Welcome to Gaia! ::

s**t s**t, run run RUN!

Sheridan bolted for the door, feeling the ceiling closer to his head with every passing moment. He didn't know where that door led, for all he knew it would take them to yet another trap. But he wasn't thinking about that right now, right now he was thinking about how close that ceiling was, about how he swore he could feel his antlers scrape across the falling stone.

A hand reached out to grasp the door, flung it open, and dove onto the other side. He hoped the girls had made it through alright...

A deep breath, he was alive, they were alive, for now. Standing to his feet, the dragon looked around the room, eyes as he scanned the room and its furnishings. It was the pair of doors that caught his attention, several wary steps forward instantly stopped at the sound of unfamiliar voices.

What the jack...had those voices come from the statues? His tail twitched with that uneasy feeling that was becoming all too familiar. His gaze shifted from one statue to the other.

"You're not making any sense!"

The dragon growled, why was he growling at a pair of statues?! What the--OH JACK! This whole thing was one giant death trap, WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PLACE WAS THIS?!

"Hurry!"

Pick a door!

Rain's suggestion made as much sense as anything he had the presence of mind to think of at that moment. s**t s**t, he couldn't think, he could only thing that they were about to be dropped into some fiery pit, or something was about to eat them, or worse.

His teammate had been right before, maybe she was right now. Jack only knew what lay on the other side of either door, for all they knew they could have led to the exact same place or both separate but equally deadly traps. Whichever way they chose, he was quite certain they were screwed, but staying here was no more an option they going back.

"Right it is!"

Reaching out to catch his teammates and drag them with him if he had to, the dragon bolted for the right hand door. Wings unfurled, if the floor dropped out from under there, he was ready to take to the air!

If anyone had a better idea, then speak now!

Circe made a loud thud when she hit the ground of the lower level. She stood up quickly just in case Sheridan should come down the same slide as her and Rain. When she was on her feet she rubbed her butt lightly, not paying attention to what the zombie was doing. "I don't think he is--" Circe had begun to say to Rain only to be cut off by her running over to where he had landed. "Well someone certainly made the wrong decision." She said with a shrug, looking around the room, finally setting her sights on a door that appeared to lead to another room. Not caring what was going on with the other two she walked to the door, opening it slowly. "I wonder where this goes." Circe said as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

Once she was in the room Circe found herself in what appeared to be the basement of the house. How had she managed to get in here? Oh well, this place was definitely not as it appeared. As Sheridan and Rain made their way into the room the door slammed shut behind them and it sounded like it locked. Quickly she made her way to the door and tried to open it. Being in confined spaces was not her ideal situation and this just made her skin crawl. As she pulled on the door she realized there was no way she was going to get out. That was when she began to hear what sounded like laughter. Someone was taunting them. Circe held back her tears but a small scream echoed out from her. Not realizing it she found herself hugging her bag for comfort. Sadly she had forgotten her Mort de Rot bear in her room, which meant there was nothing to ease her fears now. "I don't like this room. It's scary!" Circe said to Sheridan and Rain. As the room seemed to morph there appeared a table in front of them with a puzzle on it. Oh why did there have to be a puzzle! As Sheridan and Rain tried their best with the puzzle it was apparent that Sheridan would be the one to figure this out. "Maybe if I put this there... And this here..." Circe said as she made a attempt at the puzzle. Solved puzzle. With a smile she concluded that it was finished. With one glance at Rains it was apparent she was certainly not any closer to the right answer then Circe was. But then when she looked over at Sheridan she realized his was right. "That's the right answer! How did you know?" She asked with shock. As the loud voice yelled out Circe found herself clinging to the boils tail, unable to hide the fear that was building up within her any longer. When the door opened and the burst of light came from the other side Circe was the first one to run through and and cling to the ground. "Freedom!" She exclaimed with excitement.

However, her happiness was short lived as she worked up the courage to look around the room. It was apparent then that there seemed to be other things watching them unlike before. Circe managed to lift herself off of the floors surface and walk over to the doors, looking at the small statues in front of them with curiosity. They were so tiny! "So adorable!" Circe said, almost seemingly to forget everything else about the room. When they began to talk she felt as if she was going to jump out of her skin at that very moment. "They can talk..." She said as she placed a hand on her head. As she listened to them she found herself needing to make yet another decision. Didn't they realize this was something she wasn't very good at?

Circe looked from Rain to Sheridan as they talked about the rooms. "Maybe neither one knows what is behind their door or neither one is the way out." She said, taking the time to think over the negative possibility. After all, it was possible. She felt more comfortable in this room despite whatever it was underneath their feet. She couldn't see it so for all she knew it could just be a giant zombie worm, that thought gave her some comfort. Circe was surprised at how fast they had gone with Rain's decision but she seemed to have the luck of getting the right answer. So maybe this would be no different. Circe went a long with her team mates decision, but found herself wanting to go through the left door. "You better be right." She said with a sigh as she was pulled through the door by Sheridan.

Heat bad. Fire Bad. Lava really bad. It took most of her concentration to try to dodge the floor that was growing more dangerous by the second. She was also hurt by the necromancer's comment but she bit her lip to keep from retorting. The last thing they needed was a fight to break out.

Sometimes, she was thankful that she didn't have a large range of emotions or tear ducts. Crying would certainly not help the situation. If they did fall to their death, would it be her fault? Was she responsible for everything? She was trying her very best! Every decision made required either an intelligent mind or just dumb luck. She did pretty well when it came to just dumb luck, but no lucky streak lasts forever. And when it came to logical thinking.. she just didn't cut it. She just wanted to help.. she just wanted.. to be useful. She wanted to keep her teammates safe.

She tightened her grip around the boils hand, hoping that any assurance, confidence or bravery he had would rub off on her. They were a team, good or bad. Unlife or death, they were in this together. All for one and one for all, right?

The door moaned as they started to open it, as if it were complaining at being used. That didn't bode well. She stuck her tongue out at the statues before closing her eyes and following the boil through the door.

(Exiting)

(Entering)

While she was glad to be out of the magma room, she was learning quickly with this haunted house, things only progressed from bad to worse. This next room was pitch black. Blacker than even the deadliest plague. In fact, it was so dark that even her ability to see in it didn't seem to work right. Her eyes glowed a faint white, so her friends would at least be able to spot her location. It didn't glow bright enough to let her see far. A few feet ahead of her was the most she could make out.

"I don't know," she replied to the necromancer. Her friend's question pretty much hit it spot on. There was something definitely wrong about this room.

Realizing that she was still clutching Sheridan's hand, she blushed a dark blue and let go. It was a good thing that the darkness of the room helped mask her blush. She really needed to learn how to act properly around boils if she ever hoped to land a boilfriend. Sometimes it felt like she was the only ghoul in school that didn't have one. She was childish, not very pretty or smart and of course, she was a tomboy. She liked basketball, watching scary human movies and reading comic books. She was envious of all the ghouls in school. Even Circe was drop dead gorgeous. If she passes this school year, her parents promised to upgrade her body. For years, she had been asking them for new parts and they kept telling her she wasn't old enough or ready for them. How would they even know? They finally conceded and told her that she could have an upgrade before her second year of school. She just had to pass the first one.

Rain took a few steps in the room, careful to keep both Sheridan and Circe within an arm's length. It wouldn't do them any good to become separated and lost to the darkness. She wanted to survey the area but was unable to see very far. The most she could make out was the floor they were walking on. It was wooden so the chance of some creature lurking below it was slim. She tapped at it with her right foot to feel how sturdy it was. Wood always reminded her of her parents as it was important to them. Only the best wood for the best coffins, her father used to say. Oh how she missed her parents and the graveyard she called home. She had spent many years playing in the crypts and helping her parents with work. Rottingham Pines was the best graveyard in all of Halloweentown, she was sure of it! Of course, there were a lot of graveyards..

It felt like it was forever ago that she was sent off to school and had to tell them goodbye. She wanted so desperately to make them proud. Every week her mom would send her a letter and a box of her favorite brain candy so she knew they missed her too. She was doing pretty well at school for the most part.

Lightning crackled above her head, snapping her out of her thoughts. The flash was bright and it allowed her to see a little more of the room. Lightning wasn't as scary as fire but it still made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. There was always a chance of it striking something or someone and starting a fire. She always boasted of having not being afraid and that was in large mostly true. She was fairly numb to pain and she had no problem running to a fight. She'd even die for her friends if needed.

Fire however.. that was a real fear. Her dead flesh would take to it like the driest of kindling. Within a few seconds, there'd be no more Rain Rottingham! Only a pile of dust. The only other thing that worried her was head trauma. Damage to her brain and fire would be game over.

Another flash of lightning crackled above, causing her to flinch, reminding her once more of the danger she faced. At least they still had all their pumpkin pills and that brought some reassurance.

There was a rustling nearby that caught her attention. She focused her eyes toward the direction it came from but couldn't make anything out. Could it be a ghost? More of those flying creatures she saw earlier?

When the object came into view, she grinned widely. It was a ship and not just any ship. It looked like a pirate ship! A flying pirate ship! How neat was that? As it neared them, she was able to make out the flag. She couldn't make out what kind of skull was pictured on it but it was really cool!

"Well shiver me timbers, there be a pirate ship!", she exclaimed, pointing out the obvious in her best pirate impression. She even squinted an eye and smiled toothily for good measure. It didn't matter that no one would be able to see it in this darkness. She couldn't believe she was facing a real pirate ship! She had read about them in stories and often fantasized about being one herself. Would they get to join the crew or would they be made to walk the plank?

She loved how it seemed to move through the air with an effortless grace. How did it get here? Where did it come from? Just how big was this room anyway? It had to be pretty large for there to be a pirate ship flying inside it. Was it friend or foe? A million questions seemed to pop in and out of her mind as she watched it move closer. Would pirates jump out at them at any moment? Would they be shot at with large cannons? The idea of a giant hole through her chest wouldn't help her with her boilfriend or popularity problems. She really didn't want to walk the plank or be sent to Davy Jones's locker.

But what if it were friendly? Maybe it would take them to the next room or the way out of this house? What if it was a ghost ship, just waiting to be taken? Could she, Sheridan and Circe become a band of rogue pirates? How cool would that be? She didn't even have to be the captain! She could be the boatswain or cockswain! Maybe even the powder monkey despite her dislike for cannons? By Jack's skull, she'd even be happy swabbing the poop deck!

Pirate adventures for everyone! She always wanted to find buried treasure! There really was no telling what was on that ship, or what was in store for them. There was only one way to find out!

"Ahoy, mateys," she called out to the ship, waving her arm enthusiastically. It didn't don on her that she might have just alerted them of their presence.

Character Year: Y1
HP: 30/30
Fear: Rain summons her black skull basketball which she dribbles and throws at the target, attempting to hit them in the head. It's gambler chance Y1 so I roll 6d12.

It was difficult to say exactly how long they had been there. "They" being two statues made out of copper, standing on raised pedestals set between two doors. The statues had the bodies of dogs and the heads of lions; they were Fu Dogs. Each one wore a different collar decorated with skulls; one had a collar that was red, the other a sky blue.

Each Fu Dog had one paw raised, resting on a sphere. Or is it a skull? It is difficult to tell. They move, their paws tightening around their treasures as you approach.

"Well met," they greet in unison. "Your trials are almost over, Students of Amityville. What you have gone through is a sample, a mere taste of what is expected of some on a daily basis. But you are not here for that."

They fall silent, looking down and studying each student carefully. The one with the light blue collar speaks first. "Your last trial awaits you. It will not be easy."

"You will get to choose," the red collared one says, "This is a choice for each of you to make."

"Not as a group."

"Not together."

"But individually," the two say in unison gravely. "You may only go through one door. Once you have made your choice and gone through it, you cannot back out."

"The doors are locked for now," the one with the red collar says. "They will unlock when the time is right."

"For now, consider your options," the sky blue collared one says. "You may change your mind before entering, but once you go through a door you cannot return."

The statues fall silent as they exchange a glance with each other. "To determine which door you pick, please tell us...

• Fate is prewritten; there's no avoiding it.
  
  
  
• Fate is written by me.