The Curse of Taloncrest Manor

Chapter 6: Arachnid Anarchy

The group of three managed to sneak back into the mansion and get into the kitchen relatively unharmed. After breaching the cellar, they walked down the stairwell into the basement. "....I have to say, that was a surprisingly quiet explosion," James remarked. "I thought it would've been a lot louder, to be honest. Then again, we probably would've had every ghost in the mansion on our tail if they had heard it." Cooper said. 

"I guess that's one thing the groundskeeper had in mind when he designed it," Ricardo replied. "Oh, well. Hurry, let's find that energy core and get out of here. Did the man say what it was supposed to look like?" Cooper looked over at him. "He said that it was stored inside some sort of blue....cube-shaped vessel. Something harboring that much fuel could be very potent---maybe it's also glowing? If it is, that'd help us a lot with spotting it." 

The three boys looked around the first hallway, but saw nothing particular of note. James was browsing through shelves of books; after he attempted to pull one off the rack, it instead stayed put, and moved as if James had just pulled a lever. Suddenly, the bookshelf retreated into the floor, revealing a second hidden stairwell. "Hey guys, check this out," he called out to the others while gesturing to the spot where the bookshelf once was. "Looks like I found a secret," he joked. "Awesome!" Cooper exclaimed. Ricardo came over and examined the area. "Nice job, James. Maybe the fuel is hidden deeper inside." "I'm afraid I'm not seeing any blue glowing cubes here....but I'll tell you what I do see...." James said, pointing to an elevator situated at the end of the hall. The three looked at each other cautiously. 

"....Well....we're not going to get anywhere if we don't give it a try. Let's go." Ricardo told the group as he pressed the down button to call the elevator. It arrived within a matter of seconds, and the boys boarded the elevator car quickly, with Cooper pressing another button inside the elevator to close the door. 

As the elevator car began its descent, the entire area suddenly started shaking. "An earthquake?!" Cooper asked urgently, in a panicked manner. "No, wait.....I think I hear something below us!" "What?! The groundskeeper told us this area was supposed to be safe!" James cried. "No....get back! Get back!" Ricardo ordered as the middle of the car began to grow more and more unstable. Soon, a large chunk of the elevator's middle floor panels fell away, allowing the three boys to look down the elevator shaft and meet their attacker face-to-face; a gigantic, blackened, mutated spider with piercing red eyes and sharp mandibles. Its mouth was also dripping with fluid. 

"What....is.....that?!" Cooper cried out in terror. "I don't know, just stay out of its way! Stick to the walls! The elevator's still moving---we'll be at our destination soon!" Ricardo urged. "Can this thing go any faster?!" James exclaimed. 

The elevator rumbled once more as the giant spider grabbed onto the car with its huge limbs, temporarily stopping it. It then positioned itself so its abdomen was over the now-exposed middle floor, and began to rapidly eject its offspring into the car to attack the boys via the opening. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cooper yelled. James grabbed Cooper and shook him. "Calm down, dude! ....Okay, I have an idea. They're not that big, right? Just stomp on them to kill them. Don't get overwhelmed!" he instructed. Ricardo immediately got to work, followed by James and then Cooper, after a long bout of hesitation. Once all of the offspring were dead, the spider let go of the car and it continued its descent. 

But the chaos wasn't over. The sound of loud steel clanging reverberated throughout the shaft as the spider climbed over the car to assault it from a different direction. It shot a strong torrent of silk webbing at the upper door and proceeded to remove it. Then, it proceeded to stick its some of its limbs into the car, trying to grab the boys. "I don't think it can see very well....that opening isn't very big....get low! Maybe it won't detect us!" The three of them got down on the outer edges of the elevator floor, anxiously waiting for it to flee the car. After a few minutes, the mutant spider retracted its limbs back through the upper compartment and fled the elevator completely, ascending up the shaft in the opposite direction of the car's path. 

With the coast clear for the time being, the three got up and started to catch their breaths. "What was that?!" Cooper cried. James shrugged. "I don't know, man, but that was WAY too close for comfort!" "We need to ask the groundskeeper about that....thing....when we get back. He said that the basement was supposed to be safe!" Ricardo proposed. Soon, the elevator reached the second basement floor. "Well....let's get moving. We've got a lot of ground to cover," he continued as he stepped out of the elevator. "Agreed," James responded, following his friend out of the car. "Come on, Cooper." 

Ricardo warned his other two friends again before they moved forward. "Guys, tread carefully. I don't know what other horrors might be lurking in this place...."

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"Enemies approach...." Dr. Octavio mused, having overheard the scuffle in the elevator shaft earlier. "Excellent job, Silkwidow....now they know what they're in for...." The doctor had been watching the whole thing through a small camera mounted on the mutant spider's backside. "Hmmm....but....why did they not retreat....? All evidence concludes that they should have fled....in terror...." 

"Haha.....no matter. It may be a good thing that you decided to leave them alone.....and simply scare them, for the time being....besides....I want these unwanted pests to bear witness to my masterpiece...." he said to himself as he approached the center operating table once again. ".....Come, heroes. If you wish to gaze upon horrors beyond understanding, then come! Hahahahaha!" the scientist laughed as the sound of power tools once again filled the area. 

On one of the many tables inside his twisted workshop, there was a familiar-looking, glowing, blue cube.....

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Meanwhile, in the Conservatory, Melody was playing around on the grand piano, when Dischord materialized and approached her. "Magistrix." Melody paused and turned around. "Greetings. What is it you require, Dischord? The meeting does not take place for another two hours." the ghost girl asked. "I've analyzed the gold button that You discovered earlier, lying around on the stage floor. I've asked several Songsworn agents to discretely scout the mansion and search for any leads." At first, Melody was dismissive. "Vizier, I gave you clear instructions to leave the situation alone for the time being, did I not?" Dischord bowed. "Magistrix, the investigation may have been unauthorized, but rest assured that it has been going very efficiently, in fact." 

Now interested, Melody was filled with anticipation. "Have you found out anything?" Dischord pulled out a glass orb and a picture of the groundskeeper slowly faded into view within it. "Him. He is the one responsible for the boys' getaway, Grand Magistrix. He is the reason why we have failed to achieve our much-desired ascension." the vizier said. Melody clenched her fist in rage upon seeing the man's face. "I wait 105 years to gain my freedom....I endure this pain for countless ages....I come this close to obtaining the souls needed for my escape....and this....this pig.....thinks he can take them away from me?!" she yelled, her ghost form turning from a cool, translucent blue to a dark, unsettling shade of red. "Divine, what are Your orders?" Dischord asked, remaining completely obedient despite Melody's seething anger. "Comb through our ranks, Vizier. Find the best assassins among them, and let them know their orders are to locate and capture this man. But I ask that you have them subdue him only; in other words, keep him alive, and bring him back to me. I have....plans....for him." Melody said darkly. "By night's end, he will know my wrath." 

"Of course, Divine. Glory to the Magistrix!" Dischord declared before dissipating. 

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Upon reaching the end of the first hallway and coming to the first right turn, all that Ricardo and his friends saw were shelves and shelves of random equipment and destroyed lab displays. "Well....at least this place seems to be pretty linear....we're not in much danger of getting lost...." James remarked. 

Suddenly, a strong but condensed vortex of darkness began swirling at the end of the second hallway, causing the three boys to reflexively step back and shield their faces from potential harm. When the shadow miasma dissipated, a certain human-like, cybernetic-enhanced android was standing at its original spot. 

By now, Cooper had just about enough of everything that was going on. "Wow, we're just meeting all kinds of new people today, apparently." 

"Who are you?" Ricardo asked. 

"I....am....Dr. Octavio," the scientist introduced itself.