Alex headed to the kitchen. The majority of the Darien worshippers had run off after him, so she was free to wander around the vast room. Various chips and sandwiches lined the counter, and she did not hesitate to grab something for herself.
"You know, you're gonna have to pay for that with your life," a small voice said from behind her. Alex turned around to face--air. But when she bent her head down, she saw a young boy, maybe 12 years old, staring up at her. CryptoMayvn13 just smiled.
Alex could not resist and she smiled back. "You want something from up here? Maybe one of the PB and J sandwiches?" Mayvn nodded rapidly. She grabbed a plate, loaded it with sandwiches and grabbed a couple seats at the table for her and her new friend.
*************
Claire headed to find the parlor. The music was carrying throughout the house, but she really wanted to find the dance floor. She passed by the stairs again in time to hear some young woman scream, "Maybe he went this way!" Sadly shaking her head for Darien's sake, the Keeper continued to explore the large manor. After she passed through a room with every musical instrument she could think of, including a glass encased oboe, she entered a room with several pool tables.
"Who needs more than *one* billiards table?" She thought to herself, but she continued on. The music was getting louder as she traveled. Finally, after she opened the next door, she found the parlor--
--which was an understatement for this room. The place had to be a ballroom, but strobe lights were flashing everywhere, and an oddly familiar No Doubt song was playing loudly from the huge sound system set up in the corner. The floor was packed with people dancing, and Claire knew that she was in the perfect place to show off her skills. Just as she was about to remove her jacket and get her groove on, a hand tapped her on the shoulder. "So, what's *your* sign?" She heard a female voice say. Claire turned around and found another woman smiling at her.
"Um..." She started, but was cut off when the other woman started laughing.
"Just kidding!" CrazyCryptoZoologist extended her hand to shake Claire's. "Welcome to the party, Keep. Go, have fun!"
And so she did.
*************
The Official had found himself a somewhat quiet corner of the house, which seemed oddly soundproof from the rest of the manor. Instead of the blaring punk music that he had heard when entering the party, this room had soothing tunes playing through a small radio. The whole room seemed to still be decorated for a different previous party-- a baby shower maybe. He sat there, enjoying his drink, with his only company being a young girl who just sat there, smiling at him. It was very unnerving, but The 'Fish decided that the quiet was worth any price. He also noticed that this room was not without its own supplies of...what were they called?...plot bunnies.
Suddenly, two people entered the room, obviously in deep conversation. It proved difficult to hear what they were talking about, until the couple stopped right in front of him. The young girl pointed at the smiling girl.
"You've got the equivalent of the Cheshire cat, and you're telling me I am *NOT* in Wonderland? There's gotta be a white rabbit around here somewhere..." Tempest then looked down at her feet in time to see a plaid plot bunny run by her, followed by a pure white one. She sighed, nodded and smiled to The Official, and continued through the room with her companion.
Charlie just shook his head. This was an odd place.
*************
Darien was trying to hide in the bathroom. This whole situation was scaring him. He knew that he usually had some good luck with the ladies, but this was ridiculous. It seemed that everywhere he turned, another woman was standing there, waiting for him. And they all had thermals!
From his hiding place, he was able to hear a commotion in the hallway. Several women were talking to each other. He strained to hear what was being said, when suddenly someone screamed, "What do you *mean* she was quicksilvered!?" Then, he heard them all take off running, obviously in search of the host of this little shindig. He sighed in relief, hoping that he was safe for a little bit. Carefully, he stepped out from behind the shower curtain, ready to exit the little side area of the bathroom, but when he opened the door, he found himself face to face with another woman. Literally.
"Well, it's nice to be able to look someone in the eye without hurting my neck," LadyBaller observed, "no offense to Hobbes."
Behind LadyBaller, a shorter and younger Postal_Girl popped her head into view. "Finding Fawkes in the bathroom. That's *SO* wrong in so many ways."
Darien stepped back in surprise. Already, they were drawing attention to the bathroom, and others would soon swamp him once again. Suddenly, he lost his balance and found himself falling through the door to the hamper. And then he kept falling. It was a couple seconds before he realized that he had escaped through a large laundry chute. He could hear sighs of disappointment from above him.
He kept falling until he thankfully landed on a huge pile of clothes in what seemed like the basement. He stood up, brushed himself off, and turned to leave.
He stopped though when he saw the five women sitting at a nicely furnished table, all with cards in their hands. One of the ladies he recognized as the host, Dark Ravenette. The other four were not familiar and were staring at him with wide eyes.
"How did you get down here?" He asked Dark Ravenette.
"Same way you did," she said as she pointed behind him to the laundry chute. "Do you think that big pile of clothes is there by accident?"
"Mehneh," I-Baby said, turning her eyes back to her cards.
Darien got a puzzled look on his face. "Mehneh?" He repeated questioningly.
Both I-Baby and Dark Ravenette giggled.
"What are you all doing down here?" Darien asked while stepping closer to the table. At least this group of women did not seem eager to smother him.
"Just kickin' back--drinkin' some wine, eatin' some cheese, catchin' some rays..." KitKat said sarcastically.
"This is probably the most private room in the whole house. The only place for us to get our poker game on," Dark Ravenette explained. "Plus, it has the best stocked fridge known to man." She pointed to the refrigerator behind her that seemed to take up the whole wall.
Just then, the storm cellar doors that lead from outside to the basement opened, and the last two guests arrived. Darien's eyes narrowed as he watched Arnaud and Huisclos step into the room.
"Crapafragaleticespealadoshes!" CrimsonEyez exclaimed from her seat.
"Who invited them?" Dark Ravenette demanded, but she did not see as Emerald slunk down in her chair. They watched as the brothers took off toward the basement stairs, which were all the way across the room. Darien rapidly looked around to room for a weapon of sorts to go after them with, and noticed a baseball bat lying on a shelf.
"Not the Fear Bat!" I-Baby called out. "That's for beating your fears and your roommates only!" But Darien was not listening. He took off after Arnaud.
"Don't hurt him too much!" Emerald cried. "I still have a use for him." Everyone turned to glare at her. "What?" They all then abandoned their card game to go watch what would be the consequences of this encounter.
*************
Meanwhile, Eberts had wandered off by himself to the upstairs level. At the end of the long hallway, he saw a door with flashing lights glowing through the crack at the bottom. He opened it and found one of the most expansive entertainment systems he had ever seen. The television was nearly the size of a small movie screen. Surround sound speakers were blasting, and he noticed that every possible game system, ranging from an Atari to an X-box, was hooked up to the TV. Four computers were set up by the wall, two Macs and two PCs, and from that he could see, they were jacked up with the most advanced technology someone could find. One person sat in front of the computers, looking terribly perplexed.
At that moment, several people were sitting on couches around the screen, watching four players go head to head with a round of kung fu fighting. Eberts was not sure, but he thought that they were playing Dead or Alive 3. The action stopped though when they noticed Albert standing in the doorway.
"Um, hello," Eberts stammered.
All four players jumped up from their seat on the floor and held out their game controllers, offering their character for Eberts to play. "You name the game, Mr. Eberts," one of them mentioned. He just smiled. This was his kind of party.
*************
Hobbes was left by himself at the bar. At first, he was slightly upset that his friends had ditched him with complete and total strangers, but then he realized that he was the center of attention. For a group of nothing but women. Things were looking up for the little tiger. He sat there, making small talk with anyone who managed to get over their awe long enough to say hello, until things got a little bit more relaxed.
"It's nice to see you again Bobby," Hobbeschick said to him at one point. "When you said you would call me, I did not expect to wait five year."
Hobbes stretched his memory to think about when he might have met this woman. For the life of him, he could not remember. He turned to the bartender and asked for some water. The alcohol was starting to get to him, and he knew that being drunk in a situation like this might end up being a fatal choice.
Sandy just smiled as he receives his order, and then she mentioned, "Just as a drop of sea water contains of the same qualities as the ocean, so too does a human being contain within it all of the mysteries and powers of the universe."
Bobby stopped as the glass was right at his lips. He had to stop hanging out with Fawkes so much. This philosophy stuff was actually starting to make sense.
Suddenly, when Hobbes was not looking, the Swiss Miss brothers dashed by, with Arnaud trying to shed as much clothes as he could while running, They were followed by Fawkes carrying a baseball bat, who was followed by a group of women.
"And there they go, faster than the speed of light," the bartender observed.
"Oh sure, but what's the speed of *DARK*?" Pensive asked as she jumped off her barstool to join the chase in order to save her Arnaud.
Hobbes turned around right as she left, but he missed all of the excitement. Then, Emma peeked her head up from around the corner, taking him mind off whatever had been going on. "Bobby, were you and Darien just singing 'The Lumberjack Song?'" When he shook his head no, she ducked back out of sight. He sighed and was about to gulp down some of his water when he felt arms surround his neck.
"Come to momma!" Adel said before pulling him close.
*************
Huisclos dove into a nearby closet and slammed the door shut. He knew that Darien would chase after his brother no matter what, so he should be safe. He thought about how he got here in the first place. When he received the letter, he had been sitting in his jail cell, staring at the wall. His darling brother had organized an escape later that day. Someone had sent an invitation to Arnaud as well, so he was not about to strand poor Huisclos alone on the night of a festive occasion.
And now he sat here, huddled in a closet. Traded one prison for another.
All of a sudden, the door whipped open, and Hei-Mao stood before him, hands on her hips. "You're a braver man than I am, Gunga Dinn. I would have ran out of the house if I was in your shoes." With that, she closed the door as quickly as she had opened it, leaving Huisclos alone with his thoughts.
