Crooked Dollhouse (3 people)

Okay, this is a gigantic dollhouse, inhabited by three demonic sisters, who are served by an entourage of marionettes and porcelain dolls. After a battle with the Norn Sisters, Lazuli searches for a way out. Join forces with her, fight the eerie guardians, and escape the Crooked Dollhouse!

Lazuli's heart hammered in her chest, like a bird beating its wings. She had to get out of this horrible place, she had to! There was no telling when the horrible devil women awakened, and she figured they had grand punishments for those who disobeyed them. Despite the decadance and grandeur of their home, she knew they would not balk at slitting her throat over their immaculate furniture. She could hear their servants pattering around, calling in their empty voices, searching for her.

A large china doll with dead glass eyes wobbled towards her, its eyleashes fluttering as it walked. A coffee pot wobbled on the platter it carried, and it regarded her, a macarbe imitation of life.
"Lazuli." it chimed in a voice, like a broken music box. "The sisters are most displeased. Come with me, or will I have to hurt you?"
Lazuli drew a deep breath, and kicked the doll's face with all her strength. It shattered, the rosebud mouth cracking, and it's blue glass eyes went rolling across the floor. It dropped the coffee pot, its pudgy hands swatting at the space where its face should have been, its ringlets flapping madly.

Lazuli ran faster, she knew the other dolls were far more fearsome than that one. With a yelp she collided with a figure blocking her path.
She sprang backwards, and prepared to fight. Even though she was sure she felt flesh and blood, not porcelain or wood, she could not be too careful.
"Who are you!" she demanded.

OoC: I'd like to join your battle. I'll be using Sora, her link is in the siggy. (p.s. That was a creepy discription. )

BiC:

Sora walked up to the desolate mansion. The foundation was crumbling and it looked like the house was going to cave in. Why do people have to be in a creepy place like this?, she complained. Her black hair swirled in a breeze that came through the open doorway to the mansion. No point in stalling, the hunter reasoned as she stepped into the ghostly place.

The first room she came to was a living room. In the middle was a sofa that had torn seats and chipped armrests. The drapes were tattered and the various bookshelves and drawers were covered in layers of dust. But what grabbed Sora attention was a life-size, wooden marionette sitting slouched in the corner. It was dressed as a female with a pink dress and messy blond hair. She approached it careful, however, because it also had a knife in hand. Sora poked it few time and deemed that it was nothing more than a doll. Until it stood up.

"The Norn Sisters do not entertain strangers," it said with a hollow and souless voice. It swung its knife at Sora who easily dodged the cumbersome attack. Calling forth her holy katana, Seraphim, the hunter slashed at the marionette and cut its head off. That was more than just a little disturbing.

Suddenly, a crash was heard from above. Sora ran to the stairs, darting by other marionettes who decided that they didn't like her, rushed up them and right into another person.

When the figure recovered, she demanded, "Who are you!" Sora looked that the mysterious person and stared. She looked like a cross between a cat and a girl with pale blue fur, silvery hair, large brown eyes with glasses, and cresent moon-shape upon her forehead. When Sora didn't reply, the felinoid asked again, "Who are you!"

"I'm Sora Atichea. What are you?" the hunter responded and then wished she hadn't asked that.

The figure's nose wrinkled as she answered, "I'm Lazuli Capulet and I'm a felinoid." Then, ghastly voices were heard from down the hallway. "We can't stay," Lazuli stated and turned to Sora, "Will you help me get out?"

The hunter would never leave someone hanging, "Sure."

OoC:This is interesting, so I'm going to join. (pardon me if my post isn't tremendously long this time, I'm rather preoccupied...)

BiC: Saoryou finally admitted she was lost, “Oh GREAT Dang, give in to their demands and they release me, INTO THE MIDDLE OF ****ING NOWHERE!” She screamed at the room, as she appeared to be in an eerily picturesque house. Then she noticed the empty stare of one of the many porcelain dolls in the room, which seemed to radiate malevolence. Wait! I swear that doll wasn’t in here a minute ago! The Blessed Alchemist panicked, Where the hell am I?

… Shards of porcelain lay scattered about the room, charred, melted, cracked, and shattered. Crouched on the floor in the middle of the room, Saoryou shuddered violently. The blank faces spattered with blood still haunting her, as she thought of the knife swinging arms they begun attached to. Dragging herself to her feet, she winced as her wounds opened up, the trickle of blood quickly reaching the floor. Her tattered clothing was in a position she was positive appeared less than elegant, but she did not care at this point. As she came to a door, Saoryou released her pent-up frustration and fear by snapping her fingers and blowing it up with a torrent of fire, rather than bothering to check the handle.

Two young women were in the next room, looking at the door’s blackened frame with matching expressions of shock. One was a human looking... must be about half-demon, the other a catlike individual which Saoryou hadn’t ever seen or heard of.

"Er... Hello there?"

OoC: Figured I'd add another female character in, since it's a doll house.

Lazuli waved her hand in greeting. "My name is Lazuli Capulet. The Norn Sisters took me here. And this is Sora Atichea."

A few minutes later, the three of them set off uncertainly down, the dollhouse's spindly passages, past the dusty decadance, searching for the way out.
"Ugh." Lazuli groaned. "I hate this place! Why can't the Norns just be harmless spinsters, and have butlers?"
She shivered slightly.
"Those women.....they just kidnapped me, and then tried to make me have tea with them. The one with eyes everywere poured, and then they all talked about doll labour, and how hard it is to find sacraficable virgins."
Saoryou looked at her. "Who are these Norn Sisters?"
"I don't really know. All I know is they would look like normal people, except they have something out of place on them. The eldest, Urd, has swiss army knives where her hands should be. The middle, Skuld has eyes everywhere except on her face. And the little one, Verdandi has no arms or legs, but floats on cupid wings...."
"Quiet!" hissed Sora. "I hear something!"
A baby doll with a round porcelain head and blank eyes crawled towards them.
"The Norn Sisters told me to kiss you goodnight." it said in a echoy voice. It's eyes glittered, and it began chanting a gutteral spell, all the while sounding like a crying child. Shards of darkness began to spiral around the three, and runes that dripped with blood floated around them.
Lazuli and Saoryou prepared to attack, but Sora was fastest. She lunged forwards with Zero and cut at the demonic baby doll. Ice crackled across the porcelain, spread, and shattered. With a musical crack, the baby doll flew apart, leaving nothing but broken china and a lacy gown.

The baby procelain doll's peices now layed at Sora's feet while she dismissed Zero. Glad I got to it before it cast it's spell. "Are there only dolls in this place?" she asked Lazuli whom obviously had more experence here.

"Other than the Norn Sisters, yes."

Sora then turned back to the rest of the group with a smile on her face. "Then it shouldn't be too hard to get out of here," she said triumphantly. Something then stomped out of another room that joined to the corridor they were in, behind the other females. It was a huge marionette, or rather, a fat wooden marionette. It was dressed like a baby with a perfectly round stomache that towered over them. Lazuli stepped back but Saoryou stood her ground.

"This should be easy," the alchemist muttered. She snapped the hand the wore the ignitor glove to create a small spark. Then, using her alchemy, she transmuted the small spark into a huge flame that covered and started to burn away the wooden slave. But water suddenly appeared from nowhere and drowned the fire that was consuming the baby. "What...?" Saoryou gasped.

Another porcelain doll stepped out from behind the fat baby's head. "Oh no, you hurt the baby," its voice empty and distant, "The Norn Sisters will surely punish you for that." The marionette then brought and gigantic hand down where the alchemist was standing while the doll began to cast a second spell in its wierd crying voice.

Not one to be left out, Lazuli's butterfly wings grew on her back. How can she do that?!, Sora questioned in surprise. The felinoid glided up into the air and cast her own spell first at the porcelain demon, "Lunar Glint!" Sprinkles of moonlight darted for the doll but were blocked by the hand of the marionette who didn't seemed phased by the attack. This isn't going well, Sora thought as she summoned the wind rapier, Zephyr. Not good at all.

"CHRONOS CRUSHER!"

A voice behind them roared a command, as a tall figure leaped before them, landing a punch that sent the gigantic doll realling. Before it could get up, the man uncoiled a metal whip from his hand, and whipped it around the doll's head.

The head burst off, rolling its way to the floor. The man then took his time in ripping apart the doll piece by piece until it could not move. Then, his job done, he turned to the girls.

"You should be more careful in a place like this," he muttered, allowing the girls to have a full look at him. He was massive, muscular, and over six feet tall. His entire body was clothed in black, even his face was shrouded by a dark mask.

"Who are you?" Lazuli asked, taking in the man's giant frame.

"I am Chronos," the man answered, walking towards them. "You will need my help to escape this house."

OoC: Dang, Chronos rocks. The link is on my sig.

Lazuli considered him for a minute.
"Well, you're not a doll. Or a puppet. And you don't seem to have a swiss army knife." She offered her hand. "I'm Lazuli Capulet, and these are Saoryou and Sora Atichea. I was hoping to exoricise this unholy place, but I think I would much rather get out of here alive. And I never want to see another doll again."

OoC: Power Shot, if you don't mind, I consider things from the time they start if I have to work with chronology. So SeBotS <-- (I hope you can decipher that) is done with.

"I remeber you!" Saoryou said suddenly. "You battled in the sphere, I just know it."

"Why, yes, I did... How did you know?"

Saoryou blushed, "Uh, well... The guy Dang who set it up... We're, lovers."

"Uhmmmm... Well, Let's get going then!" Lazuli offered.

"Ah, Yes! Let's..." Saoryou said quickly, and the group walked cautiously onward, hoping to avoid as many of the eerie puppets as possible. As Saoryou limped, she felt her stride taking on a more normal gait, and hoped it was a sign she'd hold together long enough to get out.

Chronos looked through his mask to view the place in full detail.

It was dark, but it wasn't a problem for the warrior. His special optic powers allowed him to work and see in pitch black darkness. The walls were everywhere, sometimes taking on strange shapes and sizes. It still wasn't that big of a problem.

The three women were going to be a problem, owing to the fact that they were most likely weaker than him, but that wasn't an insult, as he was probably the most unique being anywhere.

He wasn't going to let his MetaSkin powers show until necessary, he still did not trust them. But then again, he did not expect them to trust him either. Everything about him was a mystery, even to himself.

Just how he liked it. Why burden them with his own problems?

The quartet of fighters made their way, through the eerie warren of parlours and banqueting halls. They could hear the footsteps of the dolls in the other rooms, chiming to each other in those dead voices.
Lazuli clutched her chakram tightly, hoping no-one would notice her nervousness. She motioned to the others, something was coming their way.

A vodoo doll shambled towards them, a bloody bundle of cloth, twisted into a vaguly human shape. It's face were guady splashes of paint, and knives, pins needles, forks and various sharp objects had been stabbed into it, into its chest, its mouth and into the blank smudges of its eyes.
"You have all been quite naughty." it whispered in hoarse voice, like nails being dragged down metal. "You must punished severely."
Lazuli summoned spirals of fire onto her fingertip.
"FLASH EMBER!" she cried, shooting the fireball onto the appirition. It burned, but the effigy made no effort to extinguish the flames. Instead, it's crooked mouth twisted into a smile.
Sora struck with Nova, speeding the flames and slashing it deeply. It still smiled as it burned.
Chrono and Saoryu struck at once, and the doll withered into the flames. It's fragments burned and it's smiling head was the last to go, as its pins and knives melted like wax.
"Silly.....silly......children...." it sighed. "Karma will come back to you it kil of you"
"What do you mean?" cried Lazuli.
"The...curse...." chuckled the doll. "Leave...this....mansion...or..the....abyss..c laim ..you..." with a gloating cackle, the doll vanished.
Upon the throats of each of the fighters, a bloody cross appeared.
"That doll's cursed us!" screamed Lazuli. "We have to get out of here!"

Crap!, Sora cursed silently. She could already feel the affects of the curse as it started to slowly drain her energy. Lazuli started to panic, but Saoryou put a hand on the felinoid's shoulder. "Don't worry," alchemist said, "We'll get out of here just fine."

Lazuli looked at Saoryou with watery brown eyes, "B, but..."

"Yeah. Saoryou's right," Sora reassured with a thumbs up, "It'll take more than some stupid dolls to kill us." The mage glanced at the two females and a slight smile returned to her face. Sora then shot a quick glance at the new member, Chronos. His sudden entrance was strange but his appearance was stranger still. He wore black everywhere except for his hair which was messy and brown. The hunter's red eye reveiled nothing else about him so he was obviously in his true form. Still, she comtemplated, there's something about him...

Sora wasn't able to complete her thought as another porcelain doll walked toward them. Then it was followed by about ten more of its kin. The leader smile wasn't empty like the others, it was full of evil. "Look at the poor people," it sneered, "They have been cursed by the voodoo doll. Once your spirits go bye-bye, the Norn Sisters will make strong puppets out of your bodies."

Lazuli winced. The doll's aura was pure malice, cutting her like knives and its glass eyes brimmed with cruelty. It fluttered its lids at her, and waved a lacy hankerchief flirtiously.
"I am not an empty shell like these pretty articles." it told them. "It will take more then your amateurish flailings and tricks to defeat me."
It cocked its head to one side, and curtseyed.
"Now then. What shall we play?"

"Let's play burn in hell, It's your turn!" Saoryou yelled as she snapped her fingers, sending jets of fire toward the marionette. The doll caught fire, its handkerchief disintegrating. She drew Sieglinde and stabbed the flailing puppet, which laughed viciously and ripped the sword out of its body, grabbing the blade and Flinging Saoryou with it into a wall.

Lazuli cried out as Saoryou landed on the ground, and flung her chakram at the puppet, who moved out of the way and let the weapon slice through one of the dolls behind it. Sora called Seraphim and cut two of the puppets down herself. Then Chronos brandished the whip which he had not yet fused back into himself and in three cracks had reduced the numbers to four.

OoC: That's all I've got for now, someone else keep this going...

"Stand back!" Chronos shouted, noting the giant knives the dolls had for hands. "This is my territory!"

All the others fell back, despite their want to destroy the dolls on their own. Chronos seemed to have a special power that was not apparent at the time.

"Come and get me," Chronos muttered at the dolls, who took his order quite well.

The four dolls encircled the man, they were easily five feet tall. Their broken eyes glinted with malice, their hands were nothing but knives. They smiled.

"We wanna play," they chanted, attacking his body with their knives.

The others tried to interfere, but Chronos held them off by shouting to them to stand off. The knives went for the skin, striking hard.

But they did not go in. The others did not look, but Chronos did, seeing through his mask that the knives did not even go past his MetaSkin, but nothing ever did. While the others were distracted, Chronos brought upon his metal powers, intertwining the metal into their inner parts.

They were crushed, without a struggle. Chronos retracted the MetaSkin before they could notice.

How the heck did he do that?, Sora wondered as she saw the remains of the porcelain dolls crushed around Chronos.

"Wow!" Lazuli exclaimed, "How'd you do that? Huh, huh?"

"Just a talent of mine," the warrior said simply.

A malicious laugh brought the group's attention back to the leader doll, who was still standing, alone. "What an interesting person," it said with a wicked smile, "You will be a great addition to my collection." The doll, which was maybe three feet tall with a red dress, floated up into the air. "I have seen your powers, now it is my turn." With that, it opened it mouth wide and let loose an ear-piercing screech.

Each of the four fighters brough their hands up to their ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise. "Someone shut her up!" Sora yelled though no one heard her. As sudden as the screech started, it stop.

"Whatever that was supposed to do, it didn't hurt us," Saoryou stated.

"It was not supposed to hurt you. I do not want to hurt the new puppets," the doll replied. Then a new noise was heard, like someone tapping pieces of wood together. Out of the rooms that surrounded the group, came wooden marionette puppets. Some where carrying sabers, curved swords, while others had short throwing knives. "Say hello to my loyal servants," the floating figure said gleefully. The souless marionettes closed in on the warriors. "And even if you beat them, you will not get away from me." The leader reached its hands out in a greedy way, and blood-red ropes started to curl out of the tips of its fingers. "I shall make two of you into my puppets and then have those kill the others. I am eager to see your blood," the doll said with malice.

The marionettes then attacked the group. "Nice try!" Saoryou yelled and and used her ignitor glove to burn four of the puppets.

Likewise, Lazuli called out, "Flash Ember!" and scorched two that were trying to attack her.

Since fire seemed to be working well, Sora brough out her Nova swords. One marionette tried to attack with its saber which the hunter blocked and then cut it down with the other sword. Another did the same tactic and was downed the same way. Then, Sora felt one of the bloody strings attach to her wrist. "No way!" she cried and slashed it off. Her cry made the puppet master giggle.

"Even if you survive my puppets, I shall make you my own!"

Lazuli unfurled her wings, and flew up to the cackling doll. It gazed at her with amusement.
"Wings? What a pretty doll you shall make." it told her. "A handmaiden for the Norn Sisters, perhaps?"
Lazuli narrowed her eyes, tapping into the sight with which a true exorcist is blessed, scrying into the demonic doll through half closed lashes. The crescent moon on her forehead pulsed with a soft light, and she saw the blurrings of spiritual and material, the Middle Plane.
Her lips curved, and she smiled back at the doll.
"I know your secret. Reveal your true form, you fiend!"
Then she began chanting a holy mantra, channeling her aura into the spirit that animated the doll. Lazuli's marking glowed, and a divine light enveloped her, and a whispering breeze seemed to blow through her hair.
"Akasha, ether, ignis, aqua, terra, lyra, ishtar..."
The doll's smile vanished. "NO! What are you doing!?!" it screeched in agony, as cracks fanned across its porcelain.
Not letting her concentraiton waver, she put all her strength into the ritual,
murmering the names of holy places, divine words and ancient gods.
"Venus, luna, aphrodite, hestia, ceres."
The doll screamed in torment. It's madly fluttering eyes stared at its own breaking frame. Its pudgy hands splintered, its fabulous gown ripped and tore, and the blue glass eyes exploded in its head. With a final wail, the doll shivered apart, showering the floor with torn velvet and shards of china.
"REVEAL YOURSELF!" commanded Lazuli.

OoC: is it MY turn? don't let it be my turn! I can't post right now, no creativity flowing at all... sorry.

Aw, c'mon, don't be that way. Well, post again when you hear the muse whispering. If this sounds a bit too stupid, tell me....anyway, I was hoping someone else would describe it. So it's your fault, not mine.

The fighters gasped and Lazuli cried out, at the sight of the true from of the doll.
It was a revolting caricature of human and angel, the cruel mistake of the mother goddess. Spindly limbs stretched from a starved body, disease ridden skin and matted fur pulled over inhuman bones. Talons curved like butcher knives from its splayed fingers. From its shoulder blades rose six black wings, from which dropped stinking, rotted feathers. And to its distorted head were the four compelled to stare. A mouthful of fangs smiled and sneered, while its eyes crowned this bizairre, broken form. One eye bulged, ruby with a black slit for a pupil, while the other was blue and beautiful, outlined with exquisite lashes.
"A crooked angel, in a crooked heaven..." it whispered in a rattling murmer, basking in the fighter's stupification, deciding which would be the most succelent.
And then it sprang.

OoC: Well... what I meant was that there wasn't enough flowing to create a creature that you made up... I don't know if I've ever got that in me... AAAANYhoo, here's a post for y'all.


BiC: Saoryou watched the abomination with blatant disgust, which became evident to the creature. It dived at her but she dodged it more easily than even she expected. Now facing it, she yelled, "Cover your ears!" and snapped her gloved fingers. The spark was just that, a spark, until she ionized the air.

BOOM! lightning struck the creature.

BOOM! again

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The grotesque creature was fried, and in a minor state of shock.

OoC: I'm sorry, I put one out without any creativity flowing...

Lazuli gave a yell of anger. "Lunar Glint!" she yelled, showering the creature in moonlight. Its body writhed, and it was knocked out of its stunned state. Spreading its filthy wings wide, it flew at Lazuli. She yelped and leapt aside, but not before one of its talons clawed at her sleeve, scoring a red cut down her arm.
Gloating with pleasure it hovered a distance away, licking the read drops from its arm.
"Scrumptious....." it cackled.