The door unlocked, falling the tiniest bit ajar, and the soft sounds of conversation came through. One of which was the only voice she seemed to be able to recognise right now -- Beetle, the salesman. And then, abruptly and loudly, the door seemed to slam itself open of its own accord. Her surprise took only a fraction of a second to process before she leaned down a little to look through the doorway. Inside were four humans, two gathered around a table in the centre and two at the opposite door; one human wearing only pants with torn fabric bandaging his shoulder, one human in dress pants and suspenders with what seemed to be the fabric of a matching suit jacket wrapped around one arm like a sling, one human in the back in a very plain, rumpled suit, and another human with a faceless mask and a sparkling, deep blue robe. She knew she had seen the human with the robe in the ballroom, though she hadn't heard them announced. The injured human with the sling held a medium-sized....... cat? lobster??? in her uninjured arm. There were frustrating errors as she tried to identify it, like attempting to access to a forbidden file... was it something she would normally recognise? And the pink mask and the horned mask of the two injured humans each had a respective match -- two of the humans who had been dancing in the ballroom -- but was that enough to be sure? Were all the masks unique? Their clothes were entirely different or gone. And the final human had no identifying features to his costume at all. Most likely, more guests, but no one she knew. No Retrograde. There was no insect to protect that she could see, either -- though there [i]was[/i] one container, a small box made of stained glass and wire, in the hands of the shirtless human. Hm!! She had a bit too much dress to easily slip past the others, but she still ducked through the doorway to lean into the room, free hand resting on the doorframe. "Hello there! ...Are you alright, darlings?" she called, sounding cheerful and curious rather than actually concerned.

Well, that was definitely new. First off, the flurry of happenings— [i]Beaky Boy gone, that beetly bastard at it again— [/i] and now... new people? At least one of them seemed peppy. The lady in the pink dress looked quite enthusiastic, almost suspiciously so, about this whole thing. They were competing in some crazy contest that they didn’t even know the exact terms of, trapped in some weird-ass room, and one of their party members just disappeared into thin air, so who in their right mind would be so damn upbeat? Still, since they didn’t know what this lady could do, or if this was just another test, they decided to at least be polite. “Could be a little better, but still on our feet. You?”

Well, wasn't this interesting. And funny how the host had seen themselves out before the group had made a proper entrance... At least no one was shooting each other. [i]“Could be a little better, but still on our feet. You?” [/i] ...Yet. SPARK emitted sub-vocalization, audible only to those nearest - assuming they were paying attention. [color=#8eb5f5]"Brightest Star. They attacked suddenly without warning after speaking normally much like this. No weapon was visible. Caution advised."[/color] Star hadn't seemed to notice them yet. SPARK continued to let the charge in their arm cannon build, keeping it tucked behind the doorway they stood in. They weren't about keeping grudges, fun though it might be to pretend otherwise at times. They were unlikely to make it through another impact like the one they'd taken. And even if they did, they might lose too much cohesion to keep carrying the bottle. So yeah. Talking was good. People tended not to shoot until the talking stopped. [color=blue] "Personally I've been better."[/color] SPARK pointedly did not look at Brightest Star for any longer than the rest of them. Their planes flickered - their form looked fragile at the best of times, and with the added damage... They were presenting a vulnerability. Not ideal. They idly drummed some loose planes on the wall like fingertips. They made almost no sound, but the additional cohesion poured into them caused visible marks to be left in the wood. [color=blue]"But still working well enough. "So, did I hear a certain laughing asshole slash party host in here a second ago?"[/color]

Yukira let out a small hiss as Uzi leaped into her arm, part of their weight pressing down on the slung arm until she was able to readjust. The colors continued to swirl and reconfigure as she did so, piecing the walls of the small enclosure back together. Her ears twitched as a tiny, high pitched [i][size=10]FUCK[/size][/i] reached them, but before she could move Oyaban was there, turning the case in his claws. The case….the case that was reformed….reformed after the conman….oh no! Did he disappear again? Was that a power of his? She stepped closer to Oyaban, trying to see, there was something in there now, but what… Before she could spiral through more thoughts, Uzi screeched and pressed forward, as if trying to bury back into her, as a familiar voice rang beside Oyaban. She fell backwards, a pained huff escaping her as she landed. “Calm down” Yukira whispered through gritted teeth as void covered half her face, Uzi choosing to scramble over her head in their escape from Beetle since burying into her had failed to work. Uzi cried but clambered off, cowering behind her as Yukira reached for her sword she had thankfully landed beside. Yukira scrambled up, sword clutched in her hand, glaring at Beetle, who was making some offer about the current beetle? in the case…but then he was gone. She blinked, glancing at Oyaban. “What just…” she started to say, before she noticed the new group at the door. [i]”Hello there! ...Are you alright, darlings?”[/i] She spun towards the group- more guests from the ball earlier…or party crashers? Was that what Beetle had called them? A well-dressed man with a gleaming sword, a glowing triangular humanoid, the pretty number in the pink, a horned demon of a more hoofed variety, and… “Lady?” Yukira questioned quietly, her sword low as she stared past the rest of the group at the Blind Lady.

Though Ada seemed cheerfully pleasant per usual, Guiding Light's soft warning sent a shiver through the Blind Lady. They'd been warned at the beginning of this little search party that there was a threat to their objective behind the door, but hadn't the masked man also said something about not letting anything trapped here escape into the party? What if this whole search [i]was[/i] a trap in and of itself? Warily, the Blind Lady meant to voice her concerns - but that soft, "Lady?" immediately distracted her with a skip of her heartbeat. "[i]Oh![/i]" she cried, seeing the injured woman rise from the floor. Completely forgetting her caution, she rushed forward past the men in the doorway to flutter her hands over the bloody wound on the Lost Girl's shoulder. "Good heavens, you're hurt! What happened?!" Though she didn't touch the wound, she picked at the shredded clothing around it in distress, somehow certain that the makeshift sling was less than acceptably sterilized before use.

After his initial realization, Yesterday hardly had any time to really figure out what he was dealing with, before his whole world was turned upside down, literally. At least Oyaban? Was that who was holding him? He could hardly tell through hands covering the already tinted windows, but he was pretty sure those were claws slowly turning the building around. At least he wasn't being tossed around, until Beetle showed up of course. Between the quick yank, turn and shove, Yesterday was feeling fully rattled at this point and completely turned around, thankful he had at least been able to hold onto his cane during all that. He'd honestly almost given up at keeping track of what was going on outside of his new cage, realizing that he wouldn't be able to have much of an impact on the situation in his state-- until another voice rang out. Instantly, he was up against one of the colourful walls, leg hurting from trying to walk on the currently uneven ground, trying to peer through the glass and fingers that held it. "Ada! Ada it's me!" He was so pleased to see she was safe, the rest of his thoughts had dissolved. Though also, he couldn't see too clearly, and wasn't sure if she was unharmed... or perhaps had come into contact with battle like he had. Still, he tried to get her attention, perhaps she'd be able to recognize him if she was really a robot, at least better than Oyaban and Lost Girl had perhaps tried. "Ada, it's --" ... Right, the issue he had encountered earlier. What was his name? What was the fake name he was going by again but even further than that... w... who was he? Yesterday's hands slightly lowered as he tried to come to terms with a new thought crossing through his mind... [i]Maybe there was no beetle. [/i]Maybe this was what was supposed to happen all along... and the merchant had [i]won[/i], because he had been too easy to manipulate into giving up himself.

Owain entered the code, and waited. For a brief, worrying moment, nothing happened. Then, a mechanism inside the door moved, and the door swung open, very slightly. Owain suppressed a sigh of relief - that was one concern dealt with. Now they just had to deal with whatever was inside. They could already hear voices from inside the room - alarmed swearing, followed by a second, quieter voice. Both familiar. That was Beetle, and- With a sudden gust of wind, the door slammed open, revealing the room, and the people inside. There went the chance of any kind of subtlety. Some of the people in the room, he recognise from earlier, in the ballroom - though looking noticeably worse for wear. The Lost Girl was there, in a different outfit and with her arm in a makeshift sling, but still recognisable. And then- Nishiyama, shirtless, his shoulder bandaged up. Owain stayed still, unsure how to react. Behind him, Ada leaned down to greet the new group. [i]"Hello there! ...Are you alright, darlings?"[/i] [i]"Could be a little better, but still on our feet. You?"[/i] One of the other group responded - and Guiding Light gave a very quiet warning. [i]"[color=#888888]Brightest Star. They attacked suddenly without warning after speaking normally much like this. No weapon was visible. Caution advised.[/color]"[/i] Right - even if they weren't immediately being attacked, it was best to stay on guard. With the person who attacked Light here, there was no telling what could happen. Even if he knew some of the others. The Guiding Light stepped forwards to talk to the group, and the Blind Lady ran in to check on the Lost Girl. Owain stayed put, for now, hand steady on his sword, weighing up what to do for now. He wanted to be ready if something happened. He glanced at Nishiyama. Somehow, he wasn't sure if he [i]would [/i]be ready.

oh FUCK NO he was not gonna fucking sell something to the fuckin Beetle bastard right now, especially not when he didn't know what the contents where, and ESPECIALLY not when he was growing increasingly pretty DAMN sure the contents of that glass thingy was actually someONE, he'd seen movement as he was moving the box around and it did NOT look like a fucking beetle, FUCK thi- Oh-welp-WHA-FUCK??????-hey- too fast everything was too fucking fast could everyone and everything PLEASE slow down for TWO FUCKING SECONDS Kazuya's ears twitch this way and that as he tries to pay attention to and catch everything that is going on all at once. Tall woman, appears friendly, for now. From the ball. Another floating being. From the ball. This one looks hurt- wait it's saying something, what is it saying, fuck it's hard to hear even with his good ears.... brightest... attacked... caution... Kazuya's grip on the glass box tightens, as he casually pulls it closer to his stomach. His tail curls up close to him, defensive. Fuck could it not do that, please and thank you??? He takes a moment to force his muscles to calm, willing the tail to relax. Fuck these fuckin new tells he's still getting used to. The Lady calls someone else Lady. This second?? Lady??? also from the ball, comes rushing forward, and fawns in distress over their Lady. And then the person - yes, definitely a person - in the box starts yelling. It's a tiny voice, barely audible, but clutched in Kazuya's hands, it reaches the demon's ears. Fuck. [i]Fuck[/i] yah even warped by being tiny, it's got the same cadence, it's him. [i]Fuckin-[/i] Kazuya scans the new group of people. One more person hangs towards the back and.... grips his sword... obviously more cautious than the rest.... Ah. The....... the Borrowed. ...... also. Also from the ball....... fuck, Kazuya had been hoping, faintly, that he would not be here.... Heh. He should know better. Fuck. Kazuya takes a deep breath, and is about to speak, when he notices one more person -fuck so many people- another demon, clad in green. [i]Memory. Mirror. Knife. Blood.[/i] [i]FUCK.[/i] He stares blankly at Morne for a long moment, mind racing as he considers everything: the deal beetle offered. The condition Beetle gave for fulfilling those offered wishes. The appearance of this other group, all made of people from the ball. Beetle being fuckin' Beetle. And then he takes another breath. "Heeeeeey you'se alls," he says, his voice tired, but friendly. "I'm gonna goes out on a bit of a limb here, based on you'se alls bein here and lookin a bit worse for wears too. The beetle bastard give you'se a fuckin' quest, too?"

Morne recovered his composure enough to look at the people in the room. There were four of them, some of whom seemed familiar from the ball before. He hung back as Ada broke the awkward silence and asked the other group if they were all right. He resisted an urge to facepalm. Their host had made it clear that there would be other people here, people that would stand between them and their goal. Party crashers. People who had infiltrated the party and now had infiltrated this part of the castle with the intent to keep them from their goal. It was more than likely that these were the people their host was referring to. There were only four of them to his group's five and the four seemed to have suffered a bit to get this far. Tattered clothing and visible injuries for two of the four. Considering only three of his own party seemed capable of fighting, it still looked like good odds. If you had to fight, best to fight enemies who were already hurt. Though they should still be cautious. His eyes flicked to the Light. He didn't know how sturdy a construct that looked like it was made of panes of glass would be, but the Light had held up pretty well against their own double. Whatever powers or weapons the Star possessed, it would be wise to be careful for now. Around him, his group and the other group continued talking, admitting injury, the Blind Lady actually darting into the room to the side of a silver-haired woman with her arm in a sling. She fussed over the other, as if she had forgotten whose side she was supposed to be on. Perhaps she'd never been on their side at all. The calculation of odds shifted slightly in Morne's mind. Finally, the demon spoke up. He clutched a bright glass box to his chest and asked if they had been sent on a quest by a "beetle bastard." He sounded exhausted, but like he was trying to keep everything peaceful and calm. Morne rolled his wand between his fingers for a moment as he thought. He stepped forward a little, still behind the Borrowed, but closer to the new room. "If by 'beetle bastard,' you mean a strange man with a weird fixation on a specific beetle to be found in this castle, then.... Yes. We've met him. Have you, by any chance, found a beetle?" He scanned the faces of the four, looking for any sign, any tell. "I suggest you hand it over, if you have it," he said and he flashed his teeth in something akin to a friendly smile, "Please."

Melody took a step or two back as the door opened and new people emerged, an entire new group. He recognized some of them but-- what was was that a fucking portal gun was that a fucking portal gun??????? ok if beetle has the ability to give people portal guns then he asked for the wrong fuckin thing holy shit ah man these guys are all from different universes. does she know what that thing is?? do any of them?? do they know not to touch or look at the operational end of the device? do they know not to get it wet? have any of them made a portal on the floor and ceiling and achieved terminal velocity? can he see it? have-- Some tiny muffled yelling shook him back into reality. He glanced at the terrarium. At least Beetle didn't take it. He thought for sure he was going to. His glamored ears folded back when the satyr asked for the terrarium with a smile he didn't trust. He kept his eyes on him, staying near the teifling and the terrarium, ready to... do... something, should the need arise. He doesn't know what that something is but. Something.