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[17:05, entrance hall, Verich Estate]
"Is everything prepared?"
The sharp tone and brisk cadence of Evice's footsteps belied the friendly face he wore.
"Yes, sir."
Instead of turning to face him, Nascour contented himself with watching him in the mirror his Dusclops was currently spitting spiderwebs on. How and when it had acquired this ability, he still wasn't entirely sure — though, now that he was thinking about it, there had been a report by one peon that their Spinarak had gone missing — but it was convenient for decoration purposes.
The greater challenge was to make sure that his long silver hair stayed in the artful curls he had painstakingly styled it in. The amount of hair spray this effort had required bordered on eco-terrorism, at least according to Ein, but in his and Venus' opinion the results were well worth it.
Evice walked up to stand next to him, eyeing him disapprovingly.
"And what is this?"
"My costume."
"Did it have to be like... that?"
Instead of his usual suit, Nascour was wearing a flowy, knee-length dress, red with white polka dots, alongside matching red heels and a frilly white apron with decorative blood splatters on it. The handles of a few knives poked out of its pockets, twisting the image of domestic innocence that the combination of his outfit and neat curls would have otherwise suggested.
"Yes," Nascour said simply. Aside from finding himself quite pretty like this, he was entertained by the way his heels further accentuated the height difference between him and his beloathed — beloved uncle.
"Well, I suppose it is a Halloween party," Evice commented snidely, then turned to head deeper inside the mansion.
Dusclops was still throwing up spiderwebs.
"Will you spit that bug out now?" Nascour was about to give his gluttonous ghost type a stern talking to when he suddenly smiled. "Actually, wait until the guests are here. That'll be more fun."
[17:23, road to Verich Estate]
"Don't you think these are a bit... too many?"
Ardos glanced at the massive pile of sweets that he and Eldes had spent way too much time squeezing into their father's limousine, threatening to spill over and bury them underneath with every bump on the road.
"I told you we absolutely cannot afford to run out of sweets today. After all, what would people think if the great and generous Mr. Verich had nothing to offer their children on such a joyous evening?" Greevil's serene smile faded for a moment as he glared at his older son. "And I better not catch you answering the door or trying to rope anyone into Pokémon battles to steal their sweets."
"Yes, Father," Ardos grumbled.
"You can eat the leftovers. I'm sure there will be enough to last you two until New Year's Eve, if not longer."
"Leftovers? But we're your sons, not some random–"
Ardos gesticulated wildly, almost hitting Eldes in the face who practically jumped up in his seat to intervene before his twin could start throwing insults.
"It's alright. We're not children anymore, we can wait."
"Yes, you can. In fact, you're at an age where I would expect to have grandchildren instead." Greevil shot them another glare, both brothers this time. "But alas."
"Speaking of children," Eldes continued, forcing a smile. "Do you want me to answer the door? Or–"
"No need. I was informed that Nascour will be taking care of that. Apparently he has a plan on how to keep police away from the premises, as well as taking care of visitors. It would be lovely if he could manage that..."
Greevil leaned back in his seat and put his usual smile back on. "After all, we want a proper party without interruptions or... unfortunate incidents."
"Tell Snattle not to use his Pokémon as hand grenades again then," Ardos mumbled before Eldes could gently elbow him.
[17:50, side salon, Verich Estate]
"Rejoice, little ones. You'll have a fun evening today, I'm sure of it."
Despite his best efforts to look harmless, Nascour found that his smile — or rather positively sinister grin as he thought of the wonderful trick-or-treating Cipher's youngest associates would assist him with — scared the children, causing them to huddle closer together.
He had, seemingly selflessly, offered that all Cipher members could bring their annoying offspring to the party — the louder and rowdier, the better — and drop them off at the estate where entertainment, food and drinks would be provided.
On one small condition, of course.
"Leadership has a deal for you. A real, grown-up business deal. Isn't that fun?" Nascour cooed, placing his fingertips together.
The children remained eerily quiet, spooked by his presence — as were many, he couldn't fault them for that — but appeared to be listening attentively.
"You can play and eat and drink as much as you want. I even made sure to get enough sweets for all of you. All you need to do is do me a teeny tiny favor," Nascour explained. "Every time someone rings the doorbell and I answer, I need you to be as loud as you possibly can. Screaming, ideally. You love doing that, don't you? Ein says so, at least."
He chuckled to himself. Oh, the complaints were endless every time someone attempted to smuggle their child into the Shadow Pokémon Lab.
A few children nodded slowly, others muttered assent.
"Excellent." Nascour flashed them another grin. "I expect to hear masterful performances from you. Leadership is counting on your cooperation to make this evening special for all of us, and I would hate to be disappointed. Any questions?"
A little girl immediately raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Is that real blood on your apron?"
"Hm... maybe. Who knows. But let's not worry about it, shall we?"
[18:44, private salon, Verich Estate]
"Are the sweets safely stashed away? Or have my boys already helped themselves to a few?"
"I can't guarantee they didn't manage to hide some candy in their sleeves, but otherwise all appears to be going well."
Evice let himself fall into one of the luxurious armchairs, turning his head to look at his cousin.
"Don't tell me you also put on a–"
"What?"
Greevil pressed a button to turn his own armchair around, slowly and effectfully. He was wearing black robes with long, wide sleeves and a hood that partially obscured his face, his yellow eyes gleaming in its shadow.
Evice rolled his eyes. "Not you too."
"Aside from the fact that this is a costume party in my own home, meaning that I'm socially obligated to match the theme, you're one to talk, considering that you're wearing one all the time," Greevil chuckled. "Besides, my sons said that I would be a perfect match for this... character they saw on TV. I'm not entirely sure what they mean, but he does share my eye color."
"My costume, if you must call it that, has an entirely different purpose and context," Evice grumbled, showing little interest in Greevil's explanation.
"You do wear his face so well, even after all these years. It's almost as if dear Es Cade was still here with us."
"What can I say?" Evice paused when a servant approached to bring them something to drink. "I knew him well."
"Indeed. And tonight..." Greevil lifted his glass for a toast. "We honor the dead."
"In a wistful mood, are we?" Evice returned the gesture before taking a sip.
"Ah, you know. I do miss our dearly departed, especially my sweet Aurelia; though sometimes I also think it spares her the disappointment of witnessing what our sons get up to."
Evice let out a short laugh. "And don't forget what Nana would have to say about our boys."
"Frankly, I'd rather not imagine. The mere thought is frightening, more so than anything else taking place tonight."
[19:00, guest floor, Verich Estate]
Ein had always found the very concept of parties to be despicable.
Costume parties even more so.
Creating an entire "outfit", including the acquisition of several new articles of clothing, that had no other use or purpose than to be worn during this one occasion was a waste of time and money in his eyes, even if working for Cipher pretty much eliminated the latter as a concern.
Unfortunately for him, Nascour had made it clear that his attendance was required, so Ein had begrudgingly left his lab to arrive perfectly punctually, dressed in one of his suits that he used for travel. He had even brought a small suitcase with him and hidden a few files inside to have something more interesting to busy himself with.
It would have to suffice, he silently reaffirmed his decision as he was let into the Verich Estate and went looking for the guest area where he had been instructed to go.
As with all events like this, being on time meant that several of his colleagues were not yet present, most likely awaiting their fashionably late entrances, and Ein used the opportunity to slip inside before anyone could comment on his "costume".
He walked past Nascour's Dusclops that was, for some reason, currently spitting spider webs all over the decorative pumpkins. Its master, however, was mercifully absent.
Good. Ein had often found that his superior had the nasty habit of seeing through him a little too well.
[19:19, main entrance, Verich Estate]
"Behave yourselves now," Lily gently scolded her two children who were currently bickering about who got to hold which bag of candy. "This is Mr. Verich's house. He has been very generous here in Orre, and if we're nice to him, he may have some treats for you too."
She was referring to sweets, but she and Professor Krane had spoken before about possibly seeking Mr. Verich's assistance with the Purification Chamber Project and leaving a good impression would certainly help with that. There were rumors that he was a family man himself, even though he was only ever seen with his two bodyguards.
Lily rang the doorbell. To call the Verich Estate a house had been an understatement, to say the least; situated in the greener parts of northwestern Orre, it was the same size as an entire settlement out in the desert.
The door opened, and her smile briefly dropped when she found herself face to face with what she assumed to be a tall man dressed like some sort of maid or housewife — and then she heard screaming from inside.
Loud screaming. Children screaming.
What the hell is going on in there?!
The man tilted his head to the side ever so slightly and smiled, though his eyes remained cold.
"Yes?"
From the corner of her eye, Lily could see that Michael was as stunned as she was, but Jovi was unimpressed.
"Trick or treat!"
"Hm... yes, I believe Mr. Verich made sure to have some treats ready. Just a moment."
A sharp snap of long fingers nearly caused the two children to jump back. Lily forced a professional smile.
"So, I take it you work for Mr. Verich?"
"I do."
A brief, almost curt answer. She decided to press the matter. "Housekeeping? Perhaps childcare as well?"
"Whatever it is that is currently needed. The little ones are quite... lively during nights like these, aren't they?"
This man's smile was the eeriest she had ever seen, Lily thought to herself.
Before she could continue to pry, a Xatu appeared in the doorway, carrying a massive paper bag full of sweets in its beak.
"Take as many as you like~"
[19:33, guest floor, Verich Estate]
Main objective: Make sure that there were several witnesses to him being in attendance, then find a quiet spot to read and work. Side objective: Secure a drink. It would make matters easier.
"Ein! Over here!"
And what better witness than Lady Venus herself. To her, leadership would definitely listen if there were any questions.
Ein put on what he thought to be an amicable smile and turned around, only for it to drop immediately.
Had it not been for the brown hair and golden eyes, he would've thought he was staring into a mirror. Yet it was undoubtedly Venus, dressed as him. She had even acquired a matching pair of shades and styled one of her locks to resemble his hair flick, tying the rest of her hair into a tight knot. The lab coat — was that one of his own? — was visibly straining to contain the parts of her anatomy that deviated from his own, and it was generally odd to see her without a dress or heels on.
"If your objective was to make fun of me, I congratulate you on your success," Ein said icily, forgoing a greeting.
"Aww, don't be like that." Venus fumbled with the buttons of the lab coat. "Don't you like it?"
"Absolutely not."
"But I did a great job, you can't deny that."
"You did. And now that you have my blessing you can go make a mockery out of me and my work to your heart's content, but I'll try to do something useful elsewhere."
Ein turned on his heels and marched out of the guest wing's main hall. Surely a location like this one would have a garden where he could hide.
He was going to call his old friend Colress, he decided, both to complain and talk about their current research. That was certainly going to be more intellectually stimulating than the asinine topics discussed by his fellow admins.
[19:48, main entrance, Verich Estate]
Halloween was always a busy day for Orre's police; lots of shenanigans afoot, some silly and harmless, some less so. Nobody expected to get much room to breathe between calls.
What they absolutely hadn't expected, however, was that Johnson would answer a panicked call from a woman named Lily claiming that there were children in distress at the Verich Estate. Possibly kidnapped by a suspicious individual.
What they also hadn't expected was to hear children screaming when someone opened the door. And said someone was suspicious indeed, matching Lily's description — eyes as red as their dress, their shoes and the bloody-looking splatters on their apron. That had knives sticking out of its pockets.
Oh dear. How did someone like that even get inside Mr. Verich's mansion? Johnson wondered.
"Good evening, officers. How can I help you?"
"We received a call about children in distress," Sherles said curtly.
"Oh. How terrible." The suspect sounded entirely too bored for Johnson's taste.
"And we suspect them to be here."
"Why?"
Sherles' glare was furious at this point. "I can hear them screaming, ma'am!"
"Sir."
The response caught him off-guard for a moment, then the police chief managed to regain his composure.
"Apologies. But be that as it may — we'll have to take a look. And I'll need your name and occupation.
"Jakira. Employee of Mr. Verich." Jakira stepped aside to let them in. "Please follow me."
Sherles and Johnson exchanged a look, but for want of better options followed their prime suspect.
They were led into what appeared to be a smaller salon near the entrance hall and indeed, there were children inside. Lots of them. Who appeared to be playing, rather loudly but otherwise peacefully.
Jakira's smile was positively smug. "We provide age-appropriate entertainment for Mr. Verich's younger guests during the festivities tonight. I suppose things got a little... noisy earlier. My apologies, I hope our neighbors... a few kilometers away? had no complaints."
"No. It appears it was all a misunderstanding," Sherles said flatly.
"We hope there won't be further issues from now on," Johnson added with a serious nod.
"So do I." Cold red eyes met his. "It would be a shame for you to waste any more precious time at a completely harmless party, after all.”
[19:56, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"Long story short, he hated it. As always. Oh, that terrible man and his awful moods."
Venus was telling the story so animatedly that the lab coat she was wearing was at serious risk of tearing a few seams; not only was her figure quite different from Ein's in some aspects, but also her mannerisms.
Eldes couldn't help being a little concerned, though did his best to ignore it. Staring was rude, especially when he didn't have his sunglasses on to conceal his eyes.
Ardos, however, had no such problems as it seemed, and Eldes elbowed his twin warningly.
"Ein doesn't know how to appreciate a woman like you, Lady Venus. Hasn't he proven that plenty of times now?" Ardos said, misunderstanding the gesture.
Eldes groaned inwardly. Not this again.
"If this is another flimsy attempt at flirting, quit it." With deadly precision, Venus snatched a glass of wine from a servant passing by. "Even if you two look quite cute today. Say, did you lose a bet or did Nascour convince you to put on different dresses tonight?"
Ardos and Eldes had put on matching dresses for the occasion. "Southern Belle" Snattle had called the style when he had retrieved them from his stash, old pieces from the theater and opera that he proudly kept around and other members of Cipher, especially Venus and Nascour, loved to poach from.
For a bit of additional fun, the twins had decided to swap dresses last minute, so that Ardos was wearing the red and Eldes the blue one. With increasing inebriation, confusion was sure to arise among their peers.
"We wear robes normally, not dresses," Ardos corrected, his smile growing thin.
"Whatever makes you sleep at night, dear." Venus emptied her glass and held it out for them to take. Eldes did her the favor.
"Next year, I'll dress up as Nascour instead. We can even swap outfits. I'm sure he'd love my dress."
"And I'm sure the rest of Cipher would love seeing you in that suit," Ardos grinned, but his amusement was short-lived when Venus swiftly and decisively slapped him across the face.
"I told you to — oh, you nasty man, I'm telling your father!"
[20:08, garden, Verich Estate]
"And one of my colleagues — the one that's been attempting to flirt with me, incidentally — dressed up as me for Halloween. Can you imagine?"
Instead of the righteous indignation Ein had hoped for, Colress started laughing.
"Actually, I can. It's perfect for Halloween. Ahahaha. Tell me, did she get the hair right?"
"Unfortunately yes." Ein frowned at his best friend's virtual image as the laughter continued. "Whose side are you even on?"
"The side of science, as you know. And science says that you're... hahaha... quite frightening sometimes. Monstrous, even."
"What a great opinion you have of me."
"Ein, have you experienced yourself after an all-nighter in the lab and before your morning coffee?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Lucky you." Colress cleared his throat to compose himself, though the corners of his mouth kept twitching traitorously. "Anyway, I take it you used this... incident as an excuse to leave immediately."
"More or less." Ein couldn't suppress the faintest shadow of a smile. Colress knew him too well; and as troublesome as that could be at times, it was also convenient.
"I went into the garden for now. That way nobody will be able to claim I was there and I can peacefully wait until it's an appropriate time to leave."
"Leadership made you come, hm?"
"Of course they did."
"With a costume?"
"Yes. Nascour would never have enough mercy to leave me alone, I'm afraid."
Colress leaned closer to the camera now, squinting slightly. "Ein, is this your–"
"Yes, it's my travel suit. And I'm not having that discussion right now."
Ein shifted to a more comfortable position on the bench he'd been sitting on and placed his suitcase on his lap, retrieving a file and notepad from inside.
"Say, why don't we move on to topics we both are far more interested in, such as the experiment you mentioned the other day?"
"Fine. You win. But only because I've been dying to talk about it with someone who's capable of understanding it."
[20:11, guest floor, Verich Estate]
The stage was set.
In one swift, elegant motion, Snattle snapped his fan open and strutted into the main hall with slow, measured steps. Grand entrances were his specialty, and he had waited for over an hour to make this one.
As planned, most of his colleagues were already there, drinking and talking among themselves, though the attention swiftly shifted to him once made his appearance.
Smirking proudly, Snattle pretended to fan himself, but was careful not to overdo it. Styling his hair to resemble a queen had taken a while, not to mention choosing between several fancy hats and crowns he had acquired for this costume. The massive royal blue ball gown was a hassle to handle as well, requiring at least one hand whenever he tried to walk, but oh-so-worth it in terms of dramatic effect.
His need for attention led him to join Gorigan — who had dressed up as a tree and was staring at him open-mouthed, threatening to lose a couple of leaves — at the pool table.
"Are you winning, Gorigan?" Snattle asked cockily, waving his fan in his direction. "Or do you need to use your branches to cheat?"
Gorigan ignored the question in favor of his own. "What the hell is this?!"
"This is none other than Queen Marie Antoinette."
"And she had a bird's nest on her head?!"
"Wait," Dakim, dressed in what Snattle could only identify as some sort of massively oversized kitten onesie, interjected. "Isn't that the cake lady?"
Gorigan slammed his fist on the table, causing every single object on it to jump. "Now I remember! She's the one that got killed for telling people to eat cake!"
He grinned at his colleague. "Are you finally admitting that all you politicians do is piss people off?"
Snattle pursed his lips. "She was deeply misunderstood and maligned by her contemporaries, a fate that I unfortunately share. Nevertheless..."
He raised his free hand to snap his fingers. "I brought you some cake, undeserved as such a gesture may be. Egrog! Bring it in."
[20:24, private salon, Verich Estate]
"Can we please go one evening without me hearing about your failed attempts at courting a lady who has slapped you several times across the years — for good reasons too, I should add?"
Greevil was glaring at his sons with such intensity that Eldes believed he could sense the potted plants inside the salon wilting.
"Setting aside the fact that I was merely stating what everyone else was thinking as well–" Ardos made a wide gesture with his hand, encompassing everyone present. "–it was intended to be a compliment. Other women would be delighted to hear such things from me."
"First of all, Lady Venus is not other women," Greevil said acidly, "and secondly, I would like to know where those other women are and why you aren't trying your luck with them instead. Need I remind you yet again that I would like to see grandchildren in my lifetime? And yet..."
He shook his head. "All I get is one son my female staff members complain about and one son who stands by and says and does nothing."
"Sorry, Father," the twins mumbled in tandem.
Exasperated, Greevil looked over at Evice who merely shrugged. "Don't ask me. My nephew has been more successful with Lady Venus it seems, but all they do is, oh I don't know, braid each other's hair and try to swipe profits to go online shopping together."
"How lovely." Greevil turned his attention back to his sons, now staring at Eldes directly. "Now that we've discussed your brother's relationship status — you don't happen to see someone, do you?"
"U-um–"
"I thought so. How disappointing." Greevil placed his cane on his lap as if to admit defeat. "Anyway, while you two are already here, what is up with these costumes?"
"Many people are wearing dresses," Ardos said petulantly. "I think we look cute."
It was Evice's turn to shake his head, though he made no comment. Even so, his opinion was rather obvious.
"Go socialize with your peers and for the love of everything, behave yourselves. For once, Ardos. And you, Eldes, know better.”
[20:52, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"Fuhohoho! Oh, our darling colleagues are all dressed so nicely tonight — as are we, of course!"
Instead of the at least mildly positive reaction Miror B. had hoped for, Nascour kept quietly drinking cherry lemonade through a straw, his long fingers wrapped around the skull-shaped glass he was holding as if he was trying to choke the life out of someone.
Feeling generous, Miror leaned against a nearby column and flashed his superior a compassionate smile. "My, is something the matter? Things not going according to plan?"
"Oh, they are — at least what I had planned. I just can't shake the feeling that someone will try to mess with us again."
"So our poor darling master has to stay on-guard and can't enjoy his own family's party. How tragic," Miror concluded, nodding sagely.
His reward was a venomous glare.
"Not as tragic as it would be if you were one of the reasons something goes wrong," Nascour said in a low voice.
"Don't you worry about that one bit! In fact, I will personally ensure that this party is an absolute success."
"I'm counting on it."
"Are they fighting again?" Miror nodded towards his fellow admins who were gallivanting around the hall and bickering among themselves.
"Of course they are. I caught Venus on her way back from telling Master Greevil to set his sons — mostly Ardos, that is — straight and apparently Ein has been missing for a while now. Probably sulking somewhere, she thinks. And Snattle is definitely out for blood with that costume, I can sense it."
"How frightfully combative they all are, though beautiful in their ruthless brutality. Fuhohoho, yes, all this anger, all these feuds, they make me want to dance! Care to join me for a round, Master Nascour?"
"Maybe later." Nascour placed his glass on the nearest table and smoothed out his skirt. "I have... things to take care of. But you, my dear Miror, may dance to your heart's content tonight."
Raising himself up to his full height, his suit glittering in the light of pumpkin lamps, Miror snapped his fingers. "Yes! Let the music play!"
[21:03, guest floor, Verich Estate]
Finally some action on the dance floor.
Snattle closed his fan and tucked it under his arm for the time being. While he didn't consider himself a particularly avid dancer — at least not in the same manner as his esteemed colleague Miror B. whose heels would soon turn the dance floor into an active warzone — he had been waiting for the party to get going.
This was the perfect opportunity to enact the second phase of his plan.
Gathering up his skirt, Snattle majestically marched past Lovrina, Naps, Venus and Dakim who had all taken Miror's grand entrance as a challenge and were swarming the dance floor alongside him. Ardos and Eldes had retreated to a couch in the corner, looking contrite and whispering among themselves. Gorigan was under the pool table somewhere, attempting to take it apart to retrieve a ball that he had gotten so miraculously stuck it defied belief — and possibly several laws of physics, though Ein wasn't there to elaborate on the matter.
Had Snattle felt a little more charitable, he would've warned Gorigan that one of his branches was in the process of getting stuck, but he had taken his earlier comment regarding his hairstyle quite personally.
And so he took advantage of his colleagues being distracted and walked past them unhindered, making his way over to the luxurious grand piano in the corner. What a beautiful instrument, Snattle thought, running his fingers across polished wood and flawless keys. He had been eyeing it during many events at the Verich Estate, wondering if anyone in the family could even play it or if it was only for decoration. What a waste that would be.
Taking his time to arrange his ball gown around him, he sat down and placed his hands on the keys. Ah, it had been a while, but all the old melodies would surely come to him; after all, he had played all the time in his youth to accompany his own performances at the Krabby Club.
And today he was going to give his fellow admins a taste of his non-political abilities.
[21:25, garden, Verich Estate]
> They're all here. The admins, leadership, all the top dogs. The entire mansion's crawling with Cipher. 100% sure of it
Silva was typing as fast as he could and pressed the send button as soon as the last letter appeared on screen. Wes needed to know about this. And he, Silva, needed backup. That much he could tell already.
> I'm going in
Quickly, he sent another message, then put away his P★DA. No time to waste. While this event certainly looked like a normal Halloween party, the presence of all of Cipher's elite in one place was suspicious. Maybe it was all a front to pull off something big; and even if not, at least he would be able to confirm if the rumors about various Cipher bosses keeping their true identities hidden were true and perhaps even who they were.
We also need to look into this Mr. Verich. Filthy rich, only shows up to buy favors from people, very secretive when it comes to his private life. And now a house full of Cipher. No way his vest is clean.
Silva adjusted his suit and sunglasses. The plan: Pretend to be security, snoop around, gather as much intel and evidence as he could.
And perhaps he should also find out why they were children screaming somewhere.
They wouldn't do anything to innocent kids, right?
Then again, it's Cipher...
From his current position in the garden, there wasn't much to observe, so Silva snuck inside, standing up straight and positioning himself near doorways and entrances whenever someone walked by. One step after another, slow and steady. The corridors were mainly empty, as was the entrance hall he eventually made his way to.
Empty save for a tall man in a red dress who was just closing the door after having handed out some more sweets.
Their eyes met. Silva felt a cold shudder run through him, but did his best to smile.
"Hi, uh, security. I-I thought I could maybe guard the entrance, but it seems like you got that covered."
"I'm good, but thank you for coming." The man smiled at him. "I believe I may have been looking for someone like you, actually."
"You have? How can I help?"
From a lazily tossed Poké Ball, a Walrein emerged.
"Walrein. Ice Beam."
[21:31, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"I can't believe you... ahahaha! This so is the best costume ever!"
"Lovrina, I must say I'm disappointed in you. This kind of reaction is entirely inappropriate. I expect you to behave yourself while inside my lab."
Admittedly, Venus was having entirely too much fun imitating Ein's perpetually annoyed tone, keeping one hand on her chin and the other on her elbow to emulate one of his favorite poses as well. If he was already mad at her for "mocking" him, she might as well get all the fun out of it, she decided after he had left in a huff mere minutes after arriving.
So far, it was well worth it.
"NAPS!" Lovrina was practically screeching with laughter. "Come and take pictures! No, wait, we so need to film this. You're so like the professor when you do that."
"I have had the displ– I mean, the pleasure of working with Professor Culpa many times. Dare I say, the only thing outshining his brilliance is his nasty attitude."
"Yeah, and that's why we call him Professor Cunt," Naps snorted, fishing his P★DA out of his pocket to take pictures.
Venus raised her eyebrows — accidentally adding more realism to her act — and had to pinch her elbow to keep herself from laughing along with Lovrina who was nearly falling into her from swaying on her feet. What a charming nickname, and so well deserved.
If she recalled correctly, Ein hadn't complained about it to her or Nascour, which could only mean he hadn't found out yet. She was going to have so much fun once he did.
Lovrina squeezed her shoulders with both hands and pressed her cheek against hers, making funny faces while Venus did her very best not to grin. Or show anything else that would qualify as a normal human emotion.
Maybe she would send Ein some of these pictures later, just to rub it in.
[21:46, front yard, Verich Estate]
"Do you see anyone?" Rui asked.
Wes inched closer to the nearest hedge to peek over it. "No. But Silva also said he's going in so..."
"Then we go in too?"
"Yeah. I guess."
Rui joined him to glance at the main entrance. They had seen a few groups of children come and go, all leaving with bags full of sweets; it all seemed innocent enough on the outside, but unfortunately she and Wes knew better than that.
I hope they didn't put anything in those sweets.
"Do you think we should try trick-or-treating first or sneak in immediately?"
"Sneak in," Wes answered without hesitation. "Pretty sure they have us blacklisted. Costumes won't help either."
Rui nodded. They had, just in case, dressed up as Espeon and Umbreon, wearing hair bands with ears attached and pink and black clothes respectively, but it was definitely not enough to hide their identities.
"So, how do we do this?" She looked at Wes expectantly, flashing him a sweet smile. "What's the plan?"
"Uh... was I supposed to have it all figured out?"
"Well, between the two of us you're the ex-criminal."
"Fair." Wes took a moment to look around, then crouched back down behind the hedge and motioned for Rui to follow. "We'll try the garden. Lots of plants to hide behind."
"Sounds good."
They snuck through what seemed like an endless maze of hedges, flower beds and small, decorative trees, even passing a fountain in the process — all rarities here in Orre. Rui spotted a handful of Lotad waddling around, watering the plants from time to time before retreating back into the nearest body of water.
"Hey, Wes?"
"Hm?"
"Did Silva text you again, by the way?"
Wes stopped to check his P★DA. "Nope. Nothing new."
I'm going in was still the final message.
[22:07, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"So what are we playing tonight?" Dakim clapped his hands together, creating a thundering sound that caused everyone around him to jump.
"Coin flip. Master Greevil let me borrow his Gholdengo." Gorigan tossed a Luxury Ball. "So who's playing?"
"I'm in." Dakim sat down cross-legged and waved for the nearest servant. "Get us a pizza carton or something. And pens."
"We'll try it too," Ardos answered for both himself and Eldes and they joined Dakim on the floor, arranging their skirts around them.
"Cool." Gorigan scanned their surroundings. Miror B. was still on the dance floor, joined by Trudly, Folly, Lovrina and Naps, and blew them a kiss. Snattle — when had that man escaped containment, he wondered — was busy holding the piano hostage, though he had to admit he was playing well. Venus was watching the four men and Gholdengo closely, clearly tempted, but her eyes were narrow with displeasure.
"Venus? Come on." Dakim held out his large hand.
"Fine, but if any of you rats try to get touchy with me, I reserve the right to decline bets and dares depending on who it is."
"Sure thing."
Gracefully, she sat down as well. Gorigan gave Gholdengo a nod, prompting it to toss a coin at each player.
"Could anyone explain the rules? I'm not sure I've played this before," Eldes piped up, immediately followed by an apologetic look.
"No problem." Gorigan waited until a pizza carton had been brought and pens were handed out. "So we all write our names on this. Each player gets to toss a coin. If you hit someone's name, they have to drink, and if you hit a blank spot, you get to add a new rule. Those can be kind of like truth or dare or extra drinks or whatever, just be creative."
A round of furious scribbling ensued.
"Alright, who wants to start?"
"I want to try." Ardos held up his coin, smiling at Venus in a way that was clearly intended to be apologetic, but prompted a lethal glare from her.
"Ardos Verich, I swear on everything, if you try anything with me again this evening, I will strangle you with your own ribbons."
"Well, in that case–"
The coin landed on Eldes' name.
"Cheers, brother.”
[22:30, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"Oh come on, darling! Let's try this dance again, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!" Miror B. exclaimed, clapping his hands to motivate his colleague.
"I so don't doubt that. It's just that I have, like, a tail right now," Lovrina complained, turning around to prove her point.
"You just had to dress up as XD001. That's what you get," Naps snickered.
"And you?! You just dyed your hair, put on some different clothes and said you're Rick Astley! That's so–"
"–on brand? You're so right, sister!" He shoved his P★DA into his pocket and began swaying back and forth in front of an imaginary microphone. "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down..."
"Stop!"
"Fuhohoho! I dare say he's convincing! And I wouldn't say no to a little performance of an old classic later either — but we still have our routine to complete, isn't that right, my darling Lovrina?"
"Yup." Determined, Lovrina adjusted her tail, placed her hands on her hips and glared at her brother. "And you'll keep filming until we have something useful for OrreTok. I'm literally so serious about that, I can't just disappear for Halloween and not give my followers anything."
"Eh. Can't you just do whatever you want and even if people get mad they'll just cancel Snattle again anyway next week for some shit he says online? But sure." Naps fished his P★DA back out. "Alright, we're ready to go again. Master Miror, sister, if you would."
"Wonderful! Let's go and spice up these fancy piano beats, my darlings!"
Trudly and Folly practically jumped out of the way when Naps held up his P★DA, knowing full well when they weren't wanted in the picture; Miror had trained them well. Beaming into the camera, he made a show out of posing before their dance — Lovrina had the marvelous ability to provide him with a big audience, after all.
If pink pigtails and a cute face were all it took, Miror sometimes thought, he might consider changing his hairdo sometime.
Might.
[22:59, main entrance, Verich Estate]
"We're wasting our time, chief," Johnson mumbled as the two policemen walked up to the Verich Estate again.
"I know," Sherles snapped. "But we've now had over a dozen calls about that weird man and his screaming horde of children from concerned parents and I just... I won't be able to sleep tonight if we don't check again."
He pushed the doorbell and glared over his shoulder. "And if you want to be chief one day you should feel some responsibility as well."
Johnson shrugged. "Fine. Whatever you say, chief."
It didn't take long for the source of their troubles to appear — this time holding a knife. Instinctively, Johnson took a step back.
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"
"One of Mr. Verich's friends brought a cake. Lovely, isn't it? Now, let me guess: You would like to check on the little ones again?" As calm and amicable as Jakira carried himself, his expression could only be described as a shit-eating grin.
He knows what's up and he knows it's pointless too, Johnson grumbled inwardly, but relaxed his posture.
"Indeed. We have received quite a few more complaints." Sherles stepped forward and was let inside, followed by Johnson. "In order for this to be our last meeting for today, I'd also ask you to tell the children to keep it down from now on. Too many... misunderstandings."
"Of course." Jakira motioned for them to follow. "But I thank you for coming anyway. The children are, as far as I can tell, still at an age where they think the police are cool; they will be delighted to see you."
Sherles frowned, yet said nothing. Johnson was about to give this strange man a piece of his mind when he saw a Dusclops waddling around, its mouth covered in spiderwebs.
"Sir, your Pokémon looks sick."
"It ate something it shouldn't have. But don't worry; once you're on your way, I shall find a minute to take care of that."
[23:14, garden, Verich Estate]
"And this is why I need to conduct further experiments regarding the bonds between Pokémon and their trainers and all the different forms those may take. But it's so difficult to find suitable subjects sometimes."
"While I always conceded that there is merit to your research, I can't help but feel glad I chose a different approach every time you tell me about the complete and utter chaos you get into," Ein commented.
Colress continued to smile blithely, unperturbed by his old friend's jibe.
"Ein, if you think that a crime syndicate on the verge of taking over a lawless desert region, including a boss and a colleague who are more or less stalking you and getting way too involved in your personal business, is less chaotic and more bearable to you, then I'm happy you've found your place."
"Why, thank you. How sweet of you to care about my well-being."
"Someone has to. By which I also mean your occasional inability to do so yourself. Speaking of which..." Colress appeared to check something on his monitor. "You've been sitting outside for a long time now. During the night, in the aforementioned desert region. Are you cold?"
"Not really, but I will gladly take the excuse to return to the lab," Ein smirked.
"You could also go inside and party."
"No."
He stood up, stretched his limbs and stuffed his notes back into his suitcase before picking up his P★DA again.
"Lovely talking to you as always. Remind me to switch on my electric fence later."
"Why?"
"In case any children somehow find the lab and try to go trick-or-treating."
Colress rolled his eyes. "You're horrible."
"I know."
Ein ended the call and put his P★DA away, making his way out of the garden. What his colleagues were doing inside, he had no idea, but even after the earlier disaster, he was pleased with the evening; talking to Colress was always fun. And interesting. And necessary to keep his sanity intact.
He was surprised to come across two policemen on his way out. The older merely nodded in his direction, the younger gazed at him a while longer.
"Rough evening as well, sir?"
Ein barely suppressed a snort. It seemed as though he wasn't the only one his dear colleagues had been attempting to drive insane.
"You could say that."
You have no idea.
[23:35, garden, Verich Estate]
The good news was that they had finally found Silva.
The bad news was that he was frozen solid. Arms half-raised as if he'd been attempting to defend himself, eyes wide, his expression and posture alike a picture of terror. And he had been placed like this in the garden, next to a row of sculptures as if he was mere decoration.
Rui shuddered at the thought. It looked like some sort of cruel joke.
"Do you think he's..."
"Only one way to find out," Wes mumbled. Releasing his Quilava from its Poké Ball, he pointed at Silva. "Thaw him out. Be careful not to hurt him."
Anxiously, Rui waited for the ice to crack and melt, slowly freeing Silva from his frozen prison. He began to shudder violently, then fell to his knees. Cold, wet and panting, but very much alive.
Wes rushed to his side. "What happened? Did they catch you?"
"Yeah. There was this guy, red dress, red eyes, he caught me. Must've clocked somehow that I wasn't security. Sicced his Pokémon on me immediately."
"So they're aware someone's on to them."
"I'm afraid, yes. Sorry about that."
"Not your fault." Wes looked up at Rui. "Do you still wanna go in? I'm not blaming you if you don't."
She shook her head vehemently. "If you're going, I'm coming with you."
Groaning, Silva moved to a seated position, his limbs still stiff. "I'd help, but I'm going to need a moment."
"You go home. Too dangerous if they catch you again," Wes said.
"You have a point. But shouldn't we try to call the police first maybe?"
"Sure." Rui held out her hand for Wes to hand her his P★DA.
It took a while until someone at the station picked up.
"Sherles."
"Hello, Chief Sherles, I need to report a crime. We're at the Verich Estate and–"
"Not this again."
"Huh?" Rui frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Listen." Sherles sounded exasperated. "We got over a dozen calls and were at the estate twice tonight. Nothing was wrong. Yes, apparently there was a man who looked a bit odd, yes, there were children who were a bit rowdy, but none of that is a crime. And I'm not going there again, let alone risk angering one of Orre's most influential and generous citizens because of mere paranoia."
"B-but–"
"I'm sorry, miss, but that is final. Good night to you."
Rui stared at the P★DA. "He hung up on me."
Wes who had been listening in on the conversation nodded slowly. "Well played, Cipher, well played."
"What do you mean?"
"They must've provoked these calls to make sure the police won't come when something actually happens."
"Bastards," Silva mumbled.
"Well, I guess we're going in ourselves then," Rui said and handed Wes his P★DA.
For the briefest of moments, her fingers brushed against his.
[00:16, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"Why are they... always so mean to me..."
Eldes tightened his grip on his brother's hand as Ardos threatened to trip over his own dress. Neither of them was too steady on their feet after their game with Dakim, Gorigan and Venus had concluded, but they wanted to dance anyway — and for want of partners, they had decided to just do it together.
It always ended like this. And as if that wasn't enough, Ardos was finally drunk enough to complain about Venus again — and women in general.
"They're not mean to you, you just say weird and inappropriate things to them and it makes them uncomfortable," Eldes explained with all the patience he could muster in his tipsy state.
"But I'm rich. And hot. And wearing a pretty dress." Ardos tugged at the bows decorating his bodice for emphasis.
"Some women — if they even like men — enjoy having normal conversations," Eldes continued his gentle lecture.
"But why does Venus like Nascour then? He's not normal. And I'm pretty sure he said weird things to her too."
"Because they've been close for years, Ardos. We too can say things to each other that we can't say to anyone else."
Foggy yellow eyes stared at him, blinking. "But she also likes Ein. And he isn't very nice to her."
"That's true, but he also doesn't comment on her outfits or try to make her drunk."
Eldes knew he was simplifying the issue, but neither he nor his brother were in a state for deeper contemplation of their fellow admins' relationships. The mystery of why Ein appeared to have several people infatuated with him despite his best efforts to bite everyone's heads off was too great to solve even in a sober state.
He was about to suggest sitting down for a moment when a piercing scream echoed through the hall.
"WHERE DID THAT SPINARAK COME FROM?!? EWWW! NAPS! DO SOMETHING!"
Ardos and Eldes whipped around, nearly falling over each other in the process.
What they saw was a panicked and very rough-looking Spinarak scrambling to crawl away, a Delcatty and a Teddiursa in hot pursuit and, half-hidden behind a potted plant, a Dusclops discreetly spitting out a few more spiderwebs.
[00:21, main building, Verich Estate]
"Sounds like a party for sure," Wes commented dryly.
From somewhere deeper inside the mansion Rui could hear music and screaming, but judging by how faint the sounds were, the party itself was in a different area. They were currently hiding behind a curtain and observing one of too many hallways before making their next move. Silva had warned them again to avoid the weird man who had turned him into an ice sculpture and not to get too close.
"Like I said, I'm pretty sure their entire leadership is here," he had said. "Don't confront them. There are too many of them. Just... see if there's anything you can find."
"We did see that one guy in the garden earlier," Wes said as if he'd read her thoughts. "Haven't seen him before, but if he's here he must be with Cipher too."
Rui nodded slowly. "Right."
"And there's creepy-dress-man."
"Do you think we can identify more members? Or are they all in... wherever they're partying."
"Not sure. There might be some more strays." Wes turned to his Umbreon that had begun to sniff around. "What's up?"
The answer he received was a low growl. He and Rui exchanged a look; the message was clear to both of them.
"Danger?"
"I think someone might be coming." Wes grabbed her arm. "Let's go. We gotta find another place to hide."
"But where?"
Espeon dashed past them, side by side with Umbreon. Wes and Rui followed as quietly as they could, running through quiet hallways and empty halls.
How many people do even live in such a huge mansion? Isn't it way too big? she couldn't help wondering as they went.
They were about to pass into a different wing of the estate when Umbreon and Espeon suddenly stopped, staring up at a nearby column. Upon closer inspection, Wes and Rui noticed a Spinarak trying and failing to climb it, falling down time and time again. It appeared to be exhausted and weak, nearly fainted.
"Poor thing," Rui whispered. "Can we help?"
"Well, we can do it my way."
Wes needed no more than one Poké Ball to snag the Spinarak.
[00:37, main building, Verich Estate]
Everything was going well, both according to plan and with everyone being in an excellent mood. For the most part at least. But the usual bickering and feuding was impossible to prevent.
And yet...
Moving almost soundlessly despite his heels, Nascour was prowling the Verich Estate. Even though he had successfully caught and disposed of whichever idiot thought it wise to simply put on a suit and sneak in, erroneously assuming that Cipher was unable to keep track of its security, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else. Something off, something in the air — and it smelled like spies.
Or rather it would if humans had the olfactory abilities of certain canine Pokémon species. Nascour had to rely on his own instincts, senses and psychic type Pokémon instead.
Keeping Gardevoir by his side and Xatu perched on his arm, he continued his search, irritation growing with each step. Instead of enjoying himself and having some fun with his favorite subordinates, he was spending the evening dealing with children, police and Cipher's amateurish opposition; and it wasn't as though he could simply ignore the issue either. He knew well that Evice wouldn't intervene, but also wouldn't let it slide if he caught his nephew slacking off.
Still there? Nascour thought, addressing his Pokémon telepathically.
Xatu gave a quiet hoot of assent and Gardevoir swished back and forth, sticking close to him, visibly tense. It had always been particularly protective of him, and very reliable at that.
Hm. Fine.
In order to keep himself busy during his search, Nascour contemplated the possible outcomes of this situation. If he didn't find anyone and all of this turned out to be paranoia and false alarms, that would certainly be frustrating, but a better outcome for Cipher. If there was someone in the building and he failed to find them, that would be... unfortunate. It wasn't as though there was much evidence to be gathered at such an event, but still. Evice wouldn't accept it as an excuse.
And if there was someone and he caught them — may Arceus have mercy.
[00:43, guest floor, Verich Estate]
Snattle had been waiting for hours to proceed to the final phase of his plan.
The dance floor had been stormed, drinks consumed, arguments had, the cake had been eaten and the piano conquered. He had left it behind since to search for a microphone — which he had successfully acquired.
Gingerly, Snattle tapped against it. It appeared to work. Perfect. Now that his colleagues were all in such a splendid mood — and sufficiently drunk, at least some of them — he had a golden opportunity to finally grace them with a little speech he had prepared.
Somehow they had managed to avoid listening to him or informing themselves about his election campaign, be it out of carelessness or callous disregard for his feelings, so far, but that was going to change.
"My dear friends."
Snattle was practically glowing as he took the stage, magnanimously ignoring the groans from his unwilling audience.
"I am delighted to see you all in such good spirits and think this is a wonderful time to talk about my goals for the upcoming election and how you can assist me in promoting the welfare of Cipher and Orre."
"Snattle, no! No politics!" Gorigan shouted from somewhere in the background.
He too was ignored.
"Before we begin, I will of course take a moment to acknowledge the magnificent contributions by our other departments." Snattle paused to smile at the other admins. Surely they would be more willing to listen if he offered them a little praise as a treat. "The Shadow Pokémon Plan and those who work tirelessly to realize it are what allows us to expand Cipher's influence and hopefully unite the Orre region to–"
The microphone suddenly stopped working. Snattle tapped it again, once, twice, nothing.
How strange. It had seemed perfectly fine. What were the chances of a random technical failure ruining his moment?
But then he spotted the issue. A treacherous trail of leaves and a few branches sticking out near the speakers, where a certain someone had just disabled everything.
Snattle inhaled.
The screech that followed was loud enough to make any microphone obsolete.
"GORIGAN!!!"
[00:49, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"I don't know who that Gorigan is, but I guess he just ruined our opportunity to find out what Cipher is up to," Rui whispered to Wes.
"Yeah."
After catching the Spinarak and making their way through what felt like endless halls and corridors, they had finally reached the area where the party took place, found a hiding spot and couldn't believe their luck when they heard some sort of speech coming on, which had now been interrupted for unknown reasons.
"At least we got a little bit. They're trying to take over the government to "unite" Orre." Rui chewed on her bottom lip. "This is... bad. It's a way bigger conspiracy than I thought."
"Believe me, I had no idea either by the time I stole the snag machine," Wes muttered, though his golden eyes were already darting back and forth again. "Let's talk about it later. We should leave now; I feel we shouldn't stay in one place for too long."
"Yeah." Rui glanced over to Espeon whose body was growing tense again. "I think someone might be looking."
Wes rose to his feet. "Let's escape through the garden, but not the same way we came. If there is someone on our trail we'll run into them otherwise."
"Mhm."
He looked at her. "Something wrong?"
"I just wish we could do more."
"Me too. But hey, at least..."
Rui's eyes widened when Wes pulled a bag of sweets out of his pocket. She hadn't noticed him picking him up at all; he was still good at his old "job", it seemed.
"...I swiped these. Good stuff too."
"You had the time to think about sweets while we're trying to bust a crime syndicate?"
"Might as well take some payment while we're here. They probably ripped me off back in the day, so I'm gonna say they owe me some."
With a mischievous grin and a wink, Wes took Rui's hand, and they ran down the hallway.
[00:51, guest floor, Verich Estate]
"My perfect plan! You sabotaged it! And me! And sabotaging me means sabotaging the future of Orre!" Snattle pointed his closed fan at Gorigan as if it was a sword. "I can't believe you would betray me like that!"
"Could you be any more dramatic?" Gorigan groaned. "We're just not in the mood for politics and speeches when we're drunk and partying! What's so hard to understand about that?!"
"You are never in the mood for it. Especially you. You always tell me "maybe later", and then later is never. I'm supposed to assist you whenever you need help, but you can't even listen to me for a few minutes!"
Snattle thrust his fan forward for emphasis, prompting Gorigan to yank his wrench out of the depths of his costume and hold it between them, ready to block an attack.
"Aiyeeeh! Listen up, you crazed wedding cake! I'm not dumb enough to expect you to thank me, but the truth is I'm doing you a favor!"
"Oh? And how could your little act of sabotage possibly be beneficial to me?" Snattle hissed.
"Ok. Bear with me for a moment, will you?" Gorigan gave him a long, serious look, but didn't lower his wrench. "You see, I'm not religious. Not at all. But there's one thing I believe."
His pause for dramatic effect was interrupted by an impatient "What?!" from Snattle.
"I believe — no, I know that politicians go to hell."
"Very funny."
"Snattle." Gorigan took off his goggles to stare into his eyes with all the seriousness a drunk Orrean mechanic could muster. "This is about your immortal soul. Don't do this politics shit to yourself. Go back to the opera or something."
"Even if this was true, since when do you care about my soul?!" Snattle's voice was shrill. "Not to mention the fact that we're in a crime syndicate! We're all going to hell, Gorigan! We might as well go with style — and, in my case, as Governor of Orre!"
He leaned forward as much as the wrench allowed.
"And you won't stop me.”
[01:05, main building, Verich Estate]
"Wandering around aimlessly, are we?" There was a dangerous edge to Evice's voice.
Nascour kept his mien blank as always, betraying nothing.
"Not aimlessly, sir. Just making sure everything is alright."
Inwardly, his mood had gone from mildly irate to straight up sour. Of course the one time his uncle decided to give up his comfy seat in the private salon was right now and of course he had to run into him so he could get nagged and needled.
Evice stepped closer and Nascour took grim pleasure in the fact that he needed to crane his head back to maintain eye contact.
"I do wonder what you get up to sometimes and what goes through your head."
"Don't we all?" A tiny smirk appeared on Nascour's lips. "Though some among us have an easier time figuring that out than others, hm?"
"No talking back, boy. You know better than that." Evice narrowed his eyes. "And now you will tell me what's going on."
"I executed my plan to keep the police under the impression that this is an entirely harmless event."
"And?"
"And I caught a spy and disposed of them. I don't think they saw anything of note either."
"A spy, hm. Rival gang perhaps? Or affiliated with the police?"
"I think neither. Just a random idiot."
"If you say so."
Nascour nodded absentmindedly, bored with the conversation. While he was sure of his assessment, he had the distinct feeling that he wasn't going to get to question the fake security guard for further information. It was entirely possible — likely even — that he had thawed out and disappeared by this point. Good riddance.
What he had unfortunately noticed during his search, however, was that a few sweets had gone missing and since he was pretty sure the man he caught wouldn't have had the opportunity to take them, they were evidence for the presence of more. Gardevoir and Xatu had been right as always. But he didn't want — or need — his uncle to know that.
[04:32, guest floor, Verich Estate]
What a long and lovely night it had been, sizzling with emotion, buzzing with the unmatched charisma of Cipher's elite.
Smiling to himself, Miror B. picked up the discarded and still-defunct microphone from the ground. Oh, he would've loved to sing a little, but nevertheless appreciated Gorigan's act of heroism. Speeches were always his least favorite part of events.
Miror continued to hold the microphone like a prop as he elegantly traversed the guest wing, singing quietly to himself and observing his now-silent surroundings. The little darlings downstairs had long since been picked up by their parents, and the rest of Cipher was in dire need of bedtime as well.
"I’m a poor lonesome trainer
I’m a long long way from home..."
Greevil and Evice were nowhere to be seen, either staying in the private salon or having retreated to their quarters most likely. Nascour was, as far as Miror could tell, still stalking the premises elsewhere, restless and most certainly angry.
"And this poor lonesome trainer
Has got a long long way to roam
Over mountains over prairies
From dawn till day is done..."
Ardos and Eldes were sleeping together next to a couch, heads resting against one another; the couch itself had been claimed by Venus, her sleeping form no less graceful than her waking self, though her costume made it look as though Ein was getting his beauty sleep instead.
Speaking of him, where he had gone, Miror had no idea.
"My Mudsdale and me keep riding
Into the setting sun..."
Lovrina and Naps had met a similar fate as the twins, spurred on by consuming more drinks than they should have; they had even failed at finding a piece of furniture to rest on, falling asleep in a seated position near a column. Naps had fallen over and was currently using Lovrina's tail as a pillow. How cute.
Snattle and Gorigan were sleeping hunched over on the pool table, having spent the last few hours drinking and arguing with one another. When Miror walked past them, he was pretty sure he could hear Snattle mumbling what would have been his speech in his sleep.
"Lonesome trainer, lonesome trainer, you’re a long long way from home..."
Trudly and Folly had to be somewhere as well — they wouldn't have dared to leave without him — but Miror couldn't find them inside the guest wing. Maybe they had gone somewhere else to swipe some drinks and sweets.
Like the wonderful, caring, loving leader of his posse that he was, he wasn't going to leave them behind. No, he was going to pick them up and then go home together to sleep through the day, so they would be ready for their next performance at the Krabby Club.
"Lonesome trainer, lonesome trainer, you’ve a long long way to roam...
To roam..."