Haunted House (Mikko)

As the brute charged forward to end this--whatever it was--once and for all, he was met by something seemingly as large and irritated as himself. It matched his growl with one of its own, and it was then that Mikko felt something tickle the hairs on his ear. Instinctively, he ducked, his heart lurching in his chest, and as these things continued to close in on him, instinct took over, driving him to do what he did best: fight. And fight he did, ignoring as best as he could the myriad of limbs and textures that tried to steal him away into the darkness, until a sickening crack sounded from his tail and sent him reeling back toward whatever it was that had grabbed it. Over and over again he sank his teeth into it, relentless in his assault. Ultimately, it let him go, but then a light overwhelmed the abyss that had seemed to swallow him, taking him back from it before he could fully realize what had just happened.

He blinked, slowly opening his one eye and assessing his surroundings with caution, ignoring the throbbing of his limp and broken tail. Where was he, now? Then he saw it, laid out on the floor of a cage, staring back at him through empty eye sockets. ReLEase mE! it shrieked, and suddenly Mikko heard something stir up above, almost a distorted laugh. His eye narrowed before turning back down to the old doll. Fine. If it was going to taunt him so, then it was going to learn why that was a mistake. He was no coward. He wouldn't be laughed at. He wouldn't let himself be shaken by more of the same. Mikko stormed toward the puppet once again and ripped the cage open the rest of the way before looking back up at the lightbulb. He would release them.