10th Aniversary Necromancy!

[[NPC] Ai]

This isn't good. If they come out during the event and Naru's around, it'll be a disaster. I have to let the other staff members know. Tell them to be on the lookout for anyone coming out of pools of blood.

Actually they can travel through reflective surfaces.

Damnit that's even worse! Where's Alex and Robin? Didn't they come down here with you all?

AH THAT'S RIGHT! ALEX SNUCK INTO THE MIRROR WORLD! HE'S STILL TRAPPED IN THERE!

AH! YOU'RE RIGHT! HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET HIM BACK OUT?!

Are you serious?! Risky I need him for the opening ceremony tomorrow, what the hell?!

......*sigh*

No, this is fine. I'll just grab Alex from a few hours ago when we all first got here and have him do the ceremony in advance. Problem solved. But we're going to need a new detective to investigate the temporal anomaly. We're also going to need some more staff members to replace Naru and Alex. I can't have Naru's future self know about the Zombie Gang, and her past self desperately needs a break from... everything.

Hey you two. Jim and... Amy was it? How would you like to take Naru's place and help with the event?

Ah that sounds lovely! I've never been an event manager before now that I think about it.

I'm pretty sure you were during the-

During the what?

I uh...

...I-it's nothing. I must have mis-remembered. Don't worry about it.

But yeah, I'd love to *yawn* help wherever I can.

Do you all need somewhere to sleep? You can use any of the unoccupied rooms upstairs if you want.

Wait! What about the culprit?! If it's not Samantha, and it's not Helvetica, who was it?!

Whoa hey I just noticed but what happened to you, Risky?

I was killed.

Huh?! No, you clothes! What happened to your clothes?!

???

Wait, when DID this happen?

Ugh whatever! Ai, there's a dangerous murderer down here! If we don't find them they could kill someone else! Maybe even one of the guests! You know, the ones that CAN'T afford to die?!

Wait- WHAT?!

It's true. Someone killed Risky, but I brought him back as a vampire. We've been looking for them all night.

SERIOUSLY?! Noooooo whyyyyy?!

[[NPC] Helvetica]

Hey, can I stay down here? I don't wanna leave the basement if there are people upstairs.

omg how did I miss you?

Um, hi. My name's Ai Hanasaku and I'm the event manager for Wayback Con. You've probably got a lot of questions like "How did I get here?" and "Where am I?"

Y-YES! YES THAT!

Okay... so, you've been sent back in time for who knows how long. We're not sure how, but it's been happening to a lot of people and we're trying to figure out how to fix it. So just... if you need somewhere to stay you can hang out here, or we can take you back to your time period safe and sound. Whatever you want to do, miss uh...?

Helvetica. I'm not in trouble, am I?

Ugh no, you're fine. Would you like me to take you back to your time period? Do you know what date you came from?

No.

Uh... Okay that's fine. My wayback machine can carbon date stuff.

Or, better idea, I know this absolutely brilliant place where you won't be bothered by the outside world. I could take you there if you like, but I have to be done with this event first.

Or... Or you could do that. Totally up to you.

Plenty of room in my coat if you'd rather bunk there. Just ask Goldie.

Actually, where is Goldie?

Goldie~?

Jim whistles to call Goldie to him.

[[NPC] Goldie]

Goldie has returned to her humanoid form. She is, once again, completely naked.

Sorry Grampa. The dead-smelling person got away.

That's fine, but Goldie sweetie...
...you're naked again.

Ooooohhhh...

Aw what a cool dog!

You know Goldie, don't you? She's a Werewolf.

Aw cooooool!

owo that's a nice pajamas you gotz!!!!

Hey do you need some clothes I'll give you mine you if you want

okaaaayyyyyz!!!!

Helvetica's gives Goldie her outfit. Helvetica is now naked.

What the hlippin feck are you doing?!?!?!

Er, Helvetica... people in the Passive World are terrified of nudity.

oh sorry id didn't knwo lol

hey i should have tried scaring you by running around naked that must be rilly spooki for passive wrold ppl

don't

[[NPC] Yellow Spirit]

No, I must remain faithful. Calm down. Count the prime numbers to keep composure.

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19...

Risky what the hell are you doing?

Someone give the nice ghost lady some clothes. I must not have eyes for any other woman. 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53...

Somebody give Helvetica some damn clothes already.

Goldie where are your clothes?

MMMMMMMMMM

i forgotz

oh ffs

Alright then, Helvetica, climb in my coat.

it won't fit. ill just rip it if i put it on

Nonononono, it's a pocket dimension! You can have one of my spare outfits inside. Hopefully something a little more fitting than what you were wearing before.

oh good yo uhave no idea how hard it was 2 get that shirt on roflmao

I'll be right back everybody.

Jim and Helvetica vanish into Jim's coat.

[[NPC] Jim]

Alrighty then! Let's find you something dashing to prance about in, shall we?

OMO this place is HUUUUUUGE!!!!

Now if I'm not mistaken, the clothing room is on the bottom floor.

is it this one?

Yes, that's the-

Nonono waitwaitwait that's not it!

Helvetica opens the closet, unintentionally breaking the lock on the door with her uncontrollable strength.

It's very small, but it's been lined with hundreds of photo books and video tapes. The labels have dates and names of people on all of them. In the very back is a treasure chest with a heart-shaped emblem. Next to the chest is a diary with the same emblem on the cover.

Helvetical instantly knows what all this is. How could she not? She read Jim's mind. These were mementos, memorabilia, gifts either of or from all of Jim's old companions, most of which never outlived Jim.

Aaaah! I'm sorry! I didn't know this was that room!

Why are you sorry for? I've already done shown you everything in my head, didn't I?

I think I broke the lock.

Oh.
Oh dear.
...will have to get that fixed then.

Helvetica tries to put the lock back together with minimal success.

D-Don't worry about trying to fix it! It's fine! We'll fix it later. We've got to get you some garments before you freeze your bits and bobs off.

Jim laughs off the whole ordeal, cheering Helvetica up in the process. Jim and Helvetica look through the adjacent closet, picking out a dozen or so outfits until they find a sleeveless, one-size fits all outfit for Helvetica and a matching cape to go with it.

There you are, good as new!
Oh, and there's Goldie's old outfit! Must have taken it off so she wouldn't rip it going full lycan form. So forgetful. So so forgetful.

Oh right, Helvetica, if you'd like to pick out a guest room go right ahead.

I get my own room?!

You do if you plan on staying with us! Go on! Pick whichever one you want! As long as it doesn't have a name on it it's free game!

Helvetica merrily climbs the stairs, her enormous monster hands dragging along behind her. She approaches the very first door she comes to and, this time being extra careful, nudges it open with one finger. This time the door wasn't locked...

However, it was also not empty.

Oh. Hello.

Hi! You're pretty!

*squid noises*

J-Jim????

Oh that's right. Amy and Marvin weren't the only ones who came with me.

Jim has been keeping a trio of cryptids in his coat this entire time: Ilu the innocuous, innocent Incubus; Fooloo the clingy, starved of affection Eldritch; and Skeleton King, the... Skeleton King. Each one of these characters will have the chance to become a major character in the stories to come, but only if they roll a 20!

[[NPC] Ilu]

Ooooh! So close! Beaten by a difference of one! Now that's just heartbreaking! Ilu's face goes limp with defeat. Tears swell up in the poor boy's eyes. He's practically choking. Sorry little buddy, I know this must be very hard on you. Fooloo feels for Ilu, and gives him a gentle rub on the head for comfort. There there. Let it all out, little buddy. After he's let out all his emotions he'll probably get tired and fall asleep. Might have to cry a second time, three times at most. Skeleton King passes Ilu a tissue box to wipe the tears away.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Cheer up Ilu! You'll find true love one of these days!

[[NPC] Fooloo]

Fooloo also doesn't win. Fooloo starts feeling lonely again, and clings to Ilu for comfort. His left arm uncoils into four black tentacles that haphazardly wrap around Ilu's face covering both his eyes. Fooloo's legs also uncoil into tentacles. Eventually his entire body looks like some kind of ****ed up octopus that wraps itself around Ilu. Ilu is kinda enjoying this.

Fooloo rests his head on Ilu's shoulder, and the two of them collapse into the pillow fort sitting right next to them. Skeleton King is furious! That was HIS pillow fort! Ilu and Fooloo aren't listening. They've already made themselves comfortable in the collapsed pillows that they both drift off to sleep. Hope you've been patient up to this point, because if Fooloo had any bones in his body this would be him throwing one to you. You know who you are.

[[NPC] Skeleton King]

None of the monster boys win a chance in the story?! What?! What is this?! This is an outrage! Can you imagine the possibilities these characters could have interacting with the regular cast!? One of them is a damn Lovecraft monster! And what about the Skeleton King?! Everyone loves Skeleton King! I like Skeleton King! I call him Tony for short! Can you imagine young Ai and Risky, with Sam and the Skeleton King all playing Mario Party together?! That would be adorable! But instead we don't get any of that! No Incubus! No tentacle monster! And no Skeleton King! Nothing!!!

**** I'm so mad!

Helvetica closes the door behind her. The Skeleton King goes back to whatever the hell he was doing. He's miserable. We're all miserable. Damn it I'm still mad.

Alright, I won't leave you three with nothing.

Remembering the cryptids hitching a ride in his coat, Jim will now be able to call on them to perform certain attacks in combat, similar to what he and Goldie did a while ago.

Ilu will be able to inflict Charm on any enemies that are thrown inside Jim's coat. When released, they will follow Jim around and protect him from any attacks.

Fooloo will be able to inflict Fear on any enemies that are thrown inside Jim's coat. When released, they will flee from Jim and infect up to three other enemies with fear.

Skeleton King will be able to summon a Skeleton Thrall that will spawn from Jim's coat and attack nearby enemies. They go down in a single hit, but can be used to do some serious damage if they survive long enough, and work as great distractions.

[[NPC] Helvetica]

Helvetica picks the next door down. It's surprisingly empty. Amy and Marvin must have chosen a room on the next floor up.

Helvetical looks at the stairway going past the roof. How far up does it go?

Helvetical decides to explore later, and walks back downstairs.

So what do you think? New outfit, some quick 'n easy lodging. Not bad is it?

its really nice thanks

I should be thanking you for trusting me. Can't imagine that was easy after all this time.

I read your memories tho, so I knew you wouldn't betray me.

Well I mean, that was probably the only way to prove I was trustworthy to you.

Hey Helvetica... You're... going to be okay, right?

What about you? Are you going to be okay?

What do you mean?...

Oh! Right, right, I shared my memories with you, didn't I? Of course you'd worry about me. Well, I've got nothing to hide. Worried I might send Amy home and live the rest of my years in a dusty old coat alone? Worried I might endanger someone somewhere and be wracked with guilt over it?...

Am I getting close?

You're getting farther. Intentionally.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. It's none of my business.

......


...You're talking about Lucy, aren't you?

Was that her name?

I like to think that's who she was when she died.

Helvetica, I wasn't... I wasn't myself that day. That wasn't who I am.

I know. You're not a bad person Jim, but she had to be stopped. There's only so much a good person can take before they've had enough. I can still remember years ago, breaking out of that lab and... and grabbing that doctor, and just thinking... "all this time, and it was that easy."

I don't feel right saying "he deserved it", but I don't feel right saying "there had to have been another way" either. Back then I wasn't thinking about a way out or how to save the day. Back then... I was just angry. She spent centuries tormenting me. Hundreds, maybe even thousands dead... And Amy... she'll never be human again... all because I kept letting her live. Ultimately, I realised I'd had enough.
Asking you to trust me had to have been the biggest gamble of my life. To be honest I didn't think you would, not after seeing that. I went against everything I believed in that day. I don't even trust myself after that.

Jim no, listen. I trusted you because of what happened, not in spite of it. We both had a really bad day, and did things we thought we'd never do, but you still want to be a good person. I like that. I never wanted to be bad, but nobody ever gave me the chance.

Well so long as you're not rampaging about killing people I think you're a good person.

Hey, you wouldn't happen to know about the killer running around down here, would you?

oh yeah you guys were looking for a killer! im prolly going 2 b up all night so i can help look for them if you wanna sleep

You don't have to do that! I'm sure Risky's friends can take care of that by themselves. It's late. You should get some sleep too.

I wanna stay in the basement anyway. also if im up at night less people will bother me.

Don't trust anyone else?

uh uh

Yeah, alright, I'll give you that.

If you want to help look for the killer you should let Risky know.

okay!

Jim and Helvetica leave for the front door. Before Helvetica can follow him out, Jim pops his head back in.

One more thing.

No more Fear Barriers, alright?

k

I mean it. Don't do that again. From now on, I'm your Fear Barrier.

...okay

Jim and Helvetica exit the coat. They're in the underground library, or what's left of it. Some of the shelves have been restocked with more books, strengthening the magician's barrier inside the library. Ai is standing outside the barrier to greet Jim and Helvetica.

Oh good, you're back. Amy brought your coat in here. She's sleeping on the sofa over there, so try not to wake her up. We also got you some more books for the library. That should help refortify this room while the killer is loose.

Amy is indeed sleeping on the sofa. Marvin is also asleep on an opposite sofa with Goldie lying over a bean bag next to him.

Risky already left to look for the killer. Actually, he's sleeping on the floor behind the couch, but he's a time traveler, so his future self went to look for the murderer a few minutes ago. I got my friends Elene and Angie to help him. We also got two other Reapers guarding the upstairs bedrooms.
If they so much as try for a second victim, we'll have someone there to stop them.

Jim hears a faint cackling echoe down the halls.

Don't worry, that's Angie. She's just like that.

Oh yeah, and we got the door to the basement unlocked. If you get up early enough we'll have breakfast for everybody.

Amy and I usually sleep in, but if there's any of us that'll get up early it's Goldie.

can I help look for the killer too?

Um... sure I guess? Just don't wake anybody up, okay?

okay!

Will you be alright by yourselves?

We've handled worse than tonight. I think we'll be just fine.

Alright. Wake up Risky if you need to get to me.

Ai and Helvetica leave the library.

Jim takes a moment to glance around at the ruined library. The barrier should be strong enough to keep any intruders out with the few books remaining. Jim solemnly glances at Amy sleeping on the couch next to him.

Amy is sound asleep on the sofa. Peaceful looking as always...

......

Jim wonders how much longer this peace will last. Is it an inevitability what happens to his friends? And if so, how much longer do they have? How much longer until Amy becomes another Diana? Could he prevent something like that from happening again? No, most certainly not. He could try, but that's about it.

Should he let her go? Send her back to wizard academy? She should be in University by now. Jim wonders, had they never met, had Amy never followed along, would she be better off? She wouldn't be part vampire, that's for true. She'd still be a (somewhat) normal girl in school. At the very least, Jim thinks to himself, he can try to give her a normal life again. Some day. Not today, but some day.

......

Goodnight, Amy.

Jim uses his spare wand to remotely turn down the lights, and climbs back inside his coat.

Lewis Spencer

Age: ???
Race: Human (zombie)
Occupation: Gangster
Height: 169 cm

Info: Highschool dropout turned undead thanks to an imperfect immortality potion mutating into a zombie virus. He was able to fight off the virus' effect of turning him into a mindless undead through sheer force of will alone. He now resorts to a life of crime knowing he could never walk around in daylight again nor get a decent job due to his frightening and occasionally decomposing body, using only his street smarts to survive. Formed the Zombie Gang with his girlfriend Diana, and now strives for respect in the criminal underworld.

Diana Ashford

Age: ???
Race: Human (zombie)
Occupation: Gangster
Height: 154 cm

Info: A former traveling companion of James Fadbury who died during the zombie outbreak. For reasons unknown he was reluctant to revive her despite having the ability to do so. To this day she resents Jim for leaving her to die and forcing Lewis to resort to bringing her back as a zombie. Thanks to traveling with and listen to Jim for some odd years, she is the most book smart of the two current Zombie Gang members.

Samantha the White

Age: 10
Race: Human (undead)
Occupation: None
Height: 138 cm

Info:

Ilucious Eros Endymion XII

Age: 19
Race: Incubus
Occupation: Student
Height: 162 cm

Info: Part of an endangered species of love demons, Ilu's family enrolled him in a scholarship with James Fadbury with the hopes that his travels abroad would lead to Ilu "extending the royal family lineage." Unfortunately, they disowned him once they learned Fadbury had been teaching him vulgar concepts such as "intimacy" and "hand holding", having pronounced him "defiled forever" in response.

Ncothulu Rlyeh

mgepog: 18
ye'bthnk: eldritch
l' mgepuln: 'drn gokahe
ahog: 0.000858531 nmi

kadishtu: Hupadgh kassogtha, hup uh'eagl ot r'lyeh, ncothulu mggoka ye'bthnk ot shuggoth l' llll ah'lw'nafh f'. H' nnnogorr mgepah nafl k'yarnak soth llll h', ng l' ah'f'nah riuh'eor llll ahnnn nnn'drn. Mgng h' ftaghu ahor ah mgfm'latghnah l' ah'bthnk, ng h' mgr'luh ahor tharanak lloigshogg ph'nglui lloigg ot ah'legeth. Iiahe llll nilgh'ri hupa hup mgepog, h' ahor ahazath llll ehyee ye'bthnkk ot shuggoth ahnythor h' gotha

Antonio Marfil

Age: ???
Race: Human (???)
Occupation: Skeleton King
Height: 137 cm

Info: A young boy who discovered a mysterious crown of bones in some ancient Aztec ruins, and returned home hoping to make a fortune from selling it. Unbeknownst to him, what he actually found was The Crown of Mictlan, which had the terrible side effect of turning his entire village into skeleton thralls. Now he rules them as the Skeleton King.