Melody noticed the tiefling trying to shift him into a better position and he obliged as best he could. The fog was starting to lift; the door. They were trying to open the door. Did they have all the keys? He saw the one with the injured leg take out the beetle key he and, Retrograde? Retrograde. The key he and Retrograde found. And teetered a bit as the tiefling quickly backed up away from it. Melody held onto him for balance, confused by this reaction. Simple objects like keys animated as insects or other small creatures isn't strictly [i]common[/i] but definitely not unheard of. Its just an old fancy status symbol sort of thing. You see it in movies all the time. Ohh, or maybe he just doesn't like bugs.. His train of thought was interrupted when the door came ajar and the tiefling creeps back forward to open it fully. He flinched and hissed at the sudden noise, tensing as though ready to leap out of the tiefling's grip. Wait. It's a bell? Ohhhhhh it's a clock's chime. Hopefully someone else in the party caught on and started counting because he lost his chance [s]Oi its seven bong[/s] The clock stopped chiming. Melody looked at his hands. Still human. He was also still being carried, which he was starting to feel awkward about but wasn't sure how to broach the subject. Instead he looked over the room. Hm. Hmm. This is some haunted mansion type stuff. Not sure he trusts. What were we supposed to find in this? A beetle? How were they supposed to find a beetle in this? His glamoured ears flicked nervously as he remembered some of his previous interactions with Beetle. It might not be what he says it is.

aster drifted back into consciousness. slowly, their forgetfulness melded into recognition as they remembered where they were. what had happened? they looked around, hoping to get a clue.they were back with the party. the injured people were still hurt, so they hadn’t been out for long. ah! now they were getting somewhere. there was a door straight ahead that led into a room, which had another door. see, this was the kind of puzzle they liked. however, they still had to deal with this gaggle of people before they could finish this off. “do you mind if I scout ahead and check for traps?” even if the room was trapped, they were probably the most powerful and durable person here, so they’d have the best chance of dealing with it. besides, they were eyeing that banged-up terrarium... in this otherwise pristine room, why was it damaged?

After several awkward, bungled attempts at swiping the card, a satisfying click rang through, and a light flashed green. Yukira stepped quickly to the side as the command stepped up- she absentmindedly clutched at the card, but he simply fished out the other key, which had some sort of magic or small automaton that initiated a beetle at the end. She watched it, intrigued, moving back to peer over the conman's shoulder as she pocketed the card out of reach, but the magic was used up and the wings stilled as he turned. The conman put in the code, and with a small beep and [I]CLUNK[/I] the door opened a smidge. Oyaban slowly slid his tail in and widened the opening (she hadn't realized how much she missed her own tail....) A bell began to toll, slowly, and Yukira grasped the shoulder of the conman without thinking in front of her. 10....10 tolls, if midnight was the end they didn't have much time. The otherbeing returned, or....was there the whole time, everything seemed fuzzy around them right now, saying something about checking for traps. She nodded as she sheepishly removed her hand from the conman's shoulder and stepped forward, looking around the room. The terrarium...the beetle they were looking for could be anywhere, and if they left this door open.... "We need to shut the door- it looks like out goal has escaped it's home..." As she said so, she reached up to where Uzi was perched on her head, and after a few chin scratches, reached in and gripped the handle, pulling her sword back out to be ready for what could come.

When The Lost Girl's hand found his shoulder in a moment of awareness as the bell started to toll, Yesterday had found his opposite hand reaching up to rest on her own without thinking about it, a small attempt at comforting her as he counted the sounds. [[s]Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten. Two hours left, a start to the end.[/s]] The more-than-a-nice-thought attempt of comfort was broken as the Lost Girl withdrew her touch, leaning i to get a closer look of the room. Meanwhile, Yesterday was still thinking about the bells. While earlier he held caution, not knowing how much time they had left, now he found himself agreeing with the first notion Oyaban had brought to the group. This was no longer a waiting game. His eyes flickered between the demon-dressed man and the Brightest Star, who had a rather good idea of sending in presumably the least destructible member first, or at least the one who had taken no damage thus far. [[s]The Brightest Star has been absent and undamaged.[/s]] ... Could [i]that[/i] be a trap? While The Lost Girl's weapon had originally made him uneasy, now it gave him a sense of comfort as she pulled it, realizing that he might have focused in on the wrong person at first. Unusual lack of presence, completely unscathed, requesting to head in first through a door that could just as easily be closed again and thus starting the process all over, assuming the keys wouldn't just work a second time. With how the beetle-shaped key had functioned after use, Yesterday had a feeling they would need to find three more items before passing through the door again. "Yes, I agree with the Lost Girl. Especially as we have a time limit now, there is no longer the luxury of caution. As Oyaban said earlier--" His eyes finally darted into the room beyond the large door, observing it for the first time as he had turned to it. [[s]Large Room: It's reflective of the first room entered, as well as an earlier passage where Beetle had made an appearance.[/s]] [[s]Opposing Door: Exact opposite of our own door, leading a path through the center of the room. An exit?[/s]] [[s]Elegant Table: Only uncovered item in the room, has a broken yet beautiful item on top of it. Investigate?[/s]] He stood there for a moment, voice silenced. [i]Investigate.[/i] And without warning or further communication, there was a step, tap, step, repeating, as Yesterday walked straight into the room and headed for the table to get a closer look at what was perched on it.

[quote] The object on the table was once an elaborate terrarium, perhaps intended to house plants like a tiny greenhouse and indeed, the wire that forms the framework describes a shape like a small building, it's architecture halfway between gothic and art nouveau sensibilities, elegant arches and delicate curves. The glass between the wire is an uncharacteristic riot of color, serving no known purpose for growing healthy plants. There are no obvious clues as to what was once inside. It is large enough to have contained a house cat. One side of the curious structure is marred by destruction. The glass is shattered, lying in spray radiating out from the terrarium, and wires twisted and warped, almost melted in spots. Close to the table, and peering past the destruction, it is possible to see something in the terrarium. A simple golden ring. Rainbow light scatters across its surface in a way that cannot be explained as simply a reflection of the colored light around it. [/quote]

[spoiler][i]"Oh my!" A clap of small, metallic hands. "Would you look at the time!"[/i][/spoiler] Kazuya shakes the fog out of his head. His ears ring with the echoes of bells. Fuck this sensitivity, why do things have to be so damn loud.... ah. The kid ain't too comfy about the noise either looks like. He- ......what was. Did something just brush his cheek? He squints at the boy in his arm as the kid glances about the room curiously, apparently no longer disturbed by the bells now that they had ended. Something had definitely touched Kazuya, but the boy's head was very much a couple inches from his face.... As he ponders, the others discuss how to approach the room. Starlight, who had always been there, of course they had, suggests caution, the lady suggests shutting the door behind them, and Tophat agrees with the door thought and quickly approaches the glass... cage... thing in the middle of the room and starts inspecting it. Kazuya stiffens at the suggestion of the door. He glances back over his shoulder at the long hallway, and the yet unexplored rooms. ".........I'se knows what I'se said about needin' to hurry...." he drawls. ".... but we'se can't be one hundred percent sure the bug thing ain't actually in this room. I'se ain't too keen on closin' this door, I ain't trustin' Beetle to not lock us in this room once it's closed." Kazuya walks into the doorway, gently putting the kid down on his feet just inside the new room before continuing. Kazuya scratches at the back of his neck as he slowly puts his thoughts to words, his tail swishing low to the ground. "We'se also ain't checked all the rooms out there yet. I don' wanna risk bein locked outta those rooms. I'se be willing to stand guard and make sure nothin' goes through here, but I'se ain't real fuckin' hyped on gettin stuck on one side a' the door again."

Melody stood a bit unsteadily. He wasn’t in danger of collapsing like before, but was weak and more in danger of just sitting down. He tried not to show this, though. “Yeah I, I don’t trust him not to just, lock us in here. I can stay by the door to make sure nothing scurries out?” he suggested, already taking a few steps back toward the door to take up sentry duty. “Assuming it actually, [i]is[/i] a beetle..” he added, more to himself than anyone else.

“If anything scurries out, I got it locked down, so I think it would be a good idea to leave the door open for now.” God, this place was really starting to get on their nerves. They had nearly lost their place in reality a bit ago... how much more of this cruel game could they take? Their eye caught the shine of something in the terrarium, but Beaky Boy was already over there, so they decided not to interfere. Their... [i]ahem[/i]... particular skillset was more suited for destruction rather than key-finding.

The conman strode quickly past her near the doorway, beelining for the object in the center of the room. Well, hobbled quickly more like- Yukira winced a bit, partly in sympathy, partly because she shifted her shoulder as he moved past her and a twinge of pain reminded her of the state she was currently in. The quicker they found this damn [i]marvelous[/i] beetle of the Fae’s and she could take a proper look at her shoulder, the better. Oyaban and Melody mentioned not trusting Beetle to lock them in this room…she hadn’t thought of that. She had been so blinded by the mere concept of the finish line, thinking they must be so close to the end, she ignored any semblance of caution she should have in this Fae’s game. Her ears fell back and she clutched at the air before remembering that she had no tail to clutch. “You are both right….I wouldn’t put it past our trickster employer to lock us away when we should be so close to the end... a guard or two by the door does sound wise. I’ll investigate further inside though…” Sword clutched in her free hand, low but ready if needed, she moved further in, eyes down and looking for any semblance of movement in case it was a, you know, actual beetle. But Melody’s comment could be right, it could not be a beetle at all, at least not as how she knew them. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized she’d moved to the center of the room until she felt a weight lift quickly from her head as Uzi jumped down to the floor. They raised themself on their back legs, front limbs resting on the edge of the table though this made them far longer than your average housecat, white orbs peering into the broken terrarium. She cleared her throat as she moved beside the conman. “It would be nice if it was as simple as picking up our prize, now wouldn’t it. Find anything inter-Oh!” Peering through the warped glass, Yukira spotted the ring, its prismatic hues gleaming in her hungry eyes. Luckily for her, her hoarding tendencies towards simple treasures were much less than those with weapons, and her one free hand was preoccupied with her sword anyways. “I don’t think that’s just a ring in there….” she said quietly, eyes still transfixed like she was trying to puzzle out just what was making it gleam like it did, but staying where she was.

There was some chatter behind him, about who was staying at the door, as if all three wanted to battle for the guarding position, perhaps just an excuse not to go in. It just fades into white noise... The Lost Girl's footsteps followed behind him though, and as Yesterday walked closer to the table and peered inside the container, the rest of the world seemed to mute itself and all he could really hear was those five repeating taps. They stop. The room is quiet. [[s]Broken Prismatic Container: Lovely, good for growing a small plant, looks to be destroyed on one side. Possibly by a heat source?[/s]] [[s]Simple Golden Ring: Obviously placed, unknown qualities.[/s]] Like his partner in the new room adventure, Yesterday had immediately focused in on the ring, jumping slightly when she spoke up as if the spell entrancing him to the spectacular colour reflections was broken by her words. "I think you're right," was all he got to mumble out, hand already darting into the container and taking the ring, having no hesitation due to lack of finger occupation... or common sense, apparently. Holding the ring up, ready for whatever odd happenings might occur now that he's touched it, Yesterday keeps a firm hold of it or whatever it might turn into as he tries to investigate further, looking for any inscriptions or signatures on it, anything to tell him what he's actually looking at.