Backstory for my corner of the Arthurverse!
Who knew an ice cream truck could be intimidating?
Of course, this wasn’t the beginning of the wretched situation Arthur found himself currently in. No, in fact it started quite a while back.
“I’ve read reports that a mansion has appeared from nowhere! Isn’t that strange..? It’s pretty remote.. And these reports say it looks abandoned… but that’s nothing new, what’s odd is it just appeared. We should check it out! What do you think Arthur?”
That is where it started.
Arthur had a bad feeling ever since his best friend, a precious little yellow ball of happiness by the name of Vivi, suggested they investigate an abandoned mansion that had reportedly appeared overnight in a remote area outside of the small town of Tempo. That girl’s thirst for the paranormal was unmatched, she would always keep an eye on news reports, blogs, etc, looking for anything they could possibly investigate. Arthur didn’t mind indulging her in her passion, he had a van, she needed to be driven places. He had a motive of his own to go with her anyway… He agreed to the trip to the mysterious mansion, and off they went, Arthur, Vivi, and her dog.
This particular investigation however… They found something. The presence was obvious from the second they stepped inside that mansion. It was cold.. Very cold. The show started shortly after, paranormal happenings began to occur from every direction, and in a panic, Arthur was separated from his friend and her dog.
And then… he was face to skull with him.
That cold… tall.. Intimidating spirit.
He singled Arthur out.. Stared him down with those icy orange eyes, they held what could only be described as a hatred within them.
The Green haired man felt numb, his breath visible in the air and frost forming on the metal of his left arm prosthesis as he remained eye locked with the spirit for a moment more… than he bolted, the ghost in close pursuit.
A burst of frost and the two and their pet barely escaped with their lives.
Vivi found the experience thrilling, of course she did. Her face was bright and her smile wide, Arthur however… his soul was cold and heavy with fear. Never have they encountered something so… real.
Later that night.. On their drive home, Vivi suggested Arthur pull over and get something to drink and rest. Begrudgingly he obliged, and once they were parked along the highway, Vivi’s cheer faded as she noticed her friend’s tension.
She tried everything to make him smile, including teasing the man’s addiction to pomegranate juice, calling him things like “Pompom” which usually made him crack a bit of a grin, but tonight it only seemed to stress him further as he pulled out his laptop to work.
Arthur worked, mapping out locations they had been, he let out a heavy sigh, they had been nearly everywhere and still no sign of him.
Vivi eventually dozed off listening to the uneven tapping on keys caused by arthur’s metal arm. After a few minutes more of work, and a spook from the dog (He swore he saw something more to that mutt… something terrifying) Arthur decided he had enough screentime for the night and put away the laptop. He was still far from being able to sleep, as his tension was still quite high, so he pulled out his tools and began tinkering with the van.
After repairing a few minor things, such as loose bolts, he couldn’t find anything more to distract himself with under there. With a sigh he got into the driver’s seat and, oh gosh there was the dog in the passenger’s. It gave him a proper fright, not hard with shocked nerves like arthur’s.
After calming down and giving the small purple dog a good head pat, Arthur started the van and began the drive the rest of the way home. Thoughts swirled through his mind, about vivi, about the mutt, about the ghost… he shivered at that thought, remembering the cold numbness of looking into his eyes.. But most of all, of him the one he was looking for.. Vivi never seemed to react if he made a passing comment, occasionally she would give a confused glance if he mentioned him, but she never recognized it…
Something was coming down the highway at a very high speed.
The van began malfunctioning, it wasn’t responding, in a panic he hit the dashboard.. Pain.. momentary blackness… his prosthetic wasn’t moving… he caught a glimpse of a vehicle on the bumper of the van in the rearview mirror.
Who knew an ice cream truck could be intimidating?
This one sure as hell was, Arthur floored it, hitting the gas and speeding down the highway at breakneck speeds, he couldn’t turn around now to properly check if vivi was alright in the back, giving only a glance.
His only thought was… escape.
He didn’t have time to react as something hit the windshield, great another thing to terrify the poor man in green. It appeared to be some kind of demon, made entirely of crystal but he couldn’t get a great look as it broke the glass to get at.. The dog?
Escape. Just escape, hopefully with your life
The back tire’s out… the motion of the van caused the crystal demon to lose their grip and slide off the front of the van. That was a relief, but that relief was short lived.
The van broke a barrier and careened down a hill, quickly approaching the mechanics shop his uncle worked at.
Impact. The van connected with the side of the shop. Arthur was thrown against the dashboard unconscious.
He awoke in the grasp of him… that spirit, the same one from the mansion. He screamed, there was nothing else he could do as he was thrown into a dark freezing abyss in the back of the truck.
He hit the ground, and the scene came to light around him. Arthur could only run in his fear struck panic, spirits taunted him from every angle, even blocking his path, forcing him to take an alternate route up to the edge of a cliff, orange tinted stalagmites speared up below.
Arthur let out a heavy breath, having nearly fallen, which it's visible cloud hung in the air. He shivered in the horribly low temperature, looking down at the spikes, this all felt… familiar. He gripped his frosted metal arm, something wasn't right.
His feet left the ground, something lifted him from the collar of his puffy green vest. Arthur screamed and kicked, glancing back and seeing.. the spirit. Those cold orange eyes full of deep seated rage. He moved forward, dangling arthur over the pit of spikes, Arthur struggled, looking down at the sharp structures.
The hand on his collar released, and Arthur was thrown into a free fall, he screamed as the spears rushed towards him, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his face, preparing for impalement… but…
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A little context! Things are a little screwy in this arthur's world. Long story short: