Haunted Mansion Mystery Noir

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

-Edgar Allen Poe

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It was a sad day in the town.

The villagers wept in sorrow as two caskets were buried underground. The trees were bare of the leaves of fall, paving the way to the winter seasons. A chill brushed the arms of the men while tickling the spines of the women. Children placed various flowers around the graves, tears streaked down their faces. The one who was suffering most of all was a tall man wearing a black overcoat and silver scarf. His eyes were misty as he leaned down to trace the names of his beloved daughters on the tombstones.

​​​"Anne, Belle, I am so sorry..." He whispered, kissing the cold stones. "I should've seen this coming. I should've read the signs. It's my fault that you are no longer with us."

The villagers comforted the man, but he refused their consoling. The only thing he wanted was to hear his sweet daughter's laughter ring his ears, eat beside them, and watch them grow up to be beautiful ladies.

But it was all in vain, for the twin sisters Anne and Belle Lee, were dead.

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The stage is set with a ravishing red curtain covering most of it. Upon the stage came a young African American girl with short blur hair wearing an elegant looking black dress. Her gloved hands had notecards as she read from them.

"Good morning/afternoon/evening readers. My name is Onyx." She read, flipping through the cards. "I am here to warn you about the following story you are about to read. Some scenes contain mentions of violence and death. You have been warned."

Onyx stopped reading to face the audience once more. "The author also wants you to know that the story contains elements of cartoon shenanigans, cliche plotpoints, and mentions of famous poems by Edgar Allen Poe." She gave the audience a look. "If you have no idea who that is, then what the heck have you been doing in reading class! I know who he is and I'm in fifth grade! C'mon people, instead of reading fanfiction all the time, try cracking open a book!"

Optimus stuck his helm from the curtains. "Onyx...finish reading the disclaimer! We have a show to start!"

"Oh! My mistake..." She pulled out one last card. "The following chapter will also have some minor shippings as well. If you like what you see, we thank you. The author works hard to appease your many request. She also loves chatting in the comment section which I find slightly annoying."

"Onyx...hurry up!"

"Okay Optimus! Sheesh! Anyways, you have been warned readers so enjoy the show." Onyx dropped the cards and went into the curtain. "So how did you think I did?"

"Meh...could've done the disclaimer better." Came Smokescreen's voice followed by a yelp and a clang as Onyx hit him on the helm.

"Places everyone! The show's about to begin!" Arcee called from backstage.

"Okay here we go guys! Time for the moment the audience has been waiting for!" Bee giggled, moving the curtains a bit. "I hope they're ready!"

"Why wouldn't they be? They've waited for days for an update!" Ratchet's voice said.

"Pull the curtains Bulky, we need to get this show on the road!" Onyx said.

The curtains drew back as the title card showed itself.

Haunted Mansion Mystery Noir

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It was a dark and stormy night as our heroes were left to fend for themselves out in the bitter cold. The bots had just visited their friend Tanya at her house along with Onyx and Violet, two girls from their class. The rain was pelting hard against their bodies, soaking them all to the bone.

"C-C-Can we p-p-please find some s-s-shelter?" Violet shivered, pressing against Bulkhead's frame.

"Yeah and we didn't even know it was going to rain today." Ratchet grumbled, pulling his hoodie over his helm. "Crappy weatherman..."

"Calm down Ratchet. We all feel miserable enough." Arcee said, rain splattering against her optics. "This rain is unbearably cold as it is."

Bee shivered as he cuddled closer on Onyx. "Maybe we should find a house to stay in."

"Bee, we can't exactly ask someone to bunk in their house for the night." Onyx said, bringing him closer. "Besides, I promised your mom that I would get you all home!"

"How can we get home in this weather? We can hardly see the road!" Smokescreen squinted his optics, only to see the misted road ahead.

Optimus gave Onyx a worried glance. "Smokescreen is right. We need to find somewhere to get warm and to take a break from this storm."

Onyx sighed, but replied. "Alright, I know a house we can stop on. Luckily, we made the right turn on Birch Street to get there."

The kids walked down the muddy path towards a house that laid at the end of the culdasac. It was a black brick house with white shutters and door. The trees in the front were old and cracked. The cobblestone pathway that lead to the house had moss and slime covering them. The door was bolted shut with many locks.

Violet blinked at the house. "Looks cozy."

"Why is it bolted shut? How are we goin to get into a bolted shut house?" Ratchet asked.

"I could always push it open." Bulkhead said.

"That would damage the door though." Arcee pointed out. "Maybe we should-"

The sounds of bolts breaking and locks unchanging caught their attention as the door creaked open, all the locks and bolts fell off. Onyx's eyes went open wide as she back awya from the door, holding Bee to her chest.

"Uh...no way in heck am I going in there now! That door opened by itself!"

"But we need to get out of the rain!" Violet complained, spitting water from her mouth. "And I don't want Bulky to be sick!"

"I won't get sick Violet."

"See? He's delrious!"

Onyx was about to reply when Optimus placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can all go in at the same time. Maybe the wind pushed the door open for us."

"Yeah...maybe..." Onyx was hesitate to say the least, but she nodded.

The group walked into the door, gazing at the large foyer. A chandelier swung lazily, the crystals dull from the years. The staircase was missing some poles. The pictures of the wall showed a family wearing fancy clothing and jewels.

"Whoever lived here must've been rich." Smokescreen said, looking at the picture. "The man has a funny mustache."

Ratchet looked at the picture too. "He also had two daughters as well." He rubbed the golden inscription at the bottom of the frame. "Edgar Lee and his daughters Anne and Belle."

SLAM!

They all jumped as the door swung close, the locks and bolts fixing tight. Onyx panicked and placed Bee on the ground. She pounded the door, but to no avail.

"No, No, No! We're trapped!" She screamed, her breathing increasing. "What are we going to do?!"

Candlelight filled the area as two massive candlelabras lit the entire room up. The light casted an eerie glow as it enveloped the entire room. At the top of the staircase, a young woman stood there watching them. Her hair was as black as midnight and was so long it covered her left eye. Her right eye was pale silver, reflecting the images of the frightened children. She was dressed in a  long-sleeved black dress and a white apron. In addition, she wore white stockings and dark brown mary-janes, with an accompanying white and frilly plate-shaped cap. Her pale skin was covered in bandages from head to toe. Her face was monotonous, showing no emotions.

"How lovely..." She said, her eye looking at the rows of children. "The young ladies are going to be pleased."

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There's the first chapter done for this story! This story takes place during the "Bride of the Underworld" arc so this is where the bots were. Who is this maid? Who are the ladies she mentions? Will they survive a night at the Lee Estate?