You kept your crying brief.

Time was ticking, and you needed to spend each minute as productively as you could. You wiped the tears from your face and cleared your throat. You'd pick this up with Curioso later - right now , the two of you had intel you needed to relay to the other. His hand moved to support you as you shifted in his lap. You were feeling sore from the strain of your muscles but this was quite comfortable.

"What did you learn from Elise?" you asked, your voice feeling raw.

"A lot of things, but most importantly – Aydan has a bodyguard keeping watch on him at all times. Should he be in any sort of danger, he will strike."

You hadn't seen anyone even remotely muscular during your time in the clubhouse. "Are you sure? The only one who's been around him is her ."

"She sounded serious. We'll need to figure out another way to get him to release her soul."

"No kidding."

You let your head fall on his shoulder as you looked around, trying to piece together your plan. Physically coercing Aydan was no longer an option, if Elise wasn't lying about this threat - but how else could you trick him?

"Did she tell you where her box is? If I get my hands on it, I might have more options."

"She was showing me where her room was, but I had to leave to rescue you. She might indulge us if we find her again."

"Alright, then that's the first step of our plan - find Elise. I suspect everyone here thinks I'm dead, or at least they will shortly, so I have to keep a low profile. Any suggestions?"

"I could teleport you," he suggested.

"Okay, but where ?"

"I remember the way she was showing me - it was quite interesting. The clubhouse has hidden passages, and her room is kept secret. I trust you'll be safer there than out in the open."

"Sounds good to me."

You moved to climb out of the chair until you were struck with a throbbing headache. Sleep deprivation was getting to you. You haven't rested at all today beyond that nap you took before your dinner. Your body was exhausted and your wound wasn't helping. You felt like you barely had enough energy to stand. Doing anything extraneous like running and climbing wasn't an option right now.

Curioso flinched when you fell back onto him. He stood to his feet, righting you upwards. "You really should be in a hospital."

"My options are a little bit limited right now," you wheezed.

"Why don't you stay in here and I can search Elise's room? My box is the safest place for you to be."

"No, I can do this. I've been through much worse."

You adjusted your clothes and took a deep breath. You were tempted to ask him for a third cup of that wonderful coffee he was able to make. He let out a groan of frustration before he rested his hand on your back. You were gently shoved forward, and your eyes widened as a hole appeared before you. You tripped on your own feet as your face nearly collided with a stone floor. It felt like your surroundings were flipping upside down and you closed your eyes so you wouldn't get sick.

You were roughly pulled back by the collar of your shirt, moving you so you were properly standing on both feet.

" Careful !" he whispered in warning.

He let go and you rubbed the back of your neck, taking a look around. The two of you were crammed in a dimly-lit hallway. It didn't look like you were in the clubhouse, as the walls and floors were made of stone, void of much color. Your breath showed in the chilly air as you stepped forward, listening to your footfalls echoing in the small space. Curioso followed behind you - his head above yours.

"She was heading in this direction last I saw her," he murmured quietly. "She might be long gone by now. Either way, we should look around."

"Got it," you whispered back, keeping your eyes peeled for a door.

After a minute of walking, you began to hear muffled voices through the walls. You froze and he nearly bumped into you. You held up a hand to signal him to wait as you leaned near the stone, attempting to listen in on what you were hearing. The walls were a bit thick but you were able to make sense of a muted conversation nearby.

"Where is everybody?"

"Didn't you hear? We have that ritual to welcome the new member. I think it's happening outside."

"Dammit! Why didn't you tell me? We're going to be late!"

You barely caught the sound of their footsteps scurrying away. So it was a ritual that Aydan had planned for you. You didn't know what that entailed and you were glad to not be out there right now. That joke about lighting you on fire might not be too far from the truth. It had everyone's attention out in the courtyard right now, which worked in your favor.

"There you are!"

You jumped as a feminine voice exclaimed from down the hallway. You turned and found the suited silhouette of Elise rushing towards you two. Curioso's tall frame blocked you out of her sight. She addressed your jester with a relieved sigh, holding one of his hands in both of her gloved ones.

"I've been trying to find you. Where did you go?"

"I had to rescue someone," he responded, slipping his palm out of hers and moving aside so she could properly see you.

She audibly gasped. You smiled politely at her, rubbing the sides of your arms to try and warm yourself. The cold clearly didn't affect them, but your teeth were chattering. Where was your trench coat when you needed it?

"It's nice to see you again," you offered. She ignored your greeting and whipped back around to Curioso.

"They…are your owner?"

"Yes," he replied, his voice full of pride.

"This is not good."

You blinked at her abrupt statement. Her tone had changed. "Why not?"

"You are the private investigator that was killed this morning," she stated. "Master Aydan is delivering the news right now. If you are seen-"

"That's why we're back here and not out there ," Curioso interrupted. "We're here to free you, just as I promised."

"There's something else," Elise said, her voice growing hushed. She reached out to grab your wrist. "Here. We shall hide in my quarters."

With haste, she began pulling you forward. You scrambled to match her pace - not wanting the pressure to undo any of your stitches. Curioso trailed closely behind. It didn't take long before you reached a door, and a key magically appeared in her hand as she let go of you. She let you both in before shutting it and turning the lock.

Elise's room was incredibly simple that it made you wonder why it was hidden away. It had a neatly-made bed, a desk with an inkwell and a quill pen, a small bookshelf, and a table with a single chair. The first thing you did was collapse on its cushion and allow yourself some rest. Curioso stood close by, leaning against the wall and watching as Elise put the key away.

"You need to be kept out of sight," she informed you. "In no circumstance can Master Aydan see you two together."

"Why not?" the jester tilted his mask.

"Because he…is a collector of us . Of servants. He will do anything in his power to obtain us," her voice hitched, suggesting something that she did not wish to disclose. "He will kill you to have Curioso, should he know about this."

"Great. So that's two people who want me dead," you groaned.

"A collector?" your beloved's voice was filled with intrigue. "I should have known. There was something about him. But his aura wasn't strong enough…Elise, are you his only collection?"

Her arms began shaking. "No."

You and Curioso stared at her.

"His bodyguard I mentioned…is the other soul. But he is tormented and angry, and Master Aydan takes advantage of that. He does not just kill - he tortures and plays with his prey. I have tried to appeal to him, but he has no humanity left," she paused for a second. "I think I do, still."

You squeezed your eyes shut and rubbed your temples, your headache choosing to return at the worst time.

"He will not give my soul up for anyone, and Ulysses will not allow you to kill him ," she began to pace around the small room. "Even if I ran away with you, I will still belong to the Master. It was a hopeless wish, but I was just so desperate for an escape…"

"We will still free you," you replied firmly. "We'll figure out something."

"I'm still wondering what this 'something' is," Curioso grumbled.

You sat up in the chair. "Elise, give me your box. I'll have it on my person so Aydan doesn't. He can't do anything unless he has it."

She hesitated. "It is in the Master's bedroom…but since he is preoccupied right now, I will go and get it."

She teleported away, leaving you and Curioso alone. You began tapping your fingers on your arm, staring intensely at the table in thought of how to proceed. Things weren't looking bright…fighting this Ulysses character was impossible with your injuries. You weren't the toughest detective out there, either. Maybe you should've spent your time going to the gym and lifting weights.

"Go figure," Curioso threw his hands in the air. "I meet more of my kind, and they're being hoarded by this madman."

"This can't keep going on. He treats them terribly, and they deserve to belong to good people. Not to this guy who…can put his hands on his Elise like that..."

"What are we going to do?"

You opened your mouth to respond, but it was at that moment Elise returned. She set a pink, florally-decorated box on the table. It had the same shape as Curioso's home, but when you placed a finger on one of the gems, it remained unmoved. You were hoping that soon it would give under your touch.

"They are almost done outside; I will be indisposed. You are free to remain here in the meantime," she paused and seemed to study you. "You may get some rest on my bed if you'd like, Detective."

"Will Aydan find us here?" your dear friend asked cautiously.

"He has no need to come into my room. We only ever…" her voice trailed off and she shook her head. "No, you will be safe. Just stay out of sight and be quiet. I will return when I can."

A pink flash came as she teleported elsewhere. Your eyes glanced over to her bed. The exhaustion returned to your body just looking at it. The pillow looked so inviting to your aching head. You stood from the chair and practically fell onto its surface, melting when you realized the mattress was soft. God, you wished you were home right now. Detectiving be damned - you really wanted a nap.

"I'll keep a lookout while you get some sleep," he said, moving to stand by the door.

Your hand shot out to him, not liking that idea one bit. "Can you come lay down with me?"

He paused, staring at you without a word. As you went to take back this outlandish request, he took off his top hat and set it on the table. Then he stretched his long legs to lay in the spot behind you and against the wall. Your eyes widened when his hands settled around your stomach. His chest pressed against your back and your face warmed at the contact. Of course he would be the big spoon.

"Thank you," you replied timidly. He held you closer.

"Sleep," he cooed in your ear. It had the same effect as a lullaby - and your eyes drifted to a close as your body relaxed and the pain in your chest faded away.

You jolted awake when something wet pressed against your forehead. Your eyes darted everywhere but you couldn't find anything amiss. When you raised your hand, your fingers met with the texture of a rag. It was cool and made you sigh in pleasure. The tension uncoiled from you as long fingers pressed this sensation further into your skin.

"You're burning up," he murmured behind you.

You've been in-and-out of sleep for what felt like hours but you were sure no more than a couple had actually passed. You were sweating, suddenly overwhelmed by heat. You kicked off the sheets and the cool air relieved you. Your body was fighting off infection from your gunshot wound. You glanced down and expected to see the bandages coated with dried blood - but they were clean.

He must've noticed what you were looking at. "I didn't want to wake you, so I changed them while you were sleeping. It's a little irritated, but not infected."

"Has anything happened?" you asked tiredly.

"You snored a little bit," you elbowed him for that and he chuckled. "No, it's been pretty quiet."

You admired the simplicity of Elise's room, but then felt sad when you realized she must not have any time or want to decorate her own space. You wondered what Curioso's room would look like if you gave him one. You probably should , shouldn't you? But all you had was your bedroom…would you be sharing that with him in the near future? Your heart hammered at these hypotheticals and you rubbed the perspiration off your cheek.

"I wonder why Elise even has a bed when we can't really sleep."

"Maybe she wants to remember how things used to be," your head was still groggy. "That's what I would do."

"Or maybe she has it for Aydan," he felt you tense and shifted the rag on your forehead. "Is that inappropriate?"

"Very."

You were dying for a glass of water. You slowly shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, trying to get some moisture back in your mouth. Curioso took your lip smacking as a hint and conjured up a cold glass for you - which you downed gratefully and sighed much-too-loudly afterwards. Was this what heaven was like? To have every need of yours fulfilled?

"Are you hungry?" he asked. You shook your head.

"I don't think I could keep anything down. I'll have some dinner when we get back…whenever that happens."

He moved to sit next to you, crossing his legs. "And might I ask what it is we're going to do?"

"I'm going to try and appeal to Aydan."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Your lips thinned into a line. "We'll see."

"I'm not sure I like this plan. Try and talk him into giving us his favorite possession, then winging it when he says 'no' ? What on earth do you think is going to happen?"

"He'll try to kill me," you shrugged. Curioso sat up in alarm, and you gave him a smug smile. "-But you're not going to let that happen."

"So that's it? I'm your Plan B?"

"What else do I have?" your limbs felt weak. "They took my gun and my badge, and I can barely walk without wheezing. I don't have magic, but at least I have you ."

"Oh, Detective," his voice softened as his finger tucked a strand of your hair away from your face. "You're usually the triumphant hero, aren't you? Saving people, solving cases, restoring things to how they were…this is unusual for you, isn't it?"

You leaned into his touch, whimpering under your breath. "I've never felt so goddamn helpless."

"But you aren't. I am yours to serve and help you. Let's save Elise so we can go home and you can eat some healthy crap."

"I…I love you."

Now his grin was smug. "I love you, too."

As soon as you were able to stand on your own feet without getting dizzy, you decided to make your move. You purposefully waited until it was dark, partly so you could speak with Elise again, and because you knew most clubhouse members were sleeping and were not susceptible to being witnesses.

An absent face stared at you when you told her of your plan.

"That's it?" she asked. When you nodded, she shifted on her feet. "Well, I have some good news. Most, if not nearly all, of the guests have left. This is a good time to make our move."

"You are on our side, right?" Curioso asked, moving closer to her. He was taller than Elise and was trying to intimidate her. "Can we count on you to help us?"

"Of course. I am ready to be free of Master Aydan's control. I…" she wrung her hands together - the first nervous habit you'd ever seen out of her. "You have my promise."

"That's all I need," you smiled at her. You tugged your tall jester away from her. "Curioso, I need you to stay with me but not on my person. Do you think you can do that? Watch everything from a distance?"

"If I must," he sounded displeased.

"I'll be fine," you reassured, ducking through the secret archway that sealed itself up behind you. You were back in the clubhouse now. "Just don't come out unless I tell you to. Got it?"

'Yes ,' he responded, his voice now distant and away from you.

You did your best to hide your injury in your gait. Curioso had applied more of that special cream so it wasn't hurting too badly, but it was still healing. Elise informed you that Aydan was alone in his study. You were going to take advantage of this time and surprise him with your appearance - making your wants clear and trying to appeal to his humanity. Despite all that magical nonsense about power and fear, he was human just like you.

Elise offered to conjure you up a new weapon, but you declined. You didn't like solving cases with violence unless you absolutely had to. Besides…that little pistol had been with you from the beginning. It was sentimental to you. You'd be getting that and your badge back by the end of the night. You were determined about that.

You came to the door she specified and hovered your hand over the knob. You waited until you heard the click of it magically unlatching it for you. It opened to a darkened room where there was only one light source - and there, you saw the surprised expression on Aydan's face sitting behind his desk. His orange eyes shined under the lamp light as his mouth fell open.

"You.." was the only word that left his lips.

You grinned, shutting the door and re-locking it behind you. "Me," you repeated.

Then he sat back in his seat with disappointment. "So I see Luis didn't kill you after all."

"He didn't," you nonchalantly sat down and flattened your clothes. You felt a little nervous, but remained unafraid knowing you were being watched over. "So now I'm here to ask that you put an end to your organization."

He laughed, much like you assumed he would. He lit the end of his cigar with his thumb. "When I learned a cop like you had gotten this far in my clubhouse, I couldn't tell you how angry I was. But I've been thinking about it, and you put on quite a show for me and everybody here. You're a clever little runt, aren't you?"

Your eyes scanned your surroundings. His study was so dark you could barely place what was there. Did his eyes give him more of a brighter sight? Or was the orange just for show? You weren't exactly sure all that Aydan was capable of. It made you a little nervous as you clasped your hands together in your lap, but you did all you could to appear cool and collected.

"Luis was right about one thing - you don't have an aura. I'm pretty curious as to why the hell not when I saw one on you earlier."

"Neat little trick, wasn't it?" you asked amusedly, and he glared at you in return. He clearly wasn't happy to be in your company, so you cut to the chase. "Aydan, if you don't end things now, you'll be arrested for the victims your people have killed and for the cause you stand by."

He raised an eyebrow and puffed a circle of smoke from his lips. "Oh, yeah? And where's your badge to show me, your little pistol to point at me? Your evidence? You have nothing, De-tec-tive ."

Your eyes narrowed hearing him mock the title you worked so hard to earn. Yes, it was true, you did not have your badge, your weapon, or any of the evidence you once had. And if Aydan knew this, then it was likely he knew where they were right now. You doubted you'd be willingly getting that information from him. You pretended to sigh melancholy as you crossed one leg over the other.

"Yes, unfortunately, that was all stolen from me. But I have other means of apprehending you, should things get ugly."

" Ugly ?" he repeated, laughing again and extinguishing the end of his cigar forcefully. "You've yet to see how unpleasant things will get. Elise? Finish the job Luis couldn't do."

The two of you waited in a long pause, and you saw his eye twitch. You leaned back in your seat in satisfaction. He called her name again, but the two of you remained alone in the room. Something in his eyes darkened as they settled on you, and it was enough to send a cold chill on your back.

"I see her box is not where I left it," he spoke through clenched teeth. You wondered how he could've known this without checking his bedroom, but knowing he was a magus, you figured he surmised it in a different way.

"How odd, she always seems to be around you," you rubbed your chin as you made a show of looking around.

" Where is Elise!? "

He stood from his chair and gazed down at you with an intense hatred burning in his eyes. It did not take long for him to lose his composure the second his prized servant was in the equation. It made you a little smug knowing Else was no longer following his orders, and that you had some upperhand in this situation.

"If you'll follow me back to the station, then maybe I will tell you," was what you said.

That was not the smartest thing to say. In a matter of seconds, you were knocked from your chair and pressed firmly against the floor with a large hand wrapped around your neck. You sputtered in this moment, eyes bulging as your irises darted to who was above you.

And it was not Aydan.