One! Two! Three! (Is a Crowd)

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

One! Two! Three! (Is a Crowd)

Though he was reluctant to attend, Michael had promised his older step siblings to attend their Halloween endeavors in Era. After all, they don’t go and hang out very often, considering that everyone in the family is very busy. Though his reluctance did not stem from the fact that he doesn’t enjoy these festivities, nor is it from his dislike of horror imagery. Far from it. In fact, he does have a liking for them and finds them quaint. He remembered he was very into occult stuff, like witches and vampires and whatnot. He wanted to celebrate it with his family, but he’s very hesitant to do so. He deemed himself as ‘immensely dangerous’, the fact that he unknowingly made a pact with not just one, but two greater powers speaks volumes of the strength he needed to borrow to do what he needed to do back in the now obliterated Felidae.

The devil and the sleeping god… his fate swung forth like a pendulum. Who shall succeed in swinging their influence to their favor? Neither knows, but he only knows this - he is a ticking time bomb. This was the ultimate reason why he was very reluctant to join despite being invited. And yet, with the baby charm of his twin step siblings, how could he refuse? It was around that time when he may have trusted them to stop him if things go awry on his end. He trusted them to send for his twin siblings to put a stop to his rampage when things go south and he’s under the influence. He may be paranoid, but it’s best to be safe to minimize casualties.

And thus he is faced with a conundrum - what costume should he wear? There are a lot of options to choose from. From the classics to the niche, he had all the time in the world to try them all. He isn’t sure why he’s very indecisive. Perhaps he really wanted to get into the spirit of the holiday? He knew for a fact that he was very into Halloween, a fact revealed to him by his brothers since he was still recovering from his trauma induced amnesia. He drew inspiration from complex halloween costumes from niche themes, yet they still don’t have that certain je ne sais quoi. They just don’t pop for him at the moment. So why not go with the classics? Like mummies, werewolves, and vampires - yes, that’s it, a vampire! It’s as if there’s a sudden spark at the thought of vampires and portraying them. Adorning black and red silken clothes and pale skin, it looks like it’s right up his aesthetics.

It was almost time for the festivities to start. Michael had finished working on his costume - a classic vampire in very regal attire with a pale complexion and silver white hair. Normally one would have to wear a pair of red contacts to emulate a vampire’s eyes, but his eyes were already red to begin with. He went down from his room to the manor’s hall to wait for his step siblings. He was going down the staircase when he was greeted by his jovial step brother - Cinna, dressed in a whimsical and colorful ringmaster’s attire with some skull accessories here and there. It would appear that the two of them finished their preparations first. “Hey, Mikey! Oh wow, you look great!” Cinna said, with stars in his eyes in awe at his costume. He was flattered, but it’s plain obvious that his step brother took great lengths to plan for his costume. In comparison, it only took a few snaps from him to alter the threads to weave his clothes. “Hey. You look great, as well.” He complimented back.

The two of them waited for the others in the living room, patiently sitting by the sofas near the fireplace. There was an awkward silence between the two of them, mostly because of Michael’s nervousness and paranoia of things going awry because of him. While his costume easily concealed the eldritch sigils, it couldn’t do the same for his devil arm. Well, he couldn’t hide the spiky stuff around his shoulders, but the rest remained hidden. They’ll probably think it’s part of his costume or something. In a typical concerned older brother fashion, Cinna caught on to his nervousness. He had known all about what happened in Felidae, and what he had to pay. “Relax! Absolutely nothing will happen to you.” He said, trying to comfort him, “You’re not going berserk. Or go crazy. We’ll make sure of that.” Ironic, considering the height difference between Cinna and Michael, the latter of whom is a few years younger than his step brother. Said step brother is also quite small to be old, even more so that he behaves more childlike and the imagination of one. The esper sighed, trying to shake off this worry. His older step brothers being here for him granted him a bit of confidence that everything will go without a hitch.

Footsteps could be heard from outside the room, and in enters Cinna’s twin - Zander, who is a splitting image of himself save for his pink irises. His costume could be described as ‘risque’, with the overall materials being leather. Leather pants, leather boots, leather jacket, all of them black. In addition, he sported a pair of fake horns curving downwards and a red tail. Judging from his attire, he looks like he has somewhere fun to go to after the event. Neither of the two commented on his getup. He’s obviously dressing up as a devil. A kinky one. “‘sup nerds. Ya’ll ready?” He greeted his brothers.

“Hell yeah!” Cinna replied. Michael just nodded. More footsteps could be heard as another person entered the room - an anthropomorphic owl wearing what can be described as a ‘demonic chainsaw demon person thing’, with some fake blood splattered around the chainsaw bits. Compared to the rest, his costume looked more gorey. “I’m finally done with my costume! What do ya’ll think?”

Everyone gave him a thumbs up. “Oh, awesome costume Anton!” Zander said, while Cinna stared in awe. “You look amazing!”

As soon as everyone was in the room, Michael stood up. “Okay, that’s everyone. Olaf isn’t coming?” Michael asked, puzzled that Olaf isn’t joining. He remembered that it was a family thing for them to attend the Halloween faire together. Though in recent days, everyone else was too busy with their work, Olaf did join the festivities with either Zander or Cinna. This might be the first time he’s missing out. “He’s terribly sick. He’s going to be fine though.” Anton replied. There doesn’t seem to be any hint of worry from his brothers, so this ailment could just be something that can be treated overnight. What a terrible timing. “Okay, this should be everyone. Time to head out, then.” As soon as everyone was ready, the esper tore open a rift in space and created a portal to the venue in Era. They didn’t want to risk being late, after all.

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

One! Two! Three! (Is a Crowd)

A little while later after some short formalities, the event started. The fair goers were going around the venue to participate in games and win something, or just vibe with their friends. The first thing they wanted to do was to score some candies, though this time they won’t be going door to door to go trick or treating. Instead, a booth was set up where you have a chance to win some candy. The rules are simply similar to the shell game, except it involves candy and coffins. Normally he’d use his psychic senses to sus out the empty ones, but that felt like cheating. It takes the fun out of it, and Michael had no plans to do so either way. Rather, he’ll keep his eyes on the coffin with the candy. Simple as that, right?

Wrong.

The siblings stepped in front of the booth, with Michael being the first of the four to try his luck because ‘the young ones get them first’ as they say. At one glance, one would assume that these small siblings of his were his younger brothers, though in most cases, they’d be assumed to be his children if not with their facial hair. “Want to try your luck for some candy?” The staff asked, as if it wasn't obvious why he’s there. He just nodded. Then, instead of the staff member shifting the coffins with their hand, magic was involved and, with a snap, the coffins were suspended in mid air and moved around the table until all you could see was a blur. “Of course they’d use magic.” He thought to himself. Even he couldn’t keep up with its ridiculous speed. After a few seconds, the coffins stopped and settled down on the table. “Pick one!” He said, with a devious smirk drawn across his face. From the looks of it, there’s a 50/50 chance of getting the correct coffin, which is even.

Then again, this is just a fun game of chance with a trivial reward. So to hell with winning.

“This one.” He pointed at one of the coffins with an etched number '4' on it. “Is that your final answer?”

“...yes.” Upon confirming his selection, the staff member lifted up the coffin lid to find… a small plastic skeleton! Not candy. It was the wrong one. “Oh darn. Welp! My turn!” The amber eyed sibling exclaimed. They all took their turn guessing which one had candy, and of all of them, only Cinna and Anton got theirs. Oh well, they can just buy candy on their own. There’s still a lot more to experience in this event.


(OOC: Rolling for Witch's Brew!)

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

One! Two! Three! (Is a Crowd)

He noticed that some of the staff members were carrying drinks over trays around the venue. Doubtless a harmless magical concoction with flavor which he isn’t really fond of. Last time he’d done so, he literally saw red, like, he could only see everything in shades of red. A little inconvenient, sure, though it isn’t something life threatening as if it was poisoned, so it’s fine. “Care for some drinks?” One of the staff members dressed as a witch offered some refreshments to the four as she brought some drinks stored in potion bottles. All of them looked mysterious and of various colors, which doesn’t immediately give away their effects. Without skipping a beat, all three of his step brothers grabbed one from her tray. He was a little hesitant, but felt his mouth to be dry. So why not? After all, it’s only a harmless enchantment.

One gulp down and he could feel the faint magic from the concoction coursing through him. It’s as if something is changing, only to find that his canine teeth grow long and sharp. To his siblings, though, the only noticeable changes were that and the glowing eye. Did he just gulp down a vampire potion?

Meanwhile, Anton only got a regular drink, so there was no noticeable change. Cinna suddenly became translucent like a ghost. And Zander turned into a girl. “Oh hey! I’m a woman now. Neat.” His brother said. It might be a shock to everyone normally, but his brothers are already used to this. They already saw him as a woman considering his ability to shapeshift, so this was just a regular Tuesday to him. Michael looks more like a vampire with the help of the mysterious potion.


(OOC: Rolling for Whack-a-Ghoul!)

Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"

One! Two! Three! (Is a Crowd)

There’s little time left before the festivities are over. After a hearty dinner, the siblings wandered around the venue to find something to do. “Ohhh, that looks fun!” Anton gestured at an arcade beside a merry-go-round. It looked packed, yet you’d find some vacant seats here and there, as if most of them are there to watch people play games. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been to one.” Michael said. He wasn’t lying when he said it’s been a long time, though countless times he went to one he already forgot most of them. He was also hard at work to pay off his rent in the Neutral Grounds. “Oh! I have an idea! Why don’t we test our reflexes with that?” Cinna said as he pointed at one of the machines - a whack-a-mole. Or rather, a Whack-a-Ghoul in this case, appropriately themed for the event. “Sure.”

They had to get some arcade coins to play the games, after which they proceeded to the arcade machine. Michael, of course, had the first shot as he’s younger than them. He picked up the mallet as he slotted in a coin. While he’s reliant on his psychokinetic abilities, it would be cheating to use them for this game. After the cue, ghouls came rising up from the holes and the esper would try and whack them with his reflexes, and yet he was only able to hit a tiny fraction of them. They were simply too fast. Were they enchanted with magic? Perhaps, but he didn’t regret not using his psionic powers. It just proves that there's room for improvement with regards to his natural reflexes.

While he did miss a few of them, his other siblings weren’t faring any better. Anton couldn’t even manage to hit a single one, while Zander and Cinna got a couple of them. A few more rounds and they were pretty tired, with all of them managing to hit more or less the same number of ghouls. There was a slight improvement on Michael’s part but it’s still lower.

“Man I’m beat.” Anton said, “But it was fun.”

“It was pretty fun with Mikey around. Shame Franz, Oz, and Olaf couldn't make it. Though… I’m pretty tired.” Cinna yawned, “And honestly? I’m getting a little sleepy. I think that’s enough fun for tonight.”

Michael nodded in agreement. He was also feeling tired from the activities, so he wanted to go home. “Alright, portal it is.” He said as he tore open another portal to their home. He decided to do so to spare them the trouble of walking back home. He watched Cinna and Anton go, and Zander remained in the fair. He had to do something else, something to fulfill his desire, or it was something planned beforehand. “I take it you’re going somewhere else tonight?” He asked his older brother with a look of concern on his face. The rose eyed dwarf just smiled. “Yeah, I’ll be staying at a friend’s place. Don’t worry about me, though! I can take care of myself.” It’s no secret to him that Zander has some fight in him. With his shapeshifting abilities, he could easily transform into something terrifying and powerful. After all, that is the core of his take over magic.

“Alright. Take care, then.” Michael said as he entered the portal, closing the rift as he did so, leaving Zander behind. It was a long night, so everyone else had gone to their rooms. He didn’t skip a beat and poofed himself towards his bedroom. He couldn’t bother snapping his costume off. He went straight to bed and fell asleep immediately.