SO YOU WANT TO STEAL SOME CHILDREN (Endgame Catchall)

[facultwist]

Welcome to the container for your endgame! This will be the place where you can perform your polterheist (we really love that portmanteau), and where you'll be able to commentate on the final trial!

ICly, the whole heist will take place Monday, while the final trial watch will take place Thursday. For anything not related to endgame, please continue to use the main deadland post!

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ESCAPE & AFTERMATH

[facultwist]

[ OOCly, this will take place Thursday ]

[facultwist]

[ You've explored the basement. You've found the kids. Some of you are more than a little tired from all the ghost-exertion.

But you aren't done yet.

You still need to get them out and figure out where they will go to be safe from the Witch.

The three are just about prepared, some things packed away in little backpacks. What do you do next, ghosts of Burnbriar? ]

[sweetsynergy]

[Looking over all this.]

Just setting them loose on campus would be bad, right as we're at least all agreed on that?

[bellpepperexercise]

We don’t want them to know immediately we broke out the kids…but what, do we just direct them to the gross pool?

[Kana still has a floating fire that makes her look like a weird little fire spirit to anybody that can’t see her for real.]

I could probably point out where to go to them at least…

[sweetsynergy]

It's probably not any more dangerous than the rest of this place, once they realize the kids are gone.

[If the witch can remotely view the campus it's not like hiding is an option, probably.]

And it's someplace Isabella knows about. This is all about rendezvousing with her at this point.

[banishedfromparadise]

Nobody thought to set a rendezvous point with Isabella beforehand?

[Ugh, it's so frustrating being ghosts! She'd been able to mostly ignore it for a long time, since she's been spending time with the other ghosts. And that didn't feel much different than being trapped here with the others in the first place. But having living children they need to look out for is both an unwelcome reminder, and a challenge for the task at hand.]

I suppose the pool makes sense, unless there's somewhere else we know is safe.

You're okay keeping that torch, Kana? We may need to find other ways to signal them along the way, too.

[thatsplato]

She mentioned an attic.

[sweetsynergy]

That we can't get to, unless someone's been holding out.

[dot dot dot]

...Misty if you know specifically how to get into the attic, say so now.

[banishedfromparadise]

The attic is too much to risk, anyway. We need to focus on getting the kids to Isabella so she can properly protect and guide them.

The witch has left us alone in the pool except for the séance, right?

[She was still alive for that, but...]

I hesitate to call anywhere here safe, but it's a place Isabella knows to come for us. Does anyone disagree?

[goldendoll]

... No, I agree. One of us who still has the energy can go to the study and get Isabella's attention when it's done, right?

[sweetsynergy]

[...oh god, they ARE agreeing, aren't they. Another new layer of Hell, yay.]

We're going to have to settle for safe-ish, I think. So yes.

[eternalfuture]

Nope, that makes sense to me. Isabella knows to look there for us, and I can save enough of my energy to go to the study and get her attention. Probably better that I wait up, given how nervous I am about everything right now?

[She's rambling, and that's an indicator of just how jumpy she is.]

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[ Rinne, who is helping poor exhausted Chris, smiles gently at Usagi. ]

Usagi-san. We can go together. Right now, can you help me with Chris-chan?

[eternalfuture]

Of course I can, Rinne-chan.

[banishedfromparadise]

[Oh good, they already have a volunteer to conserve energy. With that, Dorothy can feel a little more confident about her next idea.]

That's perfect, Usagi. You know their signal, I'm sure Isabella would understand that.

I'm going to try and write a message before we go. If there's a chance these kids know the campus, it might be good to let them know where we're going.

[Are those pens and paper anywhere nearby?]

[sweetsynergy]

[Vanity will show immense restraint and pass over a pen without throwing it at Dorothy's head.]

[protomartyr]

Our energy is strongest there, too. Makes sense.

[ Lottie agrees! ]

[banishedfromparadise]

My thought exactly. We can't do much, but we'll be better suited to look after them there.

[bellpepperexercise]

Yeah, I am? But I can’t really do anything else while I’m holding it. If I try, it might phase through me and…yeah.

It’ll work for now, but the open fire might start drawing attention to the wrong places?

[thatsplato]

Too bad we don't have Satsuki and her granola.

[bellpepperexercise]

Hey, it’s good that Satsuki’s not here.

But…are there any decorations or things like that we can use to make something similar? Like a trail of confetti.

[thatsplato]

There's cleaning powders in the storage.

[banishedfromparadise]

That... might not be a bad idea.

[Dorothy is agreeing with Vanity and Misty. This truly is hell.]

[bellpepperexercise]

Right. So we focus on getting them out of the basement. Preferably without getting spotted by thermal cameras.

[Speaking of, Kana is going to gesture to the kids and point her torch at the visible camera. They can do the math, surely.]

The Results (cw drowning references)

[facultwist]

[ And so, everyone still energized enough sets out to the western most edge of the storm, just beyond the central quad. With the sparkler from the admin basement, they make a torch to lead Isabella's children, after giving her signal to them once again. You have to move fast, because the fire at the administration building can't keep the Interim Headmistress and the Witch busy forever.

Mari, as the most experienced of the ghosts, starts the process. At first, it looks like she's just standing there, staring out into the roaring blizzard. Then, it almost...ripples. You ghosts, you appear cold to the living world. But you could swear, for a moment, the air around Mari is warm as something that almost looks like sunlight shimmers in front of you. Most of you have seen her channel her energy before with the long séance. Some of you have been privy to her own somewhat unintentional hauntings. But you haven't felt the energy like this before.

She's reaching out to you. To those of you who have expressed interest in helping with the storm.

It's as simple as accepting that energy, just like taking her hand. And then the more you focus, the more you picture it, something cutting through the storm like a piping hot knife, the more that shimmer stretches. This isn't something any of you could do on your own. Maybe it's not even something that you new ghosts could accomplish at all. But with this conduit, with Mari channeling and focusing your strength, it feels like you could do anything. Her hair rises into the air, flowing and floating as if she were submerged in water, but this time, this time, she has control.

You can almost, for a moment, imagine what it might feel like to create this storm...or, a fraction of it, at least.

The snow clears. It looks like the barrier that Witch has created is just expanding into a small tunnel. On the other side, in the not-so-far distance, you can see the dorms you thought you'd be spending your winter vacation in. They almost beckon to you. The hole you cut into it is only five feet tall, barely enough for the children to even stand in—but barely is all you need.

They can't see you, and in the cold they can't really feel you. But their eyes flick to where the torch is, and Emma flashes a great, big smile. ]

Tell Mom we'll be okay. And tell her we'll be waiting!

[ Emma grabs her brothers' hands and they charge forward through the tunnel you've created. With a burst of childish speed, they're through both faster than you may expect and slower than you'd like.

The longer you work at this, the more you can feel yourself drained. It's worse than any haunting you may have done, even if you've pushed yourself to the brink of exhaustion, mostly because you feel the Witch's energy encroaching around you. It's not a conscious attack, it's just the ambient energy that you're shoving up against to make this break in the barrier. It wants to immobilize you—but with your numbers and your boost from Mari, it can't. So it just leaves you drained.

You see the children go inside just in time. Quite literally so, because once they do, Mari collapses. The connection cuts, and that oppressive force eases. You can, metaphorically, breathe again, though you may need to lean on each other to get back to the pool, and Mari will definitely need some people to carry her (thank you, Dorothy and Mafuyu).

But the Witch herself makes no appearance. You can return to your underground base, so to speak, and rest up. You'll need to rest up, for at least a full day. Come Tuesday evening, however, you can still reach out to your fellow classmates. The Interim Headmistress, the Witch, neither one will try and stop you.

This is hurtling towards its inevitable conclusion, after all.

And what is an ending if there's no one to witness it? ]