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Soon? No. No soon. Junko wanted home now, but she had the strong feeling now would have to wait just a minute. She did have things she wanted to take care of, after all. Things that would require her to let go of Seiji when she really didn't want to let go of him. This was indeed a predicament she was in. Maybe if she..climbed on his back? And then..no. That wouldn't work. But either way he was being so nice after all that had just happened. It was so refreshing. She loved it. She loved him.

When he moved there was a mild panicked protest from the ghoul as she held him even tighter, worried and unsure of where he was going and why they were moving. She was used to involuntary movements being because of a damned shockwave or being kicked across the field by Red at this point. Where were they--oh. He was taking her closer to Red. Okay...

...Red...

She didn't fight it when he took her hand, instead watching as he kissed it and listening quietly to what he said. How did he already know? Had word spread that fa--oh. Wait, how did he see? Sad green eyes turned up to meet his and she curled her fingers around his hand, holding onto it in a way that clearly said she refused to let him go anytime soon. "How did...how did you see?" Junko asked quietly, blinking a bit but otherwise staying still as he suddenly rubbed at her face. What was he doing? She'd completely forgotten her face was covered in Shehk's blood for the moment. It was dry, so she didn't feel it on her skin anymore.

Junko was a good ghoul and sat still and quiet on Seiji's lap as he moved to sit, tilting her head to get a good, long look at Red's skull again. It was hard not to see it...it had belonged to a 30-foot-tall behemoth of a creature. She sighed, taking this chance to reach down and tear off an entire leg of her outfit, tearing it open so it laid flat in her arms. This would do. She could fill this like a pouch and fill it with ash. But Seiji was still holding her...

"Let go a moment..?" Junko asked quietly before sliding off his lap to land in the ash, sending more of it flying around her from the sudden motion. Now there was more of it in her hair but she didn't really care all that much. All that mattered was filling her new makeshift pouch, piling as much ash as she could onto the fabric before folding it up in a way that leg her tie one end closed so none of the ash would escape. She didn't trust herself to try picking at the skull again...at least Seiji had been successful in getting a piece of horn.

She heard Jove and looked up, smiling gently at the small boil.

"Let's go home..." It was not a question this time. Junko wanted to go home.

"W..what hole?"

She didn't remember seeing one around, but now that she couldn't see, it was.. probably better not to move around too much. The burning had subsided after seconds, but in addition to crying in the first place her eyes were tearing up more.

Jack, she probably looked ridiculous right now.

"I'm.. going to.. sit here," she said, patting the ground around her. No holes, right? "S..stop harrassing me. I don't even know you! You could just go back on your own."

But what if her vision never cleared, and she fell into a hole, and no one ever found her again? What if the hunters came back- they said criminals always went back to the crime scenes- and.. took her with them?

It was completely unlike her to be so paranoid, but this was the closest she'd come to having a panic attack in years. She didn't want to be like this. She wanted to go back to her fireplace, back to where she had some measure of control over her own life- instead of sitting here trembling and crying like a stupid... thing.

"nowaitdon'tgo." That, too, was barely audible, and probably spoken too fast to be heard clearly, but she stretched out a hand, anyway, reaching out to Vaith.

Except she missed.

She let him help her up, as much as she hated herself for it. Somehow, though, his touch was reassuring- warm, and as she leaned against him, she felt some sense of safety.

But nothing was ever enough, for her.

"Don't let me fall," she warned, clinging tightly to him. Now that he'd offered help, she fully expected him to keep to it- he'd taken up that responsibility, hadn't he? Step by step, dragging her feet on the ground to make sure it was solid, she made her way towards the door, with Vaith's guidance.

He might have noticed her tense up, when he said Lizzy's name. The salamander scowled, turning her head towards Vaith, to avoid having to see the spider demon. She'd had quite enough of all that camaraderie and team spirit nonsense; where had that gotten her? Into this state, that was where.

On the plus side, Vaith's shirt served pretty well as tissue. Her eyes still hurt a little, but she could see clearer now. Loosening her grip on him, she gradually drew away, a small, quivering, hunched-over figure.

"Th.."

This was.. hard.

"Th..ank..you."

"You're welcome Lizzy."

One arm wrapped hesitantly around her shoulder to keep her from falling, taking slow steps forward. He gave a nod towards Lizzy, as if to gesture a farewell that he didnt have free hands for, unaware of their .. difficulties. "I will."

His ninja outfit was burnt off in several places and he was sure he didn't look quite as cool as when he started out .. But hopefully she wouldn't be too embarrassed with him. Even as she drew away, his grip became a tiniest bit firmer, not allowing the ghoul to stray too far. He promised to get her out after all.

"You're welcome." He replied back to Vieve, with a significantly lighter tone.

On his side, it was pretty easy.

[Vaith and Vieve are exiting now!]

Mortimer watched intently at her display, and then at his hands. He was still being drained of energy just by standing, so it took him a moment to recognize what she meant by showing him his arms. True, he did have a needle and thread in his bag, but . . . He didn't want to disturb the ashes. And truth be told, the boil wasn't so sure needle and thread was enough for him right now.

It was almost like he was being drained of his own FEAR by staying there, even though Mort was pretty sure nothing else was coming at them. Probably just the exhaustion catching up to him.

"Will try sommat." With as much willpower as he could muster, the zombie focused his FEAR. He wasn't sure it was going well until he felt a tickle in the back of his throat growing. Gagging a bit, Mort managed to produce a somewhat saliva and soon-to-be-sooty pin in his mouth.

It'd do. Nothing of this trip had been pretty.

Wobbling on increasingly shaky legs, Mort knelt at the area where so many pins had been placed and managed to slide his own towards the bottom of the group.

"Okay . . . Okay. R-Ready." He attempted to pick himself up, but his legs weren't listening.

Thip.

Oh look, some flesh fell off from one of his calves.

Thip thip.

And some thigh.

Oh dear.

"Let's go home," She smiled, although the smile did not reach her eyes; she was tired, heartbroken, possibly in need of comfort she could not get right now and holding a heart heavy with guilt. She took one last look at what remained of their professor, bowed her head in respect and then left the area through the door.

Rest in peace, wherever you are, Professor.

[Exiting to Halloween!]

For a long time, the horsemen just stood there, lost in their simultaneous feeling of dread and loss, each thinking nearly the same thing as the others, as if they all shared some sort of mental link. As Cymbeline had approached, War's heir had glanced up from where her chin rested on Conquest's shoulder, greeting her with only a look that said volumes, their silence still spanning onward. She watched as Aisa reached up to comfort Famine just as Invictus has comforted her before lowering her eyes to the gravel again, letting them linger there for a few more moments before looking over at the stone skull again. The mementos grew as the students approached to say goodbye, parts of what had been Red (or had it really been her at all?) being slowly whittled away, the wind kicking up the parts that had crumbled to ash. Most of the students had already gone, leaving the place empty and dead, the horsemen's silence spanning deep into the canyon.

Eris took a slow breath, slower than the others before she slowly straightened from Invictus' shoulder, turning her head to look towards the door that would lead the back to Halloweentown. Part of her knew they would never return here, would never be able to return, whether it was for their safety or because the fates would not allow it, it was impossible to say. Letting her eyes drift from the wooden door to the cliff where he hunters had disappeared, she pursed her lips a little, staring at it as if they might return at any second. But even if they did, she... they... would not be ready, not only due to their injuries but due to their newly discovered weaknesses. The mass of hunters had done considerable damage to her, not on their own but as a unit -- the idea was disconcerting, setting her mind a little on edge. Brushing the thought away for the time being, she turned back to her kin.

"We'd best go."

Giving them a dwindling look, she waited a few moments for them before she turned to cross the canyon and step through the door.

(EXIT!)