤͢i̥̖p̨͍̗͘e̞̝̻͚͟ ̶̩͙͚̣̭͟f̵͉o̵̢͈̰̬̦r̦̗̦̺̲̱̫̭̝̀ ̸̬͔͘t̬̹̙̱̬̳̰̠h͙̣̝̙ͅe̯̝̝̦

̥̰̹̫͓̺͝ͅp̟͉̘̰̣̩͓͘͞i̡̹͔̖̗̰̝̗̪c̵̷̛͕͚͚̯̗̹k̶̳̖̲͞͝í̤̬͔̗͈̕͜n̛̻̩̻̥͍̻͟g̰̰̟̮̥̯̕,͕ ͔̫͙̘̜͉ͅa̵̢͇̘̭l̸̜̻͡l̰̣̖̬̣̟̲̖̳͡ ̘̬͚͙͍̹̤͟͜h̵̤͓̭̭͓̥e̷̛͉̺̫͚͍͞ ̛̯͇̳̥͔̟́͟h͏̶̹͍̼̥̹̥a̡̱̮͟ḑ̶̢͖̻̮̹ ͏̠̤t̴̩̦̦͓̼̯͇͘o̷̬͢ ̢̦̮͚̺͜ͅw͖̝͝à̝̘̤̗͕̕ş̖̟͇͈̠̩̳́̀ ̹ s̯̯͈̣̺͍͇͔͔͖̘̏̊͋ͦ͌̑ͫ͆ͧͨ̾̂̾̃ͩ̅̾́̍͟t̡̡̰̰̱̬̫̙̹̜̗̭̩̱͈͇͚͙ͧ͛̉̌̆ͤͦ̽̅̎ͧ̑̑̏ͪ̑̾̊̚͟͞ͅe̴̢̛̱̦̹̺̰̠̻͒̈́̏ͩͥ͑ͥ̅̽͒̈̾̀͐ͪ̇ͦ̅̐p̨̺̼͖͓̻̼͔͗͋̏̓̋̐͒͐ͤ̌͒̿ͯ̑ͬ͡ ̷͖͇̣͇̗̎̑̌͗͝f̏̄̂̅ͣ̄̐̈̄̽ͮ̊̄̈͗͂̐ͧ͏̀͏̭̱̲͈͈̭̤̬̞o̢̢̹̫̰͉̟̱̘̳̰̯͉̠̞̞̱ͬͯͣ̒̽̿̒̓͑ͯ̍̕ͅr̛̿ͮ̐̐ͨͮ҉̻͙̘͇w̷̨̛ͯ̓̒̃̊͛̋̎ͫ͏҉͎̣͕̜̪͎̗̜̘̱̩̭͚̹̩͖͕ͅa̴̢̡̜̼̗̖ͤ̐͆ͥ͟ŗ̛̗̞̞͇̝̭̓̇̃̉̎͐ͥͬ̎ͤ͋̊̿ͤdͨ̆ͧ̃̅̃̂ͥ̎̍ͨͨ́͑͘͏͏̺͓̼̠͔̹ ̸ͦ͛̃ͣ̌͆ͤ̀ͫͯ̅̋̑̐̚̚͏̶̨̞͍̹̦͚̻̗̺͍͍̳͙͠a̧̨̺̗̣̬̞̮͔̥̥̔̿͒̊̔͂ͣ̀̚͢͡n̸̽̆̓̽ͦ̒͗̔ͤͫ̔͛̒͌ͪ͠͏͖̤̯̘̯̺͎̰̳͇̲̦͍̯͕̲͕͍ḓ̡̦̜̖͍̠͈̫̯̠̣̞̝̻̮͚̞̿̇͂̿ͯ͛̔́̽̈́̾͂͆ͮ̒̿̏̽́̚͢͡͠.̶̆̄̌̍͗ͧ͛̈́̂͋ͣͫ͑̏̀̚҉̰̣̣̥̹͇͔̝̰̱̙̹.̵͙̤͈͍̃̄́ͪ̒͒ͩͣ̾̋̊ͮͣ̎͑͞.ͫ̅͌͆ͦͪ̉ͪ̇͏̷̥̱̠̳̲̮͙̳̩̕͟.̸̢͎̻͍̱̥̇̈̂͗̄͘͞ ̵̸̣̖͙̖ͫ̔̒̌͂͗̎ͬ̐̄ͥ͒ͤ̚̚͟͝ͅ

….and that’s much as he remembered.

‘  who  did  this?  ’

What?

Eyelids heavy, he opened his eyes to meet with….Vivi?

‘Who did this? Who did what?’

‘What did you mean?’

Is what he tried to say, but the words failed to leave his mouth, not even a croak would come out.

???

She looked so faint, ethereal even!….Must’ve been a trick of the light, something from the cave. He tried to push himself off the dirty cave ground, cold pebbles sticking fast to the supple flesh of his palm as he reached to rub his eyes. Only he couldn’t, only blink in confusion; when did Vivi get so big? Everything felt wrong w̑ͨ̐̐r̳̳͔̮ͯͧ̐̓ͪ̅͐ǫ̜͛n̺͇̗͙͙̳͌ͤͫ̏̈́̒ͩ̕g̳̩ ͖̩͙̿̀͆̅̌ w͉͖ͪͦͧ͗ͧ́̃ŕ̙͇̘̩̬̦̫̮̇ͥ͐̌̎o͎̲̤͓̰̤̣̖ͬͭ̽̕n̘̭͖̳͎̦̟̎ͪ̿̈̆͝g̛̜̠͉̩̥̮̻̙̾̽̽͐̎ͥͭ ͓͇̤̭̦̼̣͎͆̔́ .

Vivi gave a firm nod. “Agreed. It’d be nice if someone got out of it.” As awful as everything was right now, the least they could do was to try and check on their friends, and if they found them (If they were still alive), try and get them out of here. They would do the same for them, after all.

She shakily got to her feet and brushed off her skirt, forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t even needed with her being a ghost. The cave still felt as cold and dark and oppressive as it had to begin with, though this time she wasn’t alone. And at the very least it looked like her own ghostly form threw a small bit of light on their surroundings, so they weren’t stuck completely in the dark. Vivi closed her eyes, trying to see if she could find another aura. Soon she picked up a ping.

“I’m picking up something faint aura in that direction,” she said, pointing. “It might be worth checking out?” The aura felt vaguely familiar, but unlike with Arthur she couldn’t tell who it belonged to.

“I can carry you if you want, and we could start out somewhere else first if you’d prefer.”

“I don’t know how, but, I feel it it too? Someone’s over there…”

As much as it would be weird to have Vivi carry him, it’s not like hasn’t before whenever he’s been affected by the supernatural creatures they’ve investigated; he’s a freaking arm right now. But….

“Would you please? It’ll be much faster if you do, I think I’ll just slow us down if tried figuring out to move right now.”

‘sides, he’s pretty sure that he’s still in shock right now, this whole…thing, has simply been surreal and so much to handle at any given moment. No, right now he rather focus on seeing if anyone, anyone(!) was still alive and better off than them.

Arthur was still worried about Vivi’s icy powers affecting him, but it seemed like that she was able to control it to an extent(“Oh, gods, Vivi; how long have you been dead?”.) He had faith in her, as the leader of their group, and as her longtime friend. It was helpful that her ghostly form emitted some light as well, gone, was the menacing stark green glow from the cave; replaced with her soft  blue ethereal  glimmer.

With each step(?) taken, the pit in his stomach grew and grew(not that he had a stomach but the thought counted) as they got closer and closer to their presumed friend. He took a moment to look up a Vivi, wondering how she was feeling throughout all of this mess, she was the one even more out of the loop than he was with her memory stopping in the van ride over and starting after d̴y̧̬͓̘̥̖͕iͅn̜̩͙̟̮̕g̠̪̼̠͕ͅ ̛̰a̖͙̼͔̤͈l̫̘̲̣̬̗o̺̼͙̘̹n̤͚͓̗͝e̟̥̱̮̠̲… Arthur clenched his fist over his eye, his nails pressing against his meaty palm, Vivi shouldn’t have died, shouldn’t have died even alone.

The sickly green glow from before was gone, but the fog sure wasn’t, they didn’t even see his body til they were on it. Blood stained the white on them, horrifying to see on a figure they grew to see as wise and strong.

(She tried not to think about what “going out” would mean.)

Things weren’t quite as slow as the last time, the air less oppressive as the green tinge faded and her own light reflecting off the fog while she moved. The fog was so dense however that Vivi didn’t even notice the body until her foot began to phase through it, and she jumped back with a yelp at the strange sensation, only taking in what she saw a moment later.

Mystery.

Injured. Bleeding. Attacked. Dead?

(No no no no - !)

Vivi quickly moved to set Arthur on the floor, almost making it before losing solidity a few inches above the ground and Arthur phasing through her hands. This time at least she managed to avoid making any ice but the temperature still dropped a few degrees as she began to shake. She had to stay calm, stay calm.

Unfortunately, taking deep breaths didn’t really work anymore with not having lungs.

Once was bad luck. Twice was a coincidence.

Three times was malice.

“Something bad is here,” Vivi said, voice trembling as she uselessly tried to pull in gasps of air, on the ground on her hands and knees. There was a chance Mystery might already be dead, but she was too scared to check. S-she couldn’t handle that right now, so Vivi focused her thoughts on the largest remaining goal.

“We...” she had to pause, ghostly tears prickling at her eyes, “We have to find Lewis - !”

Three of them were already dead or horribly injured, and the odds for finding Lewis and getting him out of here alive seemed more and more remote. But she had to find out.

Arthur - Chronically and painfully sleep deprived. Often gets only a few hours a night, and that’s if he manages to fall asleep at all. Will eventually crash for 10+ hours but until then he’s running on fumes.

Vivi - Variable relationship with sleep. Can have a week where she’s perfectly well rested, only to come into work the next day ready to Murder because she got caught up in a research book and didn’t realize the time until the sun was up.

Mystery - Sleeps in as much as he wants to and as he pleases, though can also hold himself to a schedule if needed. Sometimes faces mild resentment from more sleep deprived parties.

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel   free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse).      tw   for  blood,  death  and  physical  violence  mention.

It was cold.

So very very cold.

And he felt so…heavy.

Arthur couldn’t remember what happened prior to waking up, last he remembered is that they split up to explore the cave; Vivi and M̛y̗̺s̗t̬̗̜͢ͅe̹̳͘r̶̳̳͚y͏̜ went toward a path that sloped down. He followed Lewis up the other path, the whole ambience of the cave made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, even more so as he watched L̢̜ew͚̣͖̳̮̩̻i̛̼͙͓̠͉s͎̫̰̞̩̳͙͝ ̬͈c͓a̼̲̖̺̳͓u̙̫͖̲̠̪͡t̗̗̣̮͉͕i͕͉o̺̫͙̗̺u͔̬s͈l̳̻̘̺̜y̛ ̵͍̥̘ma̫̤͓͚̞͉͞k͏̜͙̹̯̩e̫͚̻̞̮̲͇͝ ̰͖̕h̝͉̳͖i̡͎s͓̱͓̺̖ ̹͈͉̻̼w̪̗̦̖̣̜͢a̝̪̥͇̲̯y̺͎̱̻̠͚̣͠ ̦͠f̮͍̹̞͇̬o͔͙̫̻r̳̞ͅw͏͖̙ͅa̤̻̗̝r͎̼̳̝d̢̬ ̘̞̩̭͙̱t̵̥o̙̩̲ ̫̹͙̘͓̫̹t̹͜h̠͍̯̪ḙ ̴̭̹̻e̶̦ͅd̺͇̟͈̘̺g̵ͅe҉̼ ̯̝͕̦̖̫̬o̳̲f̳̣̤͜ ̥̘̦t̵̟̮̠̫̯̲h̴̯e̛ ̴̘̻c͚̳͍͇l̼͖̻̦ͅi͏͖̼̩f̬͙f̟̲̬̻͓ ̸͔͚̤̼͍l̟͍͕̲̘̠̳o̗̺̱̻o̤̦̲̳̲k̨͓̤̯͇̩̰͓i͙͕̜͚͉̙n̞̩̖͘g͡ ̢̭̗̬̪͇͓d̷͙̗o҉̪w͏̥̹̜n͍͔̹͚͔ͅ, h̳̥̝͉͚͓̝̻͠e̵̢̳͉͈̦͓͍̞͙ͅ ̛͙̫̯̦͖̫̤ẉ̰̪a̫͈̞̖̪̦̫̻s̷͕̠̠̠͜ ̨͙͔̘͖̯̘̖͘s̛̲̞̙͔o̮͇̦̯̘ ̹̼̖̜̬d̸̛͍̹̗̣͓̲̫ͅe̸͕̖̕f̺̟̘͕̠e̢͕͈͞n̡̹̘͝s͖̤̺̹e̜̟͓̠̥͕̼̩l̷̛̗͔͉͎ͅe͡҉̗̠̣̜͉̦͠ͅs͓̲̥̮̦̲ș̗͇̫,͚̼͘͢͞ ͚̹̝̜̭͉ş̷̶̮͙ó̵̥͉̲̫̪̰̩ͅ ̥̳̰̼̮̮͈͝r̺̤͢i̥̖p̨͍̗͘e̞̝̻͚͟ ̶̩͙͚̣̭͟f̵͉o̵̢͈̰̬̦r̦̗̦̺̲̱̫̭̝̀ ̸̬͔͘t̬̹̙̱̬̳̰̠h͙̣̝̙ͅe̯̝̝̦

̥̰̹̫͓̺͝ͅp̟͉̘̰̣̩͓͘͞i̡̹͔̖̗̰̝̗̪c̵̷̛͕͚͚̯̗̹k̶̳̖̲͞͝í̤̬͔̗͈̕͜n̛̻̩̻̥͍̻͟g̰̰̟̮̥̯̕,͕ ͔̫͙̘̜͉ͅa̵̢͇̘̭l̸̜̻͡l̰̣̖̬̣̟̲̖̳͡ ̘̬͚͙͍̹̤͟͜h̵̤͓̭̭͓̥e̷̛͉̺̫͚͍͞ ̛̯͇̳̥͔̟́͟h͏̶̹͍̼̥̹̥a̡̱̮͟ḑ̶̢͖̻̮̹ ͏̠̤t̴̩̦̦͓̼̯͇͘o̷̬͢ ̢̦̮͚̺͜ͅw͖̝͝à̝̘̤̗͕̕ş̖̟͇͈̠̩̳́̀ ̹ s̯̯͈̣̺͍͇͔͔͖̘̏̊͋ͦ͌̑ͫ͆ͧͨ̾̂̾̃ͩ̅̾́̍͟t̡̡̰̰̱̬̫̙̹̜̗̭̩̱͈͇͚͙ͧ͛̉̌̆ͤͦ̽̅̎ͧ̑̑̏ͪ̑̾̊̚͟͞ͅe̴̢̛̱̦̹̺̰̠̻͒̈́̏ͩͥ͑ͥ̅̽͒̈̾̀͐ͪ̇ͦ̅̐p̨̺̼͖͓̻̼͔͗͋̏̓̋̐͒͐ͤ̌͒̿ͯ̑ͬ͡ ̷͖͇̣͇̗̎̑̌͗͝f̏̄̂̅ͣ̄̐̈̄̽ͮ̊̄̈͗͂̐ͧ͏̀͏̭̱̲͈͈̭̤̬̞o̢̢̹̫̰͉̟̱̘̳̰̯͉̠̞̞̱ͬͯͣ̒̽̿̒̓͑ͯ̍̕ͅr̛̿ͮ̐̐ͨͮ҉̻͙̘͇w̷̨̛ͯ̓̒̃̊͛̋̎ͫ͏҉͎̣͕̜̪͎̗̜̘̱̩̭͚̹̩͖͕ͅa̴̢̡̜̼̗̖ͤ̐͆ͥ͟ŗ̛̗̞̞͇̝̭̓̇̃̉̎͐ͥͬ̎ͤ͋̊̿ͤdͨ̆ͧ̃̅̃̂ͥ̎̍ͨͨ́͑͘͏͏̺͓̼̠͔̹ ̸ͦ͛̃ͣ̌͆ͤ̀ͫͯ̅̋̑̐̚̚͏̶̨̞͍̹̦͚̻̗̺͍͍̳͙͠a̧̨̺̗̣̬̞̮͔̥̥̔̿͒̊̔͂ͣ̀̚͢͡n̸̽̆̓̽ͦ̒͗̔ͤͫ̔͛̒͌ͪ͠͏͖̤̯̘̯̺͎̰̳͇̲̦͍̯͕̲͕͍ḓ̡̦̜̖͍̠͈̫̯̠̣̞̝̻̮͚̞̿̇͂̿ͯ͛̔́̽̈́̾͂͆ͮ̒̿̏̽́̚͢͡͠.̶̆̄̌̍͗ͧ͛̈́̂͋ͣͫ͑̏̀̚҉̰̣̣̥̹͇͔̝̰̱̙̹.̵͙̤͈͍̃̄́ͪ̒͒ͩͣ̾̋̊ͮͣ̎͑͞.ͫ̅͌͆ͦͪ̉ͪ̇͏̷̥̱̠̳̲̮͙̳̩̕͟.̸̢͎̻͍̱̥̇̈̂͗̄͘͞ ̵̸̣̖͙̖ͫ̔̒̌͂͗̎ͬ̐̄ͥ͒ͤ̚̚͟͝ͅ

….and that’s much as he remembered.

‘  who  did  this?  ’

What?

Eyelids heavy, he opened his eyes to meet with….Vivi?

‘Who did this? Who did what?’

‘What did you mean?’

Is what he tried to say, but the words failed to leave his mouth, not even a croak would come out.

???

She looked so faint, ethereal even!….Must’ve been a trick of the light, something from the cave. He tried to push himself off the dirty cave ground, cold pebbles sticking fast to the supple flesh of his palm as he reached to rub his eyes. Only he couldn’t, only blink in confusion; when did Vivi get so big? Everything felt wrong w̑ͨ̐̐r̳̳͔̮ͯͧ̐̓ͪ̅͐ǫ̜͛n̺͇̗͙͙̳͌ͤͫ̏̈́̒ͩ̕g̳̩ ͖̩͙̿̀͆̅̌ w͉͖ͪͦͧ͗ͧ́̃ŕ̙͇̘̩̬̦̫̮̇ͥ͐̌̎o͎̲̤͓̰̤̣̖ͬͭ̽̕n̘̭͖̳͎̦̟̎ͪ̿̈̆͝g̛̜̠͉̩̥̮̻̙̾̽̽͐̎ͥͭ ͓͇̤̭̦̼̣͎͆̔́ .

If Vivi had still had a heart, it would have stopped with the mention of Lewis and Mystery. They had been with them? Here?

“I don’t know,” she replied, voice shaky. “The last thing I remember is riding in the van with you guys.” All she knew was that this place felt Bad and she was appalled that they would have even gone in here in the first place. Though, there was a chance she only sensed that because of being a ghost. She certainly didn’t remember being able to sense auras before, at least not on her own.

And speaking of being a ghost… in some ways, it just didn’t make sense. Or rather, it shouldn’t. If Mystery had gone with her as Arthur had said, she couldn’t imagine him not being here right now. Not to mention that while Mystery kept to himself, she also knew that he wasn’t a normal dog. Dogs didn’t talk. And they certainly didn’t live long enough for her dad to also remember seeing him around when he was a kid. Whatever he was, Vivi couldn’t see him just leaving her to -

(Leaving her to die)

“Should we go look for them?” Part of her hated the idea of staying in here a second longer, the psychic pressure bearing down once again, but leaving Mystery or Lewis behind was even less appealing.

(One more thing nagged at her. If Arthur and Lewis had been together, and this had happened to Arthur… then what had happened to Lewis?)

“Re-eally?” Arthur was aghast at Vivi’s memory, what must of happened to cause her d̷̖̠̬̫̮̥̹̥͘ę̹̟͇͈͠á̝̟͞t̳̠̗̩͓̤͡h̵̜̝̲̙̱͙͉͞ must’ve been really horrifying….Goodness, why did this had to happen to her? As messed up his situation is (was he even alive? Too troubling to think about at the moment.) he’d hoped that Vivi and the o̺̳̭̱̬͙͙͘͠ͅt̸͏͉̳̬͇̼̭h̴̻͕͞e̞̖͖̙͢r̸̢͓̟͉̥̹͇̣̣̥͠s̷̖̮̠̳͉̥̣̲̙̕  would’ve escaped.

“Sure? The last thing I want to do is stay here, it’s even more creepy than before!….But….” He thought about wanting to glean about what really happened here, something! Anything! Anything to help Vivi and him, and figure out what had happened to Lewis and Mystery….

She shakily got to her feet and brushed off her skirt, forgetting for a moment that it wasn’t even needed with her being a ghost. The cave still felt as cold and dark and oppressive as it had to begin with, though this time she wasn’t alone. And at the very least it looked like her own ghostly form threw a small bit of light on their surroundings, so they weren’t stuck completely in the dark. Vivi closed her eyes, trying to see if she could find another aura. Soon she picked up a ping.

“I’m picking up something faint aura in that direction,” she said, pointing. “It might be worth checking out?” The aura felt vaguely familiar, but unlike with Arthur she couldn’t tell who it belonged to.

Vivi - Group and individual speech, with improv as her main passion (enjoys the challenge of thinking on her feet and how zany things can get). She will also sometimes join the school play if the play interests her.

Lewis - Actor in school plays, and occasionally dabbling in group speech musical theater. Can be a bit of a ham and very dramatic (sometimes too much) but when he’s good he is good.

Arthur - Techie by blood. He’s too nervous to get on stage himself, but he loves helping out behind the scenes, such as building sets, setting up lights, so on and so forth. Has probably worked the tech booth on a few plays.

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel   free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse).      tw   for  blood,  death  and  physical  violence  mention.

It was cold.

So very very cold.

And he felt so…heavy.

Arthur couldn’t remember what happened prior to waking up, last he remembered is that they split up to explore the cave; Vivi and M̛y̗̺s̗t̬̗̜͢ͅe̹̳͘r̶̳̳͚y͏̜ went toward a path that sloped down. He followed Lewis up the other path, the whole ambience of the cave made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, even more so as he watched L̢̜ew͚̣͖̳̮̩̻i̛̼͙͓̠͉s͎̫̰̞̩̳͙͝ ̬͈c͓a̼̲̖̺̳͓u̙̫͖̲̠̪͡t̗̗̣̮͉͕i͕͉o̺̫͙̗̺u͔̬s͈l̳̻̘̺̜y̛ ̵͍̥̘ma̫̤͓͚̞͉͞k͏̜͙̹̯̩e̫͚̻̞̮̲͇͝ ̰͖̕h̝͉̳͖i̡͎s͓̱͓̺̖ ̹͈͉̻̼w̪̗̦̖̣̜͢a̝̪̥͇̲̯y̺͎̱̻̠͚̣͠ ̦͠f̮͍̹̞͇̬o͔͙̫̻r̳̞ͅw͏͖̙ͅa̤̻̗̝r͎̼̳̝d̢̬ ̘̞̩̭͙̱t̵̥o̙̩̲ ̫̹͙̘͓̫̹t̹͜h̠͍̯̪ḙ ̴̭̹̻e̶̦ͅd̺͇̟͈̘̺g̵ͅe҉̼ ̯̝͕̦̖̫̬o̳̲f̳̣̤͜ ̥̘̦t̵̟̮̠̫̯̲h̴̯e̛ ̴̘̻c͚̳͍͇l̼͖̻̦ͅi͏͖̼̩f̬͙f̟̲̬̻͓ ̸͔͚̤̼͍l̟͍͕̲̘̠̳o̗̺̱̻o̤̦̲̳̲k̨͓̤̯͇̩̰͓i͙͕̜͚͉̙n̞̩̖͘g͡ ̢̭̗̬̪͇͓d̷͙̗o҉̪w͏̥̹̜n͍͔̹͚͔ͅ, h̳̥̝͉͚͓̝̻͠e̵̢̳͉͈̦͓͍̞͙ͅ ̛͙̫̯̦͖̫̤ẉ̰̪a̫͈̞̖̪̦̫̻s̷͕̠̠̠͜ ̨͙͔̘͖̯̘̖͘s̛̲̞̙͔o̮͇̦̯̘ ̹̼̖̜̬d̸̛͍̹̗̣͓̲̫ͅe̸͕̖̕f̺̟̘͕̠e̢͕͈͞n̡̹̘͝s͖̤̺̹e̜̟͓̠̥͕̼̩l̷̛̗͔͉͎ͅe͡҉̗̠̣̜͉̦͠ͅs͓̲̥̮̦̲ș̗͇̫,͚̼͘͢͞ ͚̹̝̜̭͉ş̷̶̮͙ó̵̥͉̲̫̪̰̩ͅ ̥̳̰̼̮̮͈͝r̺̤͢i̥̖p̨͍̗͘e̞̝̻͚͟ ̶̩͙͚̣̭͟f̵͉o̵̢͈̰̬̦r̦̗̦̺̲̱̫̭̝̀ ̸̬͔͘t̬̹̙̱̬̳̰̠h͙̣̝̙ͅe̯̝̝̦

̥̰̹̫͓̺͝ͅp̟͉̘̰̣̩͓͘͞i̡̹͔̖̗̰̝̗̪c̵̷̛͕͚͚̯̗̹k̶̳̖̲͞͝í̤̬͔̗͈̕͜n̛̻̩̻̥͍̻͟g̰̰̟̮̥̯̕,͕ ͔̫͙̘̜͉ͅa̵̢͇̘̭l̸̜̻͡l̰̣̖̬̣̟̲̖̳͡ ̘̬͚͙͍̹̤͟͜h̵̤͓̭̭͓̥e̷̛͉̺̫͚͍͞ ̛̯͇̳̥͔̟́͟h͏̶̹͍̼̥̹̥a̡̱̮͟ḑ̶̢͖̻̮̹ ͏̠̤t̴̩̦̦͓̼̯͇͘o̷̬͢ ̢̦̮͚̺͜ͅw͖̝͝à̝̘̤̗͕̕ş̖̟͇͈̠̩̳́̀ ̹ s̯̯͈̣̺͍͇͔͔͖̘̏̊͋ͦ͌̑ͫ͆ͧͨ̾̂̾̃ͩ̅̾́̍͟t̡̡̰̰̱̬̫̙̹̜̗̭̩̱͈͇͚͙ͧ͛̉̌̆ͤͦ̽̅̎ͧ̑̑̏ͪ̑̾̊̚͟͞ͅe̴̢̛̱̦̹̺̰̠̻͒̈́̏ͩͥ͑ͥ̅̽͒̈̾̀͐ͪ̇ͦ̅̐p̨̺̼͖͓̻̼͔͗͋̏̓̋̐͒͐ͤ̌͒̿ͯ̑ͬ͡ ̷͖͇̣͇̗̎̑̌͗͝f̏̄̂̅ͣ̄̐̈̄̽ͮ̊̄̈͗͂̐ͧ͏̀͏̭̱̲͈͈̭̤̬̞o̢̢̹̫̰͉̟̱̘̳̰̯͉̠̞̞̱ͬͯͣ̒̽̿̒̓͑ͯ̍̕ͅr̛̿ͮ̐̐ͨͮ҉̻͙̘͇w̷̨̛ͯ̓̒̃̊͛̋̎ͫ͏҉͎̣͕̜̪͎̗̜̘̱̩̭͚̹̩͖͕ͅa̴̢̡̜̼̗̖ͤ̐͆ͥ͟ŗ̛̗̞̞͇̝̭̓̇̃̉̎͐ͥͬ̎ͤ͋̊̿ͤdͨ̆ͧ̃̅̃̂ͥ̎̍ͨͨ́͑͘͏͏̺͓̼̠͔̹ ̸ͦ͛̃ͣ̌͆ͤ̀ͫͯ̅̋̑̐̚̚͏̶̨̞͍̹̦͚̻̗̺͍͍̳͙͠a̧̨̺̗̣̬̞̮͔̥̥̔̿͒̊̔͂ͣ̀̚͢͡n̸̽̆̓̽ͦ̒͗̔ͤͫ̔͛̒͌ͪ͠͏͖̤̯̘̯̺͎̰̳͇̲̦͍̯͕̲͕͍ḓ̡̦̜̖͍̠͈̫̯̠̣̞̝̻̮͚̞̿̇͂̿ͯ͛̔́̽̈́̾͂͆ͮ̒̿̏̽́̚͢͡͠.̶̆̄̌̍͗ͧ͛̈́̂͋ͣͫ͑̏̀̚҉̰̣̣̥̹͇͔̝̰̱̙̹.̵͙̤͈͍̃̄́ͪ̒͒ͩͣ̾̋̊ͮͣ̎͑͞.ͫ̅͌͆ͦͪ̉ͪ̇͏̷̥̱̠̳̲̮͙̳̩̕͟.̸̢͎̻͍̱̥̇̈̂͗̄͘͞ ̵̸̣̖͙̖ͫ̔̒̌͂͗̎ͬ̐̄ͥ͒ͤ̚̚͟͝ͅ

….and that’s much as he remembered.

‘  who  did  this?  ’

What?

Eyelids heavy, he opened his eyes to meet with….Vivi?

‘Who did this? Who did what?’

‘What did you mean?’

Is what he tried to say, but the words failed to leave his mouth, not even a croak would come out.

???

She looked so faint, ethereal even!….Must’ve been a trick of the light, something from the cave. He tried to push himself off the dirty cave ground, cold pebbles sticking fast to the supple flesh of his palm as he reached to rub his eyes. Only he couldn’t, only blink in confusion; when did Vivi get so big? Everything felt wrong w̑ͨ̐̐r̳̳͔̮ͯͧ̐̓ͪ̅͐ǫ̜͛n̺͇̗͙͙̳͌ͤͫ̏̈́̒ͩ̕g̳̩ ͖̩͙̿̀͆̅̌ w͉͖ͪͦͧ͗ͧ́̃ŕ̙͇̘̩̬̦̫̮̇ͥ͐̌̎o͎̲̤͓̰̤̣̖ͬͭ̽̕n̘̭͖̳͎̦̟̎ͪ̿̈̆͝g̛̜̠͉̩̥̮̻̙̾̽̽͐̎ͥͭ ͓͇̤̭̦̼̣͎͆̔́ .

Arthur’s words were felt more than heard, as if it had been spoken directly into her mind and Vivi full body flinched when he screamed. “A-Arthur, I didn’t kno- I’m sorry!” He hadn’t known what happened to him, which meant he was just as lost as she was.

The ice spread further - no, that had to stop now, she had seen the arm, Arthur, shivering, and that wasn’t acceptable. The bone deep chill nearly vanished from the air and while the existing ice remained on the walls its progress stopped dead. Vivi sagged in place, form flickering even more but eventually stabilizing into a relatively solid (if transparent) shape. Okay. Ice stopped for now. She had to think.

Trying to go into recent memories just brought up scattered fog, everything blowing away when she tried to get close. Vivi knew at least that she was a ghost, that seemed to be one fact she knew in her gut but even that sent another set of thoughts into a panic (She was dead?! HOW?! W-wh-when - ? No. Not now. Existential crisis later). The other fact that was burned into her mind was the fact that Arthur, Lewis, and Mystery were supposed to be safe and ALIVE. That it wasn’t true anymore, at least partially, that almost hurt more than her current state.

Vivi brought herself back to the moment, looking at Arthur, and held out a hand for him to take if he wanted to.

“I-I don’t know how I got here, or what’s happening, to either of us b-but I’m here…? Oh who am I kidding,” she said, choking off a sob. “Whatever ‘this’ is, it’s garbage.” It was pathetically weak but it was the only thing she could think of. Making things marginally less terrifying with the reminder that they weren’t alone.

(Even so… she still would have preferred being alone to Arthur being stuck like this.)

He grasped Vivi’s hand tightly, surprising himself that he could do so, since ghosts were pretty much documented as incorporeal…in most cases. Must’ve been since he was, cursed to be stuck in a freaking arm! Was it even his own arm? Wait, he didn’t want a answer to that because that would mean that where ever his body was, it was currently missing the one he was stuck in.

Gripping Vivi’s hand tighter to ground him, and hopefully her too; he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand.

“You’re right, this sucks.”

On habit he took a nonsensical shaky breath.

“But, it could’ve been worse, we could’ve woke up alone!”

A̱̩͘l̛̲̗̯͉̦o̤n͏͙̹̺̺̭e̮̟̝̞͈̼.̲̦͇̰.̬̻̹̤̜͍͙.̷̲̖̤

“Vivi, do you at least know where Lewis and Mystery is? I thought Mystery went with you when we split up?”

Upon saying this, he reflected upon his words; Mystery SHOULD of been with her, if he whenever he wasn’t watching Arthur’s back, he was right at Vivi’s side. He wouldn’t have let this happen to her! Unless, unless…..he was dead too?

“I don’t know,” she replied, voice shaky. “The last thing I remember is riding in the van with you guys.” All she knew was that this place felt Bad and she was appalled that they would have even gone in here in the first place. Though, there was a chance she only sensed that because of being a ghost. She certainly didn’t remember being able to sense auras before, at least not on her own.

And speaking of being a ghost… in some ways, it just didn’t make sense. Or rather, it shouldn’t. If Mystery had gone with her as Arthur had said, she couldn’t imagine him not being here right now. Not to mention that while Mystery kept to himself, she also knew that he wasn’t a normal dog. Dogs didn’t talk. And they certainly didn’t live long enough for her dad to also remember seeing him around when he was a kid. Whatever he was, Vivi couldn’t see him just leaving her to -

(Leaving her to die)

“Should we go look for them?” Part of her hated the idea of staying in here a second longer, the psychic pressure bearing down once again, but leaving Mystery or Lewis behind was even less appealing.

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel   free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse).      tw   for  blood,  death  and  physical  violence  mention.

It was cold.

So very very cold.

And he felt so…heavy.

Arthur couldn’t remember what happened prior to waking up, last he remembered is that they split up to explore the cave; Vivi and M̛y̗̺s̗t̬̗̜͢ͅe̹̳͘r̶̳̳͚y͏̜ went toward a path that sloped down. He followed Lewis up the other path, the whole ambience of the cave made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, even more so as he watched L̢̜ew͚̣͖̳̮̩̻i̛̼͙͓̠͉s͎̫̰̞̩̳͙͝ ̬͈c͓a̼̲̖̺̳͓u̙̫͖̲̠̪͡t̗̗̣̮͉͕i͕͉o̺̫͙̗̺u͔̬s͈l̳̻̘̺̜y̛ ̵͍̥̘ma̫̤͓͚̞͉͞k͏̜͙̹̯̩e̫͚̻̞̮̲͇͝ ̰͖̕h̝͉̳͖i̡͎s͓̱͓̺̖ ̹͈͉̻̼w̪̗̦̖̣̜͢a̝̪̥͇̲̯y̺͎̱̻̠͚̣͠ ̦͠f̮͍̹̞͇̬o͔͙̫̻r̳̞ͅw͏͖̙ͅa̤̻̗̝r͎̼̳̝d̢̬ ̘̞̩̭͙̱t̵̥o̙̩̲ ̫̹͙̘͓̫̹t̹͜h̠͍̯̪ḙ ̴̭̹̻e̶̦ͅd̺͇̟͈̘̺g̵ͅe҉̼ ̯̝͕̦̖̫̬o̳̲f̳̣̤͜ ̥̘̦t̵̟̮̠̫̯̲h̴̯e̛ ̴̘̻c͚̳͍͇l̼͖̻̦ͅi͏͖̼̩f̬͙f̟̲̬̻͓ ̸͔͚̤̼͍l̟͍͕̲̘̠̳o̗̺̱̻o̤̦̲̳̲k̨͓̤̯͇̩̰͓i͙͕̜͚͉̙n̞̩̖͘g͡ ̢̭̗̬̪͇͓d̷͙̗o҉̪w͏̥̹̜n͍͔̹͚͔ͅ, h̳̥̝͉͚͓̝̻͠e̵̢̳͉͈̦͓͍̞͙ͅ ̛͙̫̯̦͖̫̤ẉ̰̪a̫͈̞̖̪̦̫̻s̷͕̠̠̠͜ ̨͙͔̘͖̯̘̖͘s̛̲̞̙͔o̮͇̦̯̘ ̹̼̖̜̬d̸̛͍̹̗̣͓̲̫ͅe̸͕̖̕f̺̟̘͕̠e̢͕͈͞n̡̹̘͝s͖̤̺̹e̜̟͓̠̥͕̼̩l̷̛̗͔͉͎ͅe͡҉̗̠̣̜͉̦͠ͅs͓̲̥̮̦̲ș̗͇̫,͚̼͘͢͞ ͚̹̝̜̭͉ş̷̶̮͙ó̵̥͉̲̫̪̰̩ͅ ̥̳̰̼̮̮͈͝r̺̤͢i̥̖p̨͍̗͘e̞̝̻͚͟ ̶̩͙͚̣̭͟f̵͉o̵̢͈̰̬̦r̦̗̦̺̲̱̫̭̝̀ ̸̬͔͘t̬̹̙̱̬̳̰̠h͙̣̝̙ͅe̯̝̝̦

̥̰̹̫͓̺͝ͅp̟͉̘̰̣̩͓͘͞i̡̹͔̖̗̰̝̗̪c̵̷̛͕͚͚̯̗̹k̶̳̖̲͞͝í̤̬͔̗͈̕͜n̛̻̩̻̥͍̻͟g̰̰̟̮̥̯̕,͕ ͔̫͙̘̜͉ͅa̵̢͇̘̭l̸̜̻͡l̰̣̖̬̣̟̲̖̳͡ ̘̬͚͙͍̹̤͟͜h̵̤͓̭̭͓̥e̷̛͉̺̫͚͍͞ ̛̯͇̳̥͔̟́͟h͏̶̹͍̼̥̹̥a̡̱̮͟ḑ̶̢͖̻̮̹ ͏̠̤t̴̩̦̦͓̼̯͇͘o̷̬͢ ̢̦̮͚̺͜ͅw͖̝͝à̝̘̤̗͕̕ş̖̟͇͈̠̩̳́̀ ̹ s̯̯͈̣̺͍͇͔͔͖̘̏̊͋ͦ͌̑ͫ͆ͧͨ̾̂̾̃ͩ̅̾́̍͟t̡̡̰̰̱̬̫̙̹̜̗̭̩̱͈͇͚͙ͧ͛̉̌̆ͤͦ̽̅̎ͧ̑̑̏ͪ̑̾̊̚͟͞ͅe̴̢̛̱̦̹̺̰̠̻͒̈́̏ͩͥ͑ͥ̅̽͒̈̾̀͐ͪ̇ͦ̅̐p̨̺̼͖͓̻̼͔͗͋̏̓̋̐͒͐ͤ̌͒̿ͯ̑ͬ͡ ̷͖͇̣͇̗̎̑̌͗͝f̏̄̂̅ͣ̄̐̈̄̽ͮ̊̄̈͗͂̐ͧ͏̀͏̭̱̲͈͈̭̤̬̞o̢̢̹̫̰͉̟̱̘̳̰̯͉̠̞̞̱ͬͯͣ̒̽̿̒̓͑ͯ̍̕ͅr̛̿ͮ̐̐ͨͮ҉̻͙̘͇w̷̨̛ͯ̓̒̃̊͛̋̎ͫ͏҉͎̣͕̜̪͎̗̜̘̱̩̭͚̹̩͖͕ͅa̴̢̡̜̼̗̖ͤ̐͆ͥ͟ŗ̛̗̞̞͇̝̭̓̇̃̉̎͐ͥͬ̎ͤ͋̊̿ͤdͨ̆ͧ̃̅̃̂ͥ̎̍ͨͨ́͑͘͏͏̺͓̼̠͔̹ ̸ͦ͛̃ͣ̌͆ͤ̀ͫͯ̅̋̑̐̚̚͏̶̨̞͍̹̦͚̻̗̺͍͍̳͙͠a̧̨̺̗̣̬̞̮͔̥̥̔̿͒̊̔͂ͣ̀̚͢͡n̸̽̆̓̽ͦ̒͗̔ͤͫ̔͛̒͌ͪ͠͏͖̤̯̘̯̺͎̰̳͇̲̦͍̯͕̲͕͍ḓ̡̦̜̖͍̠͈̫̯̠̣̞̝̻̮͚̞̿̇͂̿ͯ͛̔́̽̈́̾͂͆ͮ̒̿̏̽́̚͢͡͠.̶̆̄̌̍͗ͧ͛̈́̂͋ͣͫ͑̏̀̚҉̰̣̣̥̹͇͔̝̰̱̙̹.̵͙̤͈͍̃̄́ͪ̒͒ͩͣ̾̋̊ͮͣ̎͑͞.ͫ̅͌͆ͦͪ̉ͪ̇͏̷̥̱̠̳̲̮͙̳̩̕͟.̸̢͎̻͍̱̥̇̈̂͗̄͘͞ ̵̸̣̖͙̖ͫ̔̒̌͂͗̎ͬ̐̄ͥ͒ͤ̚̚͟͝ͅ

….and that’s much as he remembered.

‘  who  did  this?  ’

What?

Eyelids heavy, he opened his eyes to meet with….Vivi?

‘Who did this? Who did what?’

‘What did you mean?’

Is what he tried to say, but the words failed to leave his mouth, not even a croak would come out.

???

She looked so faint, ethereal even!….Must’ve been a trick of the light, something from the cave. He tried to push himself off the dirty cave ground, cold pebbles sticking fast to the supple flesh of his palm as he reached to rub his eyes. Only he couldn’t, only blink in confusion; when did Vivi get so big? Everything felt wrong w̑ͨ̐̐r̳̳͔̮ͯͧ̐̓ͪ̅͐ǫ̜͛n̺͇̗͙͙̳͌ͤͫ̏̈́̒ͩ̕g̳̩ ͖̩͙̿̀͆̅̌ w͉͖ͪͦͧ͗ͧ́̃ŕ̙͇̘̩̬̦̫̮̇ͥ͐̌̎o͎̲̤͓̰̤̣̖ͬͭ̽̕n̘̭͖̳͎̦̟̎ͪ̿̈̆͝g̛̜̠͉̩̥̮̻̙̾̽̽͐̎ͥͭ ͓͇̤̭̦̼̣͎͆̔́ .

She came to flat on her back and staring at the ceiling of a cave, feeling as if she was slowly being crushed into the ground. The psychic presence of this place, this cave, was oppressive to the point of actual pain, and it took all she had to no cry out. Whatever was going on here it… it was WRONG. Her form flickered as the psychic weight crushed down on her again but she grit her teeth and fought through it. Somewhere, pulsing faintly in the gloom she could sense Arthur’s aura. She had to find him.

Unfortunately, it was slow going. Even after she stood up movement was reduced to a crawl, hand feeling along the wall to guide her way, and several times she found herself blacking out and getting stuck in nightmare memories. Vivi gasped upon coming out of the last one, frost lining the wall around her hand. No, she couldn’t stop. She could sense Arthur straight ahead, she was almost there. Just a little bit more.

Even with all of her determination, she almost missed him. Turning a corner Vivi pushed ahead, ready to see him at any moment, but she blinked in surprise when the aura was suddenly behind her instead. When could she have gone past him? She looked around, confused, until finally her eyes saw something on the floor. A green severed arm. With a black armband and a small star pin.

And it was exactly where Arthur’s aura was coming from.

CRACK!

The entire area around Vivi snap froze, the air chilling rapidly and her form flickering wildly. N̴̩̻̩̔͝ö̴͖̥́, Ň̶̢̮̩̳̯̠̹͎̙̰̜͗̃̽͊̆Ȏ̵͇̹̠̭̫͛̀! Arthur was ALIVE! She had to be in another one of her nightmares, she had to be - but no, she knew from the ice spreading around her that this wasn’t, and then somehow, things got even worse when she saw the arm move.

Oh gods.

Vivi skidded over to the arm on her knees, ice continuing to spread and her just barely keeping it from the arm itself. “Who did this?!” The arm moved weakly and she nearly cried out when an eye opened in the palm, black like her own ghost eyes but with a horribly familiar gold for the iris. No no no no - !

Ice fractals began to dance up the haggard cave walls, making beautiful macabre designs which would’ve been quite a sight to witness if his eyes would work. Everything, even Vivi at arms length was kind of fuzzy, he blinked a couple times more hoping to clear up his vision. That is if his other eye would open, did he somehow hit it when he spaced out? No, he couldn’t, feel his other eye; he couldn’t feel anything else save for a single eye and a limb.

“Wha? What do you mean?”

The more he became aware, the more he began to focus, his sense of dread grew as he noticed that Vivi, her body, flickered like a flame caught in the wind; and her eyes, what was wrong with her eyes? Icy blue irises stark against black sclera….

His eyes widened in horror.

“Vvvv-Vi….Vivi? Answer me, please….!”

And he reached for her, stopping when he saw fingertips out in the corners of his eye. He glanced down only to see that he was attached to a gangrenous limb, and where the upper arm would connect to the shoulder was broken bone surrounded by rotten purple flesh.

…….

The ice spread further - no, that had to stop now, she had seen the arm, Arthur, shivering, and that wasn’t acceptable. The bone deep chill nearly vanished from the air and while the existing ice remained on the walls its progress stopped dead. Vivi sagged in place, form flickering even more but eventually stabilizing into a relatively solid (if transparent) shape. Okay. Ice stopped for now. She had to think.

Trying to go into recent memories just brought up scattered fog, everything blowing away when she tried to get close. Vivi knew at least that she was a ghost, that seemed to be one fact she knew in her gut but even that sent another set of thoughts into a panic (She was dead?! HOW?! W-wh-when - ? No. Not now. Existential crisis later). The other fact that was burned into her mind was the fact that Arthur, Lewis, and Mystery were supposed to be safe and ALIVE. That it wasn’t true anymore, at least partially, that almost hurt more than her current state.

Vivi brought herself back to the moment, looking at Arthur, and held out a hand for him to take if he wanted to.

“I-I don’t know how I got here, or what’s happening, to either of us b-but I’m here…? Oh who am I kidding,” she said, choking off a sob. “Whatever ‘this’ is, it’s garbage.” It was pathetically weak but it was the only thing she could think of. Making things marginally less terrifying with the reminder that they weren’t alone.

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

feel   free  to  change  any  pronouns  or  subjects  (or  reverse).      tw   for  blood,  death  and  physical  violence  mention.

It was cold.

So very very cold.

And he felt so...heavy.

Arthur couldn’t remember what happened prior to waking up, last he remembered is that they split up to explore the cave; Vivi and M̛y̗̺s̗t̬̗̜͢ͅe̹̳͘r̶̳̳͚y͏̜ went toward a path that sloped down. He followed Lewis up the other path, the whole ambience of the cave made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up, even more so as he watched L̢̜ew͚̣͖̳̮̩̻i̛̼͙͓̠͉s͎̫̰̞̩̳͙͝ ̬͈c͓a̼̲̖̺̳͓u̙̫͖̲̠̪͡t̗̗̣̮͉͕i͕͉o̺̫͙̗̺u͔̬s͈l̳̻̘̺̜y̛ ̵͍̥̘ma̫̤͓͚̞͉͞k͏̜͙̹̯̩e̫͚̻̞̮̲͇͝ ̰͖̕h̝͉̳͖i̡͎s͓̱͓̺̖ ̹͈͉̻̼w̪̗̦̖̣̜͢a̝̪̥͇̲̯y̺͎̱̻̠͚̣͠ ̦͠f̮͍̹̞͇̬o͔͙̫̻r̳̞ͅw͏͖̙ͅa̤̻̗̝r͎̼̳̝d̢̬ ̘̞̩̭͙̱t̵̥o̙̩̲ ̫̹͙̘͓̫̹t̹͜h̠͍̯̪ḙ ̴̭̹̻e̶̦ͅd̺͇̟͈̘̺g̵ͅe҉̼ ̯̝͕̦̖̫̬o̳̲f̳̣̤͜ ̥̘̦t̵̟̮̠̫̯̲h̴̯e̛ ̴̘̻c͚̳͍͇l̼͖̻̦ͅi͏͖̼̩f̬͙f̟̲̬̻͓ ̸͔͚̤̼͍l̟͍͕̲̘̠̳o̗̺̱̻o̤̦̲̳̲k̨͓̤̯͇̩̰͓i͙͕̜͚͉̙n̞̩̖͘g͡ ̢̭̗̬̪͇͓d̷͙̗o҉̪w͏̥̹̜n͍͔̹͚͔ͅ, h̳̥̝͉͚͓̝̻͠e̵̢̳͉͈̦͓͍̞͙ͅ ̛͙̫̯̦͖̫̤ẉ̰̪a̫͈̞̖̪̦̫̻s̷͕̠̠̠͜ ̨͙͔̘͖̯̘̖͘s̛̲̞̙͔o̮͇̦̯̘ ̹̼̖̜̬d̸̛͍̹̗̣͓̲̫ͅe̸͕̖̕f̺̟̘͕̠e̢͕͈͞n̡̹̘͝s͖̤̺̹e̜̟͓̠̥͕̼̩l̷̛̗͔͉͎ͅe͡҉̗̠̣̜͉̦͠ͅs͓̲̥̮̦̲ș̗͇̫,͚̼͘͢͞ ͚̹̝̜̭͉ş̷̶̮͙ó̵̥͉̲̫̪̰̩ͅ ̥̳̰̼̮̮͈͝r̺̤͢i̥̖p̨͍̗͘e̞̝̻͚͟ ̶̩͙͚̣̭͟f̵͉o̵̢͈̰̬̦r̦̗̦̺̲̱̫̭̝̀ ̸̬͔͘t̬̹̙̱̬̳̰̠h͙̣̝̙ͅe̯̝̝̦

̥̰̹̫͓̺͝ͅp̟͉̘̰̣̩͓͘͞i̡̹͔̖̗̰̝̗̪c̵̷̛͕͚͚̯̗̹k̶̳̖̲͞͝í̤̬͔̗͈̕͜n̛̻̩̻̥͍̻͟g̰̰̟̮̥̯̕,͕ ͔̫͙̘̜͉ͅa̵̢͇̘̭l̸̜̻͡l̰̣̖̬̣̟̲̖̳͡ ̘̬͚͙͍̹̤͟͜h̵̤͓̭̭͓̥e̷̛͉̺̫͚͍͞ ̛̯͇̳̥͔̟́͟h͏̶̹͍̼̥̹̥a̡̱̮͟ḑ̶̢͖̻̮̹ ͏̠̤t̴̩̦̦͓̼̯͇͘o̷̬͢ ̢̦̮͚̺͜ͅw͖̝͝à̝̘̤̗͕̕ş̖̟͇͈̠̩̳́̀ ̹ s̯̯͈̣̺͍͇͔͔͖̘̏̊͋ͦ͌̑ͫ͆ͧͨ̾̂̾̃ͩ̅̾́̍͟t̡̡̰̰̱̬̫̙̹̜̗̭̩̱͈͇͚͙ͧ͛̉̌̆ͤͦ̽̅̎ͧ̑̑̏ͪ̑̾̊̚͟͞ͅe̴̢̛̱̦̹̺̰̠̻͒̈́̏ͩͥ͑ͥ̅̽͒̈̾̀͐ͪ̇ͦ̅̐p̨̺̼͖͓̻̼͔͗͋̏̓̋̐͒͐ͤ̌͒̿ͯ̑ͬ͡ ̷͖͇̣͇̗̎̑̌͗͝f̏̄̂̅ͣ̄̐̈̄̽ͮ̊̄̈͗͂̐ͧ͏̀͏̭̱̲͈͈̭̤̬̞o̢̢̹̫̰͉̟̱̘̳̰̯͉̠̞̞̱ͬͯͣ̒̽̿̒̓͑ͯ̍̕ͅr̛̿ͮ̐̐ͨͮ҉̻͙̘͇w̷̨̛ͯ̓̒̃̊͛̋̎ͫ͏҉͎̣͕̜̪͎̗̜̘̱̩̭͚̹̩͖͕ͅa̴̢̡̜̼̗̖ͤ̐͆ͥ͟ŗ̛̗̞̞͇̝̭̓̇̃̉̎͐ͥͬ̎ͤ͋̊̿ͤdͨ̆ͧ̃̅̃̂ͥ̎̍ͨͨ́͑͘͏͏̺͓̼̠͔̹ ̸ͦ͛̃ͣ̌͆ͤ̀ͫͯ̅̋̑̐̚̚͏̶̨̞͍̹̦͚̻̗̺͍͍̳͙͠a̧̨̺̗̣̬̞̮͔̥̥̔̿͒̊̔͂ͣ̀̚͢͡n̸̽̆̓̽ͦ̒͗̔ͤͫ̔͛̒͌ͪ͠͏͖̤̯̘̯̺͎̰̳͇̲̦͍̯͕̲͕͍ḓ̡̦̜̖͍̠͈̫̯̠̣̞̝̻̮͚̞̿̇͂̿ͯ͛̔́̽̈́̾͂͆ͮ̒̿̏̽́̚͢͡͠.̶̆̄̌̍͗ͧ͛̈́̂͋ͣͫ͑̏̀̚҉̰̣̣̥̹͇͔̝̰̱̙̹.̵͙̤͈͍̃̄́ͪ̒͒ͩͣ̾̋̊ͮͣ̎͑͞.ͫ̅͌͆ͦͪ̉ͪ̇͏̷̥̱̠̳̲̮͙̳̩̕͟.̸̢͎̻͍̱̥̇̈̂͗̄͘͞ ̵̸̣̖͙̖ͫ̔̒̌͂͗̎ͬ̐̄ͥ͒ͤ̚̚͟͝ͅ

....and that’s much as he remembered.

‘  who  did  this?  ’

What?

Eyelids heavy, he opened his eyes to meet with....Vivi?

‘Who did this? Who did what?’

‘What did you mean?’

Is what he tried to say, but the words failed to leave his mouth, not even a croak would come out.

???

She looked so faint, ethereal even!....Must’ve been a trick of the light, something from the cave. He tried to push himself off the dirty cave ground, cold pebbles sticking fast to the supple flesh of his palm as he reached to rub his eyes. Only he couldn’t, only blink in confusion; when did Vivi get so big? Everything felt wrong w̑ͨ̐̐r̳̳͔̮ͯͧ̐̓ͪ̅͐ǫ̜͛n̺͇̗͙͙̳͌ͤͫ̏̈́̒ͩ̕g̳̩ ͖̩͙̿̀͆̅̌ w͉͖ͪͦͧ͗ͧ́̃ŕ̙͇̘̩̬̦̫̮̇ͥ͐̌̎o͎̲̤͓̰̤̣̖ͬͭ̽̕n̘̭͖̳͎̦̟̎ͪ̿̈̆͝g̛̜̠͉̩̥̮̻̙̾̽̽͐̎ͥͭ ͓͇̤̭̦̼̣͎͆̔́ .

She came to flat on her back and staring at the ceiling of a cave, feeling as if she was slowly being crushed into the ground. The psychic presence of this place, this cave, was oppressive to the point of actual pain, and it took all she had to no cry out. Whatever was going on here it… it was WRONG. Her form flickered as the psychic weight crushed down on her again but she grit her teeth and fought through it. Somewhere, pulsing faintly in the gloom she could sense Arthur’s aura. She had to find him.

Unfortunately, it was slow going. Even after she stood up movement was reduced to a crawl, hand feeling along the wall to guide her way, and several times she found herself blacking out and getting stuck in nightmare memories. Vivi gasped upon coming out of the last one, frost lining the wall around her hand. No, she couldn’t stop. She could sense Arthur straight ahead, she was almost there. Just a little bit more.

Even with all of her determination, she almost missed him. Turning a corner Vivi pushed ahead, ready to see him at any moment, but she blinked in surprise when the aura was suddenly behind her instead. When could she have gone past him? She looked around, confused, until finally her eyes saw something on the floor. A green severed arm. With a black armband and a small star pin.

And it was exactly where Arthur’s aura was coming from.

CRACK!

The entire area around Vivi snap froze, the air chilling rapidly and her form flickering wildly. N̴̩̻̩̔͝ö̴͖̥́, Ň̶̢̮̩̳̯̠̹͎̙̰̜͗̃̽͊̆Ȏ̵͇̹̠̭̫͛̀! Arthur was ALIVE! She had to be in another one of her nightmares, she had to be - but no, she knew from the ice spreading around her that this wasn’t, and then somehow, things got even worse when she saw the arm move.

Oh gods.

Vivi skidded over to the arm on her knees, ice continuing to spread and her just barely keeping it from the arm itself. “Who did this?!” The arm moved weakly and she nearly cried out when an eye opened in the palm, black like her own ghost eyes but with a horribly familiar gold for the iris. No no no no - !

old interactions

10. Your muse gets pantsed 

Melodie had a devilish grin on her face as she snuck up behind Vivi. Neither Arthur nor Lewis was around and it was Halloween after all. It was just them girls, everything was fair game. Sneaking up, Melodie gripped the waistline of Vivi’s skirt and pulled down. 

She quickly floated up into the air, laughing wildly to avoid Vivi’s reach. “Oooo, those panties for Lewis?” she teased. 

11. Your muse pantses mine