The time had come. For so many years no one thought that it would actually happen but, lo and behold, it has. Eons it seemed that only the mad and insane believed that the old cosmic horrors dwelled on the outer edges of the universe. These gospels were labeled as little more than the mad ramblings of a psychotic few or the fantasies of deeply troubled authors; but there were those who could read between the lines, who could pulled out the kernels of reality like ticks buried deep in the skin. These were the people who knew the truth, who knew what was coming, and who knew to prepare for the eventual signs.

There was no greater sign of the cosmic forces moving than what occurred on July 1st, 2017, when the world witnessed the very shattering of the dimensional barriers. Though mutants ran amok in the world, their gifts explained away as genetic anomalies, the event on this particular day, under the darkened sky of the eclipse showed that this was no mere display of mutant potency -- the things from the dark edges were creeper closer.

The amount of power it takes to rend a dimensional wall is a gift only bestowed upon the very cosmic horrors that floated throughout the darkest corners of the void. This was the first sign that they entities were on the move, seeping into this reality with an aim of conquering all that they looked upon. But for as powerful as they are, this was a task that could not be completed upon their own. They needed assistance, they needed worshippers, they needed sacrifices -- and there is no greater sacrifice than the that of the sane mind.

Enter the Lovecraft Sisters: Agatha, Agnes, and Abigail. Young, barely fifteen or sixteen years old (no one can quite remember), these three individuals count themselves as some of the most devote followers. Of course they have traveled and meet with like-minded people but never had met a true believer, simply fans who wore t-shirts, inked their skin, or sat around tables rolling dice -- pathetic really.

To these three who act as one, they never truly found anyone with whom they could identify with. Posers, fanboys and girls, little more than that, never any true acolytes. When questioned, however, the three sisters never identified who informed them that their beliefs were real, but rather they just knew it to be true. It was that faith that made them true to who they were and true believers in the cosmic horrors that dwelled in the void.

Thus, when the sign came, the three made their plans. If they could not gather enough followers to bring about their new lords, then they would ensure a sacrifice so great that they themselves would be put at the head of their new deities order. After all, sacrifice is what gains the attention of a god or goddess and with what these three were planning, they would ensure their new rulers that their bellies will be filled upon their arrival.

October 31st. That would be the day. The day in which in barrier between realms is at its thinnest, when the dead and the supernatural are already at their strongest. The dimensional wall was already weakened and so, with a little nudge, the Lovecraft Sisters could help cause that final crack, that last little rip that their beloved deities would need in order to finally set foot and bring a new world order.

---

UPPER EAST SIDE -- Continental Towers Parking Structure
There is a certain fear attached to parking structures, especially late at night. No matter how well lit, the emptiness and the imagination crafted nightmares ready to leap out of every ghastly corner. The Continental Towers parking structure was no different. Though lined with vehicles of all kinds, invert and dead to the night, that didn’t mean that the structure was completely abandoned. Varying sounds from other levels echoed throughout, creating villains around every corner. Footsteps sounded everywhere and nowhere, a cackling laughter would sound as if it came from the very shadows itself. Truly this was a terrifying place.

Little to no one was here. People, drunk or otherwise, could be found wandering through level after level, either trying to find their car or a place for them to hunker down until morning. Even those who weren’t completely blasted out of their minds could be seen moving through the levels, braving the echoing silence to get to their cars; over all, the only people who should be walking through these terrifying, dimly lit structure, were those people who had a reason to be there.

Agatha Lovecraft had absolutely no reason to be here, but that didn’t stop her.

The young girl, no more than a teenager, strolled through the parking structure, traveling down the center of each level. She hummed to herself, dressed only in the green, checkered pleated skirt, knee-high socks, and white blouse that was wore tight against her frame. Over her shoulders she wore a black, wool jacket, a coat with an unknown emblem stitched into the lapel. Her bouncy, blonde hair was pulled back into a forest green bow. She was such a sight, the likes of which certainly didn’t belong in this place, but here she was.

She continued on, traveling down the center of the level, making her way towards the very center floor of the structure, a small hum on her lips as she bobbed her head to an unheard melody. Truly she was a disturbing sight for anyone to behold.

Upon arriving at her desired location, Agatha moved to the dead center of her location, in an empty spot between a massive pick-up truck and a small Yugo. From there her unknown song began to reach a fever pitch as a hellish red light began to glow from the center of her eyes. Teeth clenched, arms stretched out, the young woman lifted her gaze upward and implored the darkness around her.

”Nog uh'eog ot n'ghft nilgh'rishuggogg! nafl'fhtagn! nafl'fhtagn! nafl'fhtagn ng ymg' ulnah mgepnah shugog!”

In the epicenter, from her body, there released a massive darkness, a swirl of shadowy energy that swept outward, across the structure, through the entire parking lot, and surrounding, penetrating, everything that came within reach of it. And it was here, here, where the madness began to take root.

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Tempest 0/5
#2 Celestina De Ward 0/5
#3 Raine 0/5
#4 Mirror Grey-Morris 0/5

✿

She was still trying to find her normal here in this world.

Rianne was supposed to be back by now. The fact that she hadn't returned did not bode well for Raine being able to ever go across the rift, to go home.

The blonde tried not to mope about it. And the best thing to do when she was feeling down? Volunteer! Raine had bounced between hospitals, but it was suggested that she try a mutant shelter in Brooklyn known as Sanctuary. Today, after she'd finished her dishwashing gig, she made a beeline straight there. Except. Sanctuary gave her some really weird vibes. Like, she wanted to go home and take a shower kind of weird vibe. After helping in the Sanctuary cafeteria for the first time, Raine was almost certain she wouldn't go back.

Raine adjusted the height of her ponytail on the way out of the Sanctuary after serving (and receiving) dinner. Okay. If there was free food involved, maybe she would go back. Cafeteria food was superior to canned soup any day of the week.

Despite the dark, she was still keyed up. Serving dinner hadn't been enough. Or maybe she just needed to work off the awkwardness from the looks she got.

Maybe she should go on patrol. She wasn't an X-man here. She didn't have an Impact to tell her what to do or a costume or an identity or enough pennies to rub together... maybe it was time to go bother Rianne's copy for an ID. Maybe it was time to give up on going home and get real about making this her home.

She looked both ways before slipping between buildings and slapping a tether to the side of one. That made the side of that building her new down and she walked leisurely past windows and window planters full of fall pansies and mums. She helped untangle a bird from a plastic soda wreath.

Yeah. Patrol was definitely the right choice. She was going to go find someone who needed help instead of being someone who needed it herself.

Raine let her tether drop as she reached the roof and did her best to judge the distance between buildings. Totally doable. And weirdly freeing to not have to wear a mask. She wound up like a baseball pitcher and threw the end of her invisible tether before tapping herself and dropping toward the next building over, her new down. There was no better way to travel and she was caught in the elation of it all, all the way over to the other island. Raine dropped into the roof of a bus and double tethered herself to stay nice and secure.

She surfed the bus as it turned to the East of Central Park, still too far from any buildings to escape, but as the roads got narrower, she would find way.

A bubble of darkness spread from a structure to Raine's right.

Aw yeah. It was time to go rescue a kitten or something! She readied a tether.

Somewhere deep down Gawain already knew that Halloween was going to get ***** up somehow. It was a tradition at this point. In fact, if something had NOT gone horribly and disturbingly wrong in New York City during this one night of the year, Gawain would have been a lot more horrified and disturbed.
So, when the bubble of darkness spread out in the parking garage just when he was slipping from one car mirror into the next, Gawain's first reaction was merely an observation.

"Yup... there it is."

What it was, however, was not sure at the moment. It was dark, and definitely unnatural, but that still covered a lot of bases as far as Halloween horror went.

Gawain's second reaction was mild annoyance. He had places to be. Once, just once, he wanted to spend a Halloween dressed silly and being silly, preferably in the company of other silly people - mostly Becca, who had promised to wear a memorable costume. Gawain, on his part, stuck to what he knew, and was making his way to the party downtown in full musketeer regalia.
If he was going to get screwed out of the party by some crazed mutant again, at least he was going down in style.

"Alright, let's get this over with." he muttered, slipping out of the car mirror and landing lightly on the concrete of the parking lot. There had to be a source to this darkness... might as well go investigate.

Maybe it was Halloween but that was also just a Tuesday. He’d had two appointments in the morning, then stopped by Sanctuary for a check-in, and another meeting with Haven’s volunteer leadership committee. Following that he’d come up town a little to visit the Children’s Playground. It was a company devoted to keeping playgrounds safe and clean for families. There were a number that needed cleaning up and fixing around the city. Haven had plenty of volunteers looking to help.

Devon walked swiftly through the darkness of the parking garage. He’d almost been late for his meeting next door and of course, hadn’t paid enough attention to what floor he’d actually parked on. The parking garages in New York City weren’t like elsewhere either. They were packed tight, often specially labeled for what kind of vehicle was allowed to park there and for how long. Heck, there were places in the financial district with lifts and elevators so 3 or more cars could actually ‘park’ in the same space. It was maddeningly tight sometimes and often ridiculous. The subway and taxis were more than enough. But when quickly navigating on and off Manhattan? You needed your car.

Devon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It didn’t help he was a little tired, still needed to get back and change, and then hopefully visit the Halloween party down in the Inferno. He wouldn’t stay long, maybe a quick drink and a few hellos with any major donors. The party was fundraising for the food kitchens in the city; winter and the holidays were just around the corner. In fact that was one reason All Hallows Eve was celebrated in the past. Back when there was only summer and winter with the harvest and planting seasons in between, All Hallows Eve was the dark day of death where things got a little more superstitious than normal. The Oak King was dying, and the Holly would soon be born, so who watched over the world in those dark nights?

No one.

Thank God they’d gotten past that. Now Devon wasn’t altogether dismissive despite his catholic upbringing. Learning you could control the weather made you consider some stories may be more than myths after all. Were the Greek Gods powerful mutants of the past? Was Jesus a mutant? Heck even the ancient pharaohs could have been mutants capable of great feats and even some form of immortality… So who knows quite where the Halloween stories had exactly come from. It wasn’t all old Germanic tales from the dark forest.

The varied tales he’d heard from both sides of his family, Greek and Irish stories, went through his mind as he walked up another flight of stairs. Was the battery for his key fob not working? Darn, maybe he’d fried another one or maybe he was still on the wrong floor.

Suddenly a sharp sound rang through the parking garage as a crimson, almost fiery light spread out from beyond some vehicles. Someone cried out nearby and then a haunting shadow swirled out and around everything. It was a clouting, sticky darkness that Devon sharply tried to peel away as if someone had thrown sheets of electrical tape at him. It seemed only natural for his eyes to turn to darkness and to raise up defensive breezes around him.

That wasn’t natural in the least. The light he’d thought was maybe from a truck’s flood light or something but the shadows following only made him think it was something foul. Someone was up to the tricks part of the night already and he doubted there was anyone giving away candy in this garage.

Dashing forward, Tempest jogged toward the origin of the red light while watching for anyone struggling in the pervading permanence of the shadowstuff.

Celeste, being the nice person she was, was trying to make amends with her arch enemy Mariah. The fish/lizard/whatever girl and her had started off on a pretty terrible start (mainly all due to Mariah) but they had a small friendship budding. Kind of. It all started thanks to Mr. Holloway's initial talk with her and then a subsequent talk with Mariah. He apparently made the right words and the right suggestions. Celeste prided herself on being the bigger person so she had invited Mariah to some study sessions and some coffee sometimes. 

Both sessions went pretty well - Mariah wasn't the brightest bulb in the box but Celeste knew if she tried hard enough she might be able to get into a good college. The only real problem was that Mariah didn't really want to try. Celeste had accepted it and finally stopped offering, especially when it became very one sided. 

In a pretty surprising turn of events, she had asked if she wanted to go to a Halloween party. She had never been to a Halloween party, so she decided to go for it. Why not? Maybe this was the event that'd turn to the tide in their enemy to friends tides. Maybe, anyways. Celeste took her time picking an outfit and decided on being a cute witch. She kinda imagined Mary Poppins, in a way. She looked cute and that is what she cared the most about. She had to be cuter than Mariah, of course. 

Mariah went as a vampire. She wore a slitted dress that screamed seductiveness. She couldn't deny it - Mariah did look great in it but when Mariah came to pick her up from the Bookman's apartment, she wasn't finished getting her make up ready. She begged Celeste to drive them to the Continental Towers so she could finish her makeup. She gave in - which, she wasn't entirely sure was even legal. She had gotten her Canadian driver's license right before she left Regina (which didn't make much sense, in hindsight.) Was Canadian driver's license worth anything in the U.S.? Who knew. 

It was too late to go back, anyways, because she was in the front seat and driving off.

After a few minutes, she pulled the two of them into the parking garage.

"STOP! Let me go ahead and get us checked into the party!" Celeste slammed the brakes of the car down and the car slid to a stop. She glared to Mariah. Why would you ever do that to someone who was driving? Goodness... Celeste just nodded and Mariah hopped out of the car and ran towards the elevator section. Celeste rolled her eyes. She was never hanging out with her again. Mr. Holloway had good advice but it just wasn't practical for them to have any type of friendship.

She drove through the filled up parking garage before finally finding a spot she could park. She got out of the car, pulled her purse out behind her, and locked the doors. Her heels clicked along the pavement as she walked towards the elevator sign before she felt... Something. Something strange. She perked a brow and looked around her. What was that red light? Celeste stared towards the light, which was pretty far away from her and down another level (she only saw pieces of it due to the decline to go into the next level.) Instead of walking towards the elevators like a sane person would, she decided to start walking around to begin the decline into the next level. It definitely wasn't brake lights... But what was it? She then saw the swirling darkness, the emptiness that was coming and wrapped itself around her and her surroundings... She took a breath, what was going on?

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Tempest 0/5
#2 Celestina De Ward 1/5
#3 Raine 1/5
#4 Mirror Grey-Morris 0/5

✿

It was her choice to enter the darkness and as soon as she crossed the barrier, Raine sobered.

She dropped to the side of the parking garage and landed hard enough that she had to use her hands to help catch herself. The darkness was wrong. Someone taking advantage of Halloween, no doubt, and trying to spook everyone. Raine wouldn't be spooked. She felt the creepiness and tried to use it as motivation to stay on her guard. This was not your average kitten rescue. The air felt... or maybe it was the entire parking garage... there were too many places for enemies to hide and no way for Raine to keep track of them all.

She had no costume. She had no allies. She had nothing but her wits and the warning she tried to take to heart.

It was time to be a hero.

Raine shifted into a runner's lunge and ran up the exterior of the garage, giving each level a quick skim visually until she found one level that was deeper, darker, and somehow a little bit windier?

"Bingo." Raine tethered herself to the ceiling and hopped over lights and vaulted across support beams. The quicker she could find the source, the faster she could make it stop, right?

The darkness was definitely 100% wrong. Gawain hoped that it might be a prank, but given that it happened at a parking garage instead of a party or a crowded street, it felt like something more sinister than that. He adjusted his costume as he moved along, trying to find a source. If it was an aura or a dome, there had to be a center to it. It was just hard to find anything with so many shadows...

Something skittered above. Gawain stopped, looking up. Spooky. He did not have his archery gear or any weapons, save for a knife that he had tucked into his boot (more part of the costume than for any real reason). His eyes narrowed as they followed a figure... moving along the ceiling? Was it even human?

"Hello?" he looked up as Raine passed right above him "Is this supposed to be a private party?..."

Tempest was dashing through the garage, his feet sliding across the concrete with light footfalls as the breezes he’d kicked up always sailed over and with him in the direction he intended. He skittered to a stop suddenly seeing a shadow moving through the other shadows. It was tall, a bit wide at the shoulders, and with bigger hands.

>> "Hello? Is this supposed to be a private party?..."

That didn’t sound threatening. Tempest drew closer, answering “Hello,” as he did so. He finished coming around the side of a car and let his black eyes focus upon the stirring shadow. It was a man in a knight’s costume, a lightly armored one. A musketeer. Hopefully Dumas had actually sent someone capable into the night, but it was likely simply someone out for a costume party. It was Halloween after all. Honestly it was a bit embarrassing to be out on Halloween night and still be in your slacks and a blazer.

Another shadow moved above, stirring the darkness only by blotting out the few flickering lights that were likely doomed to go out soon. Devon turned his glance upward as he held out his hand to the man ahead of him as if to give further pause. He nodded quickly as he called out, “Hey who’s up there? Are you responsible for this?”

Celeste was getting a little freaked - what was going on? She didn't really know why but her hair was sticking up all over. Her heels tapped on the concrete, which rang throughout the garage. She couldn't figure out what that light was. It couldn't have been a car, right? She was pretty sure it wasn't. She wasn't really sure, though.

She let out a small scream as she saw a shadowy figure move across the rafters and beams. "What the h*ll," she muttered after taking a deep breath. She was trying to get her heart calm again. Maybe it was a squirrel? Or a bird? Not important. That didn't explain all the shadows that were twirling around the place. 

She continued towards her goal - the red lights, although she moved slowly. She was really trying to conceal the tapping of her heels. She peeked into her purse for a moment and sighed. Of course, the one time she needed her slip on's she didn't bring them. She looked towards the light and rubbed her hands on her arms. She wasn't making much progress.

She ended up hearing a couple voices echoing around the garage - both sounded pretty familiar, actually. Was that Gawain? Maybe Devon, too? She wasn't entirely sure but it sure did sound like them. Couldn't hurt to ask, she figured, "Hello? Is anyone else in here?" She wasn't sure but she needed to know. Granted, this might mean that whatever bad thing/creature/whatever that was in the garage might now know exactly where she was at. That wasn't good. But, if she thought who they were actually were who they were, she needed to find out, right? 

FEAR GAUGE

Ahagl's soth l' ah'lloigshogg mgng nilgh'ri!

DICE ROLL

#1 Tempest 1/5
#2 Celestina De Ward 2/5
#3 Raine 1/5
#4 Mirror Grey-Morris 0/5

✿

Raine wasn't sure why, but she had a strange sense of urgency. She wanted to find the reason for all the darkness. It reminded her of that day when the Krampus had killed on campus and when the universe had torn asunder.

The ex-X skidded to a halt in her sneakers on the roof of the parking garage. 'Asunder'? She'd been watching too many late night infomercials, clearly, but the potential that someone had figured out the right cocktail of powers to make a new way home was just too tempting. Was it safe? Would it even be the same universe? How many universes were there?

>> "Hello? Is this supposed to be a private party?..."

Raine jumped back, looking around foolishly on the ceiling first and by the time she remembered that her floor wasn't the ground everyone else was walking on, another voice was calling out in the darkness.

> “Hey who’s up there? Are you responsible for this?”

She made a sound though her teeth, ready to sass about just straight up asking 'are you the bad guy?' but there was someone else.
A girl. She didn't sound nearly as jolly (or stupid) as these two. Actually... when she strained to listen...

"Shhhh! Do you hear that?" She hesitated to judge, but... "Is that Hungarian?"

Apparently Gawain was not the only one stuck in the parking garage, looking for the source of the unnatural darkness. That was good to know. Another guy showed, looking a little confused and somewhat familiar... and then a girl's voice rang out, and Gawain definitely knew that one.

>>"Hello? Is anyone else in here?"

"Celeste?" Gawain spotted the blonde, both relieved to see someone he knew, and worried that she might get into trouble. She was just a mansion student, and with some dangerous powers too. "What are you doin..."

>>"Shhhh! Do you hear that? Is that Hungarian?"

The voice came from above them. Gawain looked up at the girl on the ceiling.

"Is what Hungarian?" he blinked. "So... I'm not the only one thinking this is either a very stupid prank, or New York's regularly scheduled mutant Halloween mayhem?..."

The clouting darkness was starting to make Devon’s skin crawl. In the open air of the night he was unaccustomed to his field of vision being limited, especially with dappled light of the city or the brilliance of down town. Fogs, clouds, pelting rain, snow were all something he could see, study, and understand now and they were extensions of his senses, not limitations. This strangely, swirling shadow was holding him back, limiting him.

Tempest rolled his shoulders in a stretch as a girl above them admonished them. His eyes narrowed but she was right to tell them to listen. How was he to know if this wasn’t merely some accident by an emerging mutant? But someone chanting Hungarian or whatever it was made the darkness that much more ominous and seemingly nefarious.

>> "So... I'm not the only one thinking this is either a very stupid prank, or New York's regularly scheduled mutant Halloween mayhem?..."

“I’m guessing the latter at this point,” Tempest said quietly back to the man. If he knew Celeste – and that was her voice – then he likely was someone in their similar circle. Considering that then perhaps…

He turned and moved against a nearby vehicle, spotting the young woman as he did so. With a quick gesture he encouraged her to join the musketeer, the ceiling crawler, and him. He closed his eyes briefly, focusing on the sound.

“She’s right, someone chanting,” Tempest whispered and pointed in the direction of the sound before moving again.

Officially freaked. The shadowy presence felt like it was going into her very soul - it didn't feel right. Nothing felt right. She was just trying to go to a Halloween party with her arch nemesis (who even does that, anyways?) Granted, she couldn't really say they were arch nemesis anymore - mainly just neutral. Like Switzerland.

>> "Celeste? What are you doin.." 

She rubbed her head. It was Gawain! That was really good - at least she wasn't with some crazy strangers. She was close enough to see Tempest and Gawain but she still hadn't really noticed the ceiling crawler. She saw Tempest motioning for her and as quickly as she could, ran over to get beside him and Gawain, "What in the world are you guys doing here...?" It seemed kinda suspicious, how they all ended up in the same exact location. What a coincidence. 

She perked a brow, "Who's right?" She wasn't sure 'who' he was referring too - she was the only girl as she was unaware of Raine on top of the ceiling above them - she had somehow even missed her comment. 

She listened in, either way, and tried to detect noises. She could hear some type of chanting - it wasn't a language that Celeste recognized. Why would someone be chanting in a garage anyways?

She rubbed her arms together and peeked over the car, "Ugh, what is going on?"