FINAL INVESTIGATION

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It’s Wednesday morning, and when the 8 remaining guest wake up, they’re greeted to a soft song playing in the distance. Even with the stress of the past few months, the song helps puts the living guests at east, a beam of hope in the dark times.

As the guests go to investigate the noise, they will find themselves heading to the casino. On a nearby card table, there is a pigeon with a key in their mouth, they’re docile enough to let you pet them if you want, but don’t expect them to stay around for long. As soon as all either guests enter the room, they drop the key and fly away.

A small note is attached to it, reading:]

I wish I could help more, but this key should help aid you on the journey that lies ahead of you. I believe in you all.

-Walt

[When they look for the door the key works on, they’ll quickly realize that there’s a locked door near the back of the casino, the key is a perfect match for it. When they open the door, they are greeted by a stream of moving carriages, Doombuggies, as it were, heading towards an inky black tunnel. It’s not exactly the most… normal way to investigate the mansion, but according to Walt this is the best bet you guys have.

As the remaining guests get inside the Doombuggies, they’ll find that the dark tunnel seems to stretch on forever, and you can feel them slowly go down, down, down. You might start to wonder how this tunnel even fits into this mansion, but this mansion never fit into normal reality, has it?

Eventually, as the Doombuggies take you further and further down, the guests will start to notice a branching path in front of them, either through sheer coincidence or some presence guiding the guests, they will find that no matter what they do, they’ll find themselves evenly split, going through the separate forks in the track.

It keeps going until soon, the ride comes to a sudden stop. A voice is heard through the halls.]

Playful spooks have interrupted our tour, please stay seated in your... Doombuggy. We will proceed in just a moment.

[But no matter how long they wait, the “ride” doesn’t start back up again. While it’s still dark down here, there’s enough light to make out a passageway besides the buggies, no matter which path the guest ended up taking.

Investigate?]

Comments

TEAM A

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Ready Ford, Elsa, Anna, and Julia?]

[amadeusrockette]

[Heck. Does she gotta??? Can't she just sit here with Chauncey and the cats?????

. . . Ok, no. She sorta. Promised everyone, so like. She's just gonna get out and go through the panic tunnel passageway. Hopefully Anna (and the cats) follow her!!!! What does this passageway look like?]

[outsidethecircle]

[She definitely is following her. Anna doesn't want to get left behind!]

[amadeusrockette]

Do you think it's safe to go through here? [She seems skeptical, but also . . . what choice do they have?] Maybe we should hold hands so we don't get separated.

[outsidethecircle]

We have to go, either way. [Without answering the second part Anna reaches out and grabs a hold of Julia's hand. Don't leave her, too.]

[amadeusrockette]

It'll be fine as long as we're together. [Julia squeezes Anna's hand.] Promise.

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It's a very long passageway, almost catacomb-esque in appearance. There is an a large open door at the side of the passsageway and what appear to be some stairs going up at the end of the hallway.]

[amadeusrockette]

[Um, well!!! She's just gonna peek into the doorway first. Make sure no monsters are hiding in there. She kind of doesn't want to go up the stairs until Science Grandpa says it's safe.

What is this room anyway?]

[sixfingeredstan]

See anything in there?

[Ford looks over Julia's shoulder, frowning.]

I wish I had thought to bring a damned flashlight.

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Well, given the massive amount of concrete bars in here...it kind of looks like a prison. It's a lot more up to date than you'd expect from the mansion.]

[sixfingeredstan]

[This is all certainly a change of pace, to say the least. Ford's got the essentials with him, tucked between his feet in a little bundle; WALL-E's motherboard is tucked safely into his coat pocket, as is his journal and Fiddleford's. He's keeping as keen an eye out as possible, but with these tunnels being so dark, it's not quite easy. Still, as the path begins to branch, he yells in the other direction to the group splitting off from him:]

STICK TOGETHER, WHATEVER YOU DO!

[The buggies come to a stop, and Ford glances around; Elsa is beside him, and Julia and Anna are behind. All right.]

This is worrisome. We've been stopped for longer than feels right...perhaps we ought to get out and have a look at that passageway.

[defyingfrigidity]

[It's hard to tell in the dark, but Elsa's frowning. She didn't think this new expedition would be easy, considering they were trying to escape, and escapes in stories are never easy... but things seem to be going wrong almost too soon.]

I think that's the only thing we can do right now... but should we backtrack and go find the others first?

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford squints back up at the tunnel behind them, and shakes his head.]

No, it's too steep to risk trying to climb back up in the dark. I think there's a better chance of us linking back up with them ahead instead.

[He calls ahead to the two younger girls:]

Let's stick together. We don't know what might be up ahead.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Great... great. They'd all tried to stick together, but of course they got unwillingly separated. They're really off to a good start, huh?]

Right. Um, should we... [She turns to Ford, motioning with her head towards Julia and Anna.] Should the two of us go first? So... so if something happens...

[She doesn't want to use her magic to fight. The idea of using it as a weapon horrifies her. But if it comes down to it, if something attacks them... her and Ford have to protect the other two. It's their best chance of keeping everyone safe.]

[sixfingeredstan]

Yes, I agree. Let's keep them behind us, just in case...

[And he goes to catch up with Julia and Anna.]

TEAM B

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Ready Lefou, Mike, Namine, and Wendy?]

[kindaruledatit]

[READY AS SHE'LL EVER BE. Wendy had basically shrugged her way through the casino and into a doombuggy, because how else are you supposed to take all this? The split in the track was a noticeable upset to her, seeing as half their friends - and the last person from home - suddenly just went off who knows where.

It's fine. It's probably fine.

She definitely doesn't wait long for the buggies to start up again, hopping out onto the tracks she scans the area until she finds the passageway. Her axe is already at the ready. Although, rather then rush off immediately, she looks at the rest of her group.]

Everyone stay close, okay?

[toogoodforhim]

Try not to lose sight of each other, but definitely make sure you stick with at least one person. No running off on your own.

[He says, holding onto Namine with one hand and Maui's oar with the other.]

[kindaruledatit]

Yeah, don't want anyone getting lost of us now!

[Or, y'know. Worse. But she won't voice that opinion right now.]

If we're gonna do this, it'd be great if we all did it together.

[grimgrinningghosts]

[In contrast, the pathway here is a lot nicer. It almost looks luxurious, as though it were a hotel. Though there might be a seemingly endless number of doors in the hallway (about 999 if you can count), they might be able to hear a calm voice that sounds to be coming from one of the rooms.]

By each spot the most unholy—
In each nook most melancholy,—

[kindaruledatit]

[.....Alright? She was expecting far more horrifying imagery, but. This is fine. Heck, after the drab decor of the mansion, she was more then happy to see a change of style.

And yet, her grip on her axe does not falter.

She steps evenly down the hall, looking at the many doors until she gets to the one they can hear the voice through. Carefully, she presses her ear to it, trying to decipher who the voice belongs to.]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It doesn't seem to be any recognizable voice, it's a very gentlemanly male voice, who speaks to themselves.]

There the traveller meets, aghast,
Sheeted Memories of the Past—
Shrouded forms that start and sigh
As they pass the wanderer by—
White-robed forms of friends long given,
In agony, to the Earth—and Heaven.

[toogoodforhim]

[He hates this. He hates this a lot, actually. He's starting to wish he hadn't left the torch behind, but his hands are full with one hand holding onto Namine's and the other brandishing Maui's oar.

He protec.

But he also attac.

When the buggies stop, he doesn't wait long to get out, taking off Heihei's lead and tying it to the lap bar with just little enough slack that Heihei can't clamber out of the carriage and/or get stuck underneath its wheels.]

What... is this place?

[He tries the nearest door.]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[It looks like most of the rooms here are the same - they're uniform in design, and both unlocked and vacant. It looks as though they've been unoccupied for a while.

LeFou will find all of the rooms he tries are the same way - save for the one Wendy is looking at.]

[toogoodforhim]

[He will make his way there then without going through infinite door works]