Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Three friends, Mary, Meena and Nikki, were having a girls' night out. Mary was simply bored without school, Meena had a day off from work and Nikki had issues going on with her boyfriend. They all needed something else to think about. And so, since it was way too early to go to a bar, the girls walked around the city, looking for something fun to do. After all, they could sing karaoke and dance later at the bar, and there wasn't any good movies going on either.
"The museums are fun, but they can be quite expensive..", Mary, the oldest of the girls, huffed.
"And we already walked through the shopping mall and visited all the good second-hand stores too..", Meena added.
"And it's not an amusement park season either..", the youngest of the girls, Nikki, groaned.
Being as bored as they were, the girls continued to walk around, surely there was something fun to do, they just needed to find out what it could be.
After a while of walking, the girls finally did find something. They saw a large, quite decorative gate and behind it, a fancy looking building that almost looked like a moderate castle.
"What is this place? I have never seen it before..", Meena wondered out loud. The girls peeked behind the gate and high stone fence, getting a quick glimpse at a fancy looking garden.
"That looks so royal..", they admired.
"Do you think that someone lives there?", Nikki asked.
"Well, at least someone takes care of the garden, so most likely someone lives there", Mary shrugged.
The gate seemed to be locked, but the girls looked around the garden as much as they were able to.
"The garden alone looks awesome, whoever lives there has a really green thumb..", they giggled.

Besides, the building itself looked fancy too, like a place where some very wealthy folks might live. The girls were about to leave, they didn't want to look too suspicious by hanging around a wealthy looking building. As they were moving away from the gate, one of them accidentally touched the doorbell. They heard a beautiful note as it rang, and as it happened, they noticed it was the kind that had a small microphone for talking. Soon they heard a man's voice, with a bit of an accent, talking to them.
"Greetings, curious souls. Welcome to our modest and humble home. Here resides a wealthy and prestigious family by the name of Emeritus. Our estate is filled with exciting surprises and secrets, do you think you can solve them? If you think that you are brave enough, please, do step inside. But remember, things might not be exactly what they seem at first glance. The clock is ticking, and you have only one task - to find the way out again. Do you dare to accept the challenge? Welcome to the Emeritus family's escape estate, are you brave and brilliant enough to get out from.. The Ministry?", the voice announced.
"Ooh, it's a new escape room place! That's cool, whoever runs it clearly has put a lot of thought into it!", the girls got excited. Obviously they needed to check it out what was it all about.
"The announcement did say to step in if we are brave enough, but the gate is locked, how are we supposed to get in?", Nikki wondered.
"That kind of doorbell should work both ways..", Meena guessed.
"Um, hello? We would like to.. Accept the challenge?", Mary asked when they found the button that activated the microphone.
"Please, walk through the gate", the same voice answered and the gate opened. The girls did as they were told to, and as they stepped on the stairs, the gate closed again behind them.
"Welcome to the noble household of the Emeritus family. Please, wait at the door for a moment. Our butler, Kevin, will be there shortly to let you in."
"This place even has a real butler?", the girls giggled and waited for the door to be opened.

Chapter Text

Soon, the large oak door opened and a robust, bearded man dressed in a fine black suit, stood there infront of them.
"You are here to challenge and solve the secrets of the Emeritus estate?", he asked and the girls nodded excitedly.
"This way, I will show you to the first room where the game will start from. If you get stuck with something for a long while, you can call me, and I will give you a hint that will help you forward", Kevin, the butler, explained and the girls followed him.
From the front door, they had to walk through a long corridor to the room where the game would start from.
"Ladies, this is the Cardinal's office. The game will officially start from here. The rules state that this door will be locked. There will be a key hidden somewhere in the office, alongside of hints how to get to the next point", Kevin nodded and opened one of the doors along the corridor.
"Any questions?", he checked.
"Yes, miss?", he asked as Nikki shyly lifted up her arm.
"I just wanted to check is there a time limit of some kind for getting out of this first room?", she wondered.
"There's no direct time limit, but there will be a check up knock at the door after the first ten minutes once the door is locked. However, if you haven't yet gotten out within the first forty minutes, you are allowed to call me for help. I wish to inform you that this is a decently long escape game, as the office is only the starting point, and you must visit several different rooms during the game before finishing. Any other questions before you start? The Ministry's secrets are waiting for you already."
"So if there's no strict time limit, how many times can we ask for your help if we need it?", Meena too asked.
"After the first forty minute mark, the time will shorten to twenty minutes. You don't have to ask every time if you find the way without the extra help", he nodded.

The girls looked at each other, it sounded completely fair.
"Like the welcoming announcement warned you, not everything might be what it seems at first glance. So, without revealing too much too early, that's all what I will say for now."
"Okay then, I think we are ready to start now", Mary said.
"Very well. Good luck, ladies", Kevin nodded, stroking his beard, and locked the door. Once inside the room, the girls looked around for a moment.
It was quite a decently sized room, following the same stone floor and matching walls like on the corridor they had just walked through, with large, colorful and detailed stained glass windows along the back wall. Seeing that it was an office room, the interior itself was tasteful, yet not too garish.
The focus points of the room were mostly the large, matching office desk and book shelves, made from pricey looking dark wood, Mary guessed it looked like oak like the doors, the decorative chair also matched the desk with fancy, deep red velvet cushions. The shelves were filled with old, quite valuable looking books; in one corner, was even a decent leather arm chair. Under the girls' feet rested a thick, ornamental carpet and above them on the ceiling was a crystal chandelier. Next to the arm chair was also a small side table, with a classic record player on it.
"Simple, yet tasteful, clearly a work space. Nothing overly fancy, just some very basic necessities", Nikki nodded.
"Okay, so Kevin said that there's a key hidden in somewhere.. Oh, this arm chair is really comfortable, despite it being leather..", Meena gasped as she sat down.

Chapter Text

Mary sat down at the desk, starting to go through the many drawers, since there was only a few pieces of furniture, surely the desk was hiding at least one hint.
"Girls, I found a note!", she squealed after going through the drawers for a moment.
"What does it say?", they asked curiously.
"It's a poem of some kind, listen. If you want to flee, find the hidden key. The object of your desire is concealed, hidden beneath a family that in the darkness preached", she read from the note.
"What the heck is that supposed to mean? I mean, without that key, we obviously can't leave the room to look around for more clues", Nikki pointed out.
"So the key is supposed to be beneath a family somehow..", Meena mumbled out loud.
"Does that note say anything else?", she asked, but Mary shook her head.
"No, just that little poem."
"Well, that's the only place in this whole room that seems to have anything related to a family", Nikki eventually noticed a family portrait on the wall, and the girls went to take a closer look. The portrait was a decently sized one, resting in a nice, decorative gilded frame.

It indeed pictured a family, an elderly father and four adult sons. The older gentleman was sitting on a fine arm chair, with his sons standing around the chair.
"They sure won the jackpot on the gene lottery, every family member looks really handsome", the girls whistled in unison.
"They look almost regal, maybe it's those fancy clothes", Meena guessed.
"So, a good looking family, check. What do we do now?", Nikki asked.
"Hmm.. The last time I played an escape room game, one hint was hidden behind a painting, so.. Maybe it's the same thing here too?", Mary suggested, reading through the note again.
"A family that preached.. Those do look like clerical clothes actually, they all do wear matching robes, shawls and those noble looking bishop headpieces.. I think they are called something like a mitre..", Meena nodded.
The girls looked at each other and being the tallest of them, Nikki lifted the portrait carefully from the wall.
"There's a button hidden behind here!", she gasped, getting her hand behind the frame, and the girls urged her to push it. As she did so, they heard a small "click" and the wall just under the frame opened up, revealing a small strongbox hidden inside the wall, and just like the hint had read, "beneath the family".
"This is getting really exciting, the key must be in there!"
But the girls soon noticed an issue. The strongbox was locked with a number pad, that asked for a line of three numbers to open. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. The first ten minutes were now full, and like he had said he would do, Kevin came to check on them. He didn't open the door after the knock, simply called through it how they were doing.
"We found the first hint, and we're working on the next one!", the girls called back.
"Good, it sounds like you are on the right track. I'll check on you again within the next half an hour, if you are still stuck in the Cardinal's office", Kevin answered and left them to continue on the next task.

Chapter Text

As his footsteps were leaving the door, the girls turned back to the strongbox.
"So now we need numbers to get that box open.. There's still a lot of books and papers on that desk..", Mary mumbled.
"That record player seemed promising, you know, albums have track lists and such..", Meena pointed out, going back to the side table and started to go through the albums.
"Is there some more clues?", Nikki asked.
"Not that I can see.. Some old classic jazz.. No idea what that is supposed to be.. Opera, of course..", Meena shrugged, flipping through the album covers. The girls tested some number combinations, but didn't find the right one.
"There's so many three number combinations though, it could take forever to find the right one.. And you know that I hate numbers..", Mary groaned.
"It's okay, little marmot, we'll find the right one in one way or another", Meena promised.
"And besides, Kevin said he can give us a hint how to get forward if we get stuck..", Nikki pointed out too.
"Did you hear that?", she added suddenly.
"Hear what?", they asked.
"I was sure that I heard some giggling.. And steps from high heeled shoes.."
"I mean, this is a huge place, surely Kevin isn't the only one who stays here? Oh, this arm chair indeed is comfortable..", Mary admitted, sitting on it in turn.
"Now that you mentioned it, I think I heard it too.. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere nearby..", Meena nodded too.

While wondering where the giggling and the footsteps were coming from, the girls still were looking for the numbers.
"Hey, it's almost time that we can ask a hint from Kevin, should we do it?", Nikki asked eventually. The girls looked at each other and nodded, they were stuck, and really needed help.
"Kevin! We need a hint, please!", they shouted in unison. After a moment, they heard more footsteps from the corridor and soon, there was a knock on the door.
"Yes, ladies?", Kevin asked.
"You said you would give us a hint if we get stuck. We found the strongbox, but we have no idea what could be the correct number combination. Could you help us, please?", they asked innocently.
"Very well, I'll give you a hint how to find one of the numbers. Listen carefully. Look around you. There's something white in the room. Count these white objects. Like I said, that gives you one of the numbers you need. I'll check on you again within twenty minutes", he called through the door before leaving again.
"Okay, so something white.. That should be simple enough.. The furniture are quite dark, though the windows are very colorful.. And those cushions are a nice shade of red.. With a golden frame on that portrait..", the girls looked around the room again.
"Hey, there's something! Up there!", Nikki suddenly noticed a crystal vase on top of the book shelf.
"There's some flowers in it, and they are white! They look like roses!", she added, counting how many flowers there was in the vase.
"Six, seven.. Eight! There's eight white roses!", she said.
"Ooh, now we need only two more!", the girls got excited and looked around for some more to find the other two numbers.
"Huh, that's weird..", Mary said all of a sudden.
"What is it?", Meena asked.
"Well, we had a clock with Roman numerals when I was a child. That clock also has Roman numerals on it. But as far as I remember, the two "X" shouldn't be next to each other..", she furrowed her brow and counted the numbers on the clock face. After a moment, her face lit up.
"The other X is missing an I, it must be nine!", she said.
"So, now that we already know two of the three numbers, it's the elimination of possibilities..", Meena nodded, grabbing the strongbox and clicked the numbers for a moment. After every possible combination, the numbers finally found the right order and the box opened.
"No idea what the number 189 means, but it worked!", she gasped, as the cover of the box opened and they finally got their hands on the decorative brass key.

Chapter Text

The girls got excited, they had solved the Cardinal's office, and now it was finally time to go forward. After opening the door and stepping out of the office room, they just looked around the corridor for a moment. On the other end, the large oak doors were closed.
"I think we came from that direction", Nikki guessed.
"I think so too, so most likely the front door is in that direction, and we aren't supposed to go there yet..", Mary scratched her neck.
"In that case, our only option is that way.. Look!", Meena gasped, noticing something weird as she turned towards the other end of the corridor.
"What is it?", they asked.
"Look at the shadows at the end of the corridor! They look like statues or something, but I'm sure they weren't there earlier!", she explained. And so, the girls closed the door, carefully placing the key on a side table that so conveniently was right next to the wall. Suddenly they heard Kevin's voice again, this time from a hidden loudspeaker, as they didn't see him anywhere.
"Good job, ladies, just follow the path", he simply encouraged them.
Their footsteps soon echoed on the stone corridor as they were walking, and the shadows on the wall were slowly becoming more clear by each step.
"There's no pedestals, so maybe they aren't statues after all.. Mannequins, maybe? They do have really nice looking clothes on..", Mary guessed, as they stood infront of the three figures.
"Girls, check that out! Doesn't that look like a.. A tail?", Nikki pointed out suddenly.

All three figures indeed seemed to have a tail, wrapped more or less around the waist area.
"Are you completely sure that's a good idea..", Meena worried, as Nikki was just about to grab one of the tails.
"Hands off of the goods, love", they heard a bit of an accented voice coming from one of the figures.
"Eek, they aren't mannequins either!", the girls screamed.
"Ya have gotten out of the Cardinal's office, took ya long enough", he added. All three had now opened their eyes and were looking at them. One had eyes that were seafoam green, with just the slightest tinge of mercury, the tallest one had a bit darker shade of green, closer to an old dollar bill or at most deep, dark forest green, but the third man had a very peculiar shade, looking like fluorescent cat's eyes.
"So.. Um.. You are a part of this 'escape estate' too then..?", the girls asked shyly, while whispering to each other that they must had been wearing some crazy colored contact lenses just for the show and reactions.
"Mm, alongside of our forever loyal Jesus, we too serve the Papas and the Ministry", they nodded in unison. The girls glanced at each other, these guys sure were taking their roles very seriously..
"Papas? In plural? So there's several of.. Them?"
"Five, in fact, four brothers and their father."
"Oh, of course, the family portrait back in the office..", the girls blushed, realizing how silly their question had been.
"So.. They all are here then?", they continued curiously.
"Mm, somewhere in the depths of this fine establishment, love", the tall man, with the dollar green eyes and a bit of an accent, answered to them.
"Will we meet them by any chance?", Nikki asked, lifting her brow slightly.
"Perhaps. If you get that far in the game", the other man, the one with the nice, broad shoulders and the cat like eyes that were almost glowing in the dark, grinned. For a moment, the girls just stared at the quite sharp looking canine fangs.
"Your next challenge is already waiting for you", the third man with the soft, seafoam green eyes, nodded, resting his hands on his almost corset like waist.
They escorted the girls at the start of a large staircase.
"So.. What do we do here then?", they wondered.
"A-aa, too early for new hints. You'll figure it out eventually. Here's a candelabra for light, so you won't trip on the stairs", they grinned, handing them a gorgeous looking candelabra with three burning candles.

Chapter Text

Before any of the girls managed to ask anything else, they had already disappeared from sight.
"That was honestly kinda weird..", Meena pointed out. Mary and Nikki agreed and they slowly started to walk down the stairs. Every now and then, once they were walking along yet another corridor again, they heard more footsteps and other noices from somewhere closeby.
"Gotta hand it to the owners of this place, the workers too take their roles really seriously", Mary nodded.
"A majestic staircase, a fancy candelabra and a long corridor.. But what exactly are we supposed to do now? Those guys only said that the next challenge waits for us down here..", Nikki said.
"Girls, listen!", Mary hushed suddenly as they were walking past one of the large doors along the corridor.
"I heard something from behind that door..", she added. The girls looked at each other and very carefully leaned against the door. They indeed heard something. It almost sounded like singing, but the girls weren't able to recognize any of the words. However, it did sound like several male voices singing in sync in some foreign language.
"Don't quote me on this, but I think that might be Latin.. My cousin is a doctor, he had to learn some most mandatory basics to fully understand medicine and stuff, and while the words themselves were different, he sounded sort of similar to that when he read his notes out loud..", Mary whispered after they had listened to the voices for a moment.
"A choir singing in Latin? Now that's honestly creepy..", Meena admitted.
"Maybe we should continue forward, you know, before the folks in that room actually notice us?", Nikki suggested.

However, the girls had no idea that someone had already noticed them.
"Well well well, would you look at that, boys? Some pure, curious souls have found their way into this level.."
"Mm, if Special was seeing this, he would say something along the lines of 'oh, this is exactly like a scene from one of my harlequins I just read' or something.."
"Let's see where they are going, they just walked past the ritual chambers.."
"I think they are doing that escape room thing, remember, the one that Special made those posters for earlier.."
"Oh yes, the Emeritus escape estate! It does have a fun sounding vibe to it actually..", they laughed while watching the cameras, as the girls were walking along the corridor.
"Eeta, Zeeta and Theeta."
"Yes, Papa?", they answered in unison.
"I assume you have a visual on our little guests?"
"Yes we do, Your Dark Excellency. Are they possibly doing the escape room thing? They don't look like they are just snooping around out of curiosity after sneaking in..", the triplets pointed out.
"Mm, they started from the office about an hour ago. All I know is that the next challenge is waiting for them somewhere down here."
"They just walked past the ritual chambers", Eeta said.
"Most likely they weren't supposed to interrupt the ritual then", Zeeta nodded.
"Well then, let's make it a bit more challenging, shall we? Make sure they will go to different directions for a little while", he ordered.
"We'll fix it. Let's see..", Theeta clicked a few buttons on their surveillance unit. Since the corridor was dark, with only a few lanterns here and there along the walls, and the candelabra the girls were holding, they weren't able to see too far ahead of them.
"One goes that way now..", they nodded, watching the cameras, as Nikki was the first one that chose the other path.

Chapter Text

The triplets glanced at the general floor plan of the estate.
"Mm, so the Archives, the boiler room, the Crypt and the library..", Eeta read from the list.
"Beta's, Omikron's, Sigma's and Special's offices and the ritual chambers..", Zeeta added, scratching his chin.
"The rec center, our surveillance spot, the treasure chambers and the wine cellar..", Theeta nodded. The estate itself had a large number of rooms, but since they knew that the girls were in the downstair level for a reason, they checked those rooms especially. A little glowing dot on the screen told them who was in which room at any given moment.
"Omi and Sigma are in their offices, as usual.. And we are obviously in here.. The Crypt seems dark and calm, as it should..", Zeeta shrugged, casually ripping open a bag of chips and grabbed a handful of them.
"There's a silvery dot on the move though, blinking quite furiously between the library and the Archives.. Special is buzy.. Gimme some of those.. And most of the big guys are still in the ritual chambers.. Ma'am was in the treasure chambers earlier..", Theeta nodded, also grabbing a handful of chips while talking.
"There's also an emerald green dot in the wine cellar.. He has been in there for a while now.. Probably looking for something very particular for the meal.. What else do we have here.. Two darker red dots in the boiler room, check.. And a very light blue one in the rec center..", Eeta added.
They glanced at the other cameras too, as it was their job. Different colored dots were moving around the estate.
"Silver violet and glowing red in the.. Isn't that one of the twins' equipment closets? Yup, it sure is.. Of course.. Why did I even ask.."
"It must be a night of the full moon soon, it always gets them all crazy", they laughed.
"I thought silver violet was supposed to be with green turquoise and blue orange though?"
"His path crossed with glowing red's, it seems.. And purple yellow is over there at the moment.."

Since the dots could change places quite quickly, it was easier for them to call them by the colored dots, unless they talked directly to one of them.
As the triplets were sipping their energy drinks, they noticed a small, purple dot near the light blue one.
"One of them found a way to the rec center, it seems.. Let's see..", they opened one of the views to take a closer look.
"The plum like purple dot means the tall girl with the nice glasses, it seems.. Hey, is it Mist's or Zephyr's pool shift today?", Eeta asked, while fishing some more chips. Theeta cranked his neck to glance at the clock and shift list on the wall behind them.
"At this hour, it should be Zeph's..", he nodded.
"It is, Mist would show up as a slightly darker shade of blue, he shows up as that very light blue", Zeeta pointed out, taking another sip from his energy drink.
"Oh, hold on, he disappeared from the spa area..", he added. The triplets watched as the light blue dot reappeared again on the side corridor.
"What the.. Don't you two have any other places to mess around?"
"Sorry, Zeph!"
"We're going, Zeph!", two other voices answered to him, and the triplets followed as the "silver violet" and "glowing red" dots disappeared from view for a while.
"Looks like he busted them from making out in the janitor's closet, again!", they laughed.
"At least it wasn't the twins that found them, they get even more annoyed from it, they have a system with every closet..", they rolled their eyes.
"They got way too much energy at this hour.. Hold on.. There's a soft green dot in the treasure chambers again.. Did Ma'am go back in there for some reason?", Eeta noticed suddenly.
"It's not her. While her dot is grass green, it would have a slightly golden glow around it", Zeeta pointed out.
"Yeah, that's a soft green without the golden glow.. Too light shade to be emerald or forest.. But it could be the other girl though, since the shade doesn't look familiar..", Theeta guessed, checking the view.
"Mm, so the muted plum like purple and crisp apple green dots are two of the little girls.. And we are clearly getting hungry since we start to compare the colors to food objects now.. Where's the third one though.. She shouldn't be anywhere too far away yet at this point.."

Chapter Text

While chatting, the triplets checked the other cameras. The large, decorative doors of the ritual chambers were now open, as the others were leaving to tend their other daily duties.
"If anyone needs me within the next hour or so, you can find me at the gym."
"See you later, big guy", the other guys nodded. He grinned and took the leather robe off, they didn't need to wear them outside of the rituals, draping it over his arm and disappeared into the other room.
"Hi, Zephyr. You weren't at the ritual today?"
"Hi, Omega. No, it's my pool duty again. Speaking of which.. Epsilon! Ypsilon! I need more pool chlorine!"
Immediately after hearing their names, the twins appeared next to them, holding a large container of chlorine in their hands.
"Here you go, Zeph", Epsilon said.
"Call if you need something else", Ypsilon nodded, and they disappeared again, this time to clean up the ritual chambers.
"Well, I'll let you do your thing, and have a simple gym routine. I understood that there are some visitors. I want to be ready before meeting them."
"Sounds like someone else in this household we know", Zephyr smirked as Omega disappeared into the gym.
"Will you need the pool?", he called after him.
"Not this time, I'll just do a simple routine!", he answered.
"That's good, as I'm about to clean it. If I start immediately, it will be usable again later in the evening", he nodded, starting to empty the pool.
He too was aware about the "guests" that were visiting, but he was more focused on his own task at hand.
"Um.. Excuse me? I believe I got lost after getting separated from my friends. Could you help me back to the corridor, please?", Nikki asked shyly, after stepping into the spa room.
"There was a lot of doors, and it seems I chose the wrong ones..", she explained, trying her best to not to stare at his marble statue like physique that the simple shorts and tight top obviously emphasized very well.
"Of course, miss. This way", Zephyr nodded politely.
"There's even a spa down here?", Nikki wondered to herself.
"He wears those similar contact lenses too..", she noticed his almost unnaturally light, icy blue eyes.
"I'm sorry for confusing you, miss, I should had locked the door", he apologized.
"Oh, it's okay. I simply thought it's a part of the game. My friends should be somewhere closeby", she nodded.
"Continue that way, and you will reach the correct door. Good luck, miss", Zephyr grinned.

In the meantime, the triplets followed from the cameras how Meena indeed had found her way into the treasure chambers.
"Oh, she sure chose a lucky moment, as Ma'am just left the chambers..", they whistled.
"Oh wow.. This place is huge.. And full of gorgeous stuff..", Meena admired. In every direction she looked at, there was something shiny, and it looked like the most expensive ones were resting on individual pedestals.
"That one looks extremely pricey.. Could those actually be real diamonds..", she wondered, looking at a gorgeous looking diamond tiara on one of the pedestals. The triplets watched her for a moment from the cameras, but while she was curious, she didn't want to touch anything, so they trusted it was completely fine if she just looked around a bit.
"Those could actually be real precious stones..", she noticed another pedestal with more shiny jewelry resting on it, mostly rings, necklaces and ear rings. There was some especially fancy looking ruby and sapphire rings, a pair of emerald ear rings and a necklace with a pretty piece of amethyst on it.
Meena looked around for a good while before remembering what she had been originally doing before getting lost.
"I should get going, Mary and Nikki are probably waiting for me already..", she remembered, carefully leaving the treasure chambers, making sure she didn't accidentally tip anything over as she was making her exit.
"Meena!", Nikki called for her when noticing her as she stepped out of the room.
"Nikki! Where's Mary?", she asked.
"I.. I don't know. I thought she was with you?"
"She was earlier, yeah, but then we went to different directions..", Meena explained.
"That's a good question actually, where is the third girl..", the triplets too wondered, checking the cameras once again.
"Oh.. Oh my.. I think I found her, boys..", Eeta gasped suddenly.
"Yeah, that dot is strawberry red, it must be her", Zeeta agreed.
"Isn't that.. Beta's office?", Theeta asked and his brothers nodded approvingly, it indeed was his office.

Chapter Text

As Meena and Nikki continued along the corridor, looking for Mary, they didn't notice that someone else walked to the same direction, disappearing into the rec center.
"Hello, Zephyr."
"Hello, Papa", he nodded.
"I'm not on duty right now, you don't have to be overly formal. Is Omega around?"
"Mm, at the gym. He should be done soon actually."
"Omeeegaaa!", he called out.
"I'm here!", he called back.
"Looking good, as always, caro mio", he smirked.
"You flatter me, again", he grinned back, putting the dumbbells down.
"What are you doing in here anyway? Shouldn't you be getting ready?", Omega asked.
"Yeah, but I got bored to wait, so I came to see you in the meantime", he shrugged.
"If you are interested, I caught rumours from the guard hounds that we've got three cute girls here, trying to solve the estate's secrets."
"Three cute girls? Caro mio, why didn't you say so immediately? How's my hair?"
"Hair's fine, don't worry."
"Grazie."
"But I do think you should get going, so you would be ready on time."
"True, true, I'll be going soon. But first, give me my lucky charm."
Being decently taller than him, Omega had to lift him up from the floor level.
"Mm.. I should be able to do my part for the family now.. Oh, you got a little something on your..", he smirked, after leaving a black lip mark on the corner of his mouth.
"You sure like to leave your mark, short king..", he shrugged, wiping the smudge away.
"Mm-hmm. Keep your boys in a row. I really want to meet the little ladies", he winked and disappeared to another room to get ready on time.
In the meantime, Meena and Nikki had walked around for a good while, as the basement level was a maze with a lot of doors along one, really long corridor.
"Where's Mary? We were told to come down here, so surely she shouldn't be anywhere too far away..", they wondered.

At that same time, just a few doors away from them..
"This place is massive, so many doors and different rooms.. And while upstairs, we only got to see that Cardinal's office..", Mary wondered, she too had chosen a random door to enter.
"It's really dark in here though.. Hopefully there's a light switch somewhere closeby..", she huffed, carefully starting to feel around the wall.
"That feels kinda.. Squishable actually..", she wondered soon, as a low purring started to get louder.
"What is making that noice.."
"My my, little kitten, you modern girls sure don't get too shy."
"Huh?", Mary tried to look around, but didn't see much in a dark room.
"Up here, doll", the voice added and she glanced up. She gasped, noticing a pair of glowing eyes above her.
"Hold that thought, it's a bit dark in here at the moment."
Mary nearly screamed as the lights went on.
"Hello there, sweetling. Aren't you a cute one, haven't seen your kind here in my office in a while. This must be my lucky day. I am Beta, the sin expert extra ordinare. I know everything about sins, darkest dreams and wildest fantasies. Everyone hides a kink, or a few, and I'm the household expert on those. Even I do, however, have some morals, and I won't do things that are generally too gross, illegal, sick or honestly dangerous to fulfill. In some cases there might be some mitigating circumstances, but generally speaking, the consent is always the key, and I will respect healthy boundaries. Now then, enough about me for a moment, let's talk about you, shall we? Very small and precious, innocent even. Quite sweet too, in every sense of the word. Nothing too rough, huh? Very vanilla? That's fine, I find something for everyone. Like I said, everyone hides a kink of some kind, some are vanilla, some can be more.. Let's say spicy, shall we. You might go somewhere in between, honestly, mostly a soft vanilla, but there's that little sprinkle of spicy that could work for you. I'm sorry about the mess though, I was doing a quarter inventory when the lights suddenly got busted.."

Beta talked, no, monologued, a lot, and fast, Mary barely could keep up with him. She couldn't even take her eyes off of him. He was tall, unnaturally so, quite easily over two meters at least, judging by the well toned arms and tight washboard abs, enjoyed spending time at the gym and was dressed in leather from head to toes, specifically in tight pants and a floor length trench.
"He too has that whip like tail with a spade at the end..", she noticed.
"Soft but still curious, I like that..", he mumbled to himself.
"So.. Um.. There's a reason that there's a sex dungeon?", Mary eventually asked, blushing quite harshly, while looking around.
"Mm, it's my office", Beta smirked.
"Seeing something that teases your fancy, kitten? I have an answer for every kink, fantasy and naughty daydream. Like I said, as long as it's nothing actually illegal or otherwise too sick in my books, anything goes. No no, you don't need to be shy, I'm generally open for anything. Let's start from something simple, shall we? Everyone has fantasies, I would be out of business otherwise. And the most sweet and innocent looking girls can have some of the naughtiest, raunchiest fantasies.. You are somehow different, though.. You truly are innocent.. Still looking for that spicy spark, huh? Don't worry, dear, everyone has something, sometimes it just takes more time to find out what it could be. You do give me some sweet yet curious vibes. Surely there's something that you would like to try out? Ah yes, now I know! Roleplays, am I right? Simple enough to start from, a lot of different choices, so there indeed is something for everyone, and depending on the chosen role, it can be something soft and sweet, or it can get quite wild and raunchy too..", Beta smirked, flashing his sharp canine fangs, and his leather trench creaked as he walked over to one large wardrobe and opened it.
"There we go, seeing anything you like?", he grinned.
"Um.. Actually.. I should be going.. My friends are probably waiting for me already..", Mary blushed awkwardly.
"You have friends here too? That's wonderful, more the merrier!", Beta got excited.
"So.. This is some raunchy side quest or something then..?", she asked shyly. Yes, in a way, she was a bit curious, but she also wanted to find the girls and continue the actual game.
"A raunchy side quest? Babygirl, this is my normal day at the office! I'm simply off duty at the moment. Anyway, wanna try something on? Let me see.. Outfits in your size are on these racks.. You seem like a classic girl, nothing too extreme. Personally, I'm open for basically anything, but I must say that some classics simply work always. Let's see then.. There's the sultry secretary, simple black heels, a tight pencil skirt and fancy glasses.. Or the naughty school girl, knee high socks, cute pigtails and maybe some bubble gum.. As long as you wouldn't look under 17, it's just close enough to be acceptable.. Ooh, now we are talking, the French maid! All the ruffles, the little apron and lacey headband.. I can almost hear a bit of an accent.. Say something simple, like.. Do you know how to say 'yes mister' in French?"
"Um.. Ouí, monsiéur?"
"That's what I'm talking about! So, the roleplays are a definite yes then. Maybe just a bit of rope play too? Those can go hand in hand, excuse the pun, quite well.. I have some very fine velvet ropes, they feel nice against the skin, nothing too harsh that might scratch.. What do you think, darling?", Beta asked as he was just about to open an another closet door, flashing his fangs again, almost in a Cheshire Cat like grin.
"I.. I mean.. I kinda like the dresses.. Some of them are really pretty.. But I really should be going..", Mary was still blushing awkwardly.
"I see, kitten. I do admit, my office is quite messy right now, it's hard even for myself to find stuff at the moment. But I do like the fact that we found a mutual note. Maybe you'll give me a chance later on", Beta winked, with a sly glint in his eyes, grabbing her chin with the tips of his sharp, dagger like claws.

Chapter Text

However, just as Mary was about to leave the room, Beta got a message from the triplets.
"Beta, answer us, big man!"
"What is it, freak trio? I'm kinda buzy at the moment.."
"We have a situation at hand, they aren't ready yet!", Eeta said.
"You gotta improvise to win some time, Omega and Alpha are about to reach your door!", Zeeta added.
"You have a way with words, come up with something, we'll keep an eye on the other two!", Theeta finished. Beta thought for a moment what he should do. Win some time, the triplets said, Omega and Alpha were almost at the door, they said..
"You know what, kitten. There's a sudden change of plans. The Papas need some more time to get ready, so we really need to improvise a bit here. Someone will get the message to your friends. In the meantime, you are coming with me and my boys. Alpha! Omega! Get in!", Beta called, and the door opened. Two other decently sized guys were standing right at the door. Like Beta himself, they were easily over two meters tall, with broad shoulders and quite a lot of muscles.
The slightly taller and bigger one of the two was dressed in a long, black monk like leather robe, with his hands hidden under the large sleeves, while the other one was wearing simple tight pants and quite an open shirt. Mary noticed a strong scent of smoke around him, and judging by the coal stains on his hands, face and a bit on the chest too, he looked like he was working in a boiler room.
"They all are like giants..", she wondered.
"Beta, the ropes?", they asked.
"I'm working on it. It's still a part of the game, doll, we just have to improvise a bit", Beta nodded, walking over to the other closet and got something from it. He indeed tied her with up with fancy velvet ropes, and kept his word about knowing what he was doing, being very careful and respectful, making sure that the ropes were just tight enough to look realistic but not too much that she could get hurt.
"I wasn't aware this is going to be an interactive escape game..", Mary was surprised, but decided to give it a chance. After all, all three were being very respectful and polite, simply "playing a role", so to speak. Then she realized why their voices sounded vaguely familiar. They must had been the ones singing in Latin earlier.
"We are Alpha and Omega, the Old One's finest masterpieces", they introduced themselves.
"We were lifted from the deepest pits of hell, to serve the Papas and the Ministry", they bowed down, and Beta helped a leather robe on Alpha too, before changing his own trench into one as well. Mary simply watched as they lifted masks on their faces. The masks were very simple and sleek, made from some shiny black material, each of them had a similar pointed chin and a sharp nose, but other than that, only their eyes were showing from behind them.
"Well, let's do this then", Alpha nodded, grabbing a torch.
"Ack, you really are tall!", Mary gasped suddenly as Omega lifted her up from the floor.
"Close to three meters, give or take a good handful of cents", he smirked.

Alpha, Beta and Omega winked at each other and started to hum in Latin again, they indeed had been singing earlier. In a way, it honestly sounded quite creepy, as Mary couldn't understand the words, but they were in perfect sync.
"Everyone in this place sure takes their role very seriously.. I wonder what those Latin words mean though, surely they must mean something..", she thought.
"Siamo Con Clavi, Siamo Con Dio, Siamo Con Il Nostro Dio Scuro..", they recited in unison. The only word that sort of sounded familiar to her was "Dio", as far as she knew, it meant "God". Then she glanced at Beta, who was walking behind them, he even held his hands together in a way how a monk would hold his hands while reciting a prayer, just the rosary beads were missing.
"Um.. What are you going to do to me exactly..", she asked shyly, noticing that they were carrying her towards the same large doors they had walked past earlier when hearing the singing.
"These are the ritual chambers, kitten. Please excuse the lack of light, usually we already have candles burning in here", Omega explained calmly.
"I'll fix that, just a moment", Alpha nodded, igniting a few candles as they stepped inside the room. However, Mary was sure she didn't hear a scrape of a match stick or even a snap from a lighter. It was more like the flames simply flickered directly from the tips of his fingers.
"There, that's better", he grinned. The few candles didn't give a lot of light though, just enough for Mary to see that the room didn't have any windows. Other than that, the room was honestly quite empty in general. Unlike the office, there wasn't any fancy furniture or a lot of decorations, just a simple platform, clearly for someone to hold a sermon from, a couple of church benches, and a large stone altar, with the candelabras around it and a couple of large paintings behind it.
"It's just an improvised part of the game, they should know what they are doing..", Mary thought as Omega carefully put her down from his arms on the altar. Beta checked the ropes again, making sure she was as comfortable as possible.
"I have to say, I have never tried this before.. Getting tied up, I mean..", she admitted while blushing. Sure, it had visited her mind occasionally, to maybe try something new and wild like that some day, but she had wanted to find someone she could trust first. All of this was a bit surprising, but in all honesty, it didn't feel too bad that she would say "no"..

At that same time, Meena and Nikki were still looking for Mary. They had a feeling that something weird was going on. As they were wondering where she could be, as they hadn't seen her for a while, they suddenly heard footsteps from the staircase. Soon, infront of the girls stood a man, dressed in a long, deep red clerical robe.
"Buonasera, mie care signore, I am Cardinal Copia", he introduced himself, stroking his fine mustache.

Chapter Text

For a moment, all the girls could do was to stare. They weren't aware they would meet someone all of a sudden like that.
"Cardinal? So that was your office where we started the game from?", Meena asked politely.
"Sí. And since you are now down here, it's easy to see that you two have been doing good work so far.."
"Two? Oh right, Mary! She's somewhere down here too!", Nikki gasped, remembering her.
"We were only told to come down here, but weren't given any new hints what exactly to do. The three guys we met after managing to get out from your office, the tall one, the one with a corset like waist and the one with a Cheshire Cat grin only gave us a candelabra and told us to go down the stairs..", the girls started to explain.
"Three guys, a tall one, and other two with a corset like waist and a Cheshire Cat grin? You must mean Mountain, Rain and Swiss", Cardinal nodded, slowly stroking his mustache.
"Well, we didn't heard any names..", the girls shrugged.
"Each of our Ghouls have a detail that separates them from each other. Like you already noticed, Mountain is tall, and sometimes he doesn't wear his shoes. Rain indeed has a corset like waist, all natural though. And Swiss likes to flash his pearly whites at any given moment. You can't really make a mistake with Phantom either, if I'm being completely honest, that boy is very.. Let's say flexible, shall we.. And Sodo has some equally nimble hands. I'm sure you will meet the rest of them sooner than later.."
"Err.. Cardinal?"
"Mm? Sí?"
"Are you possibly supposed to give us a new hint how to get forward in the game?", Nikki asked, lifting her brow.
"Or at least tell us how to find Mary? She must be in here somewhere..", Meena worried.
"Ah yes, there was a third signorina! Yes yes, you should find her first.. There's a lot of secrets inside this Ministry. Who knows what she has found.."
"He seems like a sweet enough guy, but maybe just a bit.. Loopy, I guess?", Nikki whispered.
"Mm.. Cardinal? That hint, maybe? Where we can find Mary?", Meena asked.
"Follow the singing.. Hm? What is it, Barty?", he asked, and the girls heard some squeaking. Cardinal put his gloved hand in his pocket and lifted a rat from there.
"Oh my, a rat! It's cute as a button, Cardinal! Is it your pet?", they asked curiously.
"Oh yes, this is my loyal Bartholomew, simply just Barty. He's always with me.."
"You said something about singing and that we should follow it?", the girls reminded then.
"The singing, right! Follow it. Where the singing is coming from, you will find your friend there. Now if you please excuse me, signorinas, I must go now", Cardinal Copia bowed at them and Barty, the little rat, squealed again as he put him back in his pocket. The girls looked at each other in full confusion.
"Well, that was some Mad Hatter-level stuff..", they whistled as he had left.
"I don't hear any singing though, do you?", Meena added.
"I don't hear anything either.. But Mary did say earlier that she had heard something..", Nikki pointed out.
"True! Maybe that's what we were supposed to follow, but just heard it too early. It was some other door along this corridor..", she nodded and the girls started to listen behind the doors.
"I came through that door over there when I found you.. It was a spa area of some kind, there was a large pool and everything. And quite a good looking pool guy too, if I do say so myself.. Really nice arms and some tight washboard abs.."
"Focus, Nikki. Mary must be in here somewhere. Sure, there's a lot of doors, but it was somewhere around here, I'm sure of it.. I think it was some bigger looking door..", Meena said.
The girls walked up and down the corridor for a moment, trying the doors here and there.
"This one reeks of smoke, it's most likely a boiler room..", they noticed near one door. What they didn't notice, however, was two pairs of glowing eyes following them.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, If?", a voice asked.
"With my own two eyes, and clearly you are seeing the same thing", came the answer.
"They are quite cute.. Apparently Omega, Alpha and Beta got their paws on the third one."
"Mm, that does explain why Alpha just left like fire was burning under his tail, excuse the pun.."
"Maybe we too will get our chance eventually..", they smirked.
"There's only like a dozen doors down here.. A decent amount, sure, but I'm sure we have now checked most of them..", Nikki groaned.
"I'm sure it was a big door.. Like the kind where both left and right side can be opened.. Like.. That one! Over there!", Meena noticed.

A large pair of doors indeed had now been opened a little way away from them.
"Well well well, would you look at that, kitten. You are lucky, getting to see him in his pride and glory. Every now and then he gets good days like this", Omega smirked.
"Good evening, Your Dark Excellency. Looking quite fresh and energized tonight", Alpha grinned.
"Oh, I feel like that too, boys. As a matter of fact, I feel.. What was that word again.. It has been a while.."
"Groovy?", Beta suggested.
"Yes, yes, groovy indeed!", he nodded.
"Anyway, I heard rumors that we have guests over? I assume you must be one of them, my dear? Boys probably already mentioned it, but you are in luck today, seeing it's my better days. These days my sons have the looks more on their side, but there was a time when I owned the looks department of this family.."
"Sons? But.. Wait..", Mary was now confused. After all, the family portrait had pictured an elderly father with four adult sons. But this man didn't look old enough to have four adult sons, he looked more like he could had been their older brother or something.
He had no hunched over profile, silvery grey hair or milky, blind eyes. He was standing tall and proud, with a full mane of luscious dark hair and clearly the same shiny eyes the sons shared too.
"Do you mean that.. You are the father from that family portrait..?", Mary asked shyly.
"Mm, that's me, in the flesh. Sadly I don't look like this no longer, other than occasional chances like these. And you, my dear, are beautiful like a precious little flower. Other than the hair color, you actually remind me a lot of my darling Sissy. We were a groovy pair back in the day. I'm a lucky guy to still have her by my side. Well, right now she's focused on work, missionary business, you see. Oh, whenever I get my sight back, even just for a little while, the world looks so new and exciting to me.. Beta?"
"Yes, Your Groovy Excellency?"
"Why is this precious flower tied up? Release her, per favore!"
"You are lucky indeed, doll, our hippie goat seems to fancy you", Beta grinned, bending down at the altar to release her from the ropes.
"But.. I don't understand.. I mean, with all due respect, he looked.. Um.. Quite a lot older in that family portrait in the Cardinal's office.. And now he's all spry and youthful..", Mary wondered, she was still confused.
"My dear child, I'm a loyal shepherd of my Lord. Every now and then, He graces me with a chance to be younger again. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I enjoy every moment I'm given. Oh, I nearly forgot to introduce myself! Name is Nihil. Nihil Emeritus. I'm sure you will meet my sons too eventually", he nodded, his eyes shining behind the messy bangs, with a crooked smirk on his lips.

Chapter Text

The girls walked carefully a bit closer towards a distant noice they had heard soon after meeting the Cardinal.
"I get a weird vibe from this.. But I can't put my finger on it what it is..", Nikki whispered to Meena.
"Yeah, I feel it too..", she admitted quietly.
At that same time..
"So, um.. Let me get this straight.. You are seriously telling me that you are.."
"Yes yes, poppy, I'm the old, silver haired blind guy from the family portrait. It's honestly a long story. It started all the way from my father's father's father's father's father's father's father's father's father's father's father's fathe.. Hold on, did I jump over a generation somewhere.. No, I did count correctly.. Where was I again.. Ah yes, so my father's father's father's father's father's fath.."
"We get it, Your Groovy Excellency, your honorable family tree is full of long, interesting branches. What was your actual point you were trying to get at?", Omega, Alpha and Beta interrupted him politely.
"I had a point?", he honestly sounded surprised. Mary had already gotten even more confused after the first eight "fathers".
"Oh right, now I remember! My point was that this.. Thing.. Started a long, long time ago. Each of us, me and my ancestors before me, have been such loyal servants of our Lord that He has graced us. Now is simply my turn, and like I said, I will enjoy every moment He gives me. You are very lucky to get to see me like this. And I'm very glad to have my sight back for now..", he nodded, not even so subtly taking a good look at her.

Mary blushed as he did so.
"Um.. If I may ask.. Where am I supposed to go now?", she wondered then, remembering the actual reason why she was there in the first place.
"Are you leaving already? We just met, little maid.."
"Well, I believe the game is still continuing, but I don't have any idea where I'm supposed to go next, and where can I find Meena and Nikki.."
"Boys, do you know something about this?"
"I'll check from the freak geeks, they should know", Beta nodded.
"You have reached the office of the security ghouls Eeta, Zeeta and Theeta."
"If we aren't answering, we are gonna be honest, there's a decent chance that we are in the middle of a video game marathon."
"However, if it's an emergency of a darker kind, hit triple six. If it's a simple camera malfunction, hit six nine six nine six nine. If you want to chat, that can be arranged too.."
"Freak geeks! Answer on this minute or I'll put you in the punishing chambers without your fancy tech stuff! And you know well what I do in there!", Beta growled, he got annoyed at the long voicemail styled answer he got when calling them.
"B-Man! Leather Daddy! Dude, why didn't you say immediately it was you? What's up, big guy?", three new voices were suddenly heard, Mary simply guessed they were put on a loudspeaker.
"Well, we got this precious little kitten here in the ritual chambers with yours truly, Alpha, Omega and His Groovy Excellency. Where is she supposed to go now, following that escape room thing?", he asked.
"We'll check, give us a moment!", they answered.
"So this surely is still a part of the game then..? I mean, I don't want to interrupt something I'm not allowed to or something..", Mary checked again, something in that specific room felt weird, and she wasn't completely sure if she was even allowed to be in there.
"I.. I need to find Meena and Nikki, they must be worried already..", she said again, now sounding a tiny bit nervous.
"Your friends, I assume? Or sisters, maybe?", Nihil asked, lifting his brow slightly under his bangs.
"My friends, yeah.. We got separated earlier.. I.. Um.. Actually made a detour and ended up in Beta's.. Eh.. Office..", she blushed again.
"I was in the middle of the quarter inventory when she appeared in my office", he shrugged his broad shoulders.
"I really didn't meant to interrupt anything.."
"It's okay, doll. My door is always open, unless I'm buzy with someone right at that moment", Beta smirked and gave her a wink.
"Mary? Are you here?", she suddenly heard Meena's and Nikki's voices from the corridor.
"Girls! I'm in here!", she called back.

They peeked in through the gap between the large double doors, seeing her sitting on the stone altar between the men.
"What the heck is going on in this place? This surely isn't like any other escape room game I have ever tried..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Talk to me, freak geeks, what's the situation?", Beta checked.
"Well, unless you handsome devils have some other ideas, they are ready in the Crypt", the triplets answered in unison.
"I always have ideas, that's my whole purpose.."
"Yes you do, Beta, we have noticed", Alpha nodded.
"But if they are ready now, we shouldn't make them wait longer than what it takes from the kittens to find their way there", Omega pointed out.
"I guess that makes sense..", Beta admitted.
"Signorinas!", Nihil obviously took his chance to get to know them as well.
"Now who's this guy? He looks a bit like that Cardinal..", they glanced at each other.
"Ah, sí, you talk about my son", he nodded all casually.
Both lifted their brows and even dropped their jaws to the floor, their reaction was quite similar like Mary's own reaction earlier.
"Your.. Son?", they coughed. In their eyes, he just didn't look old enough to have an adult son, let alone four of them..
"It's a long story..", Mary whispered.
"Um.. With all due respect, sir, you don't look.."
"Old enough to have four adult sons? Yes, I know, I have heard that before. It's the genes, you know. We Italians tend to age like fine wine", he grinned.
"That could explain the Cardinal's accent..", the girls nodded.
"'Scusi, Padré? Il Dios Mio, I wasn't aware this is one of those days again!", he gasped, now Mary too got to meet him.
"So, that's the Cardinal?", she asked.
"Yes, hello, hi, how you doing, ehh, I'm Cardinal Copia", he introduced himself with an awkward smile, realizing that he hadn't yet met her before. There was also a high pitched squeal coming from his pocket.
"Ermh, and this is Barty, my loyal rat", he nodded.
"Rat boy here is my youngest one, you haven't yet met his brothers. Now please excuse me for a moment. Terra!", Nihil called. Soon, the girls heard heavy footsteps falling along the corridor and an another decently large man peeked in from the doorway, dressed in a similar dark, hooded long robe like the others.
"You summoned me, Your Groovy Excellency?", he asked.
"Yes, Terra. Now that I don't need my oxygen tanks for a while, could you fix me a smoke, it has been a while?"
"Of course, I got just the thing you need, just a moment."
"Please don't mind Padré, he's an old hippie at heart, smoking the Devil's herbs, if you know what I mean", Cardinal nodded, stroking his mustache again.
"Isn't that illegal?", the girls worried, knowing enough that it was a drug thing.
"My doctor has prescribed that medical kind, no worries, all of the permissions are fine", he promised immediately. It sounded logical enough, if there was a permission for a certain usable amount at a time, the girls thought.
"Let me lit that up for you, Your Groovy Excellency", Alpha nodded as Terra came back and handed it to him. The girls gasped, he indeed didn't have matches or even a lighter, the sparks literally ignited straight from the tips of his long fingers.
"How did you do that?", they asked in unison.
"Mm, this little trick? Simple, I'm a Fire Ghoul. Myself, Ifrit, Sodo and any other Fire Ghoul have an ability to control and manipulate fire as we want. The Multis can do it too, to a point, but since they share all of the elements, they need to balance more carefully what they use", he shrugged casually.
"Anyway, you are now supposed to go forward", Omega said.
"Yes, the freak geeks said your next task is to go to the Crypt", Beta purred. His voice sounded like steel draped in velvet.

Chapter Text

The girls looked at each other.
"The.. Crypt? That sounds kinda ominous..", they whispered.
"Is it still down here? We were told to come here, so.."
"Mm, in the Crypt, you will meet my older sons, Primo, Secondo and Terzo. I'm not exactly sure what their part is, just so I won't accidentally reveal too much too early.. The boys know well that I can get quite talkative when I'm in the.. Correct mood.. All I know for sure is that all three are down there.. And apparently.. You need to do some certain tasks in the crypt chambers before moving along..", Nihil shrugged casually, blowing a few smoke rings as he spoke.
"Okay, so.. Do we need to try all the doors again or something?", the girls asked, while looking for Mary, Meena and Nikki had tried pretty much every door handle they had found.
Suddenly they heard yet another sets of footsteps from the corridor again and peeked out of the doorway.
"Oh, it's that pretty guy we saw earlier, what was his name again.. Something about water..", Nikki wondered out loud.
"I think his name was Rain", Meena nodded. When he noticed the girls, he gave a charming smile and waved at them politely, disappearing behind one of the other doors. Then they noticed another guy with him. He was slightly taller and more robust, having broad shoulders, strong arms and long legs. He too seemed to have a similar spade tipped tail around his waist, as it made a lazy movement as he walked behind him.
"We haven't seen that guy before..", they wondered. Cardinal glanced over their shoulders to see what they were seeing.
"Mm, that's Aether, Phantom's older brother. You see, sometimes some Ghouls act more like siblings than partners in a harem. He's more of a lonely wolf out of them, just occasionally hanging with the others, though he too has his favorites, especially the Ghoulettes, he's find with if he isn't sulking all alone, but usually he's more interested in his bananas than company. And no, that's not even an innuendo, that boy has a fixation on bananas. He and Sodo are sometimes at each others' throats as well. Nothing too serious though, it's just their rough way to show puppy love. If you saw him with Rain, that makes a lot of sense as well, those boys understand each other, they like to eat", he chuckled, again stroking his mustache.

The girls watched for a moment to see what they were doing. They looked like they were on a mission of some kind. After a moment, they came out of the room again. Now they were holding a large glass bottle and seemed to be reading the text on it.
"Mm, that door leads to the wine cellar. Seeing that Secondo is buzy, he probably made them run an errand for him", he nodded.
"You sure seem to have everything in here, a spa and a wine cellar and stuff.. We have only seen a couple of rooms so far..", the girls whistled. Cardinal smiled, it was their home after all, of course they had everything they might need.
"Um.. This may be a stupid question, but.. Where do we need to go now? There's so many different doors and.."
"The Crypt is located behind the decorative arched gate, you can't make a mistake", he explained, gently stroking Barty's back, as he was now resting on his hand.
"The decorative arched gate.. Did you see one?", Mary asked, knowing that Meena and Nikki had walked through the corridor more than she had.
"I think it was all the way at the other end of the corridor", Meena nodded.
"We should get going then, the game's new task is in there. And besides, we shouldn't make the other brothers to wait longer than what's absolutely necessary", Nikki was getting excited again, now that they weren't stuck anymore.
"We will see you later, sweetlings", the men nodded in unison, with Alpha, Omega, Terra and Beta once again disappearing from sight.
"How do they do that.. They just go out like a puff of smoke..", they wondered, waved at Cardinal and Nihil and left the ritual chambers.
"I must go now too, Padré, will you be fine? Should I call Jesus to get you?", they heard him ask before walking away.
"I'll be fine. Besides, since I'm already down here, I need to see Omikron anyway. He always reminds me to get a general check up whenever this happens, apparently he tries to calculate how long it will last..", he shrugged back.
The girls walked to the end of the corridor. Just like they were told to, there was a decorative arched gate waiting for them.
"Welcome to your next task at the Emeritus Escape Estate."
"You are now entering the Crypt."
"Don't be afraid of what you see", the triplets announced to them through the loudspeakers.
"Don't be afraid.. What is that supposed to mean..", the girls wondered as the gate slowly opened and they stepped inside.
"Apparently that.. It does look kinda creepy actually.. A bit morbid for an innocent escape room game, that's for sure..", Nikki pointed out.
"Are those.. Glass coffins?", Meena asked quietly as they slowly walked closer to the center of the room.
"Mm, it kind of gives me some Sleeping Beauty-vibes or something..", Mary admitted.

They looked at the coffins for a moment. They were pristine and crystal clear, each having a different colored velvet cushions the men were laying on.
The first coffin had dark, bloody red velvet cushions, with simple black lining and brass buttons. The second cushions were deep, quite expensive looking shade of green, with both silver linings and buttons. And the last, third glass coffin, had rich, royal purple velvet cushions, with creamy lining and golden buttons.
"So.. What are we supposed to do again?", Meena scratched her neck.
"Mary, stop staring, you are nearly drooling", Nikki whispered.
"Huh.. He's hot.. Just like in that portait..", she mumbled shyly.
"He also plays dead, can you stop being weird just for a moment?"
"Well.. I mean.. Umh..", Mary blushed.
"We know you get crushes lightning fast sometimes but that was quick even from you", the girls pointed out, noticing how flustered she got from their remark.
"Um, anyway, there was supposed to be a task for us so we can continue the game..", she mumbled shyly and the girls looked around.
"Maybe there's another poem or a note at least or something.."
After a while of searching they indeed found a small card that was resting on a side table. It wasn't exactly a poem, but it did introduce the brothers to them.
"Here, resting in these glass coffins, you can see Primo, Secondo and Terzo, the three older brothers of the Emeritus family. Once they are awaken from their slumber, they will return back to their usual duties, gardening, cooking and making art.."
"Well, at least judging by their clothes, we can easily guess which dutiful hobby belongs to each brother..", the girls nodded, glancing at their clothes.
They looked at the first coffin a bit more closely. Primo, the eldest brother, rested on the deep blood red velvet cushions, with his long, straw blond hair on a braid that fell over his shoulder.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess that he's the gardener", Nikki whispered, as he was dressed in a casual red collared shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his hands clasped over his chest, decently tight dark denim overalls, work boots and a large straw hat, with a matching red ribbon on it. There was even a pair of gardening gloves, a trowel and some seedlings in his pockets.
"He's most likely the one who takes care of the garden here, judging by the outfit at least, he seems to know what he's doing..", Meena nodded, turning to look at the next coffin. On the dark, forest green velvet cushions, rested the middle brother, Secondo.
Similarly like Primo, who was tall and slim, Secondo was also quite a tall man, though with more broad shoulders than what his brother had. He held his arms crossed over his chest, and by the looks of it, was dressed in a fine black chef's coat, with equally fine emerald green details on the coat itself and a matching apron tied tightly around his waist.
"He's clearly the chef, he has that fine coat on, just the matching hat seems to be missing", Mary noted, as the girls even noticed a sheath for a decent sized cooking knife on his waist and some spice jars clustered in the apron pocket. He also seemed to keep his dark hair buzzed so short he looked nearly bald, but his handsome facial features made it work.
"That family portait wasn't lying though, all of them indeed are really handsome", the girls whispered to each other.
"So, the gardener, the chef and.. The artist, right?", they eventually turned to look at the third glass coffin again.
There, laying on the royal purple cushions, rested the youngest of the set of three brothers, Terzo. Similarly like his brothers, he too was dressed in a way that fit his hobby, in his case, arts. He was dressed in simple black pants and a matching shirt, long black coat with some paint smudges on it here and there.
He also had an ascot casually around his neck, in the same, royal purple shade as the cushions below him, and a black felt beret resting on his head, with some slightly curly tufts of black hair falling down from under it. He even had a set of paint brushes and a pair of white gloves in his coat's pockets.
"Okay, so like we said, the gardener, the chef and the artist.. A good looking set of brothers, that's for sure.. But what are we supposed to do here?", the girls wondered.

Chapter Text

For a moment, seeing that Primo was the household gardener, they thought they were supposed to go out in the garden to find a new clue. It was a good possibility, sure, but obviously whatever they needed to do must had been in the Crypt. Maybe the fact that each brother had a very specific hobby was simply a bluff to lead them in the wrong direction?
"Do you think that Cardinal also has some specific hobby? Something other than taking care of that cute rat I mean?", Nikki asked.
"He did have the legs of a dancer, if you ask me..", Meena admitted, as they had seen how gracefully he had moved around.
"Mary, stop being a freaky little weirdo", they added, noticing that she was again looking through the glass.
"Look at the paint on their faces. I just realized that they look subtly like skulls", she pointed out. Then they remembered that actually, Nihil too had had a similar skull-like pattern painted on his face as well.
Each of them had a pale white face, with vague black circles around their eyes, resembling the empty eye sockets, especially now as their eyes were shut. Nihil, Primo and Secondo also had their noses painted completely black as well, Terzo simply had a neat strike of the same black paint on his nose, though only enough to cover the tip and a bit of the bridge of it.

They also had the black paint covering their cheeks, with Nihil and Terzo having the similar sharp angular patterns that filled most of their cheeks all the way down to the jawline and slightly up towards the hairline as well, Primo and Secondo had some more slightly thinner lines that also partially covered their lips, Nihil simply had even thinner lines over his lips and Terzo only had his upper lip painted black, almost looking like he had a permanent pout.
The girls soon realized that while the general family resemblance was clearly there, Cardinal didn't have his face painted like a skull. Sure, his face too was slightly pale, and he did have the same dark rings around his eyes, but other than that, the paint didn't cover his cheeks or nose, though just below his mustache, he too had a fine, thin black line on his Cupid's bow.
"Skulls are clearly a thing to them..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Um.. Wasn't that shut just a moment ago?", Meena noticed suddenly that one of the coffin lids was now open.
"I'm pretty sure they all were shut..", Nikki nodded.
"He's really handsome..", Mary said, leaning a bit closer over the edge of the coffin.
"Are you sure that's a good idea..? We know he isn't really dead, but still, what if he just moves all of a sudden and.."
"Yeah, just look at those claws, they look almost like daggers.. They could make some nasty scratch marks.."
The girls barely had warned her when something did happen.

The lid of glass coffin dropped back down, trapping Mary inside. The coffin was just barely big enough for two, getting her stuck between him and the lid, in a quite awkward position as well, with her hands resting on his shoulders.
"Mary!", Meena and Nikki screamed.
"How.. Why.. Did you see him move?"
"I didn't! Maybe she tripped somehow when leaning against the side?"
"This is.. Uh.. Kind of a close contact.. Girls? Can you do something..?", she asked.
"Didn't you just say that he's handsome?", the girls had to point out.
"Well.. Yeah.. And he is.. It's just a bit awkward.. We haven't officially been introduced yet or anything.. So this is a bit.. Um..", she blushed.
"Yeah yeah, we'll help, just a moment.."
"Cíao, cara mia", Mary heard suddenly a slightly accented voice and she felt how arms were wrapping around her. When looking down, she saw a pair of shining eyes looking at her.
"Whoah whoah whoah, hold your horses there, cowboy!", Meena shouted when they saw how his arms were around her.
"Stronzo, you weren't supposed to move yet", Primo and Secondo hissed.
"Um.. Hi..", Mary mumbled shyly.
"Hello there, darling. I am Terzo Emeritus, the third of the set of the Emeritus brothers. I haven't seen you before, you must be new here.."
By the sound of it, he seemed like a similar charmer like Nihil.. And those eyes of his were so hypnotic, as she started to lean even closer.
"Mary, snap out of it! Try to lift the lid up, the seam is very fine, we can't grab a hold of it!", the girls shouted, panicking what was going to happen.
"It is like some wicked version of Sleeping Beauty indeed..", Nikki gasped.
"Just a claustro.. Mary! You are claustrophobic, remember!", Meena added.
"I remember that, thank you for reminding me!", she answered.
"This is still a part of the game, right?", she asked, turning back to look at him, though the coffin only had a little bit of room available to move around to begin with.
"Yes it is, cara mia. Is it okay that I call you cara mia? It's Italian, it means my dear or my darling. It fits you well.."
"I.. Um.. Sure, why not.. But.. How is this a part of the game..?"
"Well, I was supposed to play dead and wait that I would be awoken from my slumber, but as you can see, I 'woke up' a bit too early.. Personally, I don't mind though, seeing you.. Very much on top of me.. Sure, it might mess up the game, but only momentarily.."
"You mean I was meant to wake you up in some way..?", Mary started to blush.
"You know the stories of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, don't you, cara mia?"
Mary nodded and blushed even harder, she had a feeling where that explanation was getting at.
"Mm, I believe you could call it a il piccolo bacio della morte..", he grinned.
"I don't speak Italian, but.. I think that was close to the little kiss of death.."
"Sí, that's correct. I was hoping to get a little smooch.."
As if his gaze wasn't already hypnotizing enough, his voice was like honey to her ears..
"A.. Little smooch.."
"Sí. Only if you consent to it, though."
"Well.. If it really is a part.. Then why not, I guess.."

Of course Mary had the impression that it would only be a quick little peck.
"Are you completely sure about that..", the girls asked, they had heard them, even though slightly muffled through the glass.
"She really shouldn't be just kissing random guys, be it a game or not..", they whispered to each other. Then they turned to look at the two older brothers.
"Yeah, with all due respect, I'm not gonna do that, even if it's fine in their books, there's gotta be some other way", Nikki whispered.
"Maybe getting a kiss is just his thing, and the brothers have something else..", Meena admitted.
Now they noticed that they too had opened their eyes, just enough to see what was going on, as their gazes were directed at the third coffin. It seemed like they were mouthing something at their younger brother, but quietly enough that no words were heard, the girls only saw their lips moving a little bit.
They looked around a bit more, surely there was some other note or something that could help them forward, as they weren't completely sure could they ask Kevin's help while being down there or was his help available only in the upper levels.
"I found a note!", Nikki gasped suddenly, the first one had had a spotlight shining at it so it had been much easier to find, and opened it.
"What does it say? Is it a poem like in the office?", Meena asked.
"Something like that, yeah. Listen. You will never feel a burden, if you step into my garden. Roses are red, violets are blue, there's a knock at the door, did you hear that too?", she read.
"Okay, at some point, we are supposed to go to the garden then? It looked very cool, the little bit we saw from behind the gates. Maybe there's some specific flower or something we need to find", Meena suggested.
"That sounds reasonable enough.. And since it talks about the garden after all, it probably means the blondie over there.. Maybe once he's awoken, so to speak, he'll give a more precise hint of what to look for.."
"Oh for Satan's sake.. Terzo Emeritus! Control yourself! I should had known you had some sneaky background idea with this!"
The girls just barely managed to not to shout, as the coffin lid suddenly flung open and he sat up, putting his straw hat on. They also noticed how Terzo put one his hands against the glass in a manner of "talk to the hand, I'm buzy at the moment".
"Secondo, command your brother!"
"Last time I checked, he's also your brother!"
Now the other coffin lid opened and he also sat up, fixing his apron a bit as he did so.
"I knew it was too much to have all of us stuffed into these coffins, how were we supposed to keep an eye on him..", he groaned, twirling his blond braid around his long fingers.
"Well, in a way it was easier, since we knew where he was.. Who knows where Copia is right at this moment for example, he couldn't had kept an eye on him better than what we did here.."
"Ehh.. The Emeritus brothers, we assume?", Meena and Nikki asked shyly.

Chapter Text

"So.. Um.. The Emeritus brothers, we assume?", Meena and Nikki asked shyly and started to blush.
"Yes, we are. I am Primo, the eldest of the Emeritus brothers. And these are my brothers, Secondo and.. Terzo..", Primo nodded, politely bowing down at them while holding his straw hat, his blonde braid falling over his shoulder. Meena especially blushed even harder as he introduced Secondo, who nodded as his name was mentioned.
"He's, like, steaming hot..", she whispered to Nikki.
"I mean, not my type, but I'm not saying that he's bad looking..", she admitted quietly.
"Ahem, stronzo! Can we have a moment of your attention, per favore?", he asked, hitting his fist against the glass.
"I'm still buzy!", he answered.
"Oh, for Satan's sake.. You don't leave me any other choice.. Omega! I summon you, this is an order!", Secondo ordered.
In a blink of an eye, there was yet another puff of smoke and Omega reappeared.
"You summoned me, Master Secondo?", he asked, his voice sounding like an old church bell, deep and hollow.
"Yes, Omega. Stronzo here isn't listening, as per usual, if there's beautiful women nearby. Open the coffin", he nodded.
"Yes, Papa", Omega simply nodded, grabbing a hold of the glass coffin's lid. The glass screeched against his long, sharp nails as he lifted it up.
"Papa? Your Unholy Excellency? Your honorable brother wants your attention..", he said, looking down in the coffin.
"Mm.. Yes, I know, caro mio. Don't you see that I'm actively not giving my attention to him..", he huffed, making a little "go away" motion with his hand.
"Terzo!", his brothers growled at him now that the lid was up.
"What? I'm buzy.."
"I'm warning you, I don't have the time or energy to argue with you right now", Primo warned him.
"Ugh, fine. Please excuse me, cara mia. My brothers are rudely interrupting us..", Terzo said, lifting Mary's chin a bit.
"Short King, the ladies have somewhere to be, remember", Omega whispered.
"Oh.. Oh right.. I did forget about that, momentarily.. Could you help her a bit, per favore?", he asked, he clearly talked more politely to him.
"Of course. I'm gonna grab a hold of you now, kitten", Omega nodded simply, gently putting his large hands around Mary and lifted her up. Once her feet touched the floor, Terzo too sat up from the coffin. As he did so, Primo and Secondo gave him a nasty glare.
"What?", he asked again, this time lifting his brow as well.
"Nevermind.. Anyway, where were you ladies going next?", they asked.
"Um.. We found a note that mentioned the garden..", the girls nodded shyly. A small smile appeared on Primo's face.
"You talk about my garden, signorinas", he nodded.
"So.. Since the note mentioned it, are we supposed to go there next?", they asked.
"But wait.. Isn't this an escape room game? Are we supposed to go outside during the game? I mean, I guess that's possible, since each place has different rules..", Nikki asked.
"Mm, this is not merely an escape room game, my dear, but a whole estate. The garden is a part of the estate as well", he nodded, fixing his hat as he spoke.
"That does make sense.. We will probably come back inside after that.. We have only seen a couple of rooms so far and this seems like a huge place..", Meena nodded.

A sly smirk rose on each brother's face.
"You have no idea what kind of mysteries our Ministry holds. Now if you please excuse me, now that I have been awoken from my slumber, I have some kitchen duties to attend. Rain! Aether! I summon you, this is an order!", Secondo called.
They were somewhere closeby already as the order was called since they didn't appear from a puff of smoke, but simply opened the door and peeked inside.
"Yes, Papa Secondo?", they asked in unison.
"Boys, I need some extra hands in the kitchen. Come and help me", he ordered, fixing his apron a little bit. Both of them bowed down, with Rain's curls falling over his face during the bow.
"And Rain, tie your hair up, per favore", he added.
"Yes, Papa", he obeyed, pulling the curls up on a lazy bun.
"He's quite cute too..", Nikki whispered, glancing at the other ghoul, Aether. He narrowed his eyes a bit when looking at them, and the girls remembered how Cardinal had mentioned how he was a bit of a lonely wolf.
"Aether, be polite", Rain whispered when noticing that the girls were looking at him.
"Ladies", he nodded.
"Follow me, pups", Secondo snapped his fingers as he started to walk away from the Crypt.
"Yes, Papa", they nodded and followed him, with their spade tipped tails wagging behind them. The movement looked very hypnotic.
"Yup, he's hot..", Meena mumbled quietly.
"Now is your turn to drool", Nikki whispered. She blushed a bit more and wiped her mouth.
"Do you need any hints or clues how to get forward?", Primo asked politely, simply being the eldest sibling, he took care most of the talking at the moment.
"Well, this place is like a maze.. Mary, are you still with us?", the girls asked, noticing that she had been quiet for a while.
"Mm.. Yeah, I'm fine..", she squealed. The was some black half lip marks on her face.
"In case you didn't hear, we need to go to the garden next", the girls explained.
"The garden, okay..", she mumbled.
"Wow, he really seemed to charm her..", Nikki whistled.
"Yeah.. If I didn't know any better, I would guess that she's possessed..", Meena admitted.
"If she was possessed, she would have her eyes turn to white, speaking in tongues and levitating on the wall..", she pointed out.
"Well, in any case, she's acting weird.. Much more weird than usually..", she nodded.
"Kitten has a crush", Omega purred in a deep voice.
"Megs, isn't that obvious, I'm so irresistible", Terzo smirked.
"Son of a..", Primo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose a bit, he was clearly tired of his nonsense.
"I'll see you later then, cara mia. You are always welcome to visit my studio. It's upstairs, in the attic", he winked.
"A studio.. Oh right, you are the artistic brother..", Mary blushed.
"Indeed, cara mia. Omega, follow me", Terzo nodded, also snapping his fingers, the girls noticed even better now that he had golden nail polish on on his sharp, dagger like nails.
"Yes, Papa. Bye, kittens. I'm sure that our paths shall cross again", he nodded and followed him.
"Ifrit! I summon you, this is an order!", Primo called out as well.

The girls jumped a bit, as yet another puff of smoke appeared infront of them and another ghoul was standing there.
"You summoned me, Master Primo?", he asked. Like some of the other ghouls they had met so far, he had a bit sharper canine teeth, slightly coming over his lower lip as he smirked at them.
"Signorinas, this is Ifrit, he's one of our Fire Ghouls. Please ignore the scent of smoke, he's usually working in the boiler room", he introduced him to them.
"At your service, little sparks", he purred, his tail making a little zigzag like movement behind him.
"Damn he's hot..", all three girls gasped. He, just like the other Ghouls they had met so far, was ridiculously good looking, tall and nicely buff, nothing too much but with decent arms and tight abs that were showing against the fabric of his shirt a little bit, and long dark hair falling wildly over his broad shoulders, with his horns showing from through his bangs.
"Did you need me for something, Master Primo?", Ifrit asked politely.
"Yes. Wake Mountain up. I have a feeling that he's having a nap again", Primo nodded.
"Consider it done, Papa", he nodded, disappearing again.
"Do.. Do we need to follow him..?", the girls asked, as they didn't know where to go after leaving the Crypt.
"Mm? Oh no, Ifrit is going towards the ghoul quarters, that's on the opposite side of the estate", he explained.
As the girls followed him out of the Crypt, they heard a loud "click click click" as the triplets shut the spotlights one by one after following from the cameras that they were about to leave.
"Are those sensor lights or something?", they asked.
"It's the triplets, they watch the security cameras. This way, signorinas", Primo nodded, leading them through the corridor. They had decided to help them just enough forward so they wouldn't get lost in the basement level again.
Now Mary, Meena and Nikki had a moment to actually read the signs on the doors.
"You are now exiting the Crypt. Good luck with your next task, ladies", Eeta's, Zeeta's and Theeta's voices said through the security system.
"That door sign says that it's the security office, they are probably behind it", Meena nodded.
"Oh.. That's.. Beta's office.. I think..", Mary blushed quite harshly, reading the name on the second door sign. Though instead of an "office", the sign read literally "The Pleasure Chambers".
"Beta is our fetish ghoul, his business is everything about kinks and fantasies and such", Primo shrugged casually.
"Uh huh..", the girls nodded.
"He was the big guy dressed in leather..", Mary whispered.
"Ehh.. Weren't they all big guys dressed in leather?", Nikki asked.
"Well yes, but he had a full length trench on before changing it into a similar robe like those other guys..", she explained.
"Mm.. This door says it's the office of someone called Omikron. Who is that?", Meena noticed.
"He's our doctor. I think he's buzy right now, so please do not disturb him. Father said that he had an appointment with him.."
"Ya summoned me, Master Primo?", an another voice yawned suddenly. The girls noticed a bit of a familiar sounding accent.
"Ah, Mountain. I believe Ifrit woke you up?"
"He did as he was ordered to, Papa. What do ya need me for?", he asked, rubbing his eyes a bit.
"I'll be going to the garden soon. Remember those rose bushes I mentioned earlier?"
"Yes I do, Papa."
"Great. Do your thing and shake the grounds a bit. I need to put them on a different spot."
"I'll fetch Rain and Sunshine.."
"Rain is in the kitchen with Secondo. He's already buzy enough. Ask Mist, if you need to."
"Oh, okay. Sunny, love! Let's go in the garden, the rose bushes need to be fixed!"
Suddenly the girls realized something. Other than each other, they hadn't seen any other girls anywhere around the place so far. While being in the Cardinal's office, they had heard some giggling and steps from high heeled shoes, but hadn't actually seen anyone.

After a moment, a pretty lady indeed peeked in from the doorway as well. Her rusty ginger hair was on a tight, kinky curl that was lifted slightly upwards.
"I was summoned?", she giggled warmly.
"C'mon, love, Papa Primo needs our help in the garden", Mountain nodded, wrapping his long arm around her shoulder. She was tiny when compared to him, just barely reaching his chest.
"Ooh, hello, sweetlings! I'm Sunshine, the Ministry's warmest little Ghoulette!", she purred when noticing the girls.
"Um, hi..", the girls nodded shyly. As she hugged them, she indeed felt warm, like a ray of sunlight shining on their skin.
"We saw the tall guy earlier, but the girl was a new one..", they whispered.
"Mountain is our Earth Ghoul. He's most often found helping Terra in the garden. You remember him as well, right?", Primo asked, taking the gardening gloves from his overalls' pocket and put them on as he walked.
"Um.. He was the one who.. Had a certain scent of herbs around him?", the girls asked innocently.
"Yes. It's a default scent around him, really. He's more of an herbal Earth Ghoul, if you please. Mountain is more the kind that shakes the grounds and communicates with nature. I guess it's just natural, pun very much intented, for the Earth Ghouls to have a hippie vibe around them. With Terra it's even more obvious, he was around already in the sixties when Father himself was a young cardinal, roughly during the hippie era."
"Mm, he did kind of look like a hippie.. With long, messy hair and those flared jeans with trumpet like cuffs and large sunglasses and stuff..", the girls admitted, though they still found it weird how he had looked so young and spry, while in the portrait he had already looked so elderly and fragile.
"Now if you please excuse me, I have garden duties to attend. We'll meet again, signorinas, maybe even sooner than you think. Now all you need to do is to go up those stairs", Primo nodded, pointing at the stairway along the corridor, before going through an another doorway, he didn't want to make it too easy for them that they could just follow him all the way outside.

Chapter Text

The girls nodded, now that they knew the general direction where to go next, they took a moment to properly study the rest of the doors as well, just in case they might give them clues to use later on.
"Huh, that's weird..", Meena said, glancing again at Omikron's office door.
"What is it?", Mary asked, finally starting to wipe the lip marks from her face.
"I just noticed the smaller print on that sign, it says "The Raven's Nest". What do you think it means?"
"Hmm.. It's a stretch, but.. He's the doctor, right? Maybe it's a gimmick for the game and he's a literal plague doctor, with the raven's beak mask and all?", she guessed.
"Could be, that would look really cool. Maybe we get a chance to see him too at some point..", Nikki shrugged.
"Well, what do the test results say?", they heard through the door.
"As far as I'm concerned, Papa, you are healthy as a goat."
"What about my eyes? Do you think I'm able to keep my sight?", he asked.
"I'm not completely sure. I mean, this is not the first time that this has happened, and every time you go blind again eventually, so.."
"So you are basically saying that when I still do have my sight, I should enjoy it? Who knows when this might happen again.."
"Something along those lines, yes", the doctor, Omikron, was explaining to him.
"It is a doctor's office after all, so.. Maybe we shouldn't be listening, even though they speak quite loudly..", Meena whispered and the girls snuck away from the door.
"They don't necessarily even need to talk loudly, there's stone walls everywhere, noices echo really well in here..", Nikki shrugged when they walked along the corridor.
"Listen! Do you hear that clicking as well?", Mary asked suddenly and the girls stopped for a moment.

They indeed heard a rhythmical clicking noice coming from somewhere closeby. One of the other door signs near them read "Accounting and Secretary - Sigma's and Special's Office".
"Oh, it's a secretary's office, that makes sense", they nodded when reading it.
"Specs, I swear to Asmodeus, how do you write your official papers and read that mushy smut at the same time without getting the information mixed up?", they heard someone asking behind the door. According to the nickname he had used, the voice belonged to Sigma.
"First of all, they are harlequins, smut is a completely different thing. You can ask from the triplets if you really want to. Secondly, yes, they can get steamy, sultry and even raunchy at times, but again, mushy is not the correct term here. Besides, you know me, I always proof-read everything through before bringing the papers over to the Papa's office", the other voice, Special, answered casually.
"I'm not completely sure which is worse, your book shelf or whatever is going on with Beta's equally unholy movie collection.. Let me see that", Sigma groaned, and the clicking stopped for a moment.
"Hey, I was reading that! Don't make me lose my page marker!", Special huffed as there was a noice of fluttering pages.
"You are my baby brother, I have the older sibling's responsability to worry over you what you read and might learn."
"Sig, I'm a full grown ghoul, for hell's sake! If I want to indulge in harlequins, I will do that! Give it back before you lose the page I was on!"
"Well, I don't mind that you generally read them, I'm just worried that you read them while working", Sigma pointed out.
"I can multitask, it's not that hard. Then again, you take care of the numbers, I do the other stuff, so..", Special huffed, again, judging by the tone of his voice, the girls guessed he was rolling his eyes a bit.

Since they weren't in a hurry just yet, and their conversation sounded interesting and not like an official work thing, they decided to listen, just for a moment.
"I'm serious though, Sig. Give it back. It's the last part of the latest trilogy I'm reading. It was just getting to the good stuff.."
"Uh huh. Continuing the steamy tale that started back in "Lips in Lyon" and "Nude in Nizza", the trilogy finally finishes in the equally passionate "Fog in France". It's close to midnight and the color of the day is periwinkle, like the silk and lace negligée my darling Gio gave me.. What the heck is periwinkle? I know that much that a negligée is a fancy ladies' robe of sorts, but.."
"It's a light bluish shade close to pale lavender blue, with a hint of pastel lilac. If you haven't read Lips and Nude, you can't understand what's going on in Fog."
"Well, make me understand. It's break time anyway, I have a moment to spare."
"Well, in the opening part Lips in Lyon, we meet a sweet young novice nun, Sister Emelié. She isn't yet completely sure if she wants to devote herself to the path of faith though, but is on a training period to see if it is what's she's looking for. For some time, everything goes well. Eventually, she meets the handsome yet quite reserved clergyman, Father Giovanni. And before you ask, yes, he's an Italian clergyman working at a French ministry, that's not the most important point, I'm not the one who wrote it.."
"Let me guess, she falls for him?"
"Yes but no, it does happen, but not in such an obvious manner. He seduces her, and does it slowly. Oh, and like you read, each part of the trilogy is color coded. Lips in Lyon's so called color of the day is terracotta."
"Why is that important? Is it a part of the plot or something?", Sigma asked. He wanted to at least try to understand his brother's favorite hobby, as there were always ghouls that got interested in the mortals' hobbies and adopted them as their own.
"I'm glad you asked. Yes, it is. Emelié uses this certain shade of lipstick during the book. You know how terracotta works?", Special asked, the girls could almost hear the grin in his voice.
"I know the basics, it's a type of ceramic clay material, typically with a color range from burnt orange to reddish-brown", he nodded.
"Yes. In her case, it's just a neutral enough shade to bring a bit of color in her days, but not too strong that she would get in trouble for wearing a lot of make up at the ministry. However, Father Giovanni notices it, and starts to call her his tiger lily, he connects the mostly burnt orange shade to a tiger's fur, and her beauty to a soft and gentle lily. From that point on, it's a cat and mouse game until at the very end, they finally share a passionate kiss. Then the second part, Nude in Nizza, starts. You can guess the color of the day, but the focus point is that Emelié is now favored by Father Giovanni, and to make it look casual enough, he simply takes her as his personal acolyte. And so, she follows him everywhere he goes. However, she knows well she shouldn't have any feelings, other than common courtesy, towards him. Father Giovanni feels different though. Yes, he too knows he shouldn't have any feelings towards the sister, but it happens anyway. She does try to stay away from him, only being near him for official clergy business. Again, for some time, it does work out. Father Giovanni tries to accept it, knowing it's what he's supposed to do. But it isn't that easy, as Emelié, his precious little tiger lily, is the most beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on. At one point, he even starts to worry that if they get caught, they might get sent to different ministries to continue their work so they couldn't be together anymore. But even with that worry in the back of his mind, he still continues to hover around her as much as he's able to. Soon, they finally get their chance, as their bath times happen to accidentally overlap..", Special started to monologue.
"You say 'accidentally' but it sounds more like a planned thing?", Sigma pointed out and the girls heard a chuckle.
"Of course it's planned, a good harlequin always needs a steamy romance! And honestly, is there really many steamier places than a bathhouse?"
"Well, when you ask it like that.. I guess no, not really, though it can depend on the situation at hand..", Sigma shrugged.
"Can I continue reading now? I want to know what happens next. I mean, Father Giovanni had given her a periwinkle silk and lace negligée, and she's waiting for him while wearing it..", Special purred, drumming his nails against the table.
"Isn't that scandalous? A man of the cloth giving lingerie as a gift?", Sigma asked, though he didn't sound shocked.
"Well, technically just a negligée isn't counted as lingerie, because it goes on top of any.."
"Specs, you always get caught on the tiniest details."
"I'm the secretary of this establishment, it's literally my job to take care of all of the tiny details."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah.. Just.. Don't spoil it to me, okay.."
"I'm your brother, not a monster. I'll only glance at the part you had already read."
"Fine, just a little bit, okay. You know how I like my books."
"Mm, yes I do, you like to enjoy them.."

The girls listened to their chatting for a moment and curiously peeked in through the doorway. They wanted to see the owners of the voices. Special and Sigma were sitting at their desks, dressed in matching black suits, both even had white leather gaiters over their shiny shoes.
"That's probably a staff uniform of some kind for this place..", the girls whispered to each other, remembering that the other "staff members" they had seen so far had also been wearing very similar looking outfits.
"Seriously though, why is everyone so ridiculously good looking here? I mean, even their nails are matching perfectly, I guess some of the clicking we heard was coming from those matt black, sharp tipped daggers of theirs..", Nikki wondered.
"Yeah, he literally fits the role of a sultry secretary, he even wears those reading glasses in that seductive way at the tip of his nose.. And just look at those long legs.. It's honestly a shame he hides them under those tight suit pants..", Meena bit her lip.
"His brother isn't bad looking either.. They both look fine as hell.. He even has those dollar green arm bands and visor on, like a casino bookkeeper or something.. It does make sense though, since the sign on the door says that they are the secretary and accountant of this place.. Even their voices sound sultry and more matter-of-factly respectively..", Mary pointed out.
"Read me a bit, Sig, I'll say when to stop before it spoils too much", Special asked, lifting his long legs on the desk and Sigma fixed his reading glasses a bit.
"Mm.. The color of the day is periwinkle, like the silk and lace negligée my darling Gio gave me.. I know, he isn't supposed to give me such gifts, but I simply don't have a heart to say no to him. I think he's just sweet. Well, as long as nobody else will know about this, it shouldn't be too bad. Those strong arms that can lift any worry off from a girl's shoulders, that luscious raven black hair and those huge hazel eyes that can see through your soul.. I can't wait to see him again. I know, we just saw each other a few hours ago, but it was a different thing since it happened during the office hours. We have to be careful, especially if Mother Superior is nearby, as I'm only a novice for now and there's still a chance that she will decide that I'm not suitable to work here with him. My darling Gio wanted to see his sweet little tiger lily wearing this negligée, he said that royal purple, like the clerical stole worn when hearing confessions, is his favorite color but he hadn't found one like that so the periwinkle one was good enough instead.. I know it's wrong though, we are servants of faith, we shouldn't be even thinking about such impure thoughts.."

As he read the fragment, the girls heard a deep, purring sigh.
"Special, stop it! You make it weird by sighing out loud like that! Thank Asmodeus you didn't start to moan.."
"Sorry Sig, I just couldn't help it! I swear I try to keep it down as much as I can!"
"Here, take your foggy book, I already read more than enough. I'll go and get some coffee, do you want something?", Sigma asked, the chair legs made a short screeching noice against the stone floor as he got up from his desk. As he did so, the girls got a glimpse at the already familiar looking spade tipped tail that was doing a little zigzag like pattern behind his back.
"Mm, if you could be so kind and ask Papa Secondo what's for dinner, I'll be okay until then..", Special nodded, having already buried his nose back in the book.
"Triplets! Are you near the screens?", he called out.
"You called us, Lord of the numbers?", the girls heard Eeta's, Zeeta's and Theeta's voices again.
"Is Papa Secondo in the kitchen by any chance?", Sigma asked, taking his glasses off.
"He should be, he did come up from the Crypt a little while ago", Eeta said.
"Let's see.. Actually no, his emerald green dot is not in there. It seems like he's in the wine cellar as we speak", Zeeta noticed.
"He was already in there earlier, maybe he changed his mind again", Theeta guessed.
"Okay, thanks, boys. Special just wanted to know what's for dinner, he's nose deep in a harlequin again, so if he had been in there, I would have asked", Sigma explained.
"Hey, do you happen to see what bottle he's about to take? That could give a bit of a clue about what he's making?", Special asked from the background.
"Hold that thought.. That's the white wine shelf at least.."
"Let us check if we can zoom in enough from this angle.."
"That seems to be.. Some kind of rich chardonnay..", the triplets informed.
"Maybe he's getting an extra bottle just in case, we do have guests here", the girls heard them say.
"Gues.. Wait, they talk about us?", they started to blush.
"Well, Kevin did warn us at the start that this will be a long escape game..", Nikki remembered.
"But that it will take time until it's dinner time? I honestly thought that this would be over in a couple of hours, maybe three at most, if we had gotten really stuck..", Meena blushed even harder.
"Speaking of the game, we should get going, our next stop was in the garden, right?", Mary whispered and the girls rushed towards the staircase.

Chapter Text

After a while of walking on the steep staircase, the girls finally got up from the basement and through the door, stepped out in the most gorgeous looking garden they had ever seen.
"Oh wow, this place is awesome.. And look, there's not only flowers, there seems to be a decent selection of veggies and fruits and berries as well!"
"Everything is in perfect order too.. And mushrooms and herbs too.. They seem to grow everything they just can themselves.. That's kinda neat to be honest, to be almost completely independent with home-grown stuff.."
"Speaking of home-grown herbs.. Do you smell that too?", Nikki asked suddenly, having caught a scent of something weird in the air.
"If you mean what I think you mean.. Yeah, I think so..", Meena admitted. Mary joked, as usual, that since as an amateur painter, after smelling enough paint thinner, of course half-accidentally while working, she barely smelled anything that she didn't already have a scent memory of.
"That's a.. Don't quote me on this, but I think that's pretty much how weed smells like..", Nikki and Meena looked at each other.
"Well, that suspiciously youthful looking old guy was smoking earlier..", Mary pointed out. Soon they heard talking coming from deeper in the garden, and noticed that a couple of trees were slightly shaking and shuffling.
"Are ya completely sure it's cider season already?"
"I think so, at least Papa told us to collect the dry apples, and leave the more sweet ones to still grow."
"Well, we gotta trust Papa, so surely he knows what he's doing.."
"Yeah. Hold on, that one looks good. Let me check", the girls heard two people talking. There was a slight "pop" that echoed in the garden, it was the noice of the apple stem being naturally picked from the tree before it had a chance to fall.
"Oh yeah, I felt right, this is a good one", one of the voices grinned.
"He needs just enough for the first test batch, the rest can still grow a bit", the owner of the other voice nodded.
"Oh, I love good apple cider, and these guys make that themselves too?", Meena whispered to the girls. Then they caught the scent of that faintly sweet smell again, and heard a click of a lighter.
"Okay then beanstalk, mount my shoulders, I'll get you high, and we can make this happen faster."
"Did.. Did ya just make a slightly suggestive pun out of my name, mate?"
"Maybe. Hop on now, I really need a nap after this."
"Okay okay! Hold still, I'm climbing up!", he laughed. Now the girls noticed the accented voice. It was Mountain again, this was now the third time they had met him.
"He's with one of those big guys we saw earlier, I think his name was Terra..", Nikki noticed as they peeked through the bushes.
"The smoking one? Yeah, I think that's right..", Mary nodded. They watched for a moment as Mountain dug his heels, he indeed wasn't wearing shoes anymore, just like Cardinal had mentioned earlier, on the small of Terra's back and hoisted himself up on his shoulders.
"Okay, I'm up! Get me even higher, my faithful stallion!", he chuckled. Terra took another puff of his smoke first and then stood fully up, he was tall enough that Mountain disappeared into the leaves of the tree almost completely, just his long legs and the spade tipped tail were still showing.
"That's a decently tall apple tree actually, no wonder they do a trick like that, all the best apples must be all the way up there..", the girls whistled, as now they reached roughly four meters up from the ground.
"Where's the basket, mate? Papa warned us to not to get any bruises on the apples!", he called down.
"Right here, let me just lift it up for you", Terra answered, his tail, a bit thicker and stronger looking, grabbing a basket from the ground so he didn't need to bend down again.
"That's so weird, they actually can grab stuff with their tails?", the girls gasped.
"Thanks, mate. Do ya think that three armfuls is enough?", Mountain asked.
"With your long arms, just for a test batch? Surely that's enough", Terra nodded, anchoring himself against the tree with his tail now, while holding the basket with his free hand.
"Ya lazy bugger just enjoy it when someone mounts on you, huh?"
"So what? I'm not ashamed of it. And I'm aware of my size. Beanstalks like yourself could get mushed if I'm not being careful."
"Mm, sure.. Can ya lean a bit to the side? I need just a bit more leverage to snatch that one apple.."
"Consider it done", Terra nodded, lifting his heels from the ground momentarily.
"Gotcha! What a nice, crispy scent! I'm sure that the cider from these will be so good!", Mountain called.
"Are you coming down anytime soon? I feel like napping, your paws give me a nice shoulder massage..", Terra yawned, and the girls could hear a low, rumbling purr rising from his throat.
"I'm almost done, I'll just grab a few more apples..", he nodded.
"This place is so weird.. Not specifically because of them, even though something in them is odd too.."
"The tails, perhaps? Since they seem to be able to actually move them around, grab onto things with them and stuff?"
"Well, that too, but there's something else as well..", the girls whispered to each other.

They didn't want to bother them, since they seemed to be buzy, and turned to look around some more.
"Okay, so what are we supposed to do now? They didn't say this time either what we need to do, only that we need to come out here..", they wondered for a moment, starting to walk around the garden.
"It's like Wonderland.. Huge, exotic looking plants everywhere..", Mary admired.
"Do you think we are supposed to pick something up or simply locate the spot where it grows?", Nikki asked.
"That's a good question actually, since it looks like the garden is very well taken care of.. Maybe the flowers especially aren't supposed to be picked up, at least not without a permission..", Meena nodded.
They simply looked around, like they were walking through an actual botanical garden, careful to not to touch anything.
"The whole garden is so colorful.. I like the gradience between the different shades.. And it's full of fantastic scents as well.."
"And all the fruits and veggies and stuff.. Some of these even look like they shouldn't even grow around here.."
"One of the brothers was the gardener, right? Maybe he knows some botanical stuff we can't even understand?", the girls wondered.
After a while of walking, since they still didn't know what they were supposed to do, they indeed heard Primo's voice and peeked through some bushes again. He was still dressed in those same clothes they had seen him earlier, red shirt with the sleeves hiked up to the elbows, dark denim overalls, work boots and a large straw hat slightly askew over his long blond braid. He was on his knees, leaning over some other flower or plant.
"Grow for me, my dear, grow for Papa..", he whispered.
"That sounds a bit like that "flower gleam and glow" thing from Tangled.. Come to think of it, he does have long blond hair, almost like a guy version of Rapunzel.. We haven't seen him with his hair open yet after all.. Who knows, maybe it's all the way down to his back but he simply gathers it up like that for convenience's sake", Nikki pointed out.
"It kinda fits Phantom of the Opera's "sing, my angel of music, sing for me" bit as well..", Mary nodded.
"Getting the general vibe of the place, they seem to like both culture and fairytales.. That's cool..", Meena added.
"Mm, you may come closer, signorinas", Primo called over his shoulder, moving his hand just enough without turning completely to make a "come hither" motion with his finger. Since he clearly had noticed them already, the girls stepped forward and came to see what he was doing.
"Have you ever seen a black rose before, signorinas?", he smirked. Mary, as a painter, was about to open her mouth that while there was some quite dark colored flowers in existence, fully black wasn't an option, especially dark roses usually had a deep red undertone, but her jaw simply dropped open.
"That.. That actually is black.. Like the darkest night, without that usual deep red undertone..", she gasped.
"Did you think I would lie, my dear? Yes, fully black flowers are extremely rare, that's true, but some of them are right infront of your eyes", Primo nodded proudly, with a somewhat wicked twinkle in his eyes, especially on the side where all of the brothers had their family trait.
"It's really pretty..", the girls admired.
"I'm quite proud of this specific rose. You see, it has a slightly different scent, depending on who smells it. Go ahead, try it. Just be careful with the thorns", he nodded. The girls looked at each other, how could that be possible? They saw the same flower, but it would have a different scent to each of them? It sounded weird, but they were curious, and wanted to try.
"Well, what kind of a scent do you get?", Mary and Meena asked curiously, as Nikki tried it first.
"Mm.. A dark, damp forest.. You know, how the water is dripping down from the leaves after a stormy night..", she said.
"That's cool, let me try too", Meena nodded and took a deep breath as well.
"He's right, I do smell a different thing than a dark forest after a stormy night! I get the scent of some exotic and gloomy, just slightly dry incense, just hanging in the air..", she explained and they waited that Mary too would try it. She had barely even leaned over the inky black rose when she already recoiled.
"What? Is it that bad?", they worried.
"It's not bad, not really, just really strong.. To me, it has the scent of the roaring flames of a campfire, with the smoky after scent..", she coughed a bit.

The girls didn't notice the sly smirk that had again appeared on Primo's lips.
"Have you liked my garden so far, signorinas?", he asked casually.
"Yeah, it's awesome! All the colorful flowers and home-grown fruits and veggies and stuff..", they answered in unison. Other than the flowers, all the edible things as well had fantastic scents, and suddenly the girls remembered it had been a good while since they had eaten anything.
"Would you like to taste something? Of course not everything is ripe just yet, but some are quite ready to be picked up", he nodded. The girls blushed a bit, they had been a bit too shy to ask would it be okay to taste something. Many of the fruits and berries especially had looked so tasty, but knowing the fairytales like Hansel and Gretel or Goldielocks, or indeed, Alice In Wonderland, they didn't want to touch anything if it wasn't allowed. After all, Mary had already seen a questionable looking dungeon earlier..
"If.. If it's just okay..", they squealed shyly.
"Since you liked my black rose, I'm sure you would like this one as well. Follow me", Primo nodded, walking towards the apple orchard again. As they followed him, they saw Mountain and Terra again, they were now walking towards the kitchen side door with a basket full of dry apples.
"Papa. Little ladies", they nodded politely, bowing down at Primo, while their tails gave a little wave at the girls.
"You may continue on your task, boys. I believe my brother is already waiting for those apples", Primo nodded and soon stopped next to another apple tree. The girls' eyes got huge. There was black apples as well? After a moment, Primo grabbed three decently sized apples from the branches and offered them to the girls.
"Here, try these ones. They will be very sweet, with hints of vanilla, honey and caramel", he grinned.
"Now there's a Snow White reference? We are being offered very much enchanted looking apples..", they whispered to each other.
"They aren't enchanted, my dear, just a more rare variant, that's all", he chuckled. They were the same shape like the fairytale's magic apples, so they should be decently juicy, just like the girls liked their apples.. And he did give them a permission to taste them, so they decided to try and take a bite.
"We won't go unconscious like Snow White did, right?", they still checked just before biting into them. Primo shook his head, no, his apples didn't have an affect like that.
"See, I'll take a bite out of one as well, if you will feel more comfortable after that", he suggested, simply commenting that the apple he had chosen had more of a woody flavor of cinnamon than the sugary sweet ones he had chosen for them. Seeing that everything was fine, the girls took a bite out of their apples as well.
Nikki indeed tasted sweet caramel, Meena had soft, creamy vanilla and Mary got the honey flavored one, it reminded her a lot of her aunt's husband's home-made honey.
"There's tears in your eyes, sweetling. Did you not like it?", Primo worried.
"Yeah, I do.. It's just.. It reminded me about my childhood.. Uncle Matt, my auntie Annie's husband, used to make his own honey.. He doesn't make it anymore though, once the last beehive he kept died out, he didn't continue.. But this tasted really similar..", she explained.
"Hm, maybe it's because I too have my own honey bees", he nodded approvingly. Mary wiped her tears, the memory was a nice one after all, simply one she hadn't thought about in years, and the girls happily ate the apples. Now that he had mentioned it, they indeed heard occasional soft buzzing here and there.

Chapter Text

Primo had a proud, almost fatherly, smile on his face as the girls finished their apples.
"Did you enjoy them?", he asked.
"Yes we did, thank you. The apples were very yummy. They tasted like candy, what's not to like about that?", they nodded politely. Then they looked at the little bits of the apples they were still holding, the nearly empty cores with the stems and seeds and only a tiny amount of edible fruit flesh still on them.
"Ah, you seem to wonder what to do with the stems. Don't worry about it", Primo smirked.
"Rain! I summon you, this is an order!", he called.
"Greetings, Papa, I'm at your service. Hello, little ladies", the girls soon heard a soft purring voice from behind their backs.
"Rain, could you be a good boy and do your trick with the apple cores? You know how I think about them if they just lay on the ground?", Primo asked and a large grin appeared on Rain's pretty lips.
"I would be glad, Papa!", he purred.
"Signorinas, per favore, you may hand the apple cores to him", Primo nodded as Rain offered them his hands. The girls just guessed that if Rain helped around in the kitchen anyway, maybe he simply had the trash duty as well. Well, they were partially correct about that.
"Wait, what are you doing?", Nikki asked.
"There's only the cores and stems left..", Meena wondered.
"And the seeds.. Aren't apple seeds poisonous? At least that much of them, there's four full cores..", Mary gasped as Rain put the apple cores in his mouth one by one and happily ate them.
"Amygdalin, the substance that releases cyanide into the blood stream, doesn't have an affect on him", Primo explained calmly.
"How is that possible? We have always been told that the apple seeds are poisonous, especially if they get chewed up..", the girls squealed.
"Ghoufh guds wofk difvehently.."
"Rain, don't talk with your mouth full."
He nodded obediently and gulped the mush down before speaking again.
"I was trying to say that the ghoul guts work differently. My stomach acids burn most of the stuff that isn't supposed to be eaten. That being said, I can eat almost anything. And before you ask, no, I don't have pica syndrome. Omikron even checked me. I simply love eating. I did taste glass once though, but it felt weird on my tongue, and I didn't like the taste of those old 16th century paints either.. But hey, as the corporeal embodiment of the sin of Gluttony and overindulging, it's just a normal day at the office for me", Rain shrugged casually and Primo ruffled his hair a bit.
"Sin of Gluttony and overindulging? Where did that come from?"
"Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins though, I think it's usually counted as one of the first ones, like on a second place or something.."
"Yet he looks like a catwalk model and says he can eat almost anything?", the girls whispered to each other.
"Rain! Get your peachy backside back in here, I need another pair of hands with the plates!"
"I'm coming, Aether! I need to go back inside, Papa. It was nice to see that you are still here, little cupcakes, I'm sure that our paths shall cross again sooner or later", Rain nodded, bowing down politely and Primo simply flicked his wrist in a way of "yes, you may go now" and he disappeared back to the kitchen side door.
"Have you met him before?", he asked and the girls nodded shyly.
"A couple of times, yeah, though we only know that his name apparently is Rain. And the fact that he's really pretty", they shrugged innocently.
"Mm, he's our Water Ghoul. He's a sweet boy, and because of his physique, Terzo uses him often as his model while he draws and paints. He, his sister Mist, and Zephyr spend a lot of time at the pool in the spa area when they have some free time", he explained.
"Zeph.. Is he possibly a tall, handsome guy with decent muscles and icy eyes?", Nikki asked and Primo lifted his brow a bit.
"Yes, he is, his primary tasks are in the spa, he spends most of his time in there."
"I saw him earlier, when we got separated.. Those tight washboard abs and strong arms..", she whispered to Mary and Meena.
"It seems like there's a lot of folks working in this place.. I can't wait to meet all of them..", they nodded.
"So.. What exactly do we need to do in here? The garden is absolutely gorgeous, but we weren't given any kind of hints what to do..", the girls wondered.
"I already got my answers..", Primo grinned.
His comment made the girls to glance at each other in confusion.
"Um.. We do have one question actually..", Mary started, as the oldest of the girls, she simply felt like it was her responsability.
"Yes, my child, confess your sins."
"Okay, now that came out way too naturally.. Like he's used to say stuff like that..", Meena and Nikki whispered to each other.
"I was just wondering, since the game obviously is still going on and we are very much stuck, are we still allowed to ask help from Kevin, even though we aren't inside of an actual room anymore?", Mary asked and Primo pondered for a moment.
"Yes, I believe so, since you are still on the escape estate's general grounds", he nodded eventually. Well, other than getting stuck in the Cardinal's office much earlier, they really hadn't needed to ask for his help.

While waiting for their next move, Primo took his hat off and opened his braid. The longest tips of his blond hair indeed reached nearly halfway down his back.
"Not exactly like Rapunzel level long, but that's still quite a lot of hair, especially for a guy..", Meena noticed.
"It even looks exotic in a way, him being so light blond I mean, aren't Italians usually genetically coded to be dark haired and then eventually turn into dashing silver foxes?", Mary pointed out.
"Like that old guy? He's silver haired after all, and surely was decent looking when he was a bit younger.. And he did seem to fancy you..", Nikki teased her, fixing her glasses, making her blush harshly.
"Hey, I'm pretty sure he's old enough to be my great-grandfather or something..", she huffed and the girls giggled.
"I must leave you for now, signorinas. Secondo hates it if I have the scent of soil and mulch lingering around me at the dinner table. Ask Kevin to help if you get stuck even worse and have no idea what to do next", he nodded casually.
"Delta! Gamma! Whichever is free at the moment, I summon you, this is an order! And take the hood off so I can see which one I'm talking to!"
The girls gasped as there was an another sudden puff of smoke and a new, decently sized man dressed in a long hooded robe, was standing infront of them and he indeed lowered the hood for a moment while talking to Primo.
"You summoned me, Master Primo?", he asked. He was quite tall and buff, just like most of the guys they had seen so far, had the same spade tipped tail, slightly curvy horns showing a bit through his hair, sharp dagger like nails and similar pointed canine teeth like the others also had and quite uncommonly colored eyes, close to a shade of amber.
"Yes, Delta. Can you do me a favor?"
"Of course, Papa."
"Great. Go to the treasure chambers and get the elemental gems", he nodded.
"All or only some of them?", Delta simply asked.
"Bring all of them, just in case, though I feel like the fire quartz, air pearl and water crystal are the more important ones, but bring the earth ore, moonstone and rainbow opal as well."
"Consider it done, Papa", Delta nodded, putting his hood back on before disappearing in an another puff of smoke again.
"They all do that disappearing thing.. Yet there's no mirrors or stuff involved..", the girls wondered, it still managed to surprise them.
"Oh don't look now but mister steaming hot chef is watching us as well..", Mary noticed suddenly that Secondo was now leaning against the kitchen side door frame and indeed was watching them, once Primo had left.
"You are staring at his shoulders and arms again", Nikki pointed out to Meena.
"Not my fault, he has nice arms", she defended herself.
"Mm.. Whatever he is making, it has a delicious scent.. The apples were really good, but it has been a while since we have eaten any actual food..", they remembered. And their general logic was that hey, he's Italian after all, he must be really good in the kitchen..
"He's hot.. Hot enough that I can even forgive the fact that he seems to be a smoker..", Meena mumbled, noticing that he was holding a cigarette, she had clearly found her favorite brother already.
"How's my sauce doing, boys?", he asked, dropping some ashes from his cigarette.
"I'll check, Papa!", the girls heard Rain's voice answering.
"Be careful, pup, it's.."
"Yewouch!"
"Simmering hot, as I was about to say. Did you burn your paws again?"
"Almost.. Ow.. But the sauce is done..", he nodded, gently licking his hand a bit, as he walked past the kitchen window.
"Need an amputation?", was asked from somewhere in the background.
"Ack! Omikron, please! You snuck up on me! And no, no thank you, an amputation really isn't necessary, it's just a little burn..", he answered quickly.
"Oh, okay. In that case, I'll leave my bag in my office and come back up, the dinner is apparently nearly finished?"
"Omi.. Wasn't he that doctor?", the girls remembered, while not actually meeting him yet, they had heard his name and voice earlier. They had already completely forgotten the fact that they were stuck in the garden with no idea what they were supposed to do next. It was honestly much more interesting to just watch what was going on in the place's daily life.
"I'm actually getting hungry.. And all those delicious scents really aren't helping the situation..", Mary mumbled.
"Mm, and Italian cuisine in general is really good too..", Meena nodded.
"I bet the taste is as delicious as the scent..", Nikki admitted.
"How are you doing, signorinas?", Secondo smirked as he was walking closer to them, after crushing the cigarette stub under the heel of his boot. Mary and Nikki subtly hold Meena up, as it looked like her legs were about to give away from under her.
"We, um.. We're okay.. Well, we aren't really sure what to do next, but.. The garden is gorgeous..", they mumbled shyly. There was a sly smirk still on his lips and his eyes even gave a slight shine.
"Thank you. Primo is very proud of it. Anyway, how would you feel about a pause in the game for a little while and have a dinner with us? It's not an issue at all, as thanks to especially Rain's appetite alone, I make a lot of food every day, the boys will fix extra chairs at the table for you", he nodded. The girls blushed and shyly admitted that yes, they indeed were feeling a bit peckish, and that whatever he had been cooking had a delicious scent.
"Well, I'm an Italian after all, and I happen to be the kind that makes magic happen in the kitchen", he chuckled. The girls thought for a moment. The food, whatever it was, sounded so good and maybe then they would have some new energy to continue the game as well, and they nodded that they would love to join the dinner, since he so graciously offered it.
"Kevin!", Secondo called and after a moment, one of the colorful windows on the upper floor of the building opened and Kevin peeked out, stroking his bushy beard as he glanced down in the garden.
"Yes, Papa Secondo?", he asked.
"There will be a pause in the game during the dinner, please open the door for the signorinas", he ordered.
"Just a moment!", he nodded and disappeared from the window.
"Kevin will open the door for you in a moment, I need to go back to the kitchen", Secondo nodded to the girls.

Chapter Text

The girls waited for a moment at the door again, until Kevin opened it for them.
"Have you had fun so far, ladies?", he asked as he let the girls back inside.
"Yes, we have! The whole place is awesome!", they gushed, even though they had only seen a few of the rooms so far. Kevin gave a polite little smile and nodded them to follow him.
"Oh, it seems like you got an official welcoming committee this time", he grinned and the girls instinctively gasped. Now there was even more of these "ghouls", how they were introduced to them earlier. They saw a couple of familiar faces, namely Rain, Mountain and Aether, and that tiny kinky haired chick they had briefly met earlier, Sunshine.
"Well, that does explain the giggling and clicking of heels we heard earlier", they whispered to each other, noticing that there was a couple of other chicks as well. All ten of them bowed down at the girls, with their spade tipped tails wiggling in sync.
Aether, the more robust ghoul with long legs and strong arms they had quickly seen walking past earlier, took a step forward. He seemed like the leader of the pack, or at the very least like that responsible older brother that should be listened to. He seemed to like simple silver jewelry, as the girls noticed matching silver bracelets and rings on his hands, and a decently sized nose ring as well.
He stood between another guy and girl that the girls hadn't yet met. Like Aether himself, the guy was tall and lanky, with long legs, big dark eyes and a soft smile. The girl was slightly shorter than him, with a pretty figure, long multi colored hair and she wore pastel make up that matched her hair.
"I'm Aether, Cardinal's guard ghoul. These are my little brother and sister, Phantom and Aurora", he nodded. The girls remembered what Cardinal had said earlier, how "some of the Ghouls act more like siblings than partners in a harem", or at least something along those lines. When their names were mentioned, both Phantom and Aurora grinned widely, showing those same sharp canine teeth, and waved at them.
"We assume you have met these two already", Phantom nodded towards Rain and Mountain, he had a very soft and almost sleepy voice as well, he sounded like he was just woken up from a nap. The girls nodded, yes, they indeed had met them already alright.
Other than them, there was two other men and two women. One of the men was quite tall and muscular, his general body shape made him look a lot like a dancer.
"There's something familiar with him..", Nikki mumbled, squinting behind her glasses a bit. The same spade tipped tail, quite sharp horns and dagger like nails were there, obviously.
"Long, dark dreadlocks on a casual half-bun, fluorescent cat's eyes and a wide, wicked Cheshire Cat-like grin..", Meena nodded.
"Oh, I think we saw you earlier, when we got out of the Cardinal's office! I remember that grin!", Mary remembered, and his grin got even wider. All of his teeth, not only the canines, seemed to be quite sharp.
"Cardinal mentioned your name as well earlier.. I somehow merged it with both switchblades and good chee.. Swiss! That's it, right?", she asked and he nodded. He had his arm wrapped around the other man's shoulder. He was shorter than him, he too had long legs, dagger like nails, an impish grin and eyes that were like still burning embers, but unlike the others, his horns were pure white and almost disappeared into his long, white hair. The girls thought it looked very cute how they had their tails entangled with each other.
"And this is Sodo, my partner in sin and mischief", Swiss grinned and Sodo winked at them.
"Sin is being mentioned again..", the girls whispered to each other and turned to look at the last two ladies. Just like Sunshine and Aurora, they were very pretty, the taller one had an enviably cinched, nearly corset-like waist and gorgeous high cheekbones, the other lady was shorter and very curvaceous, she had soft curly hair that looked like fluffy clouds and a sweet, motherly smile.
"And these are Cirrus and Cumulus, our sassy boss lady and soft queen", they too were introduced.
Now it was Mary's turn to go weak at the knees, she still liked to use the cliché term how she happened to "swing both ways", as each ghoul, and ghoulette with the ladies' case, was ridiculously good looking. Meena and Nikki admitted it too, they knew when to appreciate other good looking women, but they knew that she felt it differently.
"No wonder they talk about sins so much..", she squealed, making them laugh.
"Aether, Aurora and Sunshine! Come and help me set the table!", Secondo's voice called suddenly from the dinner hall. The girls looked at each other, now there was seven of them, just like sins..
"Are you gonna say now that you embody the seven deadly sins as well?", they asked curiously.
"Oh yes we do, love. I embody the first sin, Sloth", Mountain yawned.
"And you already noticed that I embody the second sin, Gluttony", Rain purred. Sodo had now wrapped his arm around Swiss's waist and they glanced at each other.
"We embody the third and fourth sin, Frivolity and Wrath, respectively", they smirked.
"I embody the fifth sin, Fear", Phantom whispered softly.
"I embody the sixth sin, Greed", Cirrus nodded. She had a lovely, husky purring voice, it reminded the girls about a fortune-teller, she could had easily been reading them their destiny from the tarot cards.
"And I embody the seventh and last sin, Lust", Cumulus giggled. It sounded very familiar to the girls and they guessed it was her laughter they had heard earlier.
"All hail our curvy queen Lulu!", the boys said unison, quickly getting into a ring around her, hugging her from all sides, and she giggled some more.
"You can see why she's the sin of Lust, right, sweetlings? The boys, and sometimes girls too, go crazy near her", Cirrus too laughed with her smoky voice.
"Mm, thank you, boys, the show's over", Cumulus nodded as they stopped hugging her.
"And then there's the big boys, of course", she added and the girls gasped, as literally a dozen more ghouls appeared infront of them.

They recognized a few of them as well, mostly Omega, Alpha and Beta, and Terra, Ifrit and Zephyr, after seeing a quick glance of them.
"There sure is a lot of folks working in here..", they nodded.
"Hello again, kittens", Omega, Alpha and Beta grinned. Mary, Meena and Nikki waved shyly, they had started to blush immediately when they were near, and looked at the other men they hadn't met yet.
"That must be Omikron, he has a doctor's coat on and a stethoscope still around his neck..", they whispered. While in the garden, Primo had earlier mentioned the names Delta and Gamma. Because of that, the girls were able to recognize Delta, the ghoul with the amber like eyes, and they guessed that the other man standing next to him must had been Gamma.
"Huh.. Those two look like twins..", they noticed suddenly, looking at the other two guys next to them. They were wearing matching simple dark shirts and overalls with way too many pockets on them, and one had his hair parted to the left and the other to the right.
"Kittens, these are our janitors, Epsilon and Ypsilon", Beta grinned, putting his massive hands on the twins' shoulders, and they too waved a bit at the girls.
"Specs, are you still reading?"
The girls recognized Sigma's voice too.
"Mm.. I finished the trilogy earlier, I already started a new 'quin..", Special's voice answered to him.
"You know what Papa says about reading at the table", Sigma pointed out.
"Mm.. True.. I'll just finish this chapter first..", he nodded.
"Where's the triplets?", Secondo asked, after peeking out of the dining room and making a headcount how many ghouls were present already.
"Still in their security office, Mist went to fetch them", they answered in unison.
"But we were doing just fine..", they groaned soon.
"Are you arguing against me, boys?", the girls heard a woman's voice snap.
"N-no, ma'am!"
"Definitely not, ma'am!"
"We would never do that, ma'am!", the triplets answered immediately.
"Mist can get rough if it's necessary, the triplets know to not to mess with her", Beta grinned, Mary had noticed earlier that he clearly liked the sound of his own voice, as he talked quite a lot.
"They are younger than most of us, so they still like to test their limits, and need someone to actually give them orders."
Mist, as they noticed, was a petite yet tough looking chick, clearly with an aura that she shouldn't be messed with.
Now the girls finally got to put faces to the voices they had heard earlier through the loudspeakers. Indeed, the triplets were clearly younger than the rest of the ghouls, somewhere between 17 and 25, dressed in large hoodies, baggy pants and skater styled shoes, the kind of clothes that were comfortable to wear while sitting infront of desks filled with CCTV equipment. Because of the hoods, the girls didn't see much of their faces though, just their grins, showing those same sharp canines, and the tips of horns that came through the fabric. The hoodies even had large letters on their backs so they could be separated, obviously E for Eeta, Z for Zeeta and T for Theeta.
"Our cameras weren't lying, they are really pretty..", they admired in unison, making the girls blush again.

Soon, Mary, Meena and Nikki gasped as they walked into the dining room, more like a hall, really, it was one of the rooms they hadn't yet seen. There was a long line of colorfully painted glass windows on one wall, making the large table resting under them shine in several rainbow like colors.
"I have never seen a table that large.. It's kind of like the table in Beauty and the Beast's dinner scene or the house tables in the Great Hall in Harry Potter, but just more in a gothic style..", they gasped in unison, they were sure that the table was at least 10-15 meters long.
"It has to be large, we do have a lot of folks to sit around it", the brothers nodded, pulling them chairs out already.
Even the chairs looked like gothic styled thrones, with spiky decorations on the backrests and thick, dark colored velvet pillows where to sit on. The large table, matching the chairs in general style, was covered with black lace tablecloth, though it seemed like it was made from some plastic like material instead of fabric, most likely to be easy to clean afterwards and every meter or so, there was a fancy, silver candelabra in the middle of the table, with tall, dark candles slowly burning on them, surrounded by expensive looking silverware. When glancing up towards the high arched ceiling, the girls noticed a couple of equally fancy looking crystal chandeliers hanging above the table as well.
"This place is so fancy.. It almost looks like we are seeing the same dream..", they whispered. Some of the ghouls helped Secondo to set the table with several, still steaming pots and pans.
"Special, triplets, books and gaming devices off of the table, we'll start the dinner in a moment", he ordered.
"Yes, Papa", they nodded obediently, the triplets hid their handheld consoles in their hoodie pockets while Special carefully put his page marker on before closing the book and put it out of his hands.
Once everyone was seated, the Papas and all of the ghouls put their hands together, clearly for a prayer. The girls didn't want to be rude, since it seemed to be a standard practise as all of them did it so naturally, so they too put their hands together just to be polite.
"Our fallen angel vexed, was banished from the sky. Recite now from the text, pray for ALL to die. Our father, who art in hell, unhallowed be thy name. Cursed be the sons and daughters of thine Nemesis, whom are to blame, thy kingdom come, nemA", they read in unison, especially the ghouls' voices echoing around the hall. It sort of sounded like the prayer the girls had learned at school, at least the rhythm was similar, yet it clearly had a darker significance than what they were used to hear.
"Wow, they sure take the show really seriously.. Even a creepy prayer before dinner? That's some true dedication..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Signorinas, per favore, take whatever you wish and enjoy", Secondo nodded, as the plates and pot lids started to clink, with the polite chorus of "pass the veggies, please" and "could you hand me the bread basket, thank you" and such echoing around the table. It was so large in fact that it was much easier to hand things over from side to side than to walk around picking stuff up from here and there.
"Everything is either home-grown or hand-made, unless stated otherwise", Primo and Secondo grinned proudly.
"Oh wow, that looks so delicious..", Mary gasped when noticing that the main course of the day was cheesy pasta with some thick, creamy sauce.
"Pasta is probably one of the best things there is..", Nikki nodded.
"And it's hand-made too, so it's as fresh as it can get..", Meena added. Secondo had a proud smirk on his lips when seeing the expression on their faces, the girls had never ever had so fresh and creamy pasta.
"Do you like it? I use five different cheeses, a dash of the creamiest possible milk and just a pinch of salt", he grinned and the girls nodded, the sauce alone was honestly so thick, yet silky soft, that they weren't even able to talk for a moment.
"I like it when pretty girls got their mouths full.."
"Beta, mind your manners, per favore. And elbows off of the table."
"Yes, Papa. Apologies, Papa. I was simply making a casual observation though", Beta shrugged all innocently. The girls blushed some more but decided it was smarter to not to say anything.

Chapter Text

The girls glanced at each other, but didn't say anything out loud. They just listened to the casual chatting around the table while enjoying their pasta. In a way it felt a bit weird actually, since it was clearly their family dinner, but they didn't seem to mind to have them as guests. They had no idea what the brothers were talking about though, as they couldn't understand Italian. And in true Italian fashion, they were using their hands a lot while talking.
"I have no idea what they are talking about, but it's honestly funny to see that notorious hand gesture thing in action, I kinda thought it was some exaggerated cultural thing but they actually do it..", Mary whispered and both Meena and Nikki nodded. Terzo and Secondo were the ones who were mostly talking, in that loud, dramatic way, moving their hands a lot.
"Even if we were able to understand at least some basics, they talk way too fast for us to keep up..", she added. The girls recognized only a couple of words, mostly those that they had heard them use several times already. Every now and then, especially if and when Terzo's hand movements got overly exaggerated even for an Italian, Omega's tail shot up from somewhere behind his back and grabbed a hold of especially his wine glass. The girls simply watched in awe and amazement how the bit of his tail, just below the spade shaped tip, gently curled around the thin, crystal stem of the glass and stopped it from tipping over.
"You nearly tipped your wine glass over again, Papa", he pointed out politely, nudging his hand with the tip of his tail.
"Oh, grazie, cara mio", he nodded and took the glass, his golden dagger like nails making a little "clink" against it, taking a sip from it. It happened so casually that the girls guessed it wasn't the first time.
"He called you cara mia earlier, with an a, not an o, right?", Nikki remembered, glancing at Mary.
"Mm, don't quote me on this, but I'm quite sure that Italian is one of those languages that has at least some gendered words, and by the sound of it, masculine words tend to end with an o and the feminine ones with an a", Meena guessed. It sounded completely logical, especially as the pronounciation itself changed only ever so slightly. The girls themselves didn't really drink wine, sure, they had tasted it before, but it mostly wasn't their thing. However, they didn't want to be rude, since the meal was clearly meant to have wine as the chosen drink, so they thought that they would just slowly sip their glasses, just to be polite, just one glass each wasn't that bad after all.
"We make most of our wines ourselves as well", Secondo nodded proudly.
"I have enough good spots only for certain types of grapes though, but we have chosen them well, to make the best possible wines", Primo added.
"They do that fancy looking glass swirling.. They make it look so easy..", the girls admired, as they indeed were swirling the wine a bit as they were speaking before taking a sip.
"It's all in the wrist, cara mia. Here, let Papa show you", Terzo smirked, noticing that they wanted to at least try the same trick, and got up from his seat, walking to the other side of the table.
"Okay, now that sounds funny, they talk about themselves also in the third person?", Meena and Nikki whispered to each other and started to giggle, as they saw that he all casually walked behind Mary's chair and gently grabbed her wrist, showing her how to swirl the wine in the glass in the correct way.

The sudden touch made her to blush a bit, but other than that, she didn't really mind.
"Like this?", she just asked innocently.
"Mm, a soft little movement, don't tense up too much", he nodded as she was getting the hang of it.
"Please excuse him, signorinas, Terzo is especially touchy feely sometimes", his brothers nodded.
"Oh shut up, will you, you make me look bad", he huffed dramatically, still holding her hand in his, being careful that his dagger like nails didn't scratch her.
"I'm purely curious.. Do you talk a lot in.. You know, the third person?", Mary asked innocently.
"Occasionally, yes. You see, cara mia, we all are counted as Papa, so sometimes we need to distinguish which one is being spoken to."
"Mm, that's why the boys have nicknames. Even I use them here and there, just as a payback since they have a habit to call me 'a hippie goat'. I did spent my most youthful days during the hippie era, true, you should had seen me in those flared disco pants and my best faux fur coat.. And well, goats are sort of my spirit animals, you could say..", Nihil nodded from the head of the table. The girls still weren't used to see him as youthful as he now appeared to be, looking more like an older brother than the father of the quartet. Sure, there was some silvery strikes in his otherwise lush dark mane, they were showing better now in the different lighting, but still he looked much younger than what he was supposed to be.
"Nicknames?", the girls asked, looking at them. While the food itself was delicious, they felt a bit awkward with not joining in any conversation at all.
"I'm simply the Old One, since I'm the eldest of the brothers. It was actually Father's own nickname back in the day, but I inherited it since then", Primo shrugged.
"Not to brag, overly much at least, but I'm being called Bone Daddy. Though I think I have heard a snake daddy variation as well at some point..", Secondo nodded, checking his nails out. Nikki subtly elbowed Meena in the ribs as she too was blushing a bit now.
"Especially Omega calls me Short King. I admit, I'm not exactly graced with height, but I do have the looks and personality fit for a royalty", Terzo grinned.
"You and your Napoleon-complex.."
"Did you say something, rat boy?", he warned immediately.
"Mm? No no, just asking Barty if he wants some good Neapolitan cheese, that's all, he he..", Copia mumbled, stroking his mustache absentmindedly, and picked up a small piece of cheese with a tip of a toothpick, bringing it near his chest pocket. Barty made a tiny squeak and peeked out from the pocket.
"Now now, Barty, you know Secondo's rules, you can't be on the table. Here, have a treat", he nodded. Barty squealed, grabbing the piece of cheese in his paws and started to happily munch on it. The girls got to learn that no, contrary to the assumption, rats, and mice for that matter, do not care about cheese as their "favorite choice" of a meal, but a small amount of it was okay as an occasional special treat.
"I think it's the cartoon logic that mice and rats adore cheese over anything else, but my fur babies like it simply as an occasional treat", he smiled as Barty disappeared back inside his pocket.
"Fur babies? In plural? So you got several rats then?", Nikki asked.
"Mm, Barty has three brothers and a sister. He's simply the one that likes to be handled the most. As you have noticed, he's the classic grayish rat. Fabio is roughly his size, with chocolate brown fur and a cream colored patch on his chest. Angelo is massive, with fully black fur. Other than meal times and occasional tummy scratches, the big boy is usually sleeping. And then there's the baby siblings, Rigatoni, Tiny Tony, his fur has black and white patches, and little Miss Zarella, she's fully white.."
"Copia, we have talked about this. Anywhere else your rats are fine, but not at the dinner table", Secondo gritted his teeth.
"Oh, sí, 'scusi, fraté", he nodded quickly.

The girls smiled a bit awkwardly now, it was quite clear that Copia was being treated like that very shy and awkward kind of little brother that barely even knew how to talk to girls properly.
"In a way, I can understand how you might feel.. You see, my grandmother was my legal guardian until I became a legal adult. Dad has been working over time since I was very young and mom wasn't really in the picture that much.. But the biggest issue was that granny tried to control my every decision up until I moved out. When I got old enough, she had to actually start to listen to me and not to just dictate everything how she wanted, basically how I dressed, what I ate, what I did on my free time, stuff like that..", Nikki sighed sadly.
"Oh dear, she does not sound like a nice lady, not at all. I hope you eventually cut all contact, sí?", he asked, stroking his mustache again.
"Yup, as soon as I was legally able to do so. And while I was packing up my stuff, I made it clear that unless I chose to be in contact again, she's not allowed to contact me in any way, shape or form anymore. She has left me alone since, so I guess she has finally accepted that her power over me is gone now. I know that somewhere deep inside she meant well, but the controlling went overboard. It feels good now though, to be finally free", she nodded, now smiling a bit, and fixed her glasses.
"How about you two? Is there some more tragic backstories waiting to be unlocked?", the brothers turned to look at Meena and Mary, as Nikki took a careful sip from her wine again.
"Well, tragic on an other level, I had a jerk of a stepdad..", Meena admitted. She had barely said it out loud, as most of the ghouls were already baring their sharp teeth and hissing and growling like a bunch of angry cats and dogs.
"No no, it was nothing like that! For a time, he was decent enough, and almost kind towards me and my siblings. But he was a jerk to my mom, spending her money on whatever he himself happened to want, and cheating on her", she explained quickly and the ghouls started to calm down again.
"What a charmer. Your mother would deserve someone better, my dear", Nihil commented, also swirling his wine as he spoke.
"She finally understood it too, and left his lying, cheating ass a few months ago now. Seeing that me and my siblings are all adults now, and they got their own partners and families too, mom is free to travel with her pet dogs, she likes to see the world, and dates casually when she wants to. I'm happy for her", she smiled.
"Boys, per favore, stop burning my decent tablecloth", Secondo nodded mostly towards Alpha, Ifrit and Sodo, as there was still some sparks coming from the tips of their fingers and quite thick plumes of smoke rising from the corners of their mouths.
"Apologies, Papa", they mumbled in unison, as the smoke and sparks started to finally die down.
"Just take a slow, deep breath, If", Terra nodded slowly and he did as he was told to.
"You too, Alpha. Calm breathing calms your inner flame", Omega added, gently placing his large hand on his shoulder.
"You are doing great, Sodo..", Swiss whispered in an encouraging tone as he too started to calm down again.
"Um, hold on. You seem to wear that same upwards pointing triangle as they do? You aren't reacting in a similar manner though?", the girls wondered suddenly, glancing at Special.
"Mm? Oh yes, I'm Fire as well, sweetlings. However, I simply control myself. I don't get sudden flare ups like they do", he gave them a soft smile.
"Unless you are reading something especially steamy, then you do flare up", Sigma pointed out.
"It's still more controlled when it happens only in certain situations", he shrugged casually.
"We are very sorry to hear about your nonna and stepdouche, signorinas, though we sure are glad that you are in a better place now. What about you then, cara mia?", Terzo asked, turning back at Mary, after returning to his seat again.
"It's.. Mostly just awkward..", she blushed, but since Meena and Nikki had told their stories, it was only fair if she shared her own too, even if it was "awkward".
"So.. When I was just freshly about to turn 18, I had a huge crush on this one guy.. He was taking the same community college course I was, so I saw him a lot in the class.. I had also just moved out from home for the first time and so I thought that I was ready to be a grown up already and have an innocent enough romance while studying.."
"Why do I sense that there is a "but" coming up soon?", Terzo worried immediately, lifting his brow a bit.
"He was nice enough, at first.. He brought me flowers and chocolates and candles and such, all those cute gifts and trinkets I innocently thought was normal to be given in a relationship.. Then during one casual chat, he happened to mention his age. We hadn't really talked about that before, I knew that being a community college, of course there was a chance that he could had been a bit older than I was, but seeing that I was about to turn 18, I thought he would had been 21, you know, not like a too uncomfortable age gap being that young.. And you know, legal enough, since 21 isn't that much older than 18.. But then he said he's gonna turn 27 later that same winter.."
"You were just barely legal and the bastard was nearly thirty? I do not like the sound of that. Obviously I do like the classic school girl thing, like the freak geeks over there, as long as it's done respectfully. Like I said earlier, kitten, consent is always the key. Please don't tell you did something foolish, just so this older boy would like you..", Beta groaned, Mary's simple anecdote about her age gap with a former crush had him perk his ears up, and she blushed a bit more.
"No, not directly, at least.. But I was still innocent, and I thought that well, I'm a grown up too, just a little bit younger than him, it shouldn't be too bad.. We did go out on a couple of dates, most what happened was that when he asked a permission for a hug and a kiss, I did consent, it was only a peck on the cheek anyway.. But I guess I was crushing a bit too hard.. I did have a fleeting thought that if I did more adult things, he would like me better..", she mumbled.
"I know now that I was being stupid and blinded by puppy love, he was the first guy to give me any kind of actually romantic attention and for a while I thought that the nearly a decade worth of age gap really wasn't that bad.."
"He didn't force you into anything, right, kitten? He sounded decent enough to ask for a permission even for a hug first..", Beta started to crack his knuckles, he was clearly going into a protective mode of some kind as her story continued.
"No, he didn't, he really was decent enough. But I thought I should change for him so he would like me more. I started to dress up more like I thought back then that adults dressed like to have their partner's attention, and when he said all casually that he would like to see me in heels and a skirt some time, I did that. Nice heels, knee high skirt and a tight blouse too, I even did my hair and make up to match it.. But eventually I noticed that he wasn't interested after all. He was never being creepy though, but I guess that he understood the age gap better than I did, and saw me simply as a nice friend, but nothing serious. It did still hurt a bit, maybe because I was innocent and inexperienced, just barely having had my first kiss from another boy a couple of years earlier, and my heart got broken when I learned that he actually had a girlfriend all that time. And no, he wasn't cheating on her with me. Other than that peck on the cheek, the one he asked a permission for first, he didn't touch me in a way that could be counted as cheating. His actual partner was okay with him just hanging out with me. I just thought he didn't want to rush anything more serious too fast and was too shy to flirt anyway.. I told you it's awkward. And I know it was stupid too, and while it did hurt that he didn't immediately tell me about his relationship with someone else, could had saved me from the heartache, I'm still glad that he really was decent enough to back off. He must have noticed that I had a crush on him and I guess the situation got awkward on both of our sides..", Mary sighed.
"Do you still talk to this boy, cara mia? Well, a man, more or less, at this point, I guess..", Terzo asked, his tone of voice still sounding slightly worried.
"No, it has a been a handful of years since then by now. The last thing I heard through some former mutuals from the social media, he apparently got married just recently. I'm not sure if the wife is that same girlfriend, but after the initial shock of "oh wow, he's hitched now?", I did feel happy for him", she smiled a bit.
"It's a good thing that your situation is better now as well. And the fact that you can be happy for your former crush to be a taken man now shows how much you have grown since then. Some girls would get crazy jealous and start to harass them", he nodded.
"He's happy with her, and that's what matters. I now understand I was way too young for him anyway. We had different life paths waiting for us, and it meant that on the crossroad, he took one path and I took the other", Mary shrugged.
"Ooh, the crossroad of life paths reference, that's a classic", Special grinned.
"Mm, I think we need something more cheerful now. More wine, anyone, before I bring the dessert on the table?", Secondo asked.

Slowly but steadily, all of the pots and pans had started to get empty, and it was almost a time for the dessert anyway.
"Well, you could bring me a glass of cognac since you get up on your feet anyway. And bring the good stuff, not that dishwater one", Nihil nodded.
"Please remember your blood pressure, Master Nihil, too much alcohol in one sitting isn't good for you", Omikron reminded politely.
"Is it good for anyone, really?", he asked.
"Mm, no, not really. But you are not that twenty-something wild stud that could party until the early morning hours anymore.."
"Touché. But I did have fun while it lasted. Oh, those were the groovy times..", he mumbled, swirling his glass again a bit.
"But all things considered, you signorinas are doing better now, sí? No more horrible nonna, selfish stepfather and bad memories of a doomed romance? I don't know why you young people need to hear this again and again, but please, never change yourself for someone who isn't the right one for you. You are good just the way you are", he continued, taking a sip, and the girls nodded in unison.
"Rain, could you..", Secondo started.
"With pleasure, Papa!", he answered immediately, nearly jumping up from the table.
"He clearly seems to like the kitchen duties..", the girls giggled.
"He gets extra treats sometimes when he does the tasks really well", Copia smiled.
"That does make sense, he's the sin of.. Gluttony, right?", Meena asked, the girls started to remember the little details, and the other six nodded.
"Isn't it kinda.. Hazardous to let him in the kitchen then? Doesn't gluttony mean that he's always hungry?", Nikki wondered as Rain walked around the table gathering the plates and cutlery, occasionally using his tail as well, if his hands were already full.
"True, I am hungry often, but that's why I always have some snacks within reach", he just laughed.
"Don't let me get started about the mess with the debit and credit cards! I get a migraine every time I have to do the quartal inventory every March, June, September and December! I swear it's some hell of a scheme without being illegal!", Sigma groaned dramatically.
"Rain always racks up huge card payment receipts if we go anywhere and he feels peckish", Cumulus giggled.
"There's nothing that Ministry can't fix though", Cirrus purred. The girls just nodded and watched as Rain, now with both of his hands and tail holding the dishes, some were even stacked on the top of his head, was slowly but surely walking towards the kitchen.
"Here's the dishes, Papa!"
"Thank you, Rain. Put them on the side table for now, it's time for the dessert", he nodded.
"Have you signorinas ever had real Italian tiramisú?", he asked, Rain helped some more by putting the dessert plates infront of everyone.
"I mean, I found this tiramisú flavored ice cream once.. It was kinda good, freezer cold coffee itself tasted a bit weird though..", Mary shrugged.
"No no, my dear, in that case it must have been some western style ice cream, in Italy we call it gelato. You have to try that sometime. But I do hope that you will like this", he nodded, bringing a decent sized cake on the table.
The girls just gasped, honestly, they had never seen so perfect looking tiramisú before. That perfect combination of soft, sugary sweet sponge cake, silky mascarpone mousse and cocoa powder on top of it..
"Do you grow your own cocoa beans as well?", Meena asked curiously, and Secondo and Primo grinned at each other.
"We have our sources", they nodded.
"Well, is it better than that almost similarly flavored ice cream, hm?", he continued as the girls tasted the tiramisú and noticed how the expression especially on Mary's face changed.
"She has a massive sweet tooth. Give her almost anything sugary and she's a happy bunny", Nikki nodded.
"And it seems like she isn't the only one", Meena giggled, noticing how Rain's tail was flapping back and forth in a fast pace.
"I'm not sure which one I like better, this tiramisú or those sweet mochis we tried a while back..", Mary squealed.
"Huh? Mochis? That sounds fun. What are they? Apparently something sweet to eat?", Rain asked curiously, before stuffing his mouth full again. The triplets glanced at the other and smirked, flashing those sharp canine teeth again.
"They are a dessert treat from Japan", Eeta grinned.
"They are small cakes, roughly the size of a palm of a hand, wrapped up in a somewhat tacky rice dough", Zeeta continued.
"There's also a frozen variation where the cake batter inside the rice dough is replaced with ice cream. In any case, you are supposed to eat it with a couple of bites", Theeta finished their explanation.
"Yeah, we tried specifically those ice cream filled ones", Meena nodded.
"They were okay, but the rice dough will take some time to get used to", Nikki shrugged.
"Oh, I actually liked it much better than the basic ice cream cones", Mary giggled. However, while chatting and enjoying the delicious meal, they had completely forgotten to check what time it was.

Chapter Text

Suddenly Mary, Meena and Nikki glanced at the other and whispered quietly.
"They make such a big deal about the sins and stuff, do you think it's a part of the game, but we haven't just reached that part yet, as we only now heard about it?", Mary asked and the girls nodded, it sounded completely logical.
"That must be it, why else would they introduce themselves as the "corporal embodiments of the seven deadly sins" or at least something along those lines?", Meena admitted.
"Maybe there's some kind of a task for each of them during the game.. No wonder why Kevin warned us that the game will be long..", Nikki shrugged.
"Though I don't remember Frivolity and Fear being sins.. I thought they were supposed to be something like Pride and Envy.. I guess they can have some similarities though, but still.."
"Maybe there's some different variations what are being depicted as sins? Or they simply chose something that fits the game's general vibe better?"
"Yeah, I would count especially fear as an emotion and a natural response towards scary things more than an actual sin, but it does seem to fit the plot of the game. Maybe he was too sweet to portray Envy so they chose something else that was close enough..", the girls whispered to each other, glancing at Phantom.
"And there's some similarities with pride and frivolity as well.. See, he's clearly beaming with pride that it's his chosen sin..", they glanced at Swiss too.
The girls had to giggle a bit, seeing how he was nuzzling his chin against the top of Sodo's head, messing his hair up a bit, the height difference was quite noticeable even when they were sitting down.
"Please stop it, I finally managed to calm down..", he groaned.
"That's cute, he purrs like a cat that wants attention..", they giggled as the playful pushing was now getting more demanding.
"C'mon, man, stop it already!", Sodo huffed again.
"I can see now why he's the sin of Frivolity.. Flirty teasing clearly is his thing.. And those sharp teeth as well.."
The girls had barely finished their sentence, when there was a loud "thwumph" kind of a noice and a subtle smell of burning.. Hair?
"Gah! Knock it off finally, Swiss! My hair is burning again!", he gasped, and the girls noticed that his sharp teeth were now sunken into his shoulder.
"That just.. Happens?", Nikki asked quietly.
"Mm, there's sparks between those two, literally. And Sodo being a Fire, he goes up in flames like that sometimes", Phantom nodded.
"But.. His hair is burning? He's not in pain or something?", Meena worried.
"Nah, he's immune to his own flames, though he does feel Swiss's teeth in his shoulder", he shrugged.
"So.. He's not a "Fire" then as well?", Mary asked.
"Oh no, our biting bugger is a Multi", Mountain chuckled.
"What does that mean?", the girls asked.
"He can control all of the elements. Sunshine and I can do that too", Aurora explained. She had a similar soft, just slightly higher, voice like Phantom did.
"Dude, teeth off, you are making holes on my decent shirt", Sodo huffed, as his hair stopped simmering.
"Mm.. Sorry.. I just couldn't help myself..", Swiss mumbled when finally letting go of him.
"He could, but simply didn't want to. Can I have another piece, please, Papa?", Rain asked very politely after emptying his plate completely.
"You did ask very politely, pup. You know how much I appreciate good table manners. Yes, you may have an another piece, just don't go overboard with it, we do have guests here after all", Secondo nodded. Rain grinned widely, his tail making a fast flapping motion again, and immediately after getting the permission, got another piece of tiramisú on his plate.

As most of the ghouls around the table were mostly focused on talking with each other, the girls suddenly glanced at the clock. They remember the actual reason why they were there, playing an escape room game.
"Um.. What are we supposed to do next? We did get sort of lost in the garden..", they asked.
"Papa?"
"Do we have a permission to grab our devices?"
"Just for a moment, to check the game plan?", the triplets asked politely, their voices echoing in sync, and they tilted their heads at the same time too.
"Mm, just long enough to check it, but then, the devices go back in your pockets until you are excused from the table", he nodded and the triplets did as they were told to. Each grabbed their console devices from their pockets, clicked on them a few times, read something on the screens and then obediently put them away again after getting their answers.
"Well, will they visit my studio?", Terzo asked immediately.
"We didn't read that far, sorry, Papa III."
"We only checked the immediate schedule of the game."
"Papa II didn't allow us to read further than that while at the table", they shrugged.
"My brother's kids would honestly need discipline like that.. I love my niblings, of course, but they are in that age that if they are told no, especially about gaming devices and stuff, they get all upset and start to scream until they get what they want..", Meena whistled.
"Freak geeks know they gotta go in my chambers, without their fancy tech toys, if they don't obey the rules", Beta grinned.
"It's a.. It's a mandatory part of our job, really.. It's a complicated story.. And we have had the.. Questionable pleasure.. To visit his chambers indeed..", Eeta coughed, twirling the cord of his hoodie between his long fingers.
"We have an another task as well, than simply providing the in-house security. We work together with the Leather Daddy. We look up about fresh kinks and stuff and he.. Well, he's the one that makes them happen..", Zeeta nodded.
"And while doing that, we easily learn what gives you mortals your kicks with such stuff. In case you have ever wondered, yes, hentai does happen. And yes, after a certain point, it gets weird. The amount of tentacles and other clichés we have seen during this week alone, yikes..", Theeta shrugged.
"So.. You basically spend your time by watching porn? At least it sounds a lot like that..", Mary asked, making the triplets to blush harshly.
"Well.. I mean.. In a way, yes.. But also no.."
"We can literally use the excuse that we do it only for work purposes!"
"Our job is really important, we have checklists and everything, we go through all the mess what the folks like to watch and write them down accordingly!"
"Oh, so you are basically like the vice cops or something, like in some cop dramas?"
"Err.. Something like that, pretty much.. We got a tier list, if you please. Each of us got these four notebooks on us."
"In the green one, we write the so called good stuff, the practically safe and basic stuff that simply works and doesn't get overly questionable. In the yellow one we write the stuff that's more spicy than in the green notebook, but while a bit more wild, it's still nothing too gross, just more raunchy but generally still harmless."
"In the red one, the things start to be on the danger zone. Stuff that needs a lot of trust and preparation first, just consent alone isn't enough anymore. Things are still negotiable, if both partners accept all the rules, but really should be thought about twice before giving that consent. And then there's the black notebook. The no-go zone. The stuff even Beta says no to. If he says no to something without even considering it, you know it must be something really sick and most of the time even illegal", the triplets explained in unison.
It was Mary's turn to blush, again, she indeed remembered Beta mentioning how he does "however, have some morals, and won't do things that are generally too gross, illegal, sick or honestly dangerous to fulfill" when meeting him earlier. As she glanced at him, he too was checking his nails, with a crooked grin on his lips and a low purring rising from his throat.
"That's a.. Really specific job description..", Meena and Nikki nodded, as the triplets were very open about it. They smirked, tilting their heads a bit again and watched the girls for a moment. The girls noticed how their eyes too started to shine as they did so.
"Mostly green, with just a tiny bit of yellow in the mix..", Eeta whispered.
"A healthy, curious amount, still keeping it safe though..", Zeeta nodded.
"Roleplays and a bit of casual tying up is quite basic, there's no need to try something really extreme if just simple stuff works just fine..", Theeta pointed out.
"Mm, you noticed that too?", Beta smirked.
"Ahem, triplets, if you are finished with your dessert plates, you are excused from the table", Secondo coughed. After all, it was quite rare to begin with for them to even leave their man cave for any reason. Besides, he knew well there was only a certain amount of time they were able to stay away from their tech devices.
"Thank you, Papa. We'll go back in our office now", Eeta nodded.
"We'll see you later, ladies. Remember, the big brother is always watching", Zeeta winked as they lifted their hoods back up.
"If you need anything, our office is in the basement. You can't really make a mistake with it, it's near Beta's Pleasure Chambers", Theeta nodded, the triplets bowed down politely and just like that, they vanished like smoke into the air.
"That disappearing act is still so weird..", the girls whistled.
"I must excuse myself too, Papa. I gotta get ready on time. Here ya go, Rain, ya can have the rest of my tiramisú so nothing goes to waste", Mountain soon too got up from the table, handing his plate to him, and Secondo nodded that he too was excused. Rain was only more than happy to have one more piece.
"Maybe the first task features him in some way?", the girls guessed. It would make sense why he left the table so suddenly, so he would have time to get the task ready before they would reach him.
One after the other, the other ghouls also thanked for the meal and left the table, grinning at the girls that they would see them again later and went back to their tasks and duties.
"Did you enjoy the meal, signorinas?", he continued, turning to look at the girls.
"Oh yes, the pasta was delicious", Nikki smiled.
"So was the tiramisú", Meena added, as they finished their desserts.
"The wine was good too", Mary nodded, even though the girls didn't really drink that much wine, it was still good and they simply wanted to be polite. There was a proud smirk on Secondo's lips.
"Well then, it sounds to us like you are ready to continue with the next task, sí?", the brothers asked and they nodded.

Chapter Text

Mary, Meena and Nikki finished the rest of their dessert plates and politely thanked Secondo for the meal.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it", he nodded.
"Um.. What exactly are we supposed to do now then?", the girls asked shyly. They had gotten stuck back in the garden already, as they had been so mesmerized to just watch the ghouls doing their tasks, that they had forgotten the actual game and what to do next.
"Apparently it should have something to do with the tall dude..", Nikki shrugged, glancing at the now empty seat between Rain and Cumulus.
"Mm, Mountain was his name, I think", Meena nodded, they had met him a few times now after all, but since there was so many ghouls, and most of them they had only just met, they still had some difficulties to pair the correct name to the correct ghoul.
"Do we need to go back to the garden or something?", Mary asked curiously. After all, that was the latest place where they had been before taking a break. Since it seemed to help with the game, the girls tried to remember any little details they had heard and learned so far.
They remembered the mention about the sin of sloth, and that his element was apparently earth. Maybe the next task, whatever it would be, would somehow be linked to them? The girls did think it was a bit weird in a way, usually an escape room game worked like they had started, that they were locked inside a certain room and they needed to find a way to get out of there. In this case, it had been the Cardinal's office, but if this place worked the opposite way, that they needed to get into the different rooms to solve puzzles and such, it was different, but still quite an interesting mechanic to work with.
After all, they were quite sure that they needed to get back to the front gate so the game would be finished completely and until that, the game would be going on even if they weren't actually locked in the rooms.
"Go towards the northern hallway to continue the game", the girls got the new instructions of what to do next in the game.
"Huh, that's almost weirdly specific, why north?", Meena asked.
"Please don't make me navigate, you know that I'm bad with directions..", Mary worried.
"North, huh? Don't quote me on this from word to word, but I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the elements.. Apparently each has their designated point of the compass.. And judging by the instructions we just got, north belongs to the element of earth, or something..", Nikki guessed.
"Um.. Kevin? Are we still allowed to ask for your help?", they asked shyly, noticing that Kevin too was about to leave the dining hall to continue on his own tasks.
"That's what I'm here for, miss. What do you need to know?", he asked politely while stroking his beard.
"It's very silly, but could you show us which way is north, please? There's so many hallways here and we are pretty sure we're gonna end up lost.. Again..", they blushed.
"Of course, miss. This way. I'll only show you the general direction where to go", Kevin nodded and the girls followed him. He brought them to the main hallway they had walked through at the start.
"Did you say that north was the direction you needed to go?", he checked and the girls nodded in unison.
"Then that's the hallway you must take. Mountain should be ready by now, unless he's napping again..", he explained with a chuckle, pointing towards one of the side corridors.
"The embodiment of the sin of sloth napping? That's cute", the girls giggled, thanked him and started to walk down the "north hallway".
"Maybe we'll find an another info card or something..", Meena guessed.
"Well, those triplets did say something along the lines of that the big brother is always watching and that they know what's going on in here..", Nikki shrugged.
"Hm? You look a bit worried, marmot. Is everything okay?", Meena noticed suddenly the expression on Mary's face.
"Yeah, I'm okay.. But there is something odd in this place in general..", she mumbled.
"A heck of a lot of damn good looking staff?", Nikki suggested.
"Well, that too, honestly.. I can't put my finger on it, but something in here just feels weird.."
"Maybe it's just because the game turned out to be much longer than we thought and we are still here even after the dinner time?", they asked.
"Possibly, that makes at least some sense..", Mary admitted.
"If it gets really late and we are still stuck, maybe if we ask really nicely, we could come back tomorrow to finish the rest of the game?", the girls wondered. They were warned at the start that it would be a long game.
"They do seem like quite charming folks, surely that's okay if we do ask really nicely.."
"Anyway, back to the point, we are now walking on the northern hallway, now what?", she added.
"And we literally just asked help from Kevin.. We gotta come up with something ourselves.."

The girls looked around a bit. All of the hallways, side corridors and archways they had seen so far looked very similar with each other. If they weren't told that this was specifically the northern hallway, they would had never guessed it.
"Okay, let's think about this.. What do we know for sure thus far?"
"Well, the direction of north is somehow connected to the element of earth, and we have been told that our tall new friend, Mountain, is an Earth Ghoul.."
"And that he also embodies the sin of sloth.. Hm.. Could they be linked in some way?"
"It would make sense. Though in it's core, sloth means pretty much that somebody is lazy.. I can't see how they could use that in the game.."
"Then again, earth itself as an element can mean a lot of things. I mean, think about it. Basically everything in nature is connected to the ground."
"That's true. Of course the other elements also do their part, but earth really has a lot on it's side."
"There's stuff like earthquakes and quick sand, and rolling boulders, and a heap of toxic plants.. Like we saw in the garden earlier.."
"Mm.. All these corridors are decently long.. Hopefully there's no rolling boulders or something though.."
The girls continued to walk as they were talking, occasionally stopping to look around a bit more.
"It already feels like forever since we left that main hall and started to walk down this one..", Nikki soon pointed out.
"Maybe it looks so long because there's barely any windows, just a small one here and there, though they are very pretty with those glass paintings..", Meena guessed.
"Mm.. There's not a lot of stuff like actual paintings or such here though.. Just an occasional side table here and there, and decorative lanterns on the walls..", Mary nodded.
After a while of walking, the girls stopped for a moment to talk about the potential puzzles and other tasks that might be waiting for them. Suddenly, they heard three familiar voices. Eeta, Zeeta and Theeta had indeed been following them from the cameras.
"Ladies, it seems to us that you might need some help", Eeta pointed out.
"We noticed that our forever loyal Jesus helped you to find the correct path.. Oh Lucifer that sounded so wrong in so many ways.. I need a drink to cleanse my mouth..", Zeeta groaned and the microphone caught a clink of an energy drink can as he took a huge gulp from it.
"Take it easy, Z. Anyway, you seemed to be stuck. So, do you need some extra help?", Theeta asked caringly.
"Um.. Well, we do like the game, but it's a bit all over the place since we don't know where to go or what to do..", the girls admitted.
"Yeah, it's a huge place with a lot of rooms, and half of the time the plans can change all of a sudden", the triplets answered in unison.
"Let's see then.. You are in the northern hall.. You were looking for Mountain, right?"
"We think so, yeah. Something about the sin of sloth and the element of earth.."
"Speaking of which, we really need to check that he isn't napping, hold on.."
The girls could imagine how the triplets' long fingers were running over the keyboards as they were checking the cameras.
"Oi, beanstalk! You ain't napping again, right?", the triplets asked.
"Nah, not this time, mate. I was just doing some finishing touches while waiting for the loves to arrive", he answered.
"Well, the little ladies are on their way now. Do you have some dramatic clue or something for them?"
"Actually yes, I do."
"Hold on, we'll turn the volume back to the corridor so they can hear you."
"Um.. Mountain?", the girls asked shyly, they had a feeling that he could hear them.
"G'day again, loves. I'm sorry if you had to wait. I had to fix some things before you would arrive here. I can sense that you are closeby already", he said.
"This might sound stupid but how do you know that? Did you hear us talking or something?", Meena asked innocently.
"Oh love, don't forget that I'm an Earth Ghoul, and this Ministry is made out of stone. I can feel things with my paws", he chuckled.
"That's cute, he calls his feet paws?", Nikki giggled.
"Cardinal did mention that he's usually not wearing shoes.. That makes some sense..", Mary admitted quietly.
"I do have a clue of sorts for you, love. Are you ready?", Mountain asked and the girls got ready to hear it.
"Walking down the cobblestone halls, you see the ivy creeping on the walls. One carries a cross made with diamonds and rosegold, a choice that's dainty, yet bold. A forbidden fruit sealed with a kiss. One wears a pair of snakes that won't slither or hiss. Shiny silver scales and cold emerald eyes, feel how the ground shakes, as you roll the dice. One gets a sleek dark ring, as black as a raven's wing. Decorated with heavenly blue sapphires and a ruby as red as hellfire, walk on the path of spider webs and you might find what you most desire. And just so you know, even though my sin is sloth, I'm not always lazy. Trust me, love, this game will get crazy. Do you hear the distant rumble? All I can say is hellcome to the jungle!"
"A jungle? That sounds fun.. Hopefully there's no spiders though since he mentioned the webs, I really don't like those eight-legged freaks..", Mary mumbled.
"I think it meant that and not actual spiders, look!", Meena gasped, noticing that the path they were walking on had now spider web like design on the floor tiles.
"That looks so cool.. Every detail we have seen so far is so well done.. And honestly, with the element of earth and stuff, it makes sense if his room is jungle themed..", Nikki nodded.
"Would it be cool if each had a themed room and..", the girls were wondering out loud.
"Oi, yes we do, love. You just get to see mine first", Mountain's voice echoed. Judging by the way how clear and loud it sounded, the room must had been somewhere closeby.
"So.. A jungle? Do you mean like an actual jungle or just a general theme?"
"Mm, a lot of green everywhere, massive flowers, you name it, I'll most likely have it", he grinned.
"More flowers? Inside? I thought we already saw everything out in the garden..", Nikki wondered, fixing her glasses.
"Oh no no, love, Papa Primo's garden of wonders is a whole other thing than my humble, humid jungle", he purred.
"That sounds.. Quite ambiguous..", the girls whispered.

Soon they stopped infront of one of the large doors and listened. They indeed heard jungle like sounds coming from behind the door, like screeching of monkeys, an occasional roar of a large feline, like a tiger, and a lot of different bird noises.
"That must be the right one, I mean, there's that triangle symbol again, just this time with the tip pointing downwards, and a line going through it..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Don't get confused now, little ones, I couldn't choose only one sort of jungle, so I took bits and pieces from different types there is", Mountain's voice explained, though they didn't see him, as the girls carefully opened the door and peeked inside.
They gasped, it looked like they had just stepped into a real jungle.
"It's like all those cool nature documentaries but all real and not through a lense of a camera..", Nikki whistled.
"He wasn't lying about the different bits and pieces either.. There's stuff from mostly tropical and subtropical rain forests.. There's vines and those funny looking pitcher plants.. That decently big one looks carnivorous though..", Meena nodded.
"And a lot of colorful orchids too.. And generally a lot of green plants, just like he said..", Mary added, admiring the pretty flowers.
"Where is he, anyway? We heard his voice, but.."
"I'm up here, love", Mountain chuckled and the girls looked up. He was sitting on a hammock, made from strong vines and large leaves, with his long legs dangling over one side and his tail over the other. Seeing that he himself was tall to begin with, the hammock was easily almost five meters up from the ground.
"This place is awesome! Are all these plants real?", Meena called curiously.
"Yup, Papa Primo helped a lot. I'm one of his favorite pups, you see. Mostly because of my element, me and Terra help him in the gardens a lot, and when we decided that my theme room would be jungle, Papa immediately started to look for the most colorful and pretty orchids and other stuff you see here. This is the end result", he grinned proudly.
The girls looked around. The room itself was awesome, like a real, dense jungle, but they weren't once again sure what they were supposed to do next.
"There's still a good chance we gotta find some flower or something, it would work out in here too since we left the garden already..", the girls whispered to each other.
Mountain's gaze was following them.
"I assume you are familiar with the three wise monkeys, yes?", he asked.
"The statuette of a set of monkeys, with one covering it's eyes, one it's ears and one it's mouth? Sure", Mary shrugged.
"Why? Do we need to find monkeys or something in here?", Meena arched her brow a bit.
"We did heard some screeching, but..", Nikki scratched her neck.
"Nah love, sadly I don't have monkeys here. They are really cool creatures though. However, the tale of the three wise monkeys is being mentioned here because their distinctive details are important here..", Mountain started to explain, when suddenly there was a cloud of dark purple smoke next to him.

Soon, the girls saw an another pair of strong, long legs and a spade tipped tail dangling over the side of the hammock. And in the air, there was a subtle scent of.. Bananas?
"'Sup, ladies?", Aether's voice asked.
"Oi mate, of course you appear when I start to talk about monkeys..", Mountain laughed.
"Not my fault, the Ghoulettes say I'm built like a gorilla, in a good way, of course. Besides, I knew you would have some bananas hidden in here. And I told to the Papas that I would check that you aren't napping again, the triplets went offline from the cameras, probably smashing those gaming consoles again..", he shrugged and now that the smoke was gone, the girls noticed that he indeed was taking a bite out of a banana.
"I'm not always napping, mate. I was just about to explain to the ladies what to do next", he nodded with a laugh.
"The three wise monkeys, right? Do you need me for something?", Aether asked casually. Mary, Meena and Nikki simply thought that maybe he got more relaxed after a while and wasn't so uptight anymore like earlier.
"He is kinda cute too, to be honest.."
"A bit rough around the edges, but.."
"Maybe he just needed some more time to get used to us..", the girls whispered to each other, giggling a bit.
"So, have any of you ladies been hypnotized before?", he continued and even from up there, the girls were sure that his eyes had started to shine a bit.
"Uhh.. No?", Meena and Nikki glanced at each other.
"I have honestly thought about it occasionally, but have never tried though..", Mary shrugged.
"You see, love, this part kind of needs it. Aether is one of our Quintessence Ghouls. They can do stuff like that", Mountain explained.
"You can hypnotize?", they asked.
"Mm, and the trance works as long as it's necessary. That's why I will need your consent first", he nodded. The girls looked at each other and whispered for a moment.
"You say that it works as long as it's necessary? Does it mean that you could, like, stop it earlier too?", Nikki checked.
"Yes. It can feel a bit uncomfortable at first, especially if you are not used to it, but it won't hurt you in any way."
"How long time are we talking about here?", Meena asked carefully.
"About fifteen minutes, twenty at most. I do not want to bother you for too long. You can trust me", he promised.
"Well, if it's a part of the game, I guess we could at least try..", Mary nodded. Roughly twenty minutes didn't sound too bad, especially if he could stop it early if they started to feel too uncomfortable.
"Okay, so how do we do this? Do you use a pendulum or something?", the girls asked, they knew enough about the basics of hypnosis.
"No, you simply need to look into my eyes and focus on what I say. Once the time is up, or you wish to be free from the trance early on, I'll snap my fingers and you will wake up. You can feel a bit dizzy and lightheaded right afterwards, but it's nothing dangerous. Do you understand?", Aether explained and got down from the hammock, with his tail making that lazy zigzag motion behind his back. The girls nodded, they were ready to at least try. In all honesty, it sounded really exciting.
"This won't hurt though, right?", Mary checked, being the oldest of them, of course she wanted to be sure that they would be safe.
"No. Think about it almost like a magic trick. You may feel things, but it won't hurt, and it will be over sooner than you think", he promised, cracking his knuckles. The girls nodded again, took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, noticing that they turned into the same deep shade of dark purple, like the cloud of smoke he had appeared from earlier.
"Flexible, spunky and cute, though for the sake of the game, for now she must be mute. Sweet and soft but can't hear a squeak or a church bell, the subtle hum in the background will feel like she's down in a deep well. Rosy red lips, hair as black as a raven's feather and eyes turning as white as pearls, her world turns dark, but don't be scared, there will be a spark. Work together and you can win, just remember that sloth is only the first sin", Aether smirked as his eyes still had a purple glow.
"When the time is up, love, you will wake up from the trance anyway", Mountain reminded them again, also getting down from the hammock and he and Aether grinned at each other.

Chapter Text

The girls waited for a moment, noticing that Aether's eyes had now stopped glowing.
"It might take a moment to start to affect", he explained.
"Ehh.. Nikki, not to alarm you, but your lips..", Mary gasped.
"Hm?", she lifted her brow a bit.
"They.. They look like they are stitched over.. There's no blood though..", Meena nodded. When hearing it, Nikki quickly touched her face. She could feel her lips, sure, and she was still able to breathe, but it indeed felt like there was thin yarn or something going over her lips in a neat zigzag pattern.
"Wait.. Speak no evil.. One of the three wise monkeys..", Mary realized.
"Huh? Did you say something, marmot?", Meena asked in a confused tone of voice. Feeling the words on her lips, she realized it too at that same moment.
"Hear no evil.. I only hear some kind of a hum, everything else is all muffled..", she nodded.
"That.. That means.. I'm gonna mean "see no evil", right?", Mary asked. Luckily, Nikki knew how to read lips, and Meena was able to understand some basics from sign language after spending one season in the girls' scouts.
"Mary? Your eyes.. They are going all opaque.. Kind of like the old guy's eyes..", she whispered. Mary glanced at her hand, noticing that the outlines of her fingers were getting more fuzzy by the second. It didn't hurt, though, mostly it felt like if she had too much mascara on and accidentally rubbed her eyes a bit too hard.
"Oh, this feels weird..", she mumbled.
"Nikki? Are you okay, hon?", she worried then.
"She says that she's confused, but other than that, she's okay", Meena promised.
"Okay.. So, the rhymes said we gotta work together..", she nodded.
"This is cool, to be completely honest. Really weird, and a bit freaky, but cool", Nikki wrote them a note, it was much faster and easier than trying to remember all the necessary signs, since Meena could read the notes out loud to Mary.
"I quite like them, mate. They are cute and smart", Mountain whispered.
"Yeah.. Not too bad..", Aether nodded, taking a bite out of an another banana.
"Ya take a while to warm up, don't ya?", he laughed ironically.
"Mm.. Do you still need me here? They seem to be doing okay, and the trance is over within the next fifteen minutes anyway", he shrugged.
"I'll be okay, I think. It seems to me like they are working on a plan", he nodded.
"Hold my hand, so you won't get lost. I'm sure that the old guy is used to walk around here, but we barely even know where to go..", Meena nodded, offering her hand to Mary. She nodded, followed her voice and carefully grabbed a hold of her hand.
"Oh, Nikki has an idea", she continued, noticing that she was writing another note.
"Mountain said something about jewelry when we came in to this room. Gemstones are a part of the ground too as well, right? Maybe they are hidden in here somewhere?", she read once Nikki had written the note.
"That sounds plausible..", Mary nodded, gently holding Meena's hand.
"Mountain? Could you read us the part about the gemstones again, please?", she asked.
"Sure thing, love. Here you go. One carries a cross made with diamonds and rosegold, a choice that's dainty, yet bold. A forbidden fruit sealed with a kiss. One wears a pair of snakes that won't slither or hiss. Shiny silver scales and cold emerald eyes, feel how the ground shakes, as you roll the dice. One gets a sleek dark ring, as black as a raven's wing. Decorated with heavenly blue sapphires and a ruby as red as hellfire, walk on the path of spider webs and you might find what you most desire", Mountain read the part to them again.
"Hmm.. Three pieces of jewelry.. Apparently one for each of us to find.. So one should find a ring, that's obvious enough..", she mumbled.
"A pair of snakes sounds a lot like a pair of earrings", Nikki wrote on an another note.
"What about the cross though? I guess it could be a bracelet or a necklace, since they could be carried..", Meena shrugged.
"They are smart little cookies.. How ya doing by the way, Delta?"
"Would be much easier if the jewels only needed to be something generic, such specific ones are harder to find!"
"I believe in ya, mate, surely ya can find them."
"Hold on.. A black ring with sapphires and rubies.. Silver earrings with emeralds.. And a rosegold pendant with diamonds.."
"Is it cross shaped?"
"Mm, a small one, on a thin necklace", Delta nodded, appearing from a cloud of smoke, this time dark grey, next to him.
"Oh, these are perfect, mate."
"Where are they? I only got a quick glimpse at them earlier..", he continued, his amber eyes glowing under his hood.
"Over there, working on a plan how to move forward. I don't want to interrupt them, unless they need some extra help", Mountain nodded and Delta's gaze followed his arm where he was pointing at.
"Mm. Well, I'll go back to the treasure chambers. I gotta check what Ma'am took this time when she left for the business trip", Delta shrugged eventually, disappearing again.
"See ya, mate", Mountain nodded.

While keeping an eye on the girls, he snuck deeper in the jungle to hide the jewelry for them to find.
"Mm.. I'll put this one here.. And that over there.. And this is perfect in here.."
"I heard something about cookies?"
"Mm? Oh, hi Rain. Ya managed to leave the table?"
"Papa pointed out that my room is next, when the little ladies are done in here, so I need to be ready on time as well. And I noticed that both Aether and Delta were in here?", Rain nodded, this time snacking on some peanuts, even after the dinner he was still feeling peckish.
"Yup, Aeth did his trick and put them under hypnosis, I think it still affects for like ten more minutes. And Delta brought them some shinies", Mountain grinned, grabbing a handful of peanuts as Rain offered the bag to him.
"Well, I should get going, so I'm ready on time. They still have a long game to play", Rain shrugged.
"Uh huh. See ya later, dewdrop."
"Huh? Did you say something?", Sodo peeked in from the doorway.
"Mm? Oh, sorry mate, no, I was talking to Rain", Mountain apologized.
"I figured. Well, the name does fit him better anyway. How's the girls doing? They are still in here, right?", he asked.
"They are doing okay, they are somewhere in there", he nodded, as they heard some distant giggling from the bushes.
"You wanna join me, firecracker? I have a moment to smoke since the chicks still need to go in Rain's room before they reach mine", Swiss purred from the background, with his dagger like nails grabbing a hold of Sodo's shoulder.
"As if I would say no to both you and having a smoke, oil hip", Sodo grinned.
"Duty calls", Swiss winked, flashing his Cheshire Cat-like grin, and as they walked away from the door, their tails got tangled again.
"And I need something sweet after these salty peanuts.. Maybe I can score one more slice of that tiramisú..", Rain hoped, waved at him and also left the room. Mountain laughed and climbed back on the hammock, from up there, it was much easier to keep an eye on the girls.
"Ah, there you are, loves..", he nodded to himself when noticing where the bushes were rustling. Soon, he heard some muffled screaming.
"Oh my God, that's quick sand!", Meena gasped. Nikki instinctively tried to say something, but it only came out as muffled mumbling, though Mary and Meena could guess that she was trying to say something along the lines of "what the heck am I supposed to do now??"
"Nikki, honey, calm down! You really shouldn't struggle, that's the reason why people get sucked into the quick sand in the movies!", Mary pointed out.
"You gotta move slowly, and as close to the surface as you just can! In the end, it's just mushy sand, you can brush it off once it's dry!", Meena added. Nikki took a deep breath and nodded, of course the game wouldn't be too dangerous, and most likely, the pit was only deep enough to reach her knees at most since she was a tall girl, but it did feel quite thrilling in any case since it came as a complete surprise.
"Careful, careful.. Here, take my hand..", Mary nodded, offering her hand to her. There was a few wet squelching noices as Nikki slowly moved closer to the solid ground. When she got back to them, she showed her hand to Meena.
"That's sneaky, apparently it was a part of the game that one of us gets stuck in the quick sand..", she gasped.
"What do you mean? Did she find a new clue or something?", Mary asked, the blind trance she was under only let her see some lights and shadows, just enough to be able to move around.
"She found one of those three jewelry. That black ring with the heavenly blue sapphires and hellfire red ruby", she explained and Nikki put the ring on her finger after brushing the sand off of her clothes.
"Oh, it must be pretty, I can't wait to see it", Mary smiled.
"Mm.. So what now? We found one piece, where are the other two?", Meena asked.
"The ring was hidden in the sand.. A bit messy, sure, but generally a clever idea.. The rest were a pair of earrings and a necklace, right?", Mary checked.
"Yeah, apparently silver earrings and a necklace with diamonds", she answered.
"Sounds so fancy.. Is the ring secured?"
"Yeah, it's on Nikki's finger. Can we move forward now? That quick sand still freaks me out a bit..", Meena continued.

The girls continued to walk deeper in the jungle.
"Are you feeling okay, Nikki?", Mary asked. She wrote another note and waited that Meena would read it.
"I'm okay. I think there's still some sand in my shoes though, but other than that, everything is okay. The ring is really pretty too, just the perfect size for me", she read.
"Hm.. It's interesting in a way..", Mary mumbled after a moment of silence.
"What is it, marmot?", Meena wondered.
"Well, the quick sand. Think about it. In a way, it combines the elements of earth and water, since without the moisture, the sand won't become gooey", she pointed out. Nikki tugged gently on Meena's sleeve so she would read an another note.
"Huh.. Nikki says that the ring feels weird. Like, she sees it on her finger, but doesn't feel it. It's a very light feeling at best, you know, like that moment when you touch a soap bubble just before it bursts", she said.
"That is weird. Let me feel your hand", Mary nodded and Nikki offered her hand.
"I feel it there, though, it's around your middle finger, right?", she asked, indeed feeling the outline and the gems of the ring, and Nikki made an "mmh" kind of noice.
"Ya poor girl got stuck in the quick sand, luckily your little friends gave you a helping hand..", Mountain hummed to himself.
"Let's be more careful, who knows what else is hiding in here..", Mary started. She had just barely said it when they heard a sudden scream. They had quite literally stepped on the next trap, a pit on the ground.
"Meena! Are you okay?", she asked, and Nikki grabbed her arm so she too wouldn't accidentally fall in the pit.
"Yeah, I'm okay! A bit dizzy from the sudden fall, but I didn't get hurt otherwise! The ground just disappeared from under my feet!", she shouted back. Nikki peeked over the edge of the pit and Meena waved at her.
"Girls? It's getting quite warm down here! Kind of like a volcano or something! There's no lava but I really would like to get up from here!", she added. She tried to climb up, but the pit was deep enough that she wasn't able to just jump up and grab a hold of the edge. Through the background hum, she just about heard Mary shouting back something along the lines of "hold on, we'll come up with something!"
They all knew it was a difficult part of the task, since she wasn't able to see and Nikki couldn't talk, so the communication was slow, but Meena waited patiently. Mountain followed them, ready to help, if it was necessary.
"Use the vines, love", he whispered eventually, noticing that the girls weren't sure what to do.
"Vines.. The vines! They can help us! Nikki, could you grab some?", Mary asked. She made that "mmh" kind of noice again so she knew that she was doing so. After grabbing a few strong ones, she realized what Mary meant. They needed to hoist Meena up from the pit.
"They are very smart cookies indeed..", Mountain whistled to himself while watching what they were doing. The girls may have not had tails like they did, but they used the vines in a similar manner, like they had seen back in the garden, how Terra had anchored himself against the tree trunk with his tail.
"Tie them as tightly as you just can, I think it should be enough that I'm anchored in place", Mary explained and Nikki did as she was told to, wrapping the vines around her legs and one of the decently sized tree trunks next to them.
"How's it going, beanst.."
"Oh hello, that looks fun!"
"Beta was right once again.."
The triplets checked from Mountain.
"Oh yeah, mates, they are doing a good job. I only gave a general suggestion that they should use the vines when they got stuck, the rest is their own plan", he answered.

The triplets followed them from the cameras for a moment as well. Once the vines were as tight as possible around her legs and waist, Mary grabbed a hold of Nikki's ankles.
"Meena! Grab a hold of Nikki's hands!", she shouted, as Nikki was just tall enough to reach over the edge of the pit. In the meantime, Meena had managed to get her feet on a small ledge that gave her just enough leverage to get up as she grabbed her hands. It took a moment to actually get up from the pit, but eventually all three were on the solid ground again.
"And what happened here?", Meena asked, noticing the vines around Mary.
"I needed an anchor to keep the balance or we all could have had fallen into the pit", Mary explained as they got her free.
"Mm. Well, I think that the pit too was a part of the game. I found a little jewelry box hidden in the wall. It's those silver snake earrings", Meena continued, putting the earrings she had already been wearing in her pocket and put the new ones on. It indeed looked like a pair of snakes were biting into her earlobes.
"Ooh, it means that Mary gets that rosegold necklace with diamonds", Nikki wrote on the note and the girls giggled.
"Mm, maybe it was Mr. Emeritus himself that chose it.. He seemed to fancy you, marmot..", Meena added and Mary blushed a bit.
"Quick sand, shaking grounds and what's next, a stone cave? In the darkness, love, ya must be brave! For a moment, it's a living nightmare, not a pleasant daydream! All ya need to do is to focus your energy and scream!", Mountain grinned.
"Hm.. That's weird.. I suddenly hear that hum in stereo..", Meena wondered. Then she noticed the panicked look in Nikki's eyes and glanced at the words she scribbled on the notebook.
"A rock slide!", she screamed. Once the dust had settled, they looked around. Both had fallen into the bushes, but other than that, they were okay..
"Nikki? Are you okay?", Meena checked, peeking behind the large leaves.
"Yeah, these plants cushioned the fall. Where's Mary though?", she wrote and both of them looked around again.
"Mary! Answer us! Please say that you are okay!", Meena shouted.
"Can you hear her, Nikki?", she continued and she nodded. Yes, she did hear Mary's voice, so she was nearby.
"I'm here, girls! Behind these stones! There was a cave of some kind and I fell in there!", she shouted back.
"There must be a way to get you out of there! C'mon Nikki, let's try to move the stones!", Meena rushed.
"Wait! I.. I have a silly idea I want to try out first!", Mary shouted back.
The girls looked at each other and shrugged, if she had an idea, why not to test it then.
"This cave echoes really well, I'm just wondering.."
"I think she's gonna try that loud high note she sometimes does in the karaoke", Nikki wrote on the note and she and Meena moved away from the direct path of the falling stones and waited. Indeed, that was exactly what Mary was about to try. It was silly, yes, but sometimes the silly ideas worked.
"Do that really high note, marmot! The one you can hold for almost twenty seconds!", Meena shouted.
"It's hard to do out of cold, but I'll try.."
She screamed as loudly as she was able to. It was loud enough, that Mountain had to whistle when hearing it.
"Crikey, now that's a loud high note! Such a tiny thing can make a noice like that?", he wondered. However, it was just enough to open up the path, and the girls rushed to hug her.
"Are you okay, Mary?", Meena worried.
"Yeah, just need to catch my breath..", she promised.
"Mm-mmh!", Nikki made suddenly a gasping like sound.
"You are right, Nikki! There it is!"
"What? The path? It must be, since you came in here too.."
"She means the third piece of jewelry, that diamond necklace. It rests on a couple of large stones. Here, let me guide your hand there..", she nodded and Mary felt a thin metallic chain under her fingers.
"Oh, it feels nice, very delicate.. Can you put it on, I can't really see the lock part..", she asked and moved her hair out of the way.
"It feels like a long time, but I think that the fifteen minutes should be over at any moment now..", she added, feeling the cold chain around her neck.
"Yeah, though remember that Aether said that at most, it may take twenty minutes.. But it shouldn't be too far away anymore anyway.. Let's get out of this cave now, shall we.."
"Mountain? We found all of the jewels! Was that the task in this room?", the girls asked in unison after getting out of the cave.
"Good job, love. Ya did well. It took a moment, but ya got there in the end", he nodded.
"So.. Can we get our senses back now? This was.. Interesting, but..", they blushed.
"Aether! Ya are needed here, mate!", he called and Meena and Nikki saw that same dark purple cloud of smoke appearing next to him, instinctively squeezing Mary's hands a bit.
"This time you did that on purpose, just so I can't look like that moody and broody lonely wolf anymore like earlier. You know that Phantom or Omega could also break my trance?", he asked.
"That's true, but the best way is to get it broken by the one who put it on in the first place", Mountain shrugged casually.
"Fine, you do have a point there..", Aether nodded, gently putting his large hand over Nikki's mouth first.
"The stitches will melt from over your lips, you are no longer mute. Take a long deep breath before you speak, but you are lucky as you are so damn cute", he nodded. Nikki did as she was told to and took a slow deep breath.
"Oh wow, that felt so weird..", she coughed.
"You felt the rumble, congratulations, you survived the jungle. Though it's not over yet, not by a long shot, my dear. But don't worry, now you can again hear", he continued, similarly hovering his hands over Meena's ears for a moment and she felt a clear "pop" when they opened.
"There's no hum anymore!", she gasped. They watched as Aether covered Mary's eyes as well with his hand for a moment, being very careful that those dagger like nails didn't scratch her.
"From the pearly white back to heavenly blue, you get back your doe eyed gaze. Now get ready for the next task, doll, because this was only the first maze", he purred, flicking his wrist a bit. The girls watched as Mary's eyes slowly turned back to that pretty shade of blue they were and she blinked a few times.
"Ohh okay, my sight honestly feels sharper than I even remembered..", she squealed once her eyes got used to the bright lights again. They weren't sure what they were supposed to do with the pretty jewels though.
"Mountain? Are you allowed to give us a hint what we are supposed to do now?", they asked.
"I can give ya a general direction where to go, love. Go back in the basement, take the western side corridor and choose the door with the triangle pointing downwards", he nodded.

Chapter Text

The girls simply thought that unless told otherwise, they would hold on to the jewels for a while and eventually give them back, surely they had some meaning in the game since they had to find them in the first place.
"These are really pretty.. Hey, Meena? Didn't you say that you accidentally walked into a real treasure chamber when we got separated earlier?", Nikki remembered, glancing at the ring around her finger.
"Yeah, it was like a pirate's loot, a lot of gold and precious gemstones and other stuff from the floor to the ceiling. I didn't trust to touch anything, though. Who knows, maybe there's some traps as well. And at the very least surveillance cameras to keep an eye on them", she shrugged.
"Do you think they were real?", she asked curiously.
"Let's say that if they were fake, they were really authentic looking.."
"This place didn't look this huge from the outside. Yet there's several corridors and stuff..", Mary pointed out.
"And we are going back to the basement again.. I thought we saw all of the doors there already? At least I didn't see a door with a "triangle pointing downwards" on it.. Then again, we didn't give too much attention to small details like that..", she continued.
"Hello again, kittens", the girls suddenly heard a deep voice purr from the shadows, accompanied by the scent of leather and a pair of shining eyes.
"Ack, you made us jump, Mister Beta!", they squealed in unison.
"I'm sorry, sweetlings, I didn't meant to scare you. And you don't have to be that formal with me, unless we have a.. Let's call it a business transaction, shall we. As a fetish ghoul, I'm quite strict about details like this", he grinned.
"The consent is always the key?", Mary guessed shyly, blushing a bit again. Beta's grin got wider, flashing his sharp looking teeth.
"Yes, kitten. The consent is always the key, especially when dealing with me", he purred. The girls noticed that there was this certain aura around him, and it wasn't only the fact that he dressed in leather from the horns to heels, with a pair of fluffy black handcuffs hanging from a belt loop and a whip from another one. There was something dangerous with him. Not necessarily scary or directly creepy, but he did give the general vibe of "mess with me, and trust me, there will be consequences".
"So.. Were you just casually checking on us on your way to your.. Office or something..?", Mary asked, now the blush on her cheeks was even more obvious.
"Something like that, yes. After this point, you will be seeing me every now and then. Think of me like a travelling salesghoul, though you don't have to pay for anything. Like you surely remember, kitten, I was in the middle of inventory when we met earlier. Well, I'm now finished with it, which means that my stock can now be used during the game. The inventory took longer than I thought it would, so I must apologize that it's done only now. It's completely optional, but I want to offer you the chance for it anyway. You don't have to take upon on the offer right away, if you later on get a better deal from me, but you can always change your mind at any point. All of the outfits, accessories and toy boxes are okay to use, you only need to say what you want to try, and with the outfits, all I need to know is the general dress size so I can offer you the correct size of any outfit.."
"He sure likes the sound of his own voice.. And he also sounds like one of those TV commercial guys, you know, that smooth "and that's not even all, if you order right now.." kind of a guy..", Meena and Nikki whispered to each other, letting Mary to do the talking.
"I know that at least you are a curious little kitten, I saw earlier how you looked at my outfit collections", Beta purred.
"Let's get this straight, you are telling us that there's an optional dressing up part also in this game?", she asked and he nodded.
"Some of the outfits I saw were kinda cool..", she admitted.
"We know you well enough, marmot, you wanna try it, you like dressing up."
"It does sound quite fun, definitely very interactive kind of an escape room game", the girls nodded. When hearing it, Beta wasn't even trying to hide the seducing smirk that rested on his lips.
"That's what I like to hear, sweetlings. Have you been informed what's the next room's theme?", he asked.
"Actually.. No. When we left the jungle room, Mountain only told us to come down here, take the western side corridor and choose the door with a triangle pointing down. Other than that, we have no idea what's gonna happen next", Mary nodded.
"Very well. No worries, I like to improvise. Since I know the general theme, I'll offer you a few outfit choices, so you can choose whatever you happen to fancy the most. If you don't want to use any of them, that's fine too, then I'll simply offer you something else once you reach the next theme room. It simply would give a fun little extra spice with the game, if you do decide to try something", Beta explained and snapped his fingers.
The girls gasped, it seemed like the ghouls themselves weren't the only thing that appeared from out of nowhere, apparently the same trick worked with objects as well, as there was an another puff of smoke and suddenly infront of them rested a large open chest of clothes. It also seemed like all of the ghouls wore those matching "sultry secretary" type of reading glasses when necessary, as he put them on his nose and grabbed a small booklet from his leather trench's chest pocket.
"Go on, I know you are curious. Check the outfits and accessories out, if there's something that tickles your fancy, I'll just mark it down here so I know where each piece is going", he nodded casually.
The girls looked at each other, it did sound fun, and since it was completely optional too, they could just politely say "no thank you" if they changed their mind. Maybe the jungle room was also supposed to have an outfit option, but he hadn't finished his inventory on time, but was able to offer it from now on.
"I mean, my shoes and pant legs are still full of sand, so I guess some change of clothes would be nice..", Nikki admitted.
"Yeah, my clothes actually feel a bit damp, I guess the pit had gathered some moisture in the soil..", Meena continued.
"And my shirt is full of stone dust, look", Mary nodded, dusting her shirt a bit.
"Epsilon! Ypsilon!", Beta called as the girls were curiously going through the chest.
"We're here, what do you need, big guy?", Epsilon asked, as the twins appeared from out of nowhere.
"The kittens need their clothes cleaned, could you get them to the laundry room?", he asked and they nodded.
"Sure, we're going that way anyway", Ypsilon shrugged.
"Ooh, these are kinda cute actually!"
"Quite sweet and innocent, but nothing too.. Child-like, I guess? Nothing freaky like little girls' dresses, more like what girls our age could still wear.."
"Yeah, kind of that lolita style, cute and doll-like but still mature enough for young adults to wear..", they whistled.
"Mm, Beta has an answer for every kink, fetish, fantasy and general curiosity about different lifestyles", the twins grinned.
"I might be a fetish ghoul and the sin manager, but dressing up and roleplays aren't only a sex thing. They are a fine extra spice when done properly, sure, but they can also be an actual part of someone's lifestyle, and obviously I'm not kinkshaming anyone", he shrugged, writing down in his notes what pieces of clothing the girls had chosen.
"Huh.. These actually look a bit like those German beer festival dresses more than basic lolita dresses that I have ever seen..", Meena noticed once they had changed, the dress that she had chosen was a soft shade of green, and the twins grabbed their clothes.
"Judging by the way how openly down Mary's neckline plunges.. Yeah, I agree", Nikki nodded, her dress was blue with some turquoise details.
"No need to be shy, doll, pink with purple accents fits you well", Beta smirked, putting his booklet back in his trench's pocket, noticing that she was blushing again, as she too saw how deep the neckline of the dress indeed was.
"Wait, I thought that the family was Italian?", Nikki realized suddenly.
"That is true, my dear. The style of the dresses you are now wearing simply fits loosely the theme of the next room", he said.
"Loosely? So it's not that beer festival thing?", Meena asked, lifting her brow a bit.
"You mean Oktoberfest? No, the general style just happens to be quite similar."
"Hmm.. German styled dresses, yet don't have anything to do with Oktoberfest..", Mary mumbled. Suddenly she looked like she had an idea.
"Is it a fairytale themed room them?", she asked.
"Mm, in a way, yes. Knock on the door and see it yourself. I'll see you later, kittens", Beta grinned, his task was done for now, and he disappeared from sight.

Once he was gone, the girls glanced at each other and then at the door. Indeed, there was a downward pointing triangle on it.
"Come on in, sweetlings", they heard a soft voice purring as they knocked on the door and the girls peeked inside.
"Oh wow, what a candy kingdom..", they gasped in unison and stepped inside. This room was filled with bright colors, very different than the other rooms they had seen so far.
"It's all bright and happy and colorful.. Quite a change since the earlier rooms..", Meena said.
"It looks really fun, it's probably meant to balance the darker vibe of the rest of the place..", Nikki nodded.
"It makes sense! Cute doll-like dresses, bright candy colors and generally a sweet vibe all around, it's like a variation of Hansel and Gretel!", Mary realized.
"Since you are a painter, do you think that these are all painted to look as realistic as possible?", they continued.
"Oh no, my dear. It's not paint. Unless stated otherwise, everything in this room is edible", the voice purred.
"Well, I mean, even Mountain did say that the plants in his jungle room were real, so.. Why a fairytale like candyland couldn't also be possible? It takes a lot of time and effort, sure..", she nodded.
"Mm, for example, the path you are standing on is made out of sponge cake, similar like Papa Secondo's tiramisú. Just without the creamy mascarpone filling though, that would make it a bit too moist to walk on. And just to bring a little bit of support, there's crushed chocolate chip cookies on top. That's the safest, and sweetest, ground ever to eat!", the voice continued.
The girls looked around a bit, if the path they were standing on indeed was made out of sponge cake and chocolate chip cookies, what else was there?
"What's making that hissing noice..", Nikki wondered.
"Oh that? It's Fizzy Falls, one of my favorite spots in this room! A waterfall of icy cold cola with mint candy rocks! As you can hear, it makes a fun fizzy sound and quite an impressive foam effect too! It's all safe to drink too, though the minty aftertaste might be quite strong", he grinned.
"Lollipop trees and cotton candy bushes.. Those do look really fun..", Meena giggled.
"Huh.. Something makes a weird squelching noice..", Mary noticed and looked down, realizing she had stepped on the "grass" and bent down to take a closer look. On a quick glance, it did look like grass, but a closer inspection told that it was actually deep green and silky..
"Mint jelly! That's a fun way to make some edible grass!", she laughed, noticing the strong scent of mint and felt the smooth texture under her fingers.
"There it is! The crown jewel of every treat based fairytale, the gingerbread house!", the girls noticed suddenly when they looked further in the room, over the jelly grass and behind the sponge cake path. They rushed to take a closer look at it.
"That's cute, the gingerbread walls are even made to look like tiles!", they giggled. Here and there, between the "tiles" was occasional stripes of thick maple syrup. Apparently it was meant to look like the mortar cement was oozing out of the tile lines, to make it look a bit more realistic from far enough away.
"The windows look like melted sugar! That's a fun idea! Though not very practical, since it's not clear enough to see through, but it does look almost like glass..", Meena noticed.
"Are you able to see in, Nikki?", Mary asked, as she was the tallest of them.
"I'll try..", she nodded, taking her glasses off, since the window was so close up to her face that they were just on the way.
"I just barely see through this sugar glass.. Like, no exact details, just spots that most likely are some furniture.."
"Okay, so the general theme clearly is fairytales. And judging by these pretty dresses, especially German tales seem to be a part of this.."
"It makes sense, honestly. At least I don't even know a lot of Italian fairytales, maybe a few at most, but most classics are indeed German.."
Meena and Nikki looked at Mary, she read a lot, and they knew she was able to memorize most of the classic fairytales nearly from word to word.
"Yeah.. The issue here is that several of those fairytales, at least the ones I'm most familiar with, happen in the woods and have a cottage in there.. Most obvious one, with the gingerbread house and everything, is of course Hansel and Gretel..", she nodded.
"An another decent choice is The Little Red Riding Hood.. Sure, there's no gingerbread house in it, but it still happens in a small cottage in the woods.. And the way how I remember one of my favorites, Snow White, the evil witch comes to the door three times, first offering "a silky girdle on her precious flanks", then "a golden comb for her luscious locks" and finally "a juicy apple".. You get the point, and I feel old when I remember these versions better than modern ones.."
"Nah, it's adorable, marmot. You are like a walking fairytale library", Meena smiled.
"Speaking of locks, what about Goldielocks and the three bears? That tale happens in a cottage in the woods as well, right?", Nikki asked.
"True, but it's not a German tale, I think it might be British.. But my point is, they probably didn't choose Italian fairytales just in case we don't even know how they go. I mean, of course there's Pinocchio, everyone knows that one, but we aren't even dressed as mischievous wooden dolls that have their noses grow if they lie..", Mary shrugged.
"Mm.. I do like the idea, though. The fairytales, I mean. It's something different, and we do know the most basic ones, maybe we just gotta find the specific one", Meena suggested.
"Well, we already had apples in the garden, some wine during the dinner, and now there's a gingerbread house..", Nikki pointed out.
As the girls were talking, the door slowly creaked open.
"Hello, sweetlings. So, you got out of the jungle and found your way to my candy kingdom", Rain purred, leaning against the door frame.
"Uhh.. Yeah. It sure is different than the other rooms we have seen so far!"
"It's so bright and colorful and generally happy! Such a nice balance to the more darker and solemn rooms!"
"Though the jungle was cool too, all those exotic flowers and other plants and stuff..", the girls explained.
"Mm, balance was exactly the point we we're going for with this room. Something fun and literally sweet for a change. After all, there's still several rooms after this one.. I'm sure that Jesus warned you that this will be a long game", Rain grinned.
"That's kind of confusing, to be honest. You seem to call him Jesus, but to us he was introduced as Kevin, right?", the girls asked.
Though they did have to admit, he did somewhat resemble the classic deptiction of Jesus, how the girls had learned from the Bible during the religion class back in school, since He usually was described to have a decent beard, just like Kevin did, and generally being kind and gentle and caring of others, so it kinda did make some sense.
"Yeah, mostly the Papas and Sister Imperator call him Kevin. We do too, sometimes, but he does respond to the nickname as well", Rain shrugged casually.
"So.. Does that mean that we could basically call him by both names?", Meena checked.
"Yes, he answers to both", he nodded.
"And what exactly are we supposed to do here? It's a fun looking room, don't get me wrong, but we don't really get a lot of instructions..", Nikki pointed out.
"Mm, come on in, little cupcakes", Rain purred, disappearing through the door. The girls glanced at each other and followed him, looking around.
"That's cute, he calls us cupcakes..", Mary giggled.

Chapter Text

Nikki and Meena gasped, seeing the cutest little couch they had ever seen. It was so shiny and sleek and colorful and made from..
"Gummy bears! That's adorable!", they squealed. Rain smiled that they could sit down if they wanted to, so they didn't have to stand after surviving the jungle.
"That's cute too.. And so soft..", Mary nodded, sitting on an armchair that was made out of thick, fluffy marshmallow. The girls looked around a bit more, they weren't able to see much through the melted sugar windows. The inside walls were made out of crispy golden waffles and the floor was silky soft pancakes, Rain was right, everything indeed was edible.
Similarly like the windows, the lamps were also made out of melted sugar, however, there really was a light softly shining in them.
"How are those lights working if they are made out of sugar?", Nikki wondered.
"A Ghoul trick, Sodo put a tiny spark in them. It's strong enough to give out light, but not too hot to melt the sugar again", Rain nodded.
"So.. You mentioned that there will still be several rooms after this one.. While this is a really fun looking room, the basic idea is to find something that gives us a hint what is the next room, right?", Meena asked.
"I'm honestly still stuffed like a turkey on a Thanksgiving dinner from that creamy pasta we had earlier, but you know what I always say, any desserts always have spare room..", Mary shrugged casually.
"I like your way of thinking, cupcake. And it's a good thing that you said it, as a part of the task in here indeed is to taste some treats, you know, like Hansel and Gretel. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna boil you in a huge pot. However, I must warn beforehand that seeing that here's a lot of different sticky substances, there is a chance that you might get messy. Beta knows that, trust me, he always makes a massive receipt at the dry cleaners.. Sometimes I wish I could see the clerk's face when they handle his laundry.. Anyway, I'm waffling on beside the point. Hehe, waffling.. Ahem, just so this wouldn't take forever, and you are able to continue the game as soon as you find the hint, the task itself is quite simple. First, each of you gets to taste some treat. You will find an another hint that will lead you to an another spot within this room, where you find the thing that's gonna hint you what will be the next theme room. Are you still following?", Rain asked.
"Kind of like treasure hunting? Okay, that sounds fun", the girls nodded.
"Well then, let me see.. I like to find that perfect treat for each..", he purred.
"Do you do that hypnosis thing too?", they asked curiously, noticing that his seafoam green eyes started to shine.
"Mm? Oh, no, that's a Quintessence thing, and I'm a Water Ghoul. Myself and Mist control water. When it's cold enough, we turn it into ice and snow, and when it goes hot, we make it go vapor, stuff like that. The eye shine just happens no matter what element it is. I simply sense what others like to eat..", he shrugged.
"Hmm.. You poor little thing, you got some food allergies?", he worried, glancing at Nikki, and she nodded.
"Yeah.. Pear is the worst, it gives a full on allergic reaction..", she sighed.
"No worries, I'll make sure there's none of them near your treat. And then you.. Nothing that could give you a reaction, though you don't like nuts.. They feel.. Wrong in your mouth.. That's okay too, I'll come up with something..", he continued, his gaze going past both Meena and Mary as well. The girls looked at each other, everything he had said was true. Nikki had some allergies, and while Meena and Mary didn't, she indeed didn't really like nuts of any kind.
"I'm feeling like.. Ice cream.. Yes, that's good. Nothing exotic, but very tasty..", Rain mumbled, mostly to himself.
"Mm.. For you, strawberry cheesecake.. And you, lemon meringue.. And you, my personal favorite at the moment, cookies and cream.. Or how I like to call it, hellsicle, just because there isn't really many other flavors that can make different shades of grey ice cream..", he purred. It sounded simple, they just needed to eat some ice cream?

The girls looked at each other and then at Rain, who was now sitting on the corner of the table and snacking on some jelly beans.
"So all we need to do is to eat these bowls of ice cream, find some hints, and continue to the next room?", the girls checked that they had fully understood the rules of the candy room and he nodded.
"Mm, exactly. Do you want something to drink too? There's cherry cola, cranberry soda and rhubarb juice..", he remembered, snapped his fingers, and three glasses filled with bubbly and sweet, reddish pink liquids appeared infront of them as well.
"That's so cool..", the girls gasped.
"Everyone is so ridiculously good looking here..", they whispered to each other, glancing at his corset like waist.
"Why thank you, dear, I'm quite flattered. The Papas have done fine job during the summonings, since we all come out 'so ridiculously good looking', like you put it", Rain smirked, flashing a wide grin.
"The summonings? They really do take their roles seriously here..", the girls wondered, but started to eat the ice cream, so it wouldn't melt too much and they could move forward in the game.
Nikki absolutely loved the strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream that Rain had chosen for her. It tasted like she was in a nice café and having a piece of an actual cheesecake, with it's silky soft texture, together with the smooth strawberry jelly on top of it, was basically melting on her tongue, and the cookie crumbles gave a nice little crunch as well.
Once she was finished, she noticed a little note at the bottom of the bowl that said..
"It's not yet time to shake and shiver, but to continue the game, check out the chocolate river..", she read.
"The chocolate river? That gives quite a lot of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes..", Meena pointed out, also finishing her lemon meringue ice cream. It was fresh and a bit tangy, while the meringue gave a nice little crunch like the cookie crumbles. Then she too saw a note.
"Hey, I got one too! Salty or sweet, hot or cool, the next place you need to see is the caramel pool..", she read as well.
"I'm not surprised that you like cookies and cream, this so called 'hellsicle' is really good", Mary giggled.
"What does your note say, marmot?", the girls asked.
"Um.. You have beauty, grace and power, but be aware, things might get messy in the powder shower.. What's a powder shower?", she wondered. Then she noticed the smirk on Rain's lips.
"It's a shower of powdered sugar", he grinned.
"So.. Like snow?", she asked.
"Not exactly. You will see soon. This is exactly why I warned you that things might get messy in here", Rain nodded. He snapped his fingers again and the ice cream bowls disappeared from the table.
Then, the girls followed him outside of the little gingerbread house and looked around. They could still hear the Fizzy Falls splashing somewhere in the background.

The girls just thought it was only fair that he had warned them beforehand, after all, if one takes a ride on a log river at an amusement park, similarly there was a chance of getting wet, so it only made sense to them that they could get messy, no matter how careful they would be.
"So we find these three spots within this room?", they asked while looking around.
"I think I can help with that, just a bit, just so you won't get stuck for too long.. Triplets!", Rain called out.
"Mm, you called us, princess?"
"Do you need our help with something?"
"Speak fast though, we were buzy", they answered.
"Eeta, I need the chocolate river, made only from the finest, purest cocoa beans!"
"You got it, the chocolate river, coming right up!"
"Zeeta, there's also the caramel pool, can you make it happen?"
"I'm on it, it should be up in a few moments!"
"And Theeta, there's also an order for a powder shower!"
"I thought you would never ask!"
The girls heard the triplets laughing and the crackle of their knuckles echoed through the loudspeakers as they messed around with their consols again.
"Triplets can make wonders from their security office", Rain grinned to the girls.
"It is like the chocolate factory, just a push of a button, and different things are being offered..", they whistled in unison.
"Let's just hope you won't get stuck in the pipes like the boy in the movie..", Meena hoped when they saw the chocolate river opening up between the mint jelly grass fields.
"I'll be careful. And unlike in the movie, here we do have a permission to taste things. Right?", Nikki checked from Rain and he nodded.
After getting the permission, she kneeled down next to the riverbank, carefully cupping some chocolate in her hands. It wasn't too hot, just warm enough to be in continuous movement.
"Oh wow, this must be the best milk chocolate I ever have tasted!", she gasped. There was a proud grin on Rain's lips as she said it.
"Girls, look! There's something shiny, on that rock like piece of chocolate in the middle of the river!", Mary noticed suddenly. Indeed, there was pieces here and there, simulating river rocks, looking like large pieces of hazelnut and wafer.
"I'll get it! Here, hold my glasses for a moment", Nikki nodded, she didn't want to lose them, and handed them to her. The river wasn't too deep, but seeing that she was a tall girl, she could basically swim in it.
"It's actually a good thing that we were offered other clothes before coming in here, otherwise our own clothes would get even more messy than in the jungle room..", Meena pointed out as they waited and Mary nodded.
"Did you get it?", they asked then, noticing that Nikki was now leaning against that same hazelnut wafer rock.
"Yeah! They were some fancy looking dice! Didn't the poem in the jungle room say something about rolling the dice or something?", she called back.
"That's true, it was something about shaking ground and rolling dice! That's cool, even the poems link different rooms together!", Meena nodded.
"One side of each dice has that triangle symbol as well! Look! One is with the line and one without it!", Nikki continued as she climbed back up from the river.
"So they can mean two of the four elements. Maybe whatever we will find have the others", Mary guessed, handing her glasses back to her.
"Oh, there's the pool! It even has a fountain!", Meena noticed the next spot that was mentioned in her note.
"It's salted caramel sauce!", she added after tasting it.
"A bit too salty for my taste, I like the sweet kind better..", Nikki shrugged.
"I like it, this would go together so well with some good jam doughnuts..", Mary giggled.
"Hey, there's also something shiny, hanging from that fountain nozzle! I'll try to grab it!", Meena nodded. Though no matter how careful she tried to be, she also got some caramel sauce all over her.
"We don't have to pay for these dresses if they get messy, right?", Mary asked suddenly.
"Oh no, Epsilon and Ypsilon will clean them as well as possible, and the dry cleaners take care of the rest. Beta chooses the outfits he offers here well, making sure that they aren't anything too expensive, just generally nice looking", Rain promised.
"I got it! They look like coins of some kind.. And there's those triangles again..", Meena noticed, turning them around in her hands.
"Let me see", Nikki asked, fixing her glasses a bit.
"I don't think these are coins. I mean, look, there's a hole in the middle of them. They look more like tokens, like the ones you could put in the cart at a supermarket or something", she guessed after a moment.
"Or more like a.. A slot machine..", she continued, glancing at the dice in her other hand, and gave the tokens back to her.
"So, a pair of dice and slot machine tokens..", the girls mumbled, looking around for the third spot, they still needed the last piece of the hint.
When they found it, it was powdered sugar, alright. But not in the powder form anymore, more like the soft paste when it was mixed with some water. Mary too saw something shiny in the sugar shower and went to grab it. At a first glance, it too looked like a token, until she took a closer look at it.
"Don't quote me on this, but I think this is a poker chip. You know, the kind that's used at a casino instead of money.. My cousin used to play poker, he had similar looking ones.."
"I thought your cousin was a doctor, the one who read Latin?", Nikki lifted her brow a bit.
"Different cousin, this one fancied himself as a poker player", she shrugged.
"Is there a triangle on it as well, marmot?", Meena asked and Mary turned the chip around between her fingers.
"Mm.. No. There's like a Q on it, but the little tail part is slightly more curvy than usually.."
"Q for.. Quintessence, I guess? I mean, there's already four element triangles, surely those guys need a symbol of some kind as well?", Nikki suggested.
"Good job, little cupcakes! You found all three hints for the next room!", Rain grinned.
"Dice, slot tokens and a poker chip.. The next theme really is a casino?", they whistled in unison. This was getting even more interesting.

Chapter Text

Mary, Meena and Nikki giggled, this was really fun. And the fact that the next theme room was supposed to be a casino sounded really interesting. The girls hadn't visited a real casino before. Suddenly they remembered something quite important.
"Oh.. A casino sounds really fancy.. And we look like this..", they looked at their now chocolate, caramel sauce and powdered sugar covered dresses.
"Don't worry about it, little cupcakes. I'm sure that Beta can come up with something", Rain grinned.
"I'm sure he can, but before that, little ladies need to get cleaned up first", a woman's voice answered to him and the girls turned to look at the door. The lady had the same downward pointing triangle embroided near her chest.
"Hey Mist!", Rain smiled widely, with his tail wagging.
"Hello, Rain. It seems to me that they managed to survive your sugar rush of a candy kingdom", Mist smirked.
"She's so pretty too..", the girls squealed.
"Things can get quite messy in the candyland", she continued ironically, seeing the clothes they were wearing.
"I must apologize for my little brother. He's a sweetheart, any puns very much intented, and as you can see and surely taste too, he knows everything about snacks and treats. But sometimes he forgets that not everyone around here has the same gift of eating anything at any given time..", she started.
"We're curious now. You are sister and brother as well?", the girls wondered and she nodded.
"Mm. I'm one of the older ones. Papas like to tell it the more dramatic way that I was the first Ghoulette to be summoned after the big boys. Because of that, I'm more of a tomboy that the other Ghoulettes, because I got more used to get rowdy with the boys, though I do like to get my nails done with the others", she grinned. The girls realized that while they had seen the others at the dinner table, they hadn't really talked to them before now.
"Oh.. That makes sense.. We were just wondering because..", they blushed.
"Let me guess, you met the Cardinal, and he mentioned something along the lines of how most of us are a harem?", Mist lifted her brow and flashed those pearly white, sharp canine teeth as well.
"Most of us are, indeed, but some are more like siblings than partners", Rain shrugged.
"Mm, Rain here for example is practically everybody's boyfriend", Mist teased him and the girls noticed how some tiny scale like freckles darkened a bit to be more noticeable on his cheeks.
"I.. I like cuddles, okay.. Especially with Sodo and Cumulus.. They are always so warm and soft..", he mumbled shyly.
"So.. Is it like the ones with the same element are more like siblings and those that go crossed with each other are the partners then..?", the girls asked a bit awkwardly, they were honestly curious, but weren't completely sure how to ask it properly, but really wanted to know more.
"It does happen to work out with us, that's true. And the Quintessence boys too, now that I think about it. But then Phantom is also Aurora's brother, and she's a Multi, not a Quintessence. Aether treats her like a little sister anyway though, but to Omega, she's simply a small Ghoulette with a big, loving heart. It generally gets complicated sometimes", Mist shrugged, scratching her head with her long, well manicured nails and Rain nodded in agreement.
"But the point is that no matter what the exact relationships between each of us are, we are a large pack", he added.
"We'll try to understand..", the girls mumbled, it was still quite confusing to them.
"Don't be shy, we are a very open harem, generally speaking", they nodded.
"Anyway, I actually had a reason to come here. I would imagine that you would like to get freshened up before the next task? We have a fine spa department, and seeing your current predicament, you are more than free to use it. You would be much more comfortable to continue the game afterwards", she smiled.
"There's a spa too?", Meena gasped.
"I told you, there's that steaming hot pool guy", Nikki whispered.
"Could we, please? Of course Rain warned us beforehand, but we still got stains and smudges all over us..", Mary asked politely.
"My big sister will take good care of you, little cupcakes", Rain smiled, waving at them, as they left the room and started to follow her.

As they we were walking through the corridor, the girls looked around at the different doors, wondering which one of them hid the casino room behind it. When they eventually arrived to the spa door, they could already feel the warmth coming from within the room, and heard some footsteps.
"Zeph, are you decent in there?", Mist asked, poking her head through the doorway before letting the girls go in.
"As decent as I can, if you count a pair of shorts as such!", he called back.
"Girls, a fair warning, there will be a shirtless, living and breathing marble statue, and he obeys the name Zephyr", Mist grinned before opening the door. As she did so, a cloud full of hot water vapor hit their skin immediately.
"Hello, ladies. As Mist probably already introduced me, I'm Zephyr", the quite tall, well toned Ghoul smirked.
"Earlier he still had a casual wifebeater on, I think, I was more focused on the arms and abs, now he doesn't..", Nikki whispered.
"We haven't seen that triangle yet..", Mary and Meena pointed out, noticing an upward pointing triangle with a line going through it on the side of his shorts.
"Mm? Oh, yes, I happen to be an Air Ghoul. However, I usually work here at the spa, simply because I like to relax", Zephyr grinned, tying his hair up on a casual manbun.
"Even if our elements don't always fit our general tasks, it doesn't mean we can't still enjoy it. Follow me, please, this way. The ladies' dressing room is over here. There's already towels, bathrobes and slippers waiting for you, and you may choose between bathing suits and bikinis, whichever feels more comfortable to you..", he explained.
"Oh wow..", the girls gasped in unison.
"We got both a hot tub and a jacuzzi, a basic swimming pool, a mud bath is also a possibility if you happen to be interested, a couple of different saunas, a massage parlor, a chance to get facial treatments, an open bar.. Whatever you need, we'll make it happen", he grinned.
"This place is too good to be true..", the girls whistled.
"I'm just surprised we hadn't even heard about this place before now..", Meena added as they stepped inside the dressing room, Zephyr left to continue with his tasks to give them some privacy.
"Maybe it was just opened? And we happened to be at the right place at the right time?", Nikki suggested.
"That's possible.. Such a luxurious place.. There's real marble, gilded accessories and more of those crystal chandeliers we saw earlier..", Mary admired.
"And did you notice those columns when we came in? They looked Roman styled. Which does make a lot of sense, ancient Romans, especially the wealthy ones that had the best possibilities for it, loved to go to spas. Important, wealthy men talked about politics and other important things while relaxing at the spa, with servant boys bringing them wine and grapes and such..", she added.
"It's so cute when you start to have a history lesson moment, marmot", the girls giggled.
"Of course this place is more modern, ancient Roman spas didn't have fancy jacuzzis or something, but the general looks is kept really well..", she shrugged.
"Mm.. And since the family is Italian, it was probably a natural choice to make the spa as Roman styled as possible", Meena pointed out.
"Yeah, maybe it felt familiar to them, like a small piece of old homeland always with them, or something", Nikki nodded.
The girls went through the different bathing suits and bikinis that they were offered, as there was several choices in different color options, details and cuts.
"Ooh, this looks cute!", Meena said, noticing a sleek, asymmetrical bathing suit, with a roughly hand-sized, mesh covered decorative hole on the side opposite of the lone shoulder strap.
The suit itself was as a close shade to that expensive, almost regal looking shade of phthalo green as it was just possible to get in swimwear fabrics, with silver, subtle scale like details going through it.
"I found a cute bikini top as well.. Just a simple tube top, with different glimmering shades of blue sequins, from bright turquoise to deep petrol.. I just hope I can find a matching bottom for it..", Nikki nodded.
After a moment, she noticed that it was one of those statement piece bikinis, where the top was very eyecatching, in that case, glimmering blue sequins, but the bottom was a simple pair of black bikini shorts.
"Did you find something yet, marmot?", Meena asked.
"Yeah, look how cute this set too is!", she squealed, after finding a pair of royal purple bikinis, with shiny golden marble veins going through both the otherwise similar shorts like in the set that Nikki had chosen and a deepcut halterneck top.
"Don't worry about the dresses, Epsilon and Ypsilon will get them soon, just leave them out so they can grab them", Zephyr called through the door.
"Hopefully you won't mind that you have to share the spa, ladies", he continued politely as the girls left the dressing room.
"Share..?", the girls wondered quietly.
"Cíao, signorinas", they got an answer.

For a moment, the girls were quiet, just realizing what they had just heard.
"Hope you don't mind, we forgot to check at what time you would be in here..", they indeed heard a familiar voice.
"Cardinal?", the girls asked in unison.
"Oh, we are already acquainted well enough, so call me Copia, per favore. Cardinal is more of a title to use around the Ministry, so I can be separated from my brothers..", he smiled awkwardly, stroking his mustache, like he usually did when they saw him.
"I don't know about you, girls, but I don't mind this turn of the event..", Nikki whispered.
"Mm, very handsome Italian gentlemen, what's not to like.. And some fine fur rugs too..", Meena nodded.
"Marmot, you are drooling again", she continued, poking her ribs with her elbow.
"I'm not..", she mumbled, wiping her mouth.
"Well then, don't be shy. Please, join us. You still have things to do, don't you?", the brothers grinned.
"Have you enjoyed your visit so far? The game took an interesting turn, shall we say.. Grazie, Zephyr. Could you bring the signorinas something to drink as well?", Secondo asked, leaning his back against the side of the jacuzzi, and grabbed a glass from the tray that Zephyr was holding.
"Of course, Papa. What would you like to get?", he asked. The girls were surprised, they really could get other alcoholic drinks than just a casual glass of wine?
"Um, well.. I like a classic when I know one, so.. A piña colada, please?", Meena asked.
"A margarita, with more orange than lime, if that's just possible?", Nikki continued politely.
"A strawberry daiquiri, thank you. I have always wanted to try that one..", Mary nodded.
"It has been really fun, the whole place is very interactive", they smiled after finishing their drink orders.
"Honestly, we thought it would be a simple escape room, but it's so much more.."
"And it still feels like we have barely even started.."
"And everyone is so nice to us too..", they explained.
"Secondo, I'll borrow Alpha's hands for a bit, per favore. Ifrit is still buzy in the boiler room, and my back is killing me..", Primo's voice said from the background.
"You spend way too much time hovering over your precious flowers, fraté, but sure", Secondo shrugged.
"Um.. Is it surely okay that we are in here..? This just feels quite.. Private..", Meena and Nikki blushed awkwardly.
"Oh no, you were invited here, so it's more than fine, cara mia", Terzo smirked. Just hearing his voice and the way how he said "cara mia" with his sultry accent made her blush even harder.
"Try not to fall, kitten, the floor is quite slippery", Omega's deep voice rumbled from somewhere above the girls, as his shadow went past them. If they had learned something by now, it was that wherever Terzo seemed to be, either Omega was already right there with him, or at the very least, only a shout away.
"We spend quite a lot of time in here.. It's in our genes, really, we may not be old time Romans anymore, but.."
"But you still like to spend time at the spa?", Mary finished Copia's sentence.
"Sí, that's correct. Padré used to travel, for the Clergy, when he was a bit younger. He visited old homeland quite a lot back then. He wanted to bring something for us to keep, so this spa became Roman styled, which you most likely guessed already", he smiled.
"Marmot reads a lot, especially history stuff", Meena nodded.
"She has a personal library of history books and magazines at her apartment, she's very proud of it", Nikki grinned.
"Mm, you and Special would get along well then, my dear, he too reads a lot. Though he mostly reads those.. What are they called again.. You know what I mean, cara mio? Those spicy paperback pocket books?", Terzo asked, also laying on the massage table.
"I think you mean harlequins, short king?", he suggested, cracking his knuckles, before putting his hands on his shoulders.
"Mm, that sounds about right.. Oh yes, that's the sore spot.. My neck is killing me..", he groaned.
"Mist and the other Ghoulettes will be here shortly, you do seem a bit uncomfortable that you are the only ladies in here at the moment", Secondo pointed out, noticing how the girls stayed shyly on the other side of the jacuzzi, far enough away from him and Copia.
"It's not really that.. Just a bit.. Awkward..", the girls blushed, politely thanking Zephyr, when he appeared again with the drinks, and took a sip.
"So, you still have a decent amount of rooms to visit, sí?", Copia continued, it seemed like the girls got a bit more comfortable when there was just casual chatting going on instead of the awkward silence.
"Oh yeah, the candy room was really fun!", Nikki smiled.
"Rain did warn us that we might get messy in there.. So now we are in here..", Meena shrugged.
"We did find the new hint though, the roulette dice, slot machine tokens and poker chips. We have never visited a real casino before..", Mary admitted.
"Well, there's a first time for everything, signorina. Personally, out of the theme rooms, the casino must be my favorite", Secondo smirked, also sipping his drink.
"He spends a lot of time in Las Vegas, so he too brought a piece of it with him here..", Primo pointed out from the background. That really got their attention.

Chapter Text

The girls glanced at each other while sipping their drinks.
"So.. Um.. Do you treat everyone who comes to try out the escape estate like this..? With a fancy dinner and a luxury spa..", they asked shyly.
"It depends. While everyone is free to try to survive, so to speak, every game is different. There is the chance that the game goes without tasks that turn out to be messy. Then again, after we opened the doors, you are the first ones to get this far. Jesus had to turn a young family away from the gates earlier. Every player must be a full-grown adult, because of the things the different rooms might have, we can't let little children in", Secondo explained casually.
"That makes a lot of sense, little children can get upset in an unfamiliar place where they can't immediately get out, even if their parents are there too..", Meena nodded immediately.
"Yeah, a decent age restriction is fully acceptable and understandable, not every place simply can be child-friendly. Adults need fun places too, that aren't decent bars or something", Nikki shrugged.
"So did anyone else try before us then?", Mary asked curiously.
"Mm, there was a couple of boisterous young gentlemen. They did manage to get in and start from my office, it's always the starting point, just so the Ghouls have enough time to get the other rooms ready, but after being stuck for nearly two hours, they decided to abandon the challenge. They had a decent start at first, but weren't able to find the key. So, they asked to be let out, though they eagerly promised that they would try again at some other time. And eventually you were already at the gates, a little while after they had left..", Copia nodded, again stroking his mustache.
"That could actually explain why all of the hints are so all over the place, if every game is supposed to be different, maybe it was meant for those guys that had started it already but when they stopped and we started right afterwards, it took a while to get everything in decent order..", the girls admitted, it made sense to them. Suddenly they heard a loud crunch and a deep sigh.
"What was that?", Mary wondered out loud, looking like a deer in the headlights.
"Mm.. I didn't meant to startle you, cara mia.. I have some issues with my neck.. Nothing too dangerous, but sometimes it gives a decent crackle.. Especially as Omega knows exactly how to pop it the correct way.. Grazie, cara mio..", Terzo groaned, his face still against the massage table. Omega just cracked his knuckles again.
"You're welcome, Short King", he grinned. Terzo added something in Italian again, though quietly enough that the girls weren't able to hear it, but seeing how Omega's broad shoulders shook a bit like he was trying to stifle a laughter, it probably was something quite amusing.
"Mm.. We were warned that the game would be long.. And it seems like they like us, since we get to see such private things, first a family dinner, now this spa..", the girls whispered to each other.
"And we have already established how everyone is so ridiculously good looking here.. Not only the workers, it very much includes the masters of the house as well.."
"Um.. I thought you said earlier that your cute little rat is always with you?", Nikki asked innocently from Copia.
"Mm, most of the time, yes. But even Barty has his limits, these pools are too deep for him, and his fur gets all tangled if it gets fully wet..", he explained, Nikki noticed how his hand immediately rose on his chest, near where the pocket where Barty the rat usually was, as if instinctively trying to pet him.
"If it's just okay, I would like to see the other rats too at some point..", she continued shyly.
"Oh, I would love to show them to you!", he nodded immediately. Copia clearly was very proud of his rats and was more than happy to show them off, if anyone was interested. Though he did glance at Secondo like "I can now talk about my rats, since we aren't at the dinner table anymore, right?" and he simply nodded.
"So, since Copia has the Cardinal's office and Primo has that gorgeous garden, do you have some specific room or other place in here too?", Meena asked.

Her question made Secondo to lift his brow a bit and give a sly smirk.
"Well, my dear, technically the kitchen is my kingdom", he nodded.
"Mm, good looking and a good cook.. Things I like in a guy.. And that smooth accent is a nice bonus as well..", Meena whispered to Mary and they giggled, Nikki was already completely focused on talking about rats with Copia.
"Hello again, kittens", Beta purred suddenly, appearing casually from a cloud of smoke. In his high heeled boots, tight leather pants and floor-length trench he didn't exactly look like he belonged in a spa.
"Oh, hi, Mister Beta!", the girls squealed in unison.
"Will you join us too? You must feel very hot under all that tight leather?", Mary asked innocently, before even thinking about the words that left her lips. Clearly, the alcohol was already affecting her, though they all had sipped their drinks very slowly. The question made him to grin.
"I'm flattered, kitten, but right now I'm here on business. I understood that you ladies have learned what's your next theme is going to be, yes?", Beta grinned.
"Yeah! It's supposed to be a casino! It's really exciting, we have never visited a real one before! Though we don't know yet which Ghoul is supposed to host it.. But we wanna learn it when we get there..", Nikki shrugged.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I won't reveal that information to you. I'm just here to check are you interested in some new costumes again, and if you are, do you have some specific wishes for them? Just so I can get them ready while you are relaxing here with the masters", he continued politely, his spade tipped tail making a lazy zigzag pattern behind his back, and his leather trench creaked slightly as he casually crossed his arms.
"Maybe something fancy? Not like regal fancy, but like.. Vegas-fancy?", Meena suggested, shyly glancing at Secondo. He too had a cunning looking smirk on his face as he noticed her gaze.
"Mm, you heard the lady, Beta. Fix them something decent that the fine ladies in Vegas would wear", he nodded.
"I will do that, Master Secondo. Do you have any color or detail wishes, kittens? Or will you trust my taste?", Beta purred.
"Something at least smart casual, not necessarily too fancy..", he continued to himself.
"Let me check something real quick.. How tall are you, honey?", he looked at Nikki, who had momentarily stopped her chat with Copia.
"About 5'10, I guess", she shrugged, she was the tallest of the girls anyway.
"Mm.. And you, my dear?", he turned to look at Meena.
"Roughly 5'2, all I know for sure is that I'm at least ten centimeters shorter than Nikki", she guessed.
"And you, darling? I can see that you are somewhere in the middle of the other dolls, but..", Beta asked thoughtfully, his dagger like nails now tapping his chin.
"Quite an exact 5'4, though back in school, the school nurse lady made me believe that I was closer to 5'6, but I think that she measured me incorrectly, since I was still growing a bit", Mary nodded innocently.

Beta smirked, flashing his sharp canine teeth again, seeing the cute, wondering little pout on her face.
"Ehh, marmot, your girls are getting quite buoyant when you lean like that..", Meena and Nikki whispered when noticing the smirk on the fetish ghoul's lips.
"Don't be shy, remember that I said earlier something along the lines of that you don't have anything to be ashamed of, kitten", he grinned as she blushed.
"No more booze for you, young lady. You are the booksmart one, we need you to be sharp for the rest of the game too", Meena ordered.
"Remember that one time when you almost emptied a full bottle of flavored liqueur, got tipsy and started to strip..", Nikki pointed out.
"That's good to know too..", Beta thought.
"Yeah, ha ha.. I mean, in the end, I'm quite tiny, and especially any sweet flavored liqueurs and such are treacherous with me..", Mary giggled awkwardly.
"It sounds like angel bells when you laugh, cara mia, I adore it", Terzo grinned.
"Zephyr, take it easy with the booze for a bit, we don't want anything bad to happen."
"Yes, Master Primo", Zephyr nodded as he came to collect their glasses anyway.
"I'm sorry.. This is so awkward.. Booze can hit me quite fast..", Mary mumbled shyly, still blushing, especially now that Terzo too had joined them in the jacuzzi.
"Oh, don't be shy, bella. As far as I'm concerned, you only have had one drink since that glass of wine earlier, it's not that serious", he promised, his golden nails gently stroking her cheek a bit.
"That tickles, Mr. Emeritus..", she giggled.
"Oh please, cara mia, you are already on the first name basis with my fratellini, you don't have to be that proper with me either", he flashed a charming smile. He sure had exactly the same smile like his father, she noticed.
"That's practically a trademark smile of our family, we all do that", Secondo grinned when noticing it as well. All four brothers indeed had the same smile, they even tilted their heads in the same way when flashing it.
"We have heard about siblings with identical mannerisms, but with that smile, you are almost like clones or something..", the girls whistled in unison.
"Mm, we got the good stuff from Padré", they nodded proudly. As they were talking, Beta had disappeared again, he had gotten the information he needed to fix the girls some new costumes.

Chapter Text

As he too got up from the massage table, Primo suggested that Zephyr should bring the girls something non-alcoholic to drink.
"Yes, Master Primo. I'll bring them some ginger soda, that should help to balance the alcohol a bit", he nodded.
"Mm, thank you. And you seem to forget something, Secondo. There is one specific room you like especially lot", Primo continued while tying his hair up.
"Oh right, that is true. My trusty darkroom. Terzo may be the artistic brother, but I do like the fine art of photography", Secondo admitted.
"There's a darkroom as well? Now you can officially color me surprised, there indeed is something for everyone in here. Is it down here too?", Meena asked curiously.
"Yes, actually, and there's a small chance that you might have seen it already. My darkroom is located within Beta's Pleasure Chambers. It's a small side room in there. After all, a darkroom doesn't exactly need a lot of space, just a tiny closet really, that can get fully dark, with just some decent worktop", he shrugged casually.
"While I do appreciate the fastness and dexterity of modern digital cameras, nothing just can top the classic feeling of taking old fashioned photographs and actually develop them in a darkroom. I inherited the hobby from Father, actually, he used to love photographing as well, when he was still able to see. Oh, the old photos he took back in the day.. There is just something nostalgic in them.. Life in general was so simple back then..", he explained.
The girls nodded politely, they had already heard that Nihil had been young during the hippie era, so it made sense that he had taken quite a lot of photos back then to make memories.
"Hm? Hey, what's going on with that smaller pool over there? The water in it is a really deep shade of red..", Nikki noticed suddenly.
"Mm? Oh, that one? It's filled with rose water, the roses come from my garden. The Ghoulettes especially like it a lot, rose water is quite good for skin after all. They also like it quite strong too, so the petals are being strained much longer than usually, giving the water such a deep, rich color", Primo smiled proudly.

Then he noticed a suspicious look on Mary's face.
"What is it, signorina? You have sort of a perplexed expression on your face..", he continued.
"Yeah, well.. I was just thinking.. Like the girls said, I read history a lot.. And seeing water as red as in that pool got me thinking about the story of Erzsébet Báthory, the Blood Countess of Hungary..", she shrugged.
"Impressive, that name isn't exactly easy to pronounce correctly with just one attempt. I'm sure that you made your history teacher proud", Primo whistled, lifting his brow a bit, and gave her a polite round of applause.
"Thank you. And yes, actually, I did made him proud. He was one of my favorite teachers. Sadly he passed away due to some chronic health issues a bit before I graduated, but he taught me well, always encouraging me to read more..", Mary smiled.
"Báthory.. Báthory.. Why does that name sound familiar..", Copia stroke his mustache again.
"You seem like you want to share the information you have learned, signorina. Please, do tell", Primo gave her that same fatherly smile like earlier in the garden.
"Ooh, okay! So, Erzsébet Báthory was a Hungarian noblewoman who lived during the 16th century. She was also known as the Blood Countess, as the story tells that she tortured and murdered hundreds of girls and young women before her death in the early 17th century. While not fully reliable, at least by modern understanding, the legend still goes that she bathed in the blood of the murdered girls, believing that the blood of the pure and innocent kept her youthful and beautiful. Because of her status as a noblewoman, she wasn't executed, however, but she was imprisoned until her death..", she explained.
"Ah yes, now I remember, Auntie Lizzy! Honestly, she was always an envious hag, wanting to look more beautiful than she really was! I'm glad she has been gone for about 400 years, give or take.. We never had to meet her in person..", Terzo shivered.
"Mm, I think there's some of her rubies somewhere in the treasure chambers.. It took several generations to eventually get them though..", Secondo nodded.
"Meena? You visited the treasure chambers earlier, do you remember seeing some especially fancy looking ruby jewelry in there?", Nikki whispered.
"Yeah, there was some.. I saw one really fancy ruby necklace and a matching ring..", Meena admitted quietly.
"Auntie Lizzy?", Mary too wondered.
"Speaking of her rubies, they would fit you well, cara mia.. I gotta find them.. Delta! I summon you, this is an order!", Terzo called.

Soon the girls saw the now familiar puff of smoke and a pair of amber eyes shining from under the hood.
"You summoned me, Master Terzo? What do you need? I already did.. The thing.. For Master Primo earlier..", Delta asked, the tone of his voice sounded like he should be careful with his words since the girls were there.
"I have an another thing, Delta. Go to the Hungary department of the treasure chambers and look for the Báthory rubies. I wanna show them to her", Terzo ordered, casually putting his arm around Mary's shoulders, making her blush and giggle again.
"The Báthory rubies, Master? You mean the old Hungary department?", Delta checked that he had heard correctly.
"Sí, before the 17th century", he nodded.
"Mm. Do you need something else?"
"Well, since you do go in there, you could check on the diamonds as well.."
"Ehh.. Secondo? Can I ask you something?", Meena asked shyly.
"Of course, what do you want to know?", he nodded.
"I.. I got a glimpse at this treasure chamber earlier, when we got separated from each other.. I didn't notice that there was actual departments in there?", she wondered.
"Mm, it can look like it's difficult to navigate. Delta here is our treasure ghoul, he knows his way around there", he explained.
"Okay, now you got me really interested, you got real historical treasures in there?", Mary asked curiously, she loved history and absolutely wanted to know more.
"Oh yes, cara mia. We have gathered them over the generations. Well, technically we don't belong in any of the powerful families, which is fine, the Emeritus family is strong itself, but our ancestors have been at the right place at the right time to save some pieces of history here and there..", Terzo smirked. He liked the way how her eyes started to shine. She looked so adorably curious.
"Gamma! I need the keys!", Delta called out. The girls had heard this name too, and saw a quick glimpse at him, but weren't sure what exactly was his duty.
"Mm, Gamma is our key keeper. We have a lot of rooms here, and every now and then some of them are locked, so Gamma's main duty is to hold onto the keys in case we need something", Copia smiled, noticing their puzzled expressions.
"What keys do you need, Delta?", Gamma grumbled, he had a low, deep voice that too sounded like old church bells, as he glanced in from the doorway.
"Treasure chambers, old Hungary, around the late 16th century, thank you", he nodded. Gamma made an "mmh" kind of noice and grabbed a large key ring that was hidden somewhere in his robes.
"Let me see.. Nope.. Not that one.. Or that either.. Hmm.. Late 16th century, that's what you said, right?", he checked, going through the key ring.
"Mm, if I had to guess, around the 1590's", Delta shrugged.
"Here you go", Gamma nodded eventually, handing him a large brass key, as both of them disappeared again.
"As you can see, signorinas, Gamma's key ring has something for every door", Copia chuckled.
"How could an Italian family have Hungarian jewelry though..", Mary wondered.
"Maybe they just look similar? Or it's a gimmick to get someone like you even more interested?", Nikki and Meena looked at her.
"It could be.. But as far as I'm aware, the details are correct..", she shrugged.

Chapter Text

Zephyr soon came back with new drinks, this time without alcohol, like he had promised to Primo.
"Here you go, ladies, have some ginger soda. It will balance the alcohol a bit", he smiled, his tail flapping a bit from side to side.
"Oh, thank you, Zephyr", the girls smiled and each took a sip.
"Aw, look at those two, they practically cuddle, such lovebirds..", Copia purred, he personally preferred to sip some apple juice.
"It's Terzo we are talking about, after all.. I'm just surprised that he managed to behave for this long..", Secondo huffed.
"Now now, Secondo. I actually agree with Copia. They do look quite adorable", Primo smiled, as it seemed like after the initial shyness, Mary didn't seem to mind that Terzo still had his free arm around her.
"Mm.. I admit that he came up with something new this time, at least I don't think he has brought the family heritage up before.. And it actually worked..", he admitted.
"Well, I hate to say it, but usually, he tends to go for the more simple minded girls that just look pretty and like it when he tells them that they look pretty.. Omega at least has some actual personality..", Copia coughed.
"But this little rosebud is different in his books. You saw it too, fratellinis. When he saw how she got intrigued when he even mentioned the historical pieces, how her eyes started to shine.. She's a smart one, and just being smarmy won't be enough this time.. He will need more than just some charming words..", Primo nodded.
"Oh, don't underestimate him, fraté. If we Italians do something well, it's our sultry charm", Secondo had to grin.
"We gotta go, the game is waiting after all.. And if that grin turns into a laugh, I'm gonna end up on the bottom of this pool..", Meena whispered to Nikki and she nodded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna turn into a raisin soon anyway.. Marmot? We should get going, we got nice and clean, and the next room is already waiting..", she said.
"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, the game..", Mary nodded and the girls started to get up from the jacuzzi.
"I'll see you later, cara mia, have fun", Terzo purred, blowing her a little kiss.
"Oh, he likes you, marmot", Meena and Nikki giggled, making her blush again.
"No but seriously, you are glowing, ever since we came in here", Nikki continued.
"You don't glow like that if you happen to mention any of your former crushes, or God forbid, your ex..", Meena added.
"Well.. He's a fine piece of Italian art.. And I have always kinda wanted an older boyfriend..", Mary giggled.
"You have had that daddy kink since you were a teen, right?", Nikki lifted her brow.
"Like Beta said, everyone has at least some kind of a kink", she shrugged.
"Ooh, you start to echo his words already", Meena whistled ironically.
"Did you enjoy the spa visit, ladies?", Zephyr asked, bringing them some fresh towels before the showers were turned on.
"Oh yeah, this was the best spa we have ever visited!", the girls nodded.
"That's nice to hear. In case you are gonna ask it soon, yes, we make our soaps and such ourselves as well, unless stated otherwise, and you are free to use whatever you happen to want. I only ask that you put them back where you took them from, it's much easier that way to keep an eye on which ones are being used", he smiled, noticing that they were looking at the different bottles and jars on the shelves. The girls nodded again, it sounded only logical.
"Call me if you need anything", he grinned, putting the towels on a side table and left to give them some privacy.
The girls read through the hand written labels on the bottles.
"Dewy raspberry and blueberry.. I like it, such a sweet scent..", Nikki giggled, grabbing a pink bottle from one of the shelves.
"Soft apricot and mango.. I wouldn't even be surprised at this point if they use real fruits for these..", Meena nodded, grabbing a similar bottle, just in a vivacious shade of orange.
"I like that light green one.. Let me see.. Fresh watermelon and mint..", Mary smiled.
"They don't seem to be in a hurry to ask us to leave.. Apparently they like having guests over..", the girls guessed as they eventually went back to the dressing room after the shower.
"Sweetlings? Are you decent in there? Can we come in?", they heard a polite knock on the door and Aurora's and Sunshine's voices from behind it. The girls answered in unison that yes, they had the bathrobes on, so they were decent enough that they could come in.

As they did so, they had a large silver briefcase with them.
"Hopefully you have had fun so far?", Aurora smiled softly. Now she had lifted her hair on the cutest space buns ever.
"We have. This spa visit was a side track though, but it was fun as well. What's with the briefcase?", Mary asked curiously.
"Mm, this one? It's filled with cosmetics. Your next theme is supposed to be a casino, right?", Aurora asked and the girls nodded.
"We'll make you pretty for it. You must look presentable at a casino, after all. Beta is waiting with your outfits already", Sunshine grinned.
"He showed them to us already, so we know how to match your make up with the dresses he has chosen this time", she added as they started to go through the briefcase. The girls sat infront of the large mirrors and waited, this sounded fun, they could even get their make up done?
"Can we ask you something?", Meena asked innocently.
"Of course, dear. What is it?", Aurora purred.
"That symbol. It's a new one for us. What does it mean?", she continued, nodding towards the embroidery on the chest level of their tops as well.
It sort of looked like a star, made out of the four element triangles, with the subtle 'Q' in the center.
"It's the symbol of a Multi ghoul. After all, our powers mix all of the elements together", they shrugged casually.
"Anyway, would you like to have some curls, honey? Not as tight and kinky like I have though, something more soft and casual?", Sunshine asked from her, gently twirling a little tuft of her hair around her fingers.
"Oh, I love curls! It's just a pain to get them sometimes..", she nodded.
"These will be the most painless curls you have ever gotten then", she smirked, taking a small dollop of hair styling mousse in her hands and grabbed a hold of her hair.
"I call for the element of fire, to give just enough heat, to get the curls even a porcelain doll would desire!", she ordered. Meena indeed felt a sudden wave of heat, but it felt similar like a hairdryer put on a hot setting and held on a place for a bit too long, so while it felt warm, it didn't hurt.
As Sunshine let her hair go from her hands, there indeed was soft curls falling over her shoulders.
"Oh wow! I wish it really was this easy, whenever I wanted to curl my hair!", Meena gasped.
"Thank you, sweetie, I'm glad that you like it", she smiled. Meena started to giggle, as Sunshine's tail was tickling her neck a bit while lifting her hair up on a nice bun, so her hands were free to work on Nikki's hair at the same time.
"Try not to move, honey, I know it can tickle.."
"That's so cool, how you can use your tails like a third hand..", Mary whistled.
"Mm, we like to do simple little tricks like this, the big boys usually lift some actually heavy stuff with their tails", Aurora nodded.
"Yeah, if they fully focus on it, they can even lift some decent heavy weights with them at the gym", Sunshine added.
"And with you.. I quite like that shaven side, it looks cute on you. Maybe we should just fluff the rest of your hair up a a bit..", she continued, glancing at Nikki, and took some more mousse in her hands.
"I call for the elements of both fire and air, this little kitten likes to show a bit of a wild side, now she just needs cool hair!", she giggled. Nikki too felt the wave of heat in her hair, while on the shaved part just above her ear, it felt more like a nice kind of a cold shiver.
"That tickles!", she giggled too.
"And with you, we are doing something different.. Let me think..", Sunshine purred, looking at Mary.
"I call for the element of water, so smooth and sleek, just watch out, boys, she'll be even hotter!", she smirked. This time she didn't use that same heat activated mousse, but a nearly wax-like gel that helped to give Mary's hair some sleek texture.
"There, that looks good.. Do you need help there, Rory?", she asked.

Aurora nodded, sitting next to the briefcase, and handed her a couple of bottles of foundation.
"Yeah, could you mix some of these? I didn't find the exact foundation shade I was originally looking for, but I think that if these get mixed, the result should be as close as possible", she nodded.
"Oh, it will be really pretty, soft, like that vanilla gelato Secondo made once..", she purred. The girls looked at the eyeshadow palettes, blushers and lipsticks Aurora was picking up from the briefcase as Sunshine was mixing the foundation so there would be enough for all of them.
"I like that lilac, with just a tiny bit of blue in it.. It fits her well, and it's gonna match her dress too.. That, and some soft peach on the cheeks and that muted brick like red on the lips.."
"Mm.. And silver is clearly her color, very shiny.. Some warm coral and cool fuschia here and there.. And you can never go wrong with the classic black smokey eye and bold red lips, with just a tiny pinch on pink on the cheeks..", Aurora and Sunshine giggled while putting make up on the girls. They all tried their best to not to sneak a peek from the mirrors until they were done.
"Kittens? Are you decent in there, so I could come in? Personally, I won't mind, I'm open for anything after all, but I understand that you surely want to be modest.. At least for now..", Beta knocked on the door.
"Will you behave yourself, if we can let you in?", Aurora checked, opening the door just enough to see him standing there.
"By the fetish ghoul's honor. I'm simply a creature of fine culture. Besides, I'm bringing the kittens their dresses and shoes", he shrugged casually.
"Well, since you are here now, leather daddy, wanna help to choose them some nice perfumes?", Sunshine asked, and the girls could hear how some perfume bottles were clinking slightly.
"Mm.. She's sweet and precious.. Something with a candy like scent for her..", he nodded towards Nikki first.
"You have spent time with Rain again, huh?", the Ghoulettes giggled.
"Actually no, I just checked the inventory again where the edible lingeries are.. I had a feeling I had misplaced something.."
"Excuse me a what now?", the girls wondered in unison, slowly opening their eyes since other than the perfumes, the make up was now done.
"Mm, edible lingeries, they are quite a fun gimmick, when used correctly, of course. Kind of like those, I must admit, quite amusing candy necklaces and bracelets from back in the day, just in the form of a lingerie..", he grinned.
"And for her.. Maybe something more.. Natural and fresh, yes, like flowers", he continued casually, glancing at Meena.
"And then for her.. What's that lady version of musk again? That somewhat leathery, but not like my whole closet..", Beta scratched his chin a bit with his dagger like nails.
"It should be worrysome if you start to compare the general scent of your closet to perfumes..", Sunshine whistled.
"I'm pretty sure you mean sandalwood though..", Aurora nodded approvingly.
"Mm.. Anyway, here's the dresses, like I promised.. A purple, simple cocktail dress for her.. A slightly longer, dark green sheath dress for her, I thought that the slit on the leg looks nice.. And for her, short black minidress, you can never go wrong with that..", Beta explained, handing the girls the dresses he had chosen for them. He had even brought a few pairs of shoes, so the girls could choose the correct size.
"Ahem, Beta, you are supposed to leave now", Aurora coughed.
"You are the one who is strict about consent after all", Sunshine reminded as well.
"Ah yes. The kittens want some privacy to change. It sounded like Delta was going through the treasure chamber, I'll wait with him outside of the door", he nodded and left the dressing room.
"There, he's gone now. You can change in peace", they smiled, also giving them some privacy after making sure that Beta had closed the door behind him.
"These are cute, he does have a decent taste..", Nikki admitted.
"And apparently a huge selection, since he did find something different for each of us", Meena pointed out.
"Mm.. They do show a bit of skin, but not in an uncomfortable way..", Mary nodded.
The cocktail dress left Nikki's long legs exposed, but since the upper half of the dress was more covering, it wasn't too much. Similarly, the kind of dress that Meena was now wearing showed her back quite a bit, but then again, the slightly longer hem balanced it. And while the skirt of Mary's dress was quite short too, being a classic minidress after all, it too was balanced enough with the properly open decoltée.
As they stepped out of the dressing room, Delta indeed was standing at the door, while chatting with Beta.
"Papa knows that I'm still looking for the rubies. In the meantime, so you can go forward with the game, here's just a little something to finish your casino looks. You can simply give them back when you don't need them anymore", he nodded politely.
For Nikki, he had chosen simple golden hoop rings, for Meena, a classic pearl necklace and for Mary, a nice sapphire ring. The girls admired them for a moment and then turned their attention back to the casino pieces they had found from the candyland.
"These must be those sneaky fixed dice, look. No matter how many times I throw them, the triangle sides are always showing up..", Nikki whispered.
"Yeah.. But how do we know which triangle is which? All we know is that the lines separate earth and air from fire and water, but that's all..", Meena shrugged, glancing at the slot machine tokens in her hand.
"Maybe it will make more sense when we find the right door?", Mary suggested, twirling the poker chip between her fingers.
"Freak geeks, warn him that the kittens are on the move, the casino better be ready."
"We're on it, leather daddy", the triplets answered.

Chapter Text

The girls walked around the corridors, now they knew better to look at the symbols on the doors. It took a while, until they eventually found a door that looked quite promising.
"That's the only door we have seen with holes on it..", Nikki scratched her neck.
"There's something familiar with it though..", Meena added.
"Five holes.. Two little cubes and three round ones.. Could it be..", Mary wondered.
"I think you are on the right track, marmot. I'll try the dice", Nikki nodded. She tried the upper one first, turning it around a couple of times. There was a quiet "click" as the dice found it's correct place, and the triangle on it started to glow a deep shade of blue.
"So that's the water triangle, got it. Then there's this other one..", she nodded, doing the same thing with the lower dice. Soon it too clicked on it's place the correct way, with the triangle starting to glow a pure, silvery white light.
"And that's the air one, remember, we saw that same triangle on the side of Zephyr's shorts back at the spa.."
"That means that these ones are fire and earth then, we just gotta find out which is supposed to be up and which down..", Meena nodded, turning the tokens around as well. Indeed, as she put them in the two holes, the upper one started to glow a soft shade of red, while the one on the bottom was now having a fresh green glow too.
"That looks so cool.. And only this one is missing now..", Mary whistled, carefully inserting the poker chip in the last hole. As she did so, the Q immediately started to glow, just like the others, only the color was a dark purple.
"Hm? You look worried all of a sudden marmot. Is everything okay?", Meena worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine.. It's just that.. Well, you know, it is supposed to be a casino.. And you know how bad I'm at maths.. If we gotta play anything to get forward in the game.. The only one I'm at least somewhat good at is the billiards..", Mary groaned.
"Well, as far as I'm aware, you aren't even supposed to use maths at a casino. It's cheating, you know, to count cards and such. It doesn't work like that", Nikki shrugged.
"You need to know enough to be good, but if you are too good, that's only suspicious", she continued.
"So, if we do need to play something, let Nikki and I do it. You just look cute, like you are, and charm whoever Ghoul is the host of the casino room", Meena grinned.
"Okay, I should be able to do that", she giggled and the girls opened the door.

As they stepped inside, they had to whistle. The room looked awesome. There was everything they would had imagined a casino would have, of course a roulette table in the middle of the room, some smaller tables for different card games, specifically for poker obviously, a few slot machines, and Mary looked especially happy noticing a billiard table a bit on the side.
"Okay, this looks cool.. There's even a dance floor, that's a nice extra touch.. And yet an another bar counter.. These guys sure like their booze..", they giggled.
"Which reminds me, you do not drink anymore. If you do, only slow sips, okay. Best case scenario, there's something non-alcoholic on the list", Meena reminded Mary as they looked around.
"Fair enough, but I have to say, they do make really good drinks..", she shrugged.
"Mm, I'm honestly more interested to see who is the host here..", Nikki nodded.
"That would be me, my dear", the girls suddenly heard a smooth man's voice purring from the shadows. It sounded vaguely familiar to them.
"Girls, check out those long legs and broad shoulders.. And such sinful hips.. Huh, I thought we met Rain already..", she wondered, fixing her glasses a bit.
"What about those eyes then.. They look like they even glow in the dark, like a cat's eyes..", Meena noticed. She had just barely said it, when the girls saw the sharp looking grin.
"A fine body, glowing eyes and a sharp grin.. Swiss? So the casino is your theme room then?", Mary asked. As the name got mentioned, the grin got even wider.
"Mm, I had a couple of choices, either a casino or a dance studio. Trust me, I love my mirrors, I need to see every possible angle as I dance. But the Papas pointed out that then I would fully focus on dancing and not as much hosting you ladies. So this was a much better choice. Sigma left just before you came in, I had to pester him to bring me cash, of course a decent casino needs the house money in the bank so the games could be started..", Swiss grinned, waving a thick looking fan of dollars infront of him.
He was wearing a similar looking, sleek black suit like most of the folks the girls had seen so far, though the matching black necktie was now changed into a classic bow tie instead.
"They probably do have a dance studio too, we just haven't seen that one yet..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Mm, of course we do. I spend quite a lot of time in there. And you should see Aurora, she can do a full split", Swiss grinned.
"I don't do stuff like that though, I leave such tricks to her. Myself and Phantom especially are more like the classic hip gyration kind of guys", he shrugged all casually, and the girls indeed noticed how his hip was swaying as he spoke, with his spade tipped tail moving in sync with his hips.
"You could say that again.. That movement is so.. Smooth and hypnotizing..", the girls nearly drooled. It simply made him laugh.
"Thank you, darlings. To be completely honest, I'm moving almost all of the time. You can ask from the rest of the pack, even when it's a time for a nap, yours truly keeps on moving", he grinned.
"Anyway, I see that Beta found you ladies some pretty little dresses.. He can find practically anything when given enough time, really.. Mm.. Even perfumes.. That's a bit more exotic even from him, but not impossible.. Soft and sugary sweet, something like.. Warm vanilla.. Maybe cotton candy.. But there's something more.. I think acrid is the correct word.. In the core.. Maybe cher.. No, that's a rowanberry actually.. And then there's more floral notes.. A bit of lily of the valley.. And maybe.. Wait, no, that's not lavender, that scent would be stronger than that.. I think it's some kind of a jasmine.. I admit that the Ghoulettes know flowers a bit better than I do, but I do appreciate a nice scent when there's one.. Very pure and fresh in any case, like a flower field.. And what's this, something more spicy.. We like it spicy.. I believe that's sandalwood.. Mm, yes, yes.. And a tiny bit of leather.. That could be coming from Beta too, actually.. He always chooses favorites and lingers near them..", Swiss purred, flashing his sharp fangs, fanning the air around the girls a bit with that fan of dollars.

The girls giggled, there was that something with the scent of ink.
"Huh.. That's kinda weird.."
"Mm? What's weird, spicy pie?"
"Those dollars you are holding. They don't look like normal ones. I admit that I don't understand much about numismatics and such, but can I see one?", Mary asked politely.
"Sure, here", Swiss nodded, his dagger like nails grabbed a hold of one of the crispy notes and he handed it to her.
"I thought it didn't look like a normal dollar! Girls, look! At a quick glance, it looks like a one dollar bill, sure, it's the correct size and all but it says six hundred sixty six dollars!", she gasped.
"Infernal Reserve Note, distributed by The United Clergy.. Infernal? That's quite an exotic choice of words.. Doesn't that part usually read "Federal Reserve Note" or something like that?", Meena noticed.
"The old guy looks quite.. Um.. Old on it.. Like a half a foot away from the grave old, if we are being completely honest.. Who's the lady though? Oh wait, there seems to be a tiny signature.. Sister Imperator, Treasure of the Clergy..", Nikki nodded too, reading the small print next to the lady's picture.

Chapter Text

Suddenly Mary, Meena and Nikki realized something. They hadn't seen this lady before, and by that time, they had already spent a good few hours at the estate. However, seeing that her picture was next to Nihil's, on a quite an official looking bank note nothing less, she must had been someone really important.
"Swiss? Can you tell us who that lady is? She looks really important..", Mary asked politely, nodding towards the picture as she handed the note back to him.
"Oh, you mean her? That's Sister Imperator, like the signature on the note says, she's our lady of the house. Nihil's missus, if you please, they have been together for about five decades, give or take, since there was the time of the prime movers..", Swiss shrugged as the tip of his tail pointed at the lady's picture as well.
"Prime movers?"
"That too sounds important?", Nikki and Meena asked as well.
"You could say that, I guess. They were sisters specifically chosen by the Clergy to bear the old bastard's sons, please excuse my French. It was very important you see, to get the best possible ones to continue the bloodline of the dark architect", he explained dramatically.
"So.. Wait.. Does that mean.. The brothers aren't brothers then..? Damn, now that sounds really confusing..", Nikki wondered.
"Stepbrothers maybe? I mean, all of them did get enough looks and general mannerisms from their dad after all..", Meena suggested.
"No, if they were stepbrothers, it would have happened through marriage, without a bloodline connection, like in Cinderella. But since they obviously share the same father but apparently have different mothers, that would make them half-brothers. It would make sense too, they do look similar enough to be their father's sons, but not completely, since they did get some stuff from their mother's sides as well.. Most likely they simply have gotten used to treat each other like they were fully blood related..", Mary guessed.
"Yeah, Primo seems to be the only blond, so maybe he got that from her then.. Since we have now seen how similar especially Nihil and Terzo look like.. And maybe Secondo's mom was a taller lady then, since he seems to be quite tall himself too, or something.."
"Each brother does have his eyes though.. That's a really lucky strike, that that exact gene got passed around so strongly, and on the same side too.."
"Mm, that's why the prime movers were a big deal, only the best was accepted", Swiss grinned.
"That sounds a bit freaky though, to choose the perfect genes for the child.. And then do it several times to get the best possible results for the whole set..", the girls whispered to each other.
"Though that could explain why and how they are as perfect as they are..", they added.
"Well, in any case, you won't most likely meet her in person. You see, she travels quite a lot, for the Clergy. Nihil used to do it, when he was still in decent health, but he can't really leave this place anymore, at least not on the long business trips. I'm sure that Kev's and Omi's paychecks would have several extra zeros after a gig like that. All those oxygen tanks, a rechargeable battery of some kind for the defibrillator machine and a bunch of meds..", Swiss shrugged.
The girls looked at each other and shrugged, if it wasn't mandatory for the game to interact with the lady, it was fine.

It would make sense after all, to have some other business to work with within the same family that didn't have anything to do with the escape estate.
"I wonder why she wasn't on that family portrait in the Cardinal's office then.. I mean, she must be counted as family if she's the old guy's lady partner after all..", Nikki shrugged.
"Maybe it wasn't fair, since these so called prime movers weren't depicted on it either.. What do you think, marmot?", Meena asked.
"Well, historically speaking, many strong families indeed only pictured the father, as the leading family patriarch, with his sons, the heirs, on the family portraits.. Of course some of them also pictured the mother as well, but that does sound logical, if all of them indeed have a different mother..", Mary nodded.
Just to be polite, Swiss too asked if they wanted something to drink, since there indeed was yet another bar counter, but the girls equally politely declined, they knew their limits and they had had enough to drink already.
"Well, don't be shy to ask if you change your mind", he smirked.
"Anyway, on a more official note, welcome to The Ghoul Lounge. I wanted to call it The Horny Lounge, hence the horns, since Beta too has his Pleasure Chambers..", Swiss shrugged casually, his dagger like nails pointing at the horns peeking out from just under his hairline a bit.
"Papa didn't give me the permission for it, though..", he added, sounding a bit disappointed, and his lips turned into a pout.
"We have never visited a real casino before..", the girls squealed shyly as they looked around. When saying it, they noticed how Swiss's tail started to make that same faster, happy flapping again that apparently showed that the ghouls were getting excited, the slower, calm zigzag pattern they had also seen seemed to mean more or less that they were either curious or cautious, depending on the angle how the tails were moving.
"Your tail seems to indicate your feelings? Kind of like my mom's dogs, obviously they show everything through their tail movements..", Meena guessed. That now familiar pearly white grin rose on Swiss's lips again after that sad pout.
"Well, we are roughly human sized puppies, so that makes sense", he grinned proudly.
Suddenly the girls heard fast, heavy footsteps coming closer to the door, and in the background was familiar creaking.
As the door opened, an intense scent of leather wafted into the room, with the now very familiar, long and sharp, black dagger like nails grabbing the doorframe.
"Keep yourself together, marmot, now you go all weak when just seeing his hand..", Meena and Nikki whispered.

Indeed, just the strong scent and creaking of leather told them immediately which ghoul was behind the door. Beta, with his eyes now glowing like still smoldering embers, poked his head in the casino room.
"Hello again, kittens. Oil hip, where's my cuffs? A few pairs were missing from my equipment shelf, and the only thing written on the reservation book was the letter S. How many times I have told you that you pups need to write your full names, or at the very least add the element symbol after the initials, so I know what has been borrowed by whom..", Beta grumbled, he sounded quite annoyed.
"Don't look at me, leather daddy! I haven't even been anywhere near your office today! Besides, there's a handful of other ghouls whose name starts with an S than just me!", Swiss huffed, mostly dramatically, as he interrogated him.
"True, but out of the choices, you are the trickster with slippery hips", he pointed out.
"I'm flattered, big guy, but it wasn't me. Did you check Sigma and Special?"
"I did, actually. Sigma had a migraine again, poor pup, and I know my Specs, he always asks first before borrowing anything. Sunshine is a sweetheart, she too asks before touching. So it's either you or.. Oh.. Oh my..", Beta realized.
"Mm, told you it wasn't me. But it does sound interesting in any case.. I can't wait to see what he might come up with..", Swiss shrugged.
"Well, you don't really need me in here right now, so I'll see myself out, and find that little troublemaker.. See you later, kittens, we will meet again sooner than you might think", Beta purred before disappearing again, when talking to them, he controlled his tone.
"Mm.. Bye, Mr. Beta..", Mary squealed shyly, making Meena and Nikki giggle.
"You do have a thing for leather, if I remember correctly", Nikki grinned.
"And he's always dressed in it from horns to heels.. And probably any cosmetics he uses also has a leathery scent..", Meena nodded.
"If I may get your attention, ladies, please, it's time to start the games!", Swiss grinned. It was the sign for the triplets to put all of the lights, sounds and other effects in the room in action.
Just a push of a button from the security office and the slot machines started to jingle, the roulette table was now slowly turning on it's own like a carousel, and as the girls looked down, they noticed that some of the lights were even shining the playing card suits, hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs, on the floor tiles.
"That looks so cool..", they admired.
"As you can see, we have a lot of different games to choose from. There's the exciting slot machines, always classy roulette and my personal favorite, poker..", Swiss grinned, shuffling the deck of cards in a very flashy motion. As he did so, the door opened again.
"Evening, Swiss."
"Evening, boss."
"Would you mind if I have a round or two? Omikron said that I should enjoy my sight as long as it's still possible, and I do miss a good game of pool..", Nihil shrugged, slinking into the room.
"I can still see okay enough, though sudden changes from bright lights to a more dim environment or the other way around does mess with my eyes a bit. Obviously I'm glad that this time this has been going on for this long, but who knows when they turn opaque again, so..", he explained, pointing at his eyes.
"Sure, I'm fine with that. Just don't reveal the solutions to the little ladies", Swiss nodded.
"Mm, fair enough. I hope that the little signorinas have had fun so far, sí?", he grinned, grabbing the closest pool cue.
"Yes sir, we have..", the girls squealed shyly in unison. It was still so weird to them, to see him as youthful as he still looked, almost like he could had been the older brother instead of the father.
"They look so similar it's almost too freaky.. Even for being father and son.. They clearly get that smirk from him.."
"Someone seems to have a crush..", the girls whispered.
"If it doesn't bother you too much, I would appreciate it if one of you plays against me? If I wanted to play alone, I would play snooker, not a game of pool.."
"I think I can make it work like that..", Swiss nodded, even though he had to improvise a bit.
"Ooh, I'll play. Even though the whole room is really cool, I honestly don't understand much about casino games..", Mary shrugged casually. Meena and Nikki just nodded, they had said that if they needed to play something to get forward, they could do it.
"Ladies first", Nihil bowed down politely, handing her the other pool cue.

Chapter Text

Swiss brushed his long fingers through his dreadlocks with a puzzled look on his face, this wasn't exactly a part of the plan, which meant he had to improvise.
"Okay, I can still fix this, it's just a sidestep.. Let's see then..", he thought. The girls looked around a bit, wondering would could be their next task.
"Huh, that's weird.. I don't hear a clock's ticking anymore..", Nikki wondered.
"That's not weird at all, my dear. This is supposed to be as Vegas styled casino as just possible after all, and real Vegas casinos don't have clocks in them. Papa Secondo explained it like that way gamblers won't notice what time is it and continue spending more money. He even visited that really fancy Monte Carlo casino in Monaco once, but he prefers Las Vegas better. In his words, better booze and prettier show girls..", Swiss grinned.
"So that's why we didn't put any clocks in here either, to keep up with the general vibe. The only ones you might hear in here are the actual bells outside, they echo really well all over the Ministry as they toll", he shrugged casually.
"That makes sense, all we can hear is mostly those slot machines and the billiard balls clinking", Meena nodded.
"Speaking of which.. You doing okay there, marmot?", she continued.
"Mm, I'm fine, it just has been a while since I played billiards the last time.."
"Oh? You seem like you know what you are doing, in my humble opinion. Though you could put your support hand more like this, let me show..", Nihil suggested, gently moving her left hand, the one she was using to lean against the pool table, on a slightly different angle. The sudden touch made Mary giggle since it was harmless enough.
"And now we see where Terzo clearly gets that handsyness from, he too was grabbing her hand earlier pretty much just like that.. Then again, it could also simply be some Italian thing..", Meena and Nikki whispered to each other.
"You mean like this?", Mary asked innocently, turning her wrist a bit.
"No no, my dear, not that much, I don't want you to hurt your delicate wrist. You have such precious, tiny hands.. Just a little bit, sí, just like that.. That's better.. Mm, I like your perfume as well.. Warm, little bit sweet and pleasant.. Just like you.. No wonder the brat seemed to fancy you at the dinner table earlier.. Maybe it's even a bit.. Animalistic, if I would dare to say, in a good way, of course.. I do also get a scent of leather.. Beta clearly has been around you lately.. He has energy like that, especially when there's pretty ladies around..", he purred.
As he said "animalistic", Mary glanced at him over her shoulder. There was something weird with his eyes. They were still clear and bright, not blind, like the portrait had shown, and just like his sons' eyes, greenish with just a smidge of hazel on the right and nearly white on the left. But something was different.
"Mm? What is it, my dear?", he asked.
"Your eyes, sir..", she squealed politely.
"Are they going opaque already..", Nihil worried, lifting his hand infront of his eyes. No, he was still seeing okay. However, the field of vision was quite.. Wide. And judging by the way how Mary was staring at him, he guessed what it was.
"Your pupils went all horizontal all of a sudden, sir.. Like a..", she whispered.
"Like a goat's eyes, my dear? Yes, I know. That happens every now and then. It has been a while since the last time though..", he shrugged.

After a moment, the horizontal slit pupils slowly started to turn back into the dots they had been earlier.
"No headache, no horns, that's a good sign..", Nihil continued, mostly to himself, brushing his hand through his hair.
"That was weird..", Mary mumbled.
"Anyway, where were we, it was your turn..", he nodded, moving her hand back on the position he had suggested earlier.
"Are you feeling well, Your Groovy Excellency? Should I call Jesus here?", Swiss checked from the background.
"No thank you, I'm feeling fine. It was one of those moments again, that's all. I simply forgot already how it feels like", he nodded.
"I have to say, you and Terzo could almost be twins.."
"I know. At least one of the boys had to get more my genes than their mother's. He just doesn't like to admit that he's as handsome as his old man", Nihil grinned.
As he talked, there was a muffled "clonk".
"The cue ball went in.. I'll get it..", Mary nodded and instinctively bent down to grab it from the slot.
"Marmot, wait!", Meena and Nikki gasped, trying their best to stop her.
"You wear a teeny tiny dress that shows quite a lot of skin..", they squealed, knowing how she usually bent down to collect billiard balls when they did play.
"If you ask me, it's honestly quite impressive to bend down like that in a tiny dress while also wearing high heels.. And still managing to not to show too much..", Swiss whistled as he too glanced what was going on at the pool table.
"Oh right.. This dress indeed is tiny..", Mary remembered and blushed a bit. She lifted the cue ball back on the table to get both of her hands free to lean against the pool cue as she got back up.
"Mm, you move like a show girl.. Fits the theme of this room quite well.. You wouldn't happen to be a dancer?", Nihil asked directly as he was leaning against the table.
Obviously he didn't meant to sound overly audacious, he simply was from a completely different era and generation, to him it was just normal to be more blunt than politically correct.
"Actually no, I'm not a dancer, but I'm still flattered though..", Mary giggled shyly.
"That's a shame, I knew some fine go-go girls back in the day.. You would had fit well in with them, those nice sleek boots and some cute fringy dress.. Maybe gree.. No, green is a nice color, but it's not exactly yours.. Mm, a deep navy blue would be a better choice.. I'm sure Beta could find something if he's asked nicely, surely you understand, he's quite strict about..", he hummed.
"Consent, I know, he has mentioned. He's a.. Um.. I think he called himself a fetish ghoul?", Mary nodded politely.
"Mm, most of our ghouls do all kinds of tasks, whatever they are asked to do, though of course there's tasks that certain ghouls might simply do better than others, but some of them have very specific duties, and they rarely do anything else", he shrugged casually.
It sounded all logical, and Mary just guessed that Beta must had been one of those "very specific" ghouls, as every time they had met him so far, he always mentioned something about a consent and how important it was, while casually flirting at the same time, and simply giving sales pitches about the stuff he had in his office and such.

At least it seemed like a very specific task only he was doing, as the girls hadn't heard anyone else talking about it the same way like he did.
"I assume that you have been told that you are the only ones who have gotten this far in the game? A few tried before you, but they stopped soon after starting..", Nihil continued.
"Yeah, it has been a lot of fun", she smiled.
"Now we fully understand why we were warned at the start that the game will be long, it sure has been..", she added.
"Our unholy Ministry is full of secrets and surprises, I'm sure you signorinas must encounter several of them before the game is finally over..", he grinned while looking for a good spot for the next move. When the spotlights hit his face just from the correct angle, it still looked quite a lot like his eyes still had the horizontal slit pupils, just like a goat..
"That's actually a bit freaky.. Especially since he's supposed to be blind.. But he sure was easy on the eyes when he was younger..", Mary thought and glanced at the other side of the room to see what Meena and Nikki were doing. Judging by the fact that they were standing at the poker table, the task probably had something to do with a deck of cards.
Indeed, the girls were watching as Swiss's long, nimble fingers were shuffling the said deck of cards.
"As much as I would like to have a full game of poker with you, you should be able to continue the escape game as soon as you just can, so we gotta make this a bit more simple, but we can still use the cards..", Swiss explained, shuffling the cards in that fast, zipper like motion.
"How well do you know playing cards, ladies?", he asked, flashing his sharp teeth again.
"Is that a trick question? I mean, there's four suits, reds and blacks, and 52 cards in the deck..", Nikki shrugged.
"The cards themselves do have some generic names though.. I think this will have something to do with them..", Meena nodded.
Once he had shuffled the deck enough, Swiss lifted the cards like a fan infront of his face, in a way that the girls weren't able to see them.
"Okay, so I have taken three random cards out of this deck. All you really need to do is to guess which ones they are", he said. The girls looked at each other, that didn't sound too difficult, and honestly kind of fun. And since it was a card trick, it still fit the room's general theme, even if it wasn't directly a casino game necessarily.
"I can give you a hint that they are face cards, no aces, jokers or numbers. So basically, there's only twelve cards you need to guess between", he nodded.
"That actually does help, at least there's no numbers to mess with our heads.. Are you still allowed to give us some more hints than that?", the girls asked. Swiss grinned widely, Cardinal had been right, he indeed liked to flash his pearly whites at any given moment.
"Mm, I can give you an example. Each of the three chosen face cards will have a little poem to go along with them, how you should be able to recognize which ones they are. This one will be the example poem. A beautiful lady, veiled in black, she has grace, she has power. A regal, noble woman carrying a cross, you never see her without a flower", Swiss recited the first poem as an example what the girls would hear while trying to figure out which cards were missing from the deck.
"A black veiled lady carrying a cross and a flower? That's simple enough, that's the Queen of Clubs", Mary pointed out.

Swiss smirked, pulling one of the cards out of the fan, grabbing on it with his sharp, dagger like nails and showed it to the girls.
"That is correct, sweetling. You see, this is how this task works. You just listen to the poems and guess the cards, simple enough", he nodded.
"Mm, so here's the first actual hint, are you ready? He's a man who looks both left and right, with his chosen weapon always shining bright. Unlike Julius that got stabbed, he's always ready for the attacks, as he's the one eyed man with an axe", Swiss purred.
"Hmm.. Since it's a male, it must be either a King or a Jack card..", Meena nodded.
"Something in the poem does sound really familiar.. Marmot? You know all about history?", Nikki asked.
"Julius that got stabbed? That's Julius Caesar, a Roman politician, dictator perpetuo, if you please. If my memory serves me correctly, he was stabbed roughly 28 times by Brutus, Cassius and a handful of other senators. The history tells the tale like Brutus was the one who gave the killing strike. Hence that famous "Et tu, Brute?" phrase. And as far as I'm aware, the playing card kings do carry weapons.. Though I'm not completely sure how exactly Julius Caesar specifically fits in it, I guess it's just for the rhyme..", Mary shrugged thoughtfully.
"Ah, I adore a lady who loves to read. Like my darling Seestor. She's practically the business executive of our household, you see. Of course she read some religious studies as well, seeing that we are church going folks, and seeing how well spoken she is, I wouldn't even be surprised if she went through some law courses as well..", Nihil smiled proudly.
"Oh, how much do I miss my precious dove.. But out of the two of us, she's the more able-bodied to still travel for the Clergy. I used to do it, when I was younger, but I can't do it anymore. While yes, every now and then I'm blessed to look youthful again, I still know that I am an old geezer who can't go a couple of hours without a good dose of extra oxygen. Which is also why I enjoy these moments when I can live my better days again. She was a beauty back in the day.. Don't get me wrong, my dear, my sight may not be what it used to be, but deep in my heart, I know that she's still gorgeous. But back in the late sixties, when we both were still young and beautiful, oh, she was a sight to look at. Tall and slender, with the most beautiful heart shaped face, crowned by long, golden hair, and those shiny hazel eyes, lips like freshly opened rosebud.. The moment I saw her, I was head over heels for that girl..", Nihil sighed, and judging by the tone of his voice, he was still very much in love with the lady who held the key to his heart.
"I love reading, especially history. My late teacher used to say that we should learn from the history so we wouldn't make the same mistakes again and again..", Mary shrugged.
"Hopefully I'll find someone who would love me as deeply as you seem to love your lady", she added politely.
"I'm Italian, which basically means that I'm an eternal romantic, so believe me, there is someone out there, you simply may have not met them yet", he nodded.
While they were talking, Meena and Nikki had managed to solve the first card.
"There's only one card of a man with an axe, that's the King of Diamonds!", Meena gasped and Swiss showed them the first card.
"Yes, that's correct. Now, here's the hint for the second card. The lord of the sword, wearing a cape that's blood red. Out of the royals, he's the only one about to go off with his head", Swiss grinned.
"That was almost too easy! That's the King of Hearts, also so called Suicide King, as he poses with the sword behind his head! And well, the 'off with the head' sounded a lot like Queen of Hearts, so..", Nikki nodded. Swiss flashed an another grin and showed the card, indeed, it was the King of Hearts.
"Mm, such smart, sweet girls.. No wonder Papa fancies them.. Ah yes, you need the hint for the last card.. A regal lady, crowned by a veil on her head, it's not a scepter that she holds, but a post of a bed", he purred.
"Hmm.. A regal, veiled lady, with a bedpost like scepter..", Mary wondered out loud.
"Simply because the other suits have been mentioned already, it would only make sense if the last card is the Queen of Spades? I think like Queen of Clubs is nicknamed the Flower Queen, the Queen of Spades has been graced by the nickname of the Bedpost Queen?", she guessed. Swiss's tail made that happy kind of flapping from side to side again, and a wide grin rose on to his lips.
"Mm, guess what, sweetlings? I'm proud to announce that you have solved the task in the casino room!", he smirked. The girls squealed in unison, while the room had been very flashy, the task itself was quite simple in the end.
"Are you ready to continue towards the next room, ladies?", Swiss purred.

Chapter Text

The girls looked at each other and then at Swiss, who still had that sharp smirk on his lips.
"So.. Do we get an another hint what's the next room or something..?", they asked curiously.
"Mm, the hint will sound very familiar by this point, as all you need to do to get forward is to follow the southern corridor, and choose the door with an upward pointing triangle on it", he grinned. Another element triangle, another point of the compass, it seemed.
"Earth was in the north and water was in the west..", the girls mumbled, as they waved at Swiss and Nihil before leaving the room. Glancing at the door, they remembered the symbols on it. They just needed to look for the upward pointing triangle.
"That's the red one, so the south must belong to the element of fire!", they noticed.
"His partner in sin and mischief.."
"Hm? Did you say something, Nikki?", Meena asked.
"Oh, I just remembered how Swiss introduced Sodo to us earlier. Remember how his hair flamed up during the dinner and they mentioned that his element is fire?", she pointed out.
"That makes sense..", Mary nodded, taking her heels off.
"Ah, I can walk normally again.. The heels are cute, don't get me wrong, but it's tough to walk on them for a long time..", she gasped.
As she said it, Epsilon and Ypsilon, the janitor ghoul twins, reappeared again from a puff of smoke.
"Hello again, ladies. We would like to inform you that your clothes are now all fresh and clean. Unless Beta has already planned for something different, would you like to change into your own clothes again?", the twins asked in unison. They waited for a moment, just in case the fetish ghoul indeed reappeared as well with the outfits again.
When that didn't happen, they handed the girls their clothes back and nodded towards one of the doors that they could get some privacy to change. The girls nodded, while the dresses and heels were cute, they already wanted their own clothes for a while. The twins opened the door for them and politely waited behind it as the girls got changed and took the dresses back.
"We're always at your service, ladies", they smirked before disappearing again.
"That is weird though, didn't Beta say that he's always there to offer us something new for each theme room?", Mary pouted for a moment, since the fetish ghoul was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe we'll see him later then, I guess it's possible that he just thinks that we are still in the casino, it did take a while.. Especially with you playing a sultry show girl for the old guy..", Nikki shrugged, making her blush.
"It wasn't like that, he's from a different generation, things were different when he was younger.. Though still, he is Italian, and somewhat decent looking..", she squealed.
"Speaking of which, what time even is it.. What the heck..", Meena gasped, glancing at the first clock they saw on the corridor wall they were walking through.
"It's already nearly midnight? We have very much overstayed our welcome by now..", she continued when they noticed how late it was. However, it seemed like the folks in the household didn't mind that they were still there.
"Since the dinner I started to think that it's decently late.. You know, Italians usually enjoy their dinner later in the evening, around eight or so.. And then that spa visit also took a good chunk of time too..", Mary shrugged.
"Maybe this is the moment that we ask if we can stop the game and continue it later on.. As long as we find someone..", Nikki nodded.

As they walked on one of the hallways, they suddenly heard voices from behind the corner. Judging by the low rumbling accent, it sounded like Primo and Secondo, and like they were trying to speak as quietly as possible, though it wasn't easy as the stone walls gave a decent echo.
"Are you completely sure about it?", Secondo asked, he sounded confused.
"Have my flowers ever lied to me?", Primo answered calmly, while the girls didn't see them directly, they could hear a bit of a smirk in his voice.
"Son of a.."
"A-aa, watch your mouth, fratellini, this is a church after all. What you let pass your lips when outside of the Ministry, that's none of my business, but when in here.."
"Mm.. Point taken, fraté.. So what are we going to do then?", Secondo continued quietly.
"I'm not sure yet. Though I do trust my flowers, there's still some things I need to check out first.. So, if anyone needs me, I'll be found from the garden..", Primo nodded.
"Mm, I need to go back to the kitchen anyway, the pups most likely want some late night supper.. Ah, you are still here, signorinas?", Secondo noticed that the girls were peeking from behind the corner.
"It's not polite to eavesdrop", Primo pointed out, now with a more serious tone in his voice. The girls could had sworn that their eyes were shining a bit.
"Damn, I really do feel like we did something naughty and got caught..", Nikki whispered.
"Tell me about it, I've always been that nice good girl type.. This feels exactly like we got caught with our hands in a cookie jar..", Mary squealed.
"Um.. We didn't mean it.. But we were looking for.. Anyone, really, and you just happened to be the first ones we saw..", Meena tried to explain.
"Mm, you were looking for us, sí?", he lifted his brow a bit.
"Like I said, I'll be in the garden. Surely you can handle a few signorinas?", Primo asked, as he eventually left.
"Of course I can. So, what was the reason, mm?", he nodded, now with a grin.
"We, um.. We just noticed how late it is already.. And just wanted to ask if it's possible to take a break from the game and maybe continue tomorrow..?", the girls asked shyly.
"You wish to leave? It's quite late, yes, but I don't really see an actual reason to kick you out simply because of that", he shrugged casually, crossing his arms.
"Bunny, stop staring, please. And you are almost drooling too..", Mary whispered, noticing the enamored look on Meena's face.
"So what you are saying is..", she coughed awkwardly under his gaze.
"Well, at least I don't personally see a reason why you couldn't stay the night. We do have several guest rooms in here. And besides, at the end of the day, we are churchkeepers. While it's not directly a plea for help, our doors are always open, whenever you might need something. In this case, simply a place to sleep. I'll get the Ghoulettes to fix you a room, and if you are feeling peckish, I'll be fixing some late night supper soon. Ghoulettes! I summon you, this is an order!", Secondo called. The girls had noticed earlier that not all of the ghouls would appear from similarly colored puffs of smoke.
Most did, mostly from different shades of grey, but they had seen actual colors as well, like dark purple for example, when they had seen Aether earlier. This was a similar moment. The smoke they saw this time was partially cotton candy pink and partially dollar green. Once the smoke was gone, infront of them stood the other two Ghoulettes, Cumulus and Cirrus, that the girls had only seen during the dinner. They grinned, flashing their fangs a bit and waved at the girls, with their tails making casual little flapping.
"You called us, Papa?", they purred. Secondo nodded towards the girls.
"Yes, I did. As you can see, the signorinas are still here. It's quite late, could you fix them a guest room for the night?", he asked.
"It would be our pleasure, Papa! We were quite a bit worried that they had left already before even visiting our rooms..", Cumulus hummed softly.
"Would you like to follow us directly, or still look around more casually, sweetlings?", Cirrus asked, while Cumulus' voice was so soft and sweet, her voice was more of a low, husky purr.
"Um.. Well, if that really is okay.. Could you tell how can I find Copia in here? He sort of promised to show me his rats..", Nikki asked shyly.
"That's a perfect timing, he should be giving the little ones their evening snacks right about now", she smiled and explained to her what path to take to get there.
"If you need anything, just call for Jesus. He knows every nook and cranny of this place, that's the guy you need to ask for if you happen to get lost in here", Cumulus smiled as well.
"Be careful", Mary and Meena reminded as Nikki started to walk towards the other hallway she was pointed to go. In the meantime, they decided to follow the Ghoulettes, to see where exactly the guest room would be.

Nikki walked for a good while in the other direction, she had been advised to walk along the large marble corridor, with the colorful glass painted windows on the side. For a moment, she stopped to look around, to make sure she wouldn't turn in the wrong direction.
As she did so, she noticed a small glass showcase on the side table. Since there was a lot of paintings, statues and such all around, she thought it was some kind of an art piece as well, and seemingly expensive enough to have a showcase to keep it safe, and she took a closer look at it as she was about to walk past.
"Oh damn, that's some Conjuring-level stuff.. A doll in a glass showcase..", she whistled. While it wasn't exactly a rag doll, it did look like it was hand-made, with tiny black shoes and mittens, a little red robe with a matching shawl over the shoulders, detailed with a silver brooch, and a red hat slightly askew on it's head. The face of the doll was very simplistic, just a pair of tiny ears, eyes with black markings around them, small round nose and a black line for a mouth. There was something very familiar with it.
"Hmm.. That hat and robe combo looks really similar like what Copia was wearing when we met him for the first time.. There's even black mittens to match his gloves too..", Nikki wondered. Then she noticed a small sign on it.
"I am Plushia, the cursed doll. Do not tap the glass or open the door without a permission. The case is my castle and I don't approve it if someone sneaks up on me. Though I like posing, please politely ask for a permission before taking a photo. If this case is found open at any point, seek for the closest ghoul or Papa as soon as possible, and hope for the best for a quick catch, he he..", she read and glanced at the doll again.
It didn't seem too dangerous, maybe a bit silly looking, sure, but the warnings almost made it sound like Annabelle or Robert the Doll. Just to be sure, Nikki decided to do like the sign said.
"Um.. Hello, Plushia? I'm Nikki. May I please take a photo?", she asked politely. She wanted to have a photo to show to Mary and Meena, just in case she wasn't able to find the exact same corridor again later. She waited for a bit, as if to give the doll a moment to decide was it okay. She gasped, as she was sure that the doll moved, ever so slightly, to look more directly at her direction.
"I.. I think I can take that as a yes..?", she whispered, surely that wouldn't had happened if the answer had been "no".
"Thank you", Nikki squealed politely after taking the photo, it only felt right to also thank after asking for the permission. However, as she walked past it, she suddenly heard a tiny clink of glass.
"Huh.. That sounded like.. Oh no.. That ain't gonna be good.. I was sure I didn't touch the glass, or even the table for that matter.. But now the door is open and that freaky little doll isn't in the case anymore.. What the heck..", she gulped.
Suddenly Nikki had a feeling that she should be moving a bit faster and turned from the next corner. As she did so, she noticed that one of the doors was open and carefully peeked in.
It was quite obviously a bachelor's nest if she ever had seen one, some clothes scattered on the armchair, video game controller resting on the bed, a pair of golden yellow boxing gloves hanging from a hook and on the table was a blue water bottle with a large, rust-colored Roman numeral IV on it.

Chapter Text

On the other side of the room was also a large rodent cage, and Copia was standing next to it, dressed in a long, sapphire blue robe, talking to the rats.
"Yes yes, I know, it has been a long day.. Angelo, did you again eat all of the treats? Seriously, you need to run on that wheel some more.. Fabio, that's more than enough bathing for one day, your fur is fine.. You too, Rigatoni, please don't learn from him.. Oh, Zarella, don't you dare to give me an attitude, young lady.. Mm? What is it, Barty?", Copia asked. Barty squeaked a couple of times.
"Ah, signorina, it's nice to see you again", Copia smiled as he turned around, noticing Nikki at the door, and just instinctively tied the belt of his robe a bit tighter. Then he also noticed the worried look on her face.
"Do come in, per favore. Is something wrong?", he asked, moving the controller and other stuff to make her some space to sit down.
"I, um.. I was looking for you, you said you could show your rats to me.. When I was walking on the corridor, I saw a glass showcase on the side table, and.. I swear I didn't touch it, I asked a permission before taking a photo like the sign said, and just looked for a moment before walking past, and..", Nikki started to explain.
"Are you saying that Plushia is..?", Copia asked slowly, knowing immediately where she was getting at and she nodded.
"Dannazione.. Where are your friends?", he checked immediately.
"We saw Secondo and he said that since it's so late already, we could stay the night, and he called the other two Ghoulettes we had only seen during the dinner.."
"I assume you mean Cirrus and Cumulus, sí?"
"Yeah.. So, I guess that Mary and Meena are with them, at least they didn't say that they would continue checking out the place while I'm here.. Is it bad?"
"I hope not. Triplets!", Copia called out.
"Yes, Master C? What do you need?", they answered in unison.
"Code Red, I repeat, Code Red. The doll is out, again. One of the signorinas is with me, check where the other two are and make sure that they are safe", he ordered.
"Yes, sir. Should we direct them to the other Papas?", Eeta's voice asked.
"If mi fratellos are nearby, sure. The other ghouls are fine too, I just need to know that they are somewhere safe."
"Mm.. One of them seems to be on the art corridor, near the upstairs staircase..", Zeeta noticed from the cameras.
"Sounds like Mary, she likes arts and stuff.. Unless Meena is there as well, I guess they could have separated again to look around some more..", Nikki shrugged.
"Are my brothers or any of the other ghouls around?", Copia asked, and the triplets clicked through the cameras.
"It looks like they indeed have separated again.. We'll direct both of them to the closest ones we can find..", Theeta nodded. Nikki squealed that earlier, the Ghoulettes had said to ask for Jesus if they get lost, since he knows exactly where to go. That helped, since from their cameras, they noticed him.
"Jesus! Code Red! Find the signorinas and get them to safety!", the triplets rushed him. Nikki of course wasn't able to hear his answer, but she guessed that he immediately rushed to look for them.
Indeed, it only took him a handful of moments to find Meena and knowing well what the "Code Red" meant, he walked her quickly to the closest safe spot, which from that point, just so happened to be the kitchen.
"Papa Secondo? Are you in here?", he called.
"I am, Kevin. Bring her in. Where's the third signorina? Did you see her?"
"No, Papa. I found her first. I'll check from the triplets..", Kevin nodded.
Meena was confused what was going on, but sat down to wait that someone could explain to her why they were rushing all of a sudden. Then she noticed that Secondo was locking the cutlery drawer, the key hung around his neck.
"What's going on? I have never seen that someone actually locks the cutlery drawer..", she wondered.
"I don't want to worry you, signorina, but we have a situation at hand. You are safe in here. I know your friend went off to look for Copia. She's safe with him as well. I'm not sure where the third signorina is, but Kevin and the ghouls are looking for her..", Secondo nodded.
At that same time, Copia had come up with an idea how to make sure that Mary too was safe.
"Triplets, you said that the third signorina was on the art corridor?", he asked and they answered affirmatively.
"That's good, that should mean she's near the atelier.. It should work.. Omega!", he called out.
"You summoned me, Master Copia?", Omega's voice echoed like a church bell, loud enough for Nikki to hear it too.
"Omega, listen. The pesky doll got out again. The triplets aren't yet sure where it is right now. Get the signorina to safety. One is with me, and Jesus got the second one on time. She should be near the art corridor's staircase", Copia explained.
"I'll get her, don't worry", Omega growled.

At that same moment, Mary was all focused on looking at the paintings on the walls, and she screamed, as Omega appeared right infront of her from a cloud of dark grey smoke.
"I'm sorry that I scared you, kitten, but we gotta go", he grumbled.
"What? Go where? What's going on?", Mary asked.
"You'll get an explanation soon, don't worry. Please, follow me. The atelier is upstairs, it's the closest safe spot right now..", he nodded, offering his large hand to her.
"A safe spot? Why would I need a safe spot? Where's Nikki and Meena?"
"She's with Copia, and according to Jesus, she's with Secondo, they are safe. Come on, we must go before.."
"He he he.."
"What's making that giggle like noice? It sounds almost manic..", Mary asked.
"Giggle? Oh unholy Lucifer, it's already in here..", Omega growled, and Mary heard quick, tiny footsteps coming closer.
"He he he!"
"There's that weird giggle again.. Ow! What the heck? Something cut me!", she screamed, feeling sharp pain in her ankle right above the edge of her boot.
"He he he!"
"Is.. Is that a doll..? Dressed in red.. And holding a knife.. Oh God that's actually quite a lot of blood.. I'm starting to feel a bit lightheaded..", Mary mumbled weakly, noticing Plushia, indeed holding a knife, and glanced at the deep cut on her ankle. Omega grabbed a hold of her before she fainted.
"Don't worry, kitten, I got you. It's gonna be okay. And you, little knife-wielding freak, I don't know how you got out this time, but you will go back in your case!", Omega growled, smacking Plushia with his tail so hard that it flew against the wall, with the knife clattering on the floor.
"And stay there! Triplets! It's Omega! The cursed doll is on the art corridor, get someone here to grab it before it does it's tricks again! And call Omikron to Terzo's art atelier, kitten got hurt!", he roared, with his long, strong legs, he was able to jump several stairs at once.
"Mm? What's going on.. Oh unholy Asmodeus, my darling cara mia! Bring her in, Megs! What the hell happened?", Terzo gasped as he opened his atelier's door after hearing the ruckus and saw Mary unconscious on Omega's arms.
"It's Plushia, it got out of the case again.. Others are aware, and Omikron is called, he should be here soon..", Omega nodded, carefully laying her on the divan.
"Oh, cara mia.. You are safe now.. Please open those pretty blue eyes of yours.. Omikron will take good care of you..", Terzo whispered, gently stroking Mary's hair, sitting next to the divan.
"I was summoned here.. Oh Aerico, that looks bad.. Even small cuts can bleed a lot if they hit the perfect spot.. Lift her leg up, the wound should be higher than the heart, that alleviates the bleeding..", Omikron, the medic ghoul, ordered and dropped his medical bag on the floor as he rushed to help.
"Omega, you heard him, do it", Terzo nodded. Omega grabbed a hold of Mary leg, carefully lifting it up, following Omikron's orders.
"Mm, that's better.. Do you have a good hold of her, Omega?"
"Yeah, though her foot is so tiny.."
"I just checked because I need to wake her up, and when the smelling salts hits her nose, she is gonna kick like a mule..", Omikron warned, going through his bag.
"Kitten couldn't hurt me, even if she tried to, she's tiny when compared to me", Omega smirked.
"Say that she'll be okay, Omikron, per favore", Terzo demanded.
"It seems like the wound is clean, just decently deep, and seeing enough blood can easily make a dainty girl like that to faint..", he nodded.

As he talked, Omikron grabbed a tiny, decorative glass bottle from his medical bag and opened it under Mary's nose. She indeed reacted at the smell by kicking her legs and taking a gasping breath.
"Mm, welcome back, young lady. I'm not gonna sugarcoat this, I must clean the wound to prevent any infections, and it's gonna hurt like hell. Of course I'll try to be as gentle as possible, but it's only fair that I at least warn beforehand..", Omikron nodded, putting his beak mask back on, it was quite hard to speak with it covering his face.
"Mm.. What happened.. I think.. I felt pain in my leg, saw blood and fainted.. That doesn't usually happen, so it must had been bad.. Oh.. A beak mask.. You really are a plague doctor..", Mary mumbled, slowly coming back to her senses, noticing the large, black leather beak hovering somewhere above her leg.
"No no, cara mia, don't look. I don't want you to faint again. Omikron is our medic ghoul, he will help you..", Terzo whispered, gently holding Mary's hand.
"Mm, it seems like the worst bleeding has now stopped, that's good.. Omega, you may now lower her leg a little bit, so I can clean the wound..", Omikron nodded, putting a new pair of examining gloves on and his tail grabbed an another bottle from the medical bag.
"This will sting, the wound is quite deep, but I must clean it well so it won't get infected. You are a lucky little lady, being too pretty to meet my bone saw", he warned.
"You won't poke me with a needle, right, I hate needles..", Mary squealed, not completely understanding what was going on, she was scared. Hearing the word "medic" she understood enough that he was a doctor, and doctors usually meant needles and such.
And well, Omikron did look like a plague doctor straight out of her history books, with his long coat, wide-brimmed hat and large leather beak mask on his face.
"Unless I absolutely must, no, I won't, I promise. I'm only going to dab some antiseptic over the wound with a clean gauze. It will still hurt, because the wound is raw, but there won't be any needles, sweetie", he promised, the mask muffled his voice a little bit.
"You can squeeze my hand as hard as you need, cara mia", Terzo calmed her down.
"Where's Meena and Nikki? Did that freaky little doll get them too?", she asked.
"They are safe with Secondo and Copia, don't worry. I feel heartbroken that we didn't warn you beforehand..", he whispered.
"That explains a lot.. Look out of the window, Short King! It's a night of the full moon. Apparently that gave Plushia enough energy to get out of the case again..", Omega hissed.
"Ow ow ow.. That does hurt..", Mary gasped as Omikron gently dabbed her wound with a gauze soaked in antiseptic liquid.
"I know, sweetie.. You are being very brave, just a little bit more.. While the cut looks nasty, I don't think it's deep enough to require an amputation.. Just some ointment and a good wrapping should do it, and you should be able to walk again, just be careful..", he hummed.
"An.. Amputation..?", she gulped.
"Don't worry, cara mia. That's not gonna happen. You see, Omikron is a bit.. Eh.. Old fashioned, sí, that's the word.. Omi, per favore, it's not the 14th century anymore, please don't talk about your plague time treatments near my angel! You mentioned the bone saw already, thankfully she didn't faint again..", Terzo huffed.
"Mm? Oh, true, it's not such dark times anymore.. I'm sorry if I scared you, little one. While I do have a bone saw in my bag, just in case, I'm not going to use it on you. There, it's cleaned now, the worst part is over.. I'll just put some ointment now, and simply wrap it well. Then you can carefully try if you are able to put some weight on it. If you do need painkillers or something, my office is in the basement level..", Omikron nodded.
"Thank you.. Um.. I'm not sure if we are officially introduced yet.. I'm Mary..", Mary mumbled shyly.
Now that his job was done, Omikron took his mask and gloves off, fixing his wide-brimmed hat a bit.
"Ah yes. It's nice to meet you, Miss Mary. I am Omikron, the medic ghoul. The Papas and the other ghouls come to me if they have any issues with their health. I do anything from basic wound dressing to complex surgeries, whatever is needed. For example, I make sure that Master Nihil gets his medicines and oxygen tanks served to him when he needs them. I also know every poison, venom, toxic and any general or more rare disease there is. Though as you can see from my outfit, my special expertise is the plague. Trust me, my dear, the 14th century indeed was a dark time..", he purred, bowing down and politely kissing her hand, making her giggle a bit.
"There, that's much better, cara mia.. You have both such a beautiful smile and a giggle as well.. I'm glad that you seem to already feel better. And don't worry about your little friends, they are safe as well.. The ghouls will take care of that pesky little doll, won't you, Megs?", Terzo lifted his brow a bit.
"Of course. I'll go and check on the situation, the kittens deserve a good rest after such a long and adventurous day", Omega nodded, disappearing from sight.
"Some warning would had been nice.. I wasn't aware that there would be some freaky doll creeping around.. But as long as Meena and Nikki are okay, I'm okay too..", Mary shrugged, carefully getting up from the divan. The area of her ankle that had been cut was still quite sore, but she was able to put a bit of weight on it.
"How are you feeling, darling?", Terzo worried, seeing the painful expression on her face.
"A little bit better, I guess.. My ankle is still sore, but at least it doesn't bleed anymore..", she nodded and sat back down, looking around the room.
There was a lot of different paints, canvases and an easel, large blocks of clay and marble, other sculpting materials, a dreidel in one corner, and the painter's coat he had been wearing earlier was hanging from a hook.
"I told you that you are welcome to visit my atelier any time you want, cara mia", Terzo smirked, noticing her gaze.

Chapter Text

Once Omikron was gone, Terzo offered his hand to Mary.
"Let me help you up, my dear. Lean on me as much as you just need to. It's already after midnight, you should rest. I'm sure that in the morning, your leg will be better. Omikron can check on you whenever you need anything, but he did say that you should try to move, right..", he nodded, helping her up from the divan.
"I really don't want to see that creepy doll again..", Mary mumbled, glancing at the door.
"Don't worry, you can stay here as long as you like, or until the Ghouls inform us that everything is fine. The pesky little freak gets a lot of energy during the full moon, but the Ghouls know how to handle it safely. Don't forget, darling, I'm the artist of the household. So, just in case I get an inspiration in the middle of the night, I don't have to go far to get to work..", Terzo grinned, dramatically pulling a thick curtain out of the way.
The atelier doubled as his bedroom as well. Behind the curtain was a large, very decorative and gorgeous four-poster bed, with similar thick black velvet canopy curtains. With the matching side tables and the equally decorative lamps, it fit in well with the similar gothic-like vibe the girls had seen all over the place.
"Do you like it? It took a decent amount of work to build it, but it was worth it.. If I feel like a prince, I bet you will feel like a princess..", he grinned, making her blush.
"I have never seen a real four-poster bed before.. Only in movies and such.. That looks so dark and majestic at the same time..", Mary admired.
"Mm, dark and majestic, just like me..", Terzo purred, checking his golden nails, and grabbed the golden rope that held the curtains closed to open them.
"Just like with the wine twirling, it's all about the wrist to open this..", he nodded.
"I don't drink wine a lot, but I have to say, it was really good..", Mary smiled politely.
"Mm, my brothers are very proud of our wine, sí. Primo grows the best possible grapes and Secondo has the skills to turn them into the finest wine there is", Terzo grinned proudly.
"You need something a bit more comfortable to slip in for the night, cara mia.. Cumulus! Could you come up here for a moment, per favore?", he called and suddenly, there was a puff of that same cotton candy pink smoke.
"You called me, Papa? If you needed to ask about Plushia, Cirrus and the boys have a hunch where it went. A good smack from Omega's tail made it go unconscious for a moment, but then it got up and hid. It shouldn't be anywhere too far away", Cumulus smirked a bit.
"Mm, that is good to know too, but not the reason why I called you here. Since the signorinas will stay the night anyway, could you be a doll and fix them something more comfortable for the night? I have understood that you and Cirrus were already fixing them a guest room.."
"Of course, Papa. I'll be back in a moment", she smiled.
"Um, excuse me, Miss..", Mary said shyly.
"No no, honey, no need to be so proper. Just call me Cumulus. Lulu is okay too, though. What is it?", she turned to look at her, a soft smile on her red, pouty lips.
"Do you happen to know where my friends are? I'm not sure what happened after I apparently fainted..", she mumbled, of course she was worried about Meena and Nikki after what had happened to her.
"One of them wanted to see Copia, right?", Cumulus purred, flapping her tail a bit.
"Yeah, that's Nikki", Mary nodded.
"Mm, she's safe with him, playing with the rats. That keeps her attention away from the situation with Plushia. And the other little lady is with Secondo. I think he was about to make some late night supper, so she too has a great company. Maybe some warm, hearty soup and freshly baked bread.. Trust me, honey, there's always fresh bread..", she smiled. Mary smiled too, hearing that the girls were doing okay, made her feel better.

Quite literally in a blink of an eye, Cumulus disappeared and then reappeared in the room, holding a fine, sleek black silk nightgown with a matching negligée.
"I hope you would like this, sweetling. I can try to find some matching slippers as well, if you wish..", she smiled.
"That's so pretty.. Is it..", Mary admired, carefully taking the gown, feeling the cool, smooth fabric between her fingers.
"Mm, real silk? Oh yes it is, straight from the homeland. Do you like it?", Terzo grinned, noticing how carefully she handled it.
"Yeah.. I mean, I don't think I have ever even touched real silk.. Not to mention really fancy Italian one..", Mary gasped.
"Oh darling, you can keep it, if you want to. Trust me, I can see how much you adore it. I'll give you some privacy, I'll be right behind the curtain if you need a hand", he smirked, as Cumulus disappeared again, to help the other Ghouls.
"Oh, this is so soft and pretty.. It even feels expensive..", Mary gasped after getting changed into the nightgown. It was very simple, sleek black silk, with thin shoulder straps and two small, cream colored roses on them.
"I'm glad that you like it, cara mia. How's your leg by the way? Does it feel better?", Terzo checked.
"A little bit, yeah. At least it doesn't hurt as much anymore as earlier..", she nodded.
"That's good. Like I said, Omikron can check it in the morning. Would you like to have some midnight snack by any chance? I'm sure we could score some of that wine from Secondo's private cellar.. He has several different ones there, obviously, if you like something else better.. Personally, I like the red ones better, but you seem more like a white wine kind of girl..", he purred, noticing that she was carefully taking a few steps.
"I do have one question, actually..", Mary admitted, she did feel a bit peckish.
"Mm, talk to me, cara mia. I'll do my best to fulfill your wish", Terzo grinned.
"Well.. I know that you are Italians.. And I do love pasta.. But I also happen to love sushi a lot too..", she mumbled shyly.
"Mm, I have tried them too.. More of an exotic choice, as I indeed believe more in pasta and olive oil than rice and seaweed, but in general, sushi is a nice occassional treat.. As far as I'm aware, out of the Ghouls, especially Beta and the triplets love them, and well, Rain generally eats anything he's being offered..", he shrugged casually.
"Ah, you wish to have some, sí? And you are too timid to ask directly from Secondo? He can have that effect on women sometimes..", he continued, noticing how harshly Mary was now blushing, admitting that small rice balls were much easier to eat as a quick snack than pasta, especially at such a late hour.
"I'll see what I can do, darling", he smiled.
"Thank you.. Um.. So what exactly is the deal with that doll..?", Mary asked.
"Plushia? It just.. It resides in the Ministry. It appeared here one day and never left. For some reason it took a fancy at Copia, as you probably noticed, it wears a similar cardinal robe like he does. Personally, I don't care about it that much, it's a trickster. It may tip over the ink wells or mess around with the paperwork, things like that. It's annoying at best. However, it's used to us, and knows that if it gets caught, it goes back in the showcase where it's safe to look at but it can't do its tricks. The full moon gives it energy, though, this happens every few weeks, but usually it doesn't get violent. I guess this time it noticed that there are guests in the Ministry and decided to try its tricks again..", Terzo shrugged, helping her to sit back on the divan.
"So, just to keep you safe, sweetling, until the Ghouls inform us that they have taken care of it, I'm not going to open that door. I really don't want it in here to mess with my art supplies. It's not necessary either, since they can appear wherever they want to. Plushia can be quick on its feet, but it can't just appear completely out of nowhere, so unless the door is opened, it can't come in here", he continued calmly.
"So.. In a nutshell, it's basically a real cursed doll that gets enough energy to do tricks every few weeks?", Mary asked.
"Mm, and this time you signorinas just so happened to be here to more or less witness it.. Wine, perhaps, my dear?", Terzo nodded towards the bottle and glasses, of course he always had some at hand.
"Maybe just a glass..", Mary shrugged, it had already been a while since the last drink, and since he did offer so politely, she didn't want to be rude and say no.

As they chatted casually, sipped their wine and Mary watched as Terzo drew his sketches, they suddenly heard several echoing loud and fast footsteps and background roars of "come back here, you little freak!" coming from the corridor near the stairs.
"Mm, sounds like the Ghouls are chasing Plushia..", Terzo guessed. Mary shook a bit, when hearing that high pitched "he he he" echoing around the corridor.
"Are you sure it can't get in here..?", she whispered.
"I'm sure. It's a pesky little thing, but it can't go on forever, thankfully. And judging by the sounds of it, the Ghouls are nearly finished with it", he promised.
"There it is! I saw a flash of that red robe! Get it, boys!", Cirrus's voice ordered. There was a loud crash that echoed around so well that all of the girls heard it.
"What was that?", she asked curiously.
"That, my dear, sounded a lot like a Ghoul pile. Sometimes the piles get quite huge, if as many of them as possible get on a pile at the same time.. They like to cuddle together, you see. It's quite a sweet sight, the pile is full of spade tipped tails and long limbs everywhere, with a lot of purring coming from it. That sounded like a smaller pile though, maybe only three or four of them..", he guessed, sipping his wine.
"Ouch! Damn it, Swiss! Your teeth are in MY shoulder again! You were supposed to hit the doll, not me!", Sodo shouted somewhere in the background.
"Calm down, mate, it's more important that it can't run and hide again", Mountain commented.
"Did you get it, boys?", Cirrus asked.
"I think so.. But there's Swiss's teeth in my shoulder and I also feel Aether's thick thighs on top of me..", Sodo grumbled.
"Be grateful it's only me and not all of the big guys at once!", Aether pointed out.
"Point taken, but can you please get your elbow out from between my shoulder blades? The spot you are pushing gives me shivers..", Swiss groaned once he had stopped gnawing on Sodo's shoulder.
"I'm moving once Mr. Long Legs over here manages to get up..", he nodded.
"Hold on, mate, I'm almost up.. Cir, can you grab my tail and pull, love?"
"I got it! Time to get up!", she helped him back up.
"Are the little ladies still here? Didn't they just leave your casino room, Swiss?", Aether asked as he too got up.
"They are, Cumulus and I were fixing them a guest room for the night", Cirrus shrugged.
"Hopefully they didn't have to meet that thing..", Phantom hoped as he appeared out of the cloud of smoke, holding the glass showcase.
"At least one of them did, it even cut her a bit, Omikron checked her. Apparently she's fine, but does have a nasty looking cut on her ankle. She's in Terzo's atelier right now. The other girls are with Copia and Secondo..", Cumulus nodded.
"Hm? Rain, where are you going?", she continued, noticing him going past them.
"Secondo send me to go upstairs, little lady felt peckish. Sushi is a more exotic choice in this household but she wished to have it, of course he made it happen", he shrugged, holding a decently large tray in his hands.
"And you didn't snack on them, right?", she asked. Rain's tail flapped a bit, but he shook his head.
"He said I shouldn't, so I obeyed. But it looks so good..", he licked his lips a bit.
"Ghouls? Is it safe now?", Copia asked, peeking carefully out from his doorway.
"Almost.. There.. Got it! Close the case, quick!", Sodo nodded and Phantom's long fingers latched the case in the locked position again.
"Here it is, safely locked in the case again!", he grinned as Nikki too peeked out.
"That's good, pups.. Ah, having a little midnight snack, Rain?", he chuckled a bit.
"Oh no, at least not for me, not this time! This is going upstairs, for Papa Terzo and his little lady friend", he smiled, flapping his tail all happily.
"That makes sense, Mary loves sushi!", Nikki giggled when noticing what was on the tray.

Copia smiled and offered her his arm.
"Would you like to have something to eat? I'm sure you noticed earlier that Secondo makes fantastic meals.."
Nikki nodded, after a rush like that, it indeed would feel good to nibble on something and they walked towards the kitchen as the Ghouls disappeared to continue their mandatory evening duties.
"Signorina", Copia smiled politely, noticing Meena sitting at the table.
"Is the situation under control?", Secondo called from the kitchen as he and Nikki also sat at the table.
"Sí, the Ghouls took care of it. Plushia is back in the case again", he shrugged.
"That's good. Other than the sushi for the third signorina, I wasn't given any specific wishes, so I thought that just some hearty soup and bread could be something nice to nibble on before going to get some rest", he nodded, bringing the soup and a bread basket back on the table.
"That's more than enough, thank you", the girls squealed in unison.
"Mm.. Where's Primo?", Copia noticed.
"Still in the garden, I heard him humming there just a few moments ago. He's doing that thing with his flowers again", Secondo shrugged. Copia nodded, absentmindedly dipping a piece of bread in his bowl of soup.
Only then, the girls heard what had happened to Mary.
"What? Mary got hurt?", Meena gasped.
"Was it that creepy doll?", Nikki asked.
"She's doing okay now. Omikron already took care of her wound, you don't have to worry", Copia promised.
"Knowing Terzo, he's probably showing his artwork to her to keep her buzy..", Secondo guessed. The girls calmed down a bit hearing that Mary was okay.

Chapter Text

As she heard the sudden knock on the door, Mary just instinctively screamed.
"Oh, no need to be scared anymore, Miss, it's just me, Rain. Remember, the sweet and gentle Water Ghoul. Papa Secondo sent me up here to bring you a little midnight snack, he made you some sushi", Rain called through the door as he heard her scream.
"I'll open the door, Rain, just a moment", Terzo nodded. He slinked in, flapping his tail from side to side a bit.
"I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean it. It's simply difficult to appear with a huge tray like this, so I decided to use the door..", he shrugged innocently. Terzo emptied a spot on the table where he could put it down.
"Oh, it's okay.. Terzo did say he won't open the door until the.. The situation.. Is taken care of.. So I kinda guessed that everything should be fine now..", Mary nodded shyly.
"Yeah, the guys put Plushia back in the case, it's all safe now", Rain grinned widely.
"Can I have some too? Please?", he continued very politely, looking at the different types of sushi resting on the tray, biting his lip slightly and clicking his nails together.
"Rain..", Terzo started, about to chasten him but she smiled softly.
"Sure. I can see that Secondo saw a lot of effort to make these, but in all honesty, I don't really like the squid or crab meat ones.. You can have those if you just want to..", she nodded and seeing Rain's reaction made her giggle. He quite literally acted like a puppy that was offered a treat.
"Oh please please, Miss!", he purred. Terzo just chuckled and a took an another sip of his wine, it was impossible to stop the embodiment of the sin of Gluttony from eating.
"You are a lucky pup that you are so cute, you know that, Rain?", he asked.
"Yes, Papa", Rain nodded, flapping his tail a bit. After scaring her, accidentally of course, he just wanted to cheer her up again.
"Oh, now I understand why you call them pups..", Mary giggled as he even dropped down on his knees.
"Mm, I think he's trying his best to charm you to forget that earlier mess, cara mia.. Go on, to a certain point, our Ghouls are just fine being treated like pets. They know their own limits and can say when they want to stop. However, since there's treats, Rain likes to play. Don't you, little sapphire scale?", Terzo smirked and he nodded again.
"Papa always says that especially pretty ladies should be obeyed", he purred, flashing those sharp teeth as he grinned.
"Most of the time, I can be a good boy, but with treats, I'll be anything you want."
His words made Mary to blush again.
"I don't want to sound rude, but wording it like that, you sound like a stripper.."
"Well, we Ghouls are a bi harem, remember, we can get quite rowdy..", he shrugged casually. It had indeed been mentioned at some point, Mary remembered.
"A fair warning though, Swiss and even Phantom are better dancers than I am, but I have learned a few tricks from them.. And I do have quite a fine backside, even if I say so myself.."
"Oh no no, you really don't have to! I have always thought that strippers are more of a bachelorette thing..", Mary blushed even harder, she felt awkward.
"As much as I adore the rosy glow on your cheeks, cara mia, I'll give you a hint. Toss him a piece of that sushi, and he's buzy momentarily", Terzo whispered, winking at her.
"That could work, yeah.. Um.. Rain? Would you like to have a squid or a crab meat one then?", she asked shyly.
"Ooh, the squid one, please. I like that firm, chewy texture", Rain grinned, now his tail flapped even faster. Mary smiled, grabbing the piece of sushi with the chopsticks and flicked her wrist a bit, tossing it to him.
"Mm, whatever Papa Secondo makes, it always tastes so good..", he purred. Especially the salmon ones were Mary's favorites, so she tried one and gasped.
"I have eaten some good sushi before but this is awesome..", she squealed.
"Do you wanna try?", she continued, glancing at Terzo, who had a sly smirk on his lips, seeing that she was happy.
"I'm never going to say no to some decent tuna..", he smirked casually.
"And that's my sign to go.. Don't mind if I do..", Rain grinned, picking the sushi pieces Mary didn't want anyway, and disappeared to give them some privacy.
"Hey, Rain? How was Mary doing?", Meena and Nikki asked as they noticed him coming back.
"She's fine, sipping some wine with Papa Terzo, and chatting with him", he nodded.
"Papa? May I interrupt?", Cumulus suddenly peeked in from the doorway.
"Mm, of course, Cumulus. Is the guest room ready?", Copia asked and she nodded.
"Yes, Cirrus is finishing with the fresh sheets, I was about to bring the little ladies some comfortable nightwear", she purred, nodding towards the nightgowns she was holding.
"You're all so nice to us, thank you..", the girls nodded politely.
"Mm.. Excuse me for a moment, signorinas. Primo! Do you want some tea before rest? If you are about to come in from the garden, that is..", Secondo shouted from the kitchen window.
"Mm, I'll be there, just a moment! Where was I.. Ah yes.. Devil's power is the greatest one.. When his and hers holiest shuns the sun.. A temptress smitten by the blackest force..", Primo answered, and both Meena and Nikki could hear him humming quietly in the background.
"A temptress smitten by the blackest force.. You don't think that that could mean..", they whispered to each other, repeating his words in a confused tone, glancing at the general direction they assumed that Terzo's atelier was located at.
"I mean.. This place does give me kind of weird vibes every now and then.. Guys in leather robes chanting in Latin.. At least according to marmot, Beta's office in the basement is practically a sex dungeon..", Nikki shrugged, fixing her glasses a bit.
"And all of those smoke clouds we have seen so far where the Ghouls just appear from.. And apparently a freaky doll as well.. Yeah, the general vibe is kind of weird..", Meena admitted quietly.
"Not that I'm complaining about the views though..", she continued with a sigh, just watching how Secondo casually rolled his sleeves up while fixing some tea.
"One, two.. Only two of them? Where's the..", Primo noticed as he stepped in, taking his hat and garden gloves off.
"Upstairs, with Terzo", Copia nodded.
"And with a bottle of the good wine and a plate full of sushi, I have to say, she does have an exotic taste..", Secondo shrugged, handing him the cup of tea once it was done.
"Grazie. I assume that you will continue the game tomorrow then, sí?", Primo lifted his brow a bit and took a sip from his tea.
"If that's just okay, sure. We had no idea that it would take this much time..", the girls admitted.
"Mm, I'm getting the sense that my brothers have been treating you well..", he nodded.

The casual comment made all three of them to chuckle, and the girls glanced at each other again.
"That's a bit ominous actually.. And you are completely sure that Mary is doing okay up there?", they asked slowly.
"Alone with Terzo? Sure. Dramatic bastard can be horny like a three balled cat, but in his core, he is an Italian gentleman", they shrugged all casually.
"That was probably not the most smartest thing to say to two ladies that are worried over their friend..", Copia guessed as the girls got up from the table and rushed out of the dining hall.
"Well, it is still true, though..", Primo pointed out.
"At least I don't hear any questionable ruckus from upstairs, so..", Secondo shrugged.
The girls rushed through the hallway. While sure, they trusted that all of the brothers were fine gentlemen, still, they were allowed to be worried over their friend though, especially now knowing that she had been attacked earlier.
"Do you even know which stairs we need to take? It's a huge place, there's quite a lot of stairs going in different directions..", Meena pointed out, gasping her breath a bit.
"Well, judging by the way how flashy and flamboyant Terzo seems to be when compared to the other brothers, I'm quite sure that if we find the most fancy looking staircase, we should be at the right place.. Like those ones over there!", Nikki nodded, noticing some indeed fancy and decorative spiral staircase.
"Oh I do not like the spiral ones.. They look cool and very fancy, yes, but they are horrible to get up, especially in a hurry..", Meena groaned.
It took them a good moment to get up the stairs, but eventually, they did reach the upper level. It was again a decently sized corridor, with doors placed here and there along the way. Most of the doors looked very simple, nearly hiding within the walls, and the girls guessed that most likely they were some kind of storage rooms, seeing how plain they looked when compared to many of the other doors they had seen so far.
But there was one different looking door amongst the plain and simple ones. It was large, made from the same dark colored oak like the large double doors in the main hallway they had walked through when Kevin had let them in. It was much more decorative, having detailed carvings from top to bottom, and it even had a large ring for knocking. As they walked closer to the door, they indeed heard Mary and Terzo chatting.
"Are you completely sure about it? I mean.. I don't know.. I have never tried before..", Mary's voice was answering to something that Terzo had clearly asked.
"Oh, don't be shy, cara mia. Trust me. You just haven't find the right guy.."
"Actually I swing in both ways.."
"Oh my, even better. Open preferences, I adore that. But my point was, you just haven't find the right person yet. You need someone who knows exactly what to do. I'm honestly shocked that no-one has offered you a chance before, I'm sure you would be a natural, apparently it was meant that our paths would cross. I would be honored if you would give me your permission to make you feel as close to a princess as possible. I promise to be gentle and treat you well.."
"I don't know.. You make it sound so simple.."
"I'm an Italian, we know all about that, and I do have my own way. Don't you trust me?"
"I do, it's just.. It's a big deal, what if I'm not ready.."
"Listen to me, cara mia. I know, new things can be exciting, and yes, sometimes a bit scary too, but you don't have nothing to worry about. I'll treat you well. This is a safe place, a sanctuary. If you really don't want something, that's completely fine. I only ask for a chance. I know that you and the other signorinas will eventually leave after you have finished the game. I'm delighted that you decided to visit, even for a little while, but since we would now have some time.."
Terzo's sentence got interrupted as the door opened suddenly and Meena and Nikki fell in, he hadn't locked it again after Rain had left, only lightly closed it.
"What the.."
"Marmot, wait! Don't do anything reckless! No any personal offense at signor, but you have only known him for a handful of hours!", they both panicked.
"Eh.. Reckless? What do you mean?", she asked innocently.

When realizing the situation, Meena and Nikki got flustered.
"Wait.. You mean.. But we heard.."
"He wasn't trying to charm you to sleep with him?", they asked in unison. The question made Mary blush harshly as well, and Terzo to cough into his wine.
"Signorinas, per favore, I am a charmer, guilty as charged, but no! There is a correct time and place for that kind of charming, yes, but it simply wasn't now! No no, you misunderstood. While yes, I do admit that I quite fancy your friend, I can also see how sweet and innocent she is. It would be wrong to defile such a precious flower when the moment isn't exactly right. No no, all I was asking was if she would give me a chance to paint her. She's a muse I haven't had in a while, but she mentioned that she hasn't modelled before..", Terzo explained.
"Oh.. Sorry..", the girls mumbled shyly. Once she had gotten over her awkwardness, Mary started to giggle.
"It's honestly sweet that you were worrying over me, but I'm completely fine. Maybe slightly tipsy from the wine, but nothing more than that. Terzo has been an absolute gentleman towards me. We have been talking about arts and history and he promised to show those treasure chambers at some point, I really want to see those fancy jewels.. Heck, I even forgot about the cut on my ankle already..", she smiled. Seeing that she was taking it so well, Terzo too relaxed.
"Signorinas, I sincerely apologize that you got worried over your friend. I only wanted to keep her away from that cursed doll until the Ghouls have taken care of it. Yes, I admit that I could had chosen my words a bit better than I did, but now we all are back on the same page, sí? A gentleman would never hurt a lady", Terzo pointed out.
Then he glanced at the clock that was just about to strike for half past one.
"Well, it is quite late already. You don't have to decide immediately, cara mia. Think about it, though. I really would treat you well. If you just want to, you can sleep here, I'll stay on the divan..", he continued. Mary glanced at the bed. The four posters and velvet canopy made it look so fancy and even a bit majestic.
"If you feel safe to do so, we're okay with it, though the guest room did look really nice", Meena shrugged, the Ghoulettes had shown the room to them while Nikki had been looking for Copia.
"I'm a big girl, don't worry about me", she promised.
"We'll see you in the morning then, marmot", Nikki promised as the girls left.

Chapter Text

The girls simply thought that it was a family own business after all, surely they could have their own rules how to deal with the people that were playing the escape room. And they clearly were more than comfortable to let them sleep over so they could continue the game the next day. Meena and Nikki chatted quietly as they arrived to the guest room the Ghoulettes had fixed ready for them.
The beds in that room weren't such fancy four post beds with velvet canopies though, but they were still otherwise decently sized with nice, expensive looking sheets, soft pillows and fluffy blankets, fitting perfectly with the general style of the room.
"It's almost like a gothic styled hotel.. I quite like it..", Nikki gasped, carefully pulling the blanket out of one of the beds.
The one she had chosen had deep, dark teal sheets, with some more navy blue accents on the pillowcase and duvet cover. Meena smiled, she agreed with her, and opened the other bed as well. The sheets in that one were in that rich phtalo green, with cool, silver details on the pillowcase and duvet cover too.
"I think that they seem to like certain color combinations a lot..", she giggled.
"Mm, knowing where marmot is, I wouldn't even be surprised if the sheets and stuff were, let's say, royal purple with golden accents?", Nikki grinned. As they were chatting, there was a polite knock at the door.
"Come in", the girls called instinctively. As the door creaked open, Rain poked his head in, with that bright smile on his lips.
"Hey there, Papa told me to bring you a little something in case you wake up in the middle of the night and get peckish", he smiled, bringing a silver tray on the table.
It wasn't anything overly fancy, just some rice cakes, salt crackers, nuts, grapes and berries, simple snacks that wouldn't dry up too much over night, and a big jug of mildly flavored soda water.
"Oh, thank you", the girls smiled, everyone was treating them so nicely.
"If you need anything, just call us, whoever Ghoul happens to be the closest will help", Rain smiled, flapping his tail as he spoke. The girls nodded, politely asking had he brought something similar to Mary too.
"We know about the wine, and we know marmot well enough, she shouldn't drink too much within one evening..", they explained. Rain nodded that yes, he was just about to take a similar tray to her as well, he brought theirs first since the guest room was a bit closer than the atelier.
"She doesn't like nuts though, so if possible, those can be left out", they shrugged casually.
"I'll see what I can do. Good night, ladies", Rain nodded as he left the room.
"He's so pretty.. It's not fair for a guy to look that pretty.. Everyone is so perfect here..", the girls giggled.
When Rain was gone, Meena and Nikki looked around some more. While still nice and tasteful, the guest room was more simplistic than many other rooms they had seen so far.
Every room seemed to have a large chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, with a couple of decorative lamps on the side tables. There was a beautiful, thick ornamental rug on the stone floor under their feet, in several, neutral shades of grey.
The curtains matched the main shade of grey as well, hiding those colorful, glass-painted windows behind them. Both of the beds and all of the tables, wardrobes, book shelves and drawers clearly belonged in the same set. Everything fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
"Huh, the garden seems to be even larger than what we have seen so far.. It's visible from this window too..", Meena whistled, glancing out of it.
"That's kinda weird..", she continued.
"What's weird?", Nikki wondered.
"It's quite late already, but if I saw correctly, Primo is out in the garden again..", she shrugged and she joined her at the window, looking outside.

Indeed, Primo was back in the garden, holding a decorative lantern in his hand. The girls watched for a moment what he was doing. It seemed like he was leaning over some of his plants again, but it sure was a weird thing to do at such a late hour.
"Don't quote me on this, but if I'm not completely mistaken, that's the part of the garden where he showed that weird black rose to us earlier..", Nikki nodded. They watched as Primo slowly went down on his knees next to the flowers.
"What is he doing.. I get that he's the household gardener, but it's late..", Meena wondered and Nikki fixed her glasses a bit, trying to see better what was going on.
"If nothing else, I think he's talking to the plants..", she guessed. They watched as he leaned over one of the plants, it sure looked like that black rose they had seen earlier..
After a moment, Primo slowly got up, now holding three decent sized flower buds in his free hand, and judging by the wide-brimmed hat and a plague doctor's beak mask that the Ghoul who had suddenly appeared was wearing, he had called Omikron to join him, as he had been told to be a medic Ghoul. They seemed to talk for a moment, the girls watched as Omikron opened a small glass jar and Primo nodded, dropping the flower buds in it.
"That does look really weird..", they wondered, as Omikron closed the lid of the jar and put it in his medical bag. While the girls had no idea what exactly was going on, something with it made sense. After all, as a doctor, Omikron was the closest thing to a scientist in the household. He said something else to Primo before disappearing again.
"That's peculiar.. They are acting all secretively..", the girls whispered, watching as Primo looked around for a moment before blowing out the candle in the lantern and walked back inside.
As a grandfather clock somewhere along the corridor struck for one in the morning, Meena and Nikki decided they should try to sleep. They had no idea how long the game would still be, so they wanted to be able to continue as early as possible.
"This must be the fanciest looking place where I have ever spent the night..", Nikki whispered, taking her glasses off.
"Yeah.. There's some nice hotels and stuff, sure.. But this is something extra..", Meena nodded. The sheets felt nicely cool and smooth after such a long day as the girls got under the covers.

In the meantime upstairs, Mary rested on the divan, just instinctively still holding her leg up a bit, in a way that certain position helped with the pain she still felt around her ankle. It wasn't too bad anymore, and the bleeding had already stopped, it simply felt better if the leg was lifted up.
"I'm sorry that we are bothering you this late..", she whispered. Terzo lifted his gaze from the sketch book he had been working on and glanced at her, his eyes shining in the soft candle light.
"Oh cara mia, you are not bothering us. If you were, we would had found a polite enough way to kick you out already if that was the case. It's just nice to have guests to stay over for once", he smiled.
Mary blushed a bit and tried to take a peek at the sketch book. Terzo grinned when he noticed it, turning it away from her just enough so she wasn't able to see it.
"A-aa, I'm not finished yet, darling. I don't unveil my art pieces when I'm still working on them", he purred teasingly.
"Sorry, I'm just curious.. Like I said, I have never modelled before, even casually..", she giggled.
"Which still makes me confused, my dear, though I knew you would be a natural if just given the chance.. And generally speaking, I see beauty everywhere.. However, I do think that there's different levels of beauty, that's how everyone sees something as beautiful. In your case, it's very soft and sweet, but at the same time you have a spark that's.. Dare I say raunchy? It could explain why Beta seems to fancy you, I can notice the scent of leather lingering around you.. It's a good thing, darling, all good girls need that raunchy spark, just like any wild girl needs that soft spot. It's a natural balance, just like darkness and light or infernal and heavenly.. Mm.. More like Satanic and angelic if you ask me..", Terzo mumbled nonchalantly, turning back to his sketch book.
"You are way too kind..", Mary blushed.
"I simply have a way with words, cara mia. Now where was I.. Ah yes.. A candle casting a faint glow.. You and I see eye to eye.. Can you hear the thunder? How can you hear the thunder that's breaking? Now there is nothing between us.. From now our merge is eternal..", he continued to hum, with a subtle, charming smirk on his lips.

Chapter Text

As Mary glanced at him, the candle light indeed was glowing in his eyes. It looked hypnotic, especially now that she knew that at least some of the Ghouls really were able to hypnotize..
"Mm, as much as I adore the way how your sapphire eyes shine when you look at me, please, do use your words, cara mia. I guess that's something that Beta might tell you.. I can do quite a lot to generally please a lady, but even I can't read their minds.. Ghouls can, though none of them are here right now..", he grinned a bit darkly, taking a sip from his wine, making her blush even more.
"Oh.. It's just.. I mean.. Nothing. Nothing too important, really..", Mary squealed shyly. She liked that somewhat dark aura around him, she was just too shy to say it out loud. Maybe it was simply the wine talking, she had drunk quite a lot more than usually..
"Mm.. You are quite adorable, you know that? Hold on, hopefully I'm allowed to say that? I know enough about modern women that they can sadly get upset if something even nice is said to them in a wrong tone of voice or something like that..", he said.
"Thanks.. I may be a modern woman, but I'm not the kind that gets.. Like you said, upset, in a lack of a better word..", Mary nodded. Terzo smiled, he simply wanted to be a gentleman.
"I'm glad that we clearly understand each other, my dear. After hearing your story about that two-timing crush.. I know it happened a while ago already and that you managed to get over it.. But it broke my heart.. So I wasn't completely sure would I come out too strongly.. You know, being a hot-blooded Italian and everything..", he shrugged.
"Mm.. Out of the guys I have met so far before now.. You sure are the finest of them..", she blushed again. Terzo grinned, of course he was a more fine choice than some young fool who played with two girls at the same time. It seemed like Omega had been correct when he had smirked that "kitten has a crush"..
"Papa? May I interrupt?", Rain asked, knocking on the door.
"Mm.. Do come in, Rain..", he nodded.
"Your brother send me to bring some more night snacks", he explained politely, putting the tray on the table and taking the now empty sushi tray with him.
"Oh, thank you", Mary smiled.
"It's my pleasure, little cupcake. Now, please continue with whatever you were doing, you were clearly in the middle of something", Rain grinned, disappearing in a puff of soft blue smoke.
"Mm, if you just want to, cara mia, I would be more than happy if you came to visit again.. At any point, really, I'm open for anything.. I would like it if my beautiful muse would visit me more often..", Terzo smiled while drawing. It was a bit flirty, sure, but nothing overly aggressive.
"I would love to, this whole mansion is awesome..", Mary nodded, twirling a tuft of hair around her finger.
"You have only seen a small part of it so far, but since you will continue the game in the morning, I must try to not to reveal everything to you..", he laughed. Mary thought it sounded fair, obviously he shouldn't tell her too much about the different rooms, not just yet, since the game was still going, the girls were simply taking a short break.
"Mm.. We both can blame the wine on this, but I must say, in this candle glow, you look quite ravishing in black silk.."

Terzo's bold comment made Mary blush even harder and giggle some more.
"Judging by your reaction, you don't seem upset.. That's always a good sign.. And yes, I know that I may say things without really thinking them through first.. Trust my, darling, my brothers love to remind me about that.. But while I may not always control my tongue, I won't do anything to you that you don't want to happen.. I'm a gentleman after all.. Consent is an important thing, and I respect that.. Also I know myself well enough to know that I have had enough wine for one night.. I start to talk without thinking too clearly..", he continued, slowly putting the cork back on the bottle.
Mary smiled a bit, to her it was a big deal if a man knew when to stop drinking, and carefully filled the glass with the flavored water from the jug.
"Here, have some water", she nodded. Terzo smiled, taking the glass from her, his golden nails gently sweeping past her hand.
"Grazie, bella. Mm.. Seeing how late it already is, I think you should try to get some sleep.. As do I, before the wine hits me even harder.. It's soon two in the morning and you must wake up early.. Let me give you a hand..", he purred, helping her gently up from the divan.
Mary got up slowly, leaning against him a bit, being careful with putting weight on her leg.
"There you go.. Good girl.. Oh, if you ever think it's necessary to stop me from talking, you have a permission to slap me. A slap from such a bella donna makes me realize that I have gone too far.."
"No, I don't want to slap you.. It's mostly just the wine talking, and I understand that you are naturally flirty, that's not your fault..", Mary whispered.
"Mm.. Thank you.. You are very precious.. Are you comfortable now, dear?", Terzo checked after helping her on the bed. She smiled and nodded, pulling the covers better on top of her.
He grinned, leaning against the bedpost.
"That's good.. Well, good night, cara mia.."
"Terzo?"
"Mm? Sí?"
"I have many times heard that the consent is a key here.. Is it counted if I give you a permission for a good night kiss?", she asked shyly. That first kiss back in that glass coffin had been a bit awkward, but so were all first kisses.. Honestly, she had been looking at that perfect pout of his the whole evening..
"Of course. You wish that I touch you in a certain way, so I shall fulfill that wish..", he purred, since she'd asked it directly, it was enough consent to know that she really wanted it, and leaned a bit closer.
Mary giggled, she had always wished that she would have an older boyfriend some day, and just instinctively put her hands in his hair to pull him just a little bit closer. Oh, he wasn't going to say no..
"Mm.. Sweet dreams, cara mia.. I'll be right behind the curtains if you need anything..", Terzo whispered as they eventually separated from the kiss and he pulled the canopy on it's place to give her some privacy.
"Good night, Terzo..", Mary yawned. Before she closed her eyes, she watched for a moment through the gap between the curtains as he started to unbutton his shirt, and while shirtless, collected an extra pillow and blanket from a large, decorative trunk that rested at the end of the bed.
He made himself a comfortable little nest on the divan and blew out the last few candles.
"From the darkness.. Rise a succubus.. And usurp the throne.. The moon is full and shines.. An evil blinding light..", he hummed quietly to himself, and indeed, the full moon was shining in from the window. While listening to him, Mary also heard that the clock stroke two in the morning just before she fell asleep.

As she woke up a few hours later, Mary giggled quietly as she glanced between the velvet curtains. She hadn't heard at all when it had happened, but at some point during the night, Omega had appeared in the room as well.
He was curled up on the floor, right next to the divan, leaning his head against his thick arms, so his horns were far enough away from the fancy carpet. Both of them snored quietly, and Mary noticed how Omega's spade tipped tail was gently curled around Terzo's ankle that was showing a bit from under the blanket.
"Aww, that's so adorable..", she thought. By that point, she didn't even flinch anymore when there was a puff of smoke next to the bed and Omikron lifted his hat politely once the smoke was gone.
"Good morning, miss. How are we feeling today?", he whispered softly.
"A bit better already than last night, thank you", she nodded shyly.
"That's good. If you feel like you won't need any medicine, I'll just check the wound and wrap a new, clean gauze around it, so it would feel a bit more comfortable to put your shoes on", Omikron nodded, putting his bag down and grabbed a new gauze from it, and a small bottle of that antiseptic liquid, just in case.
He was been as quiet as possible, to not to wake Terzo or Omega up and grinned, noticing how intensively Mary was watching them.
"Well, the wound looks much better, there's no bleeding anymore.. Actually I think it's already good enough that I don't have to clean it again.. I noticed how much you disliked that, my dear.. I'll just put some of that same ointment on, that and a good wrapping should be enough.. There we go..", he purred softly.
"Mm, thanks..", Mary mumbled.
"If you need anything, I'll be in my office, it can be found on the basement level", Omikron promised, before disappearing in an another puff of smoke.

Chapter Text

Once he was gone, she slowly got up from the bed, carefully trying to put some weight on her leg again. Indeed, it already felt much better than last night as she took a few little steps.
She giggled a bit as she stood right infront of Omega, feeling his hot breath grazing her ankles. Suddenly she gasped, now feeling a large hand grabbing her non-wounded ankle, those dangerously sharp tips of the dagger like nails resting against her skin.
"Never sneak up on a sleeping Ghoul, kitten..", Omega's voice rumbled lowly, though he didn't even lift his head up, only turning just enough that Mary got a glimpse at his sharp fangs. It made sense to her, the stoic and beefy Quintessence Ghoul was practically Terzo's confidant and bodyguard, of course he would immediately react if anyone came near his master without a warning.
"Sorry..", Mary whispered quietly.
"Mm.. Let it go, caro mio, per favore..", Terzo yawned, rubbing his eyes a bit.
"Morning..", she smiled and he opened his eyes a bit.
"Cíao, bella.. Did you sleep well?", he smiled back, noticing her leaning above him.
"Yeah, and Omikron already checked my leg, he said it's much better now..", she nodded shyly, biting her lip a bit.
"That's good, I'm glad that that pesky doll wasn't able to hurt you too seriously..", Terzo sighed. Then he noticed slight blush on her cheeks.
"Mm? What is it, cara mia?"
"I.. I was just wondering.. I suddenly got this quite strong scent of roses when I woke up, and..", Mary explained and a knowing grin rose on Terzo's lips.
"Oh, that's just my perfume. Yes, I admit, I'm that a bit vain kind of an Italian man that I wear perfume. I like it quite strong too, so it's completely possible that it has been rubbed into the sheets.. We make several different perfumes here as well, since we can use Primo's flowers and herbs from his garden. I don't remember the exact name for that one, but the general scent combination was something like dark, dry and spicy layers of roses and smoke.. I think he used some of those rare black roses of his for it.. That would make sense.. They have a different scent for everyone..", he shrugged and shuffled his hand through his hair, sitting a bit more upright, the blanket very strategically resting just around his waistline.
Mary remembered that, Primo had very proudly explained it to them, and she indeed had gotten a smokey scent from those "rare black roses".
"Did you like it?", he continued with a grin. Mary nodded shyly, it was a nice scent, nothing overly strong to assault her nose, but definitely enough to be noticed, and clearly quite expensive too.
"Since you seem to fancy each other anyway, let me help..", Omega grinned as he was getting up, his tail swept Mary's feet just right so she suddenly lost her balance, falling directly over Terzo's lap.
"Oh my, cara mia, you seem to like finding us in quite compromising positions.. First in the glass coffin, now this.. Not that I would mind, though..", he smirked a bit, gently grabbing her shoulder so she wouldn't fall over completely, making her blush harshly.
"Hm.. Since you did say something about smoke.. Why does it feel like I have forgotten something..", Omega continued, his nails scratching his horns.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and this time Alpha poked his head in.
"Are you coming, Omega? You can't just skip every morning rit.. Oh, did I interrupt something?", he asked politely, noticing Mary and Terzo on the divan, in that very compromising position, as both of them were still quite half-dressed.
Now there was an even stronger scent of smoke coming in the room. It had something more regal in it too, something like incense and myrrh.
"Oh, right, the morning ritual.. Yes, yes, I'm coming.. Let me just get my robes..", Omega gasped, jumping up from the floor.

As he did so, Mary realized that she indeed heard that Latin chanting again, quietly from the background.
It sounded like whatever was being chanted this time, it was repeated a few times, sounding different than the chant the girls had heard earlier from behind the doors of the ritual chambers.
"Il Padre, Il Filio, Et Lo Spiritus Malum! Omnis Caelestis, Delenda Est! Anti Cristus, Il Filio De Sathanas! INFESTISSUMAM! Il Padre, Il Filio, Et Lo Spiritus Malum! Omnis Caelestis, Delenda Est! Anti Cristus, Il Filio De Sathanas! INFESTISSUMAM! Il Padre, Il Filio, Et Lo Spiritus Malum..", the Ghoul choir chanted ominously in unison.
"I'll be back later, Short King", Omega nodded, putting his leather robes on. Terzo simply waved a bit at him as he rushed after Alpha.
"So then, where were we, cara mia..", he purred, glancing at Mary again, gently lifting her chin with his golden nails.
"Um.. You did say something about that perfume..", she squealed innocently. Maybe that wine from last night had prevented her from getting the scent of it earlier.
"You can most likely smell it right there.. Since it is quite strong, it gets stuck on me easily..", Terzo shrugged, casually pointing at the nape of his neck. Mary just nodded, the scent of roses and smoke was even more noticeable on his skin. And those hypnotizing eyes of his.. Terzo smirked, again humming quietly, this time it sounded like a different song.
"To the sound of the end of day.. Mesmerized, the assembled sway.. Black candles burn, all minds aligned.. Hypnotizing horns of ram.. Paralyzing pentagram.. And the eerie sound of the monstrance clock..", he purred, and Mary noticed that her gaze was again fixed at his lips.
The sharp shade difference between the darker upper and more pale lower lip indeed made it look like he had a permanent pout, with subtle dimples on his equally perfectly chiseled cheeks.
"If you want a smooch, you just need to lean forward. You always have my consent, cara mia, all I need to know is that you consent as well..", he grinned smoothly.
Mary blushed some more but nodded, it was different than with her first boyfriend when they had been teens. Back then, even those innocent kisses had been very awkward since neither she or her then boyfriend weren't really sure yet what to do, and being teens, there was always someone else at home.
But now it felt different, more natural, and she honestly liked it that he took the control simply by saying that hey, he was okay with it, if she was too..

And well, she had thought about giving him just a little peck, sort of like a "thank you" that he had let her to sleep in his chamber over night just so she wouldn't stress the wound on her ankle too much with walking towards the guest room, but with Omega being there too when they woke up made it a bit too awkward.
"Nobody says we have to do anything, if you don't feel comfortable. Like I said at some point during the night, I know I can come on quite strongly, being a flirty Italian and everything. I feel bad and apologize if I at any point have made you feel like you must do.. Things with me. I'm flattered if you do want it, but I would never force you. I'm just assuming that there's a spark of some kind between us, since you are still very much all over my lap, and haven't gotten up yet.. But I can see that you don't seem completely sure about it, cara mia.. I'm sorry.. Maybe I stepped over the line too much..", he mumbled quietly.
"Is it because we are alone in a room, without any Ghoul chaperones, half-dressed and in a compromising position? Look, I know that Omega was buzy with his morning duties, I'm sure he didn't meant to upset you.. He's a big Ghoul with a big tail, he's sometimes a bit clumsy with it, knowing well that he gotta be really careful in here, with all of my paintings and sculptures around.. ", he worried.
"No, it's not that.. Trust me, you would notice if I really was upset.. Besides, I'm more awkward than uncomfortable.. I have always been shy and awkward with guys, and.. This is honestly the closest proximity I have ever been with a guy.. When we were teens, my ex barely even knew how to hold my hand, so..", Mary mumbled shyly and played with her hair.
"So you aren't exactly.. Scared about the situation we are in? More like confused what could or should happen next?", Terzo guessed, gently lifting her chin again to look into her eyes.
"I.. Something like that, I guess.. You have been so nice to me.. And a bit flirty too, yeah.. But I haven't felt uncomfortable at any point.. It's not like my ex treated me badly, it's just.. I now understand that at barely at sixteen, I was way too young for a relationship yet..", she shrugged.
"Of course I know better now.. That I can, and always should, consent if I feel comfortable to do that.. And equally say no if I don't want something to happen.. But now I don't know what to do.. I feel comfortable with you, I really do.. But at the same time I'm not sure if I want the same things as you might.. And I'm scared that I will choose wrong and.."
"Cara mia, focus on my voice and listen. I would never force you to do anything you don't want to. There won't be a point where you "choose wrong". If you really don't want something, you simply say a firm "no" and I will respect that. If you do consent, however, we can always talk about limits at first, what would you possibly be comfortable to do. I apologize on behalf all of the male sex, for someone giving you the idea, that a man would get upset if you say no to him. I understand, you were clearly a very innocent teen when getting those first crushes, and at such a young age it may feel bad to say no, just so a boy would like you even if you felt uncomfortable. A decent guy doesn't treat a lady like that. Yes, I may have made an assumption that you wanted to play around with me, but at any point you could just say no.. Actually, let me help you up..", Terzo nodded, carefully helping her up from his lap and to sit down next to him.
"There, a bit more comfortable now, sí?", he checked and Mary nodded shyly.
"That's good. Now then, talk to me, cara mia. There's something that upsets you, but I can see that it's not my fault.. Has someone said to you something about how you should act with guys or something? You can tell me anything. This is a more casual way, but if you give me enough time to change into my cassock, we can make it more official too and go to the confession booth..", Terzo whispered, noticing that there was clearly something that bothered Mary.
"A confes.. I have never been in a real confession booth before.. I saw this one cool art installation once, but that's all..", Mary admitted, that got her attention.

Chapter Text

Terzo smiled a bit, getting up from the divan and put a fancy looking robe on. Mary thought that it looked like something that classic old Hollywood film stars might had worn back in the day.
It was made from some expensive looking fabric, with fluffy details around the wrists and on the collar and hem of the robe, of course in a shade of royal purple, the fluffy bits were slightly darker.
"There's a dressing screen so you can have some privacy", he pointed towards the corner as he stepped inside a walk-in closet. Mary smiled, taking her clothes that had been piled up on the armchair, and carefully walked over to the screen.
"Um.. Where should I leave this pretty nightgown though?", she wondered.
"There's a step stool behind the screen, you can leave it on it, dear", he nodded. From behind the screen, Mary got a glimpse at the walk-in closet. There was an another dressing screen as well, so since she didn't see Terzo anywhere, he was most likely already behind it getting changed.
What she did see from her point of view was rows and rows of mostly black clothes, with some accessories in white, golden and different shades of purple here and there. It seemed like he wore a lot of decent black suits, with crisp white waistcoats, matching gloves and gaiters over the nice black leather shoes.
There was some more casual looking shirts and pants as well, mostly in black, though there seemed to be a few pairs of those very fancy looking bright white pants too, like classic old money Italian or something, with light colored shirts, the shades were close to a carnation, and a few purple and gold cardigans.
As both of them were finished with getting changed, Mary gasped as Terzo stepped out from behind the dressing screen. While the girls had seen the Ghouls wearing those "ritualistic robes", she realized that the brothers had been dressed in a much more casual way.
But now he was dressed in an official looking black robe, with a subtle purple background shine and golden details on the large sleeves, hiding black gloves. There was a decorative, stylized cross hanging around his neck and he held that same golden headpiece she had seen him wearing in that family portrait.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, cara mia. It takes me a bit more time to get dressed if I have to do it without Omega's help, these robes are difficult to handle alone. Shall we go then?", Terzo smiled politely, offering his free arm to her, still holding the mitre under his other arm.
"He was hot to begin with, how is he able to look even hotter in a clearly clerical robe like that..", Mary thought.
"You haven't been in a confession booth before?", Terzo asked as they left his chambers and Mary shook her head.
"I know enough that it's a church thing, especially for Catholics I guess, but I wasn't taught to be religious, simply to accept that some folks choose to belong in a church..", she shrugged innocently.
Terzo smiled, he had always thought that it was the person's own choice to belong in the church or not. To them, as a church-going family themselves, it was more natural, but it wasn't their place to force others to join if they didn't want to. To him, it sounded like Mary had gotten a very neutral upbringing when it came to religion, something along the lines of "you can believe in a higher power if you want to, but just remember to politely respect someone else's faith, even if you choose to not to believe though".
Mary blushed a bit, whispering shyly that she honestly knew only the bare minimum about religious things, just enough that she could some day have a church wedding, if she wanted to.
"Aren't we going to that ritual chamber?", she wondered then, realizing that they weren't going to the downstairs.
"Mm? Oh no, cara mia, we are going to the main church hall, on the other side of the Ministry. The ritual chambers are meant for.. Different things..", Terzo explained. Mary nodded slowly, she had seen the stone altar and a lot of candles.

After walking through several beautiful looking marble corridors, they had arrived to another large pair of dark doors.
"Gamma! I summon you, this is an order!", Terzo called out, putting his mitre on.
"You called for me, Your Infernal Majesty?", Gamma asked as he appeared from a dark grey cloud of smoke. Mary noticed that the Ghouls seemed to talk to them in a much more respectful way when they were dressed in those clerical robes rather than more casual clothes.
"Mm, could you please open the doors for the main hall?", he nodded. Gamma bowed down and started to go through that large key ring again, his sharp nails rhythmically clicking against the keys.
"Mm, so the Archives, the Crypt and the library, the ritual chambers and the treasure chambers..", he mumbled, looking for the right one.
"Ah, here we go. You're welcome, Your Infernal Majesty. Tiny lady", Gamma nodded once he had found the key he was looking for and opened the doors for them, bowed down and disappeared. Mary giggled a bit, blushing again, it seemed like all of the Ghouls liked to flash their fangs, and it simply sounded adorable when he called her a "tiny lady".
"You are giggling again, that's a good sign. Come on in, cara mia, per favore. Since we came all this way on this side of the Ministry anyway, at the very least I should show you the main church hall..", Terzo smiled and Mary peeked in from the doorway.
It looked pretty much like any church hall, with several rows of pews infront of the decorative altar, large church organs on the side loft and those same vaguely gothic styled candle lit lanterns on the walls.
Then she noticed the altar pieces on the back wall. They seemed to picture the brothers, namely Primo, Secondo and Terzo himself, though there was also a slightly smaller painting of Copia too, pictured in black Cardinal robes.
"I thought that Copia's robes were deep red?", she wondered.
"Mm, he has both, black was simply chosen for that painting", Terzo nodded and Mary followed him down the aisle.
He walked her over to a confession booth, it was made from the similar looking dark wood like most of the wooden furnitures and doors they had seen so far, with decorative side panels and a thick, royal purple velvet curtain separating the sides from each other.
"Let me help you, cara mia..", he smiled softly, helping her to step in the booth. From the inside, it looked even smaller, there was just barely enough room to sit down.
There was a small build-in chair with a pillow on it, just big enough that one could either sit or kneel on it, but other than that and the little window to the other side behind the curtain, the booth was very simple and nearly empty.
"I'm going to close the door now, but don't worry, I won't lock it", Terzo promised, noticing that Mary wasn't exactly too keen on the idea of a small closed space, but knowing that the door wasn't locked did calm her down a bit.
"Okay.. I haven't done this before though.. What am I supposed to do?", she asked innocently. She heard how the door on the other side of the booth opened and Terzo too stepped inside.
"Just to do this the correct way, you start with a "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned", and then you can tell me whatever you want that makes you upset. I already noticed that something was bothering you. If you really don't want to talk though, that's okay too, then we can just sit in here for a moment in silence. I know, it's quite a tight spot, but you can either sit or kneel on the pillow there, whichever feels more comfortable to you", he explained and opened the curtain between them a little bit, on his side of the booth was just slightly more room, just enough for him to lit up a candle, and Mary saw the glow of his eyes. She nodded slowly, that did make a lot of sense.

Terzo waited that she would be as comfortable as possible in the small booth and would start talking.
"Okay, so.. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned..", she shrugged innocently.
"Mm, in the holy house of the Lord, you can tell anything that bothers your mind", Terzo nodded. It sounded like he knew exactly what he was supposed to say.
"If you simply want silence, that's accepted as well, but I'm here to listen. I noticed that something was bothering you. There was a.. A situation.. Earlier, and there was something that made you upset.."
"I.. Well.. I have always been shy and awkward with guys.. And there has been a few times I have gotten my heart broken, when I have tried to put myself out there.. I know that none of them purposefully meant to hurt me, but.. I just always thought that I would have a cute high school romance.. When that didn't work out, I thought I would get my romance in college then.. Nope, just got my heart broken yet again.. I feel like I'm no good for anyone..", she started to sob.
"Cara mia, there is someone for everyone out there, and it breaks my heart that you haven't found that right person yet. You were very young, and boys at that age are still quite childish. Was there a situation at any point with some boy that bothered you enough to still affect you now? Being so young and innocent, it could had been something that was meant to be gentle and caring, but it came out as something upsetting and uncomfortable instead..", he worried and Mary really had to think for a moment. None of her former crushes had never hurt her in an abusive way, only saying things that broke her heart.
"Well.. There was this one boy I had a crush on when we were teens.. I guess we were a couple for a few weeks during the summer break.. At the time, he was nice enough.. We both were very innocent, just holding hands and stuff.. Then this one time, when we were at his place, just watching a movie in his room.. I want to highlight that he didn't hurt me at any point, though.. But during the movie, a friend of his called him.. He was someone I didn't really know, all I knew was that he was a bit older than us, like in his twenties at least, when we were just teens.. I didn't know him well, but somehow I knew enough that it was wrong from him to hang with kids that much younger than him.. When he then heard that we were home alone, other family members were out somewhere at that moment, he started to get all weird, directly telling him that he should take off my clothes and do things, no matter if I wanted it or not.. It was gross.. My crush was decent though, it may have just been innocent puppy love, but he knew enough that it was wrong to do such things.. He told him that too, finished the call and swore that he would never do something like that to me.. He never did, which is good, but the relationship was already gone after that mess..", Mary mumbled quietly.
Terzo thought for a moment what he had just heard, tapping his golden nails against his chin. He didn't want to upset her even more, so he needed to find the correct words what to say next.
"It sounds to me that while nothing bad physically happened, the things this older boy told your then boyfriend to do to you, against your will moreover, may have still given you the assumption later on that a guy you are interested in would get upset if you won't give them what they want, mm?", he asked slowly.
"That.. That does make some sense.. While yeah, nothing physical ever happened, and I'm glad that he was smart enough to not to do anything stupid.. It did leave me a feeling that guys would just get upset and then leave me for better girls if I say no.. So I guess I have some kind of a wall around me.. Guys can't break my heart again if I don't let them too close in the first place..", she admitted.
"Mm, but you would like to have someone special? Not necessarily anything too serious, just something casual and caring, as long as you are being treated well..", Terzo smiled a bit.
"Something like that, yeah..", Mary nodded quietly. She wasn't expecting anything huge and dramatic in any case, just some nice, decent partner who would treat her well, maybe occasionally taking her out on dates or buying something nice every once in a while.
"Trust me, cara mia, there is someone who is perfect just for you, you just haven't met them yet", Terzo promised. Mary smiled. It did feel good to get that out from her chest, it clearly had been bothering her for a while.
"I wish and hope that you will be careful with people, though. I don't want you to get hurt. It's good that you have that wall, so to speak, around you, but sometimes you need to let someone to get in, someone you feel safe and comfortable with..", he continued.
"Someone like you, you make me feel safe..", Mary shrugged, she felt safe with him. Terzo grinned when hearing it.
"Are you feeling better now, cara mia?", he checked, blowing out the candle and came to let her out of the booth.
"Actually.. Yeah.. Thank you..", she blushed as Terzo offered his hand to her.
"That's good. Well then, how about I get out of this gown, and we go to get some breakfast? I'm sure your friends are most likely waiting for you already", he suggested and Mary nodded shyly.

Chapter Text

Mary waited that Terzo had changed from his cassock back into his more casual clothes, this time different than his black suit the girls were already used to see him in. Now he was wearing lighter white pants and a soft, carnation pink shirt that had a couple of buttons open, showing his chest a bit.
"What? I don't always wear black suits", he chuckled ironically, noticing Mary's expression.
"That color fits you well", she smiled shyly.
"Thank you, cara mia, you are very kind. Shall we go now? You must be hungry by now. Anything that Secondo makes is delicious, no matter what time of the day it is", Terzo grinned, offering his arm to her again and she giggled.
"If we ignore the pesky doll incident from last night, have you liked it here so far?", he asked curiously.
"Yeah, other than that, it has been a lot of fun. I can't wait to see what other kind of rooms we still get to see before the game is finished..", Mary blushed.
"Me and my brothers are more than happy to have you signorinas here. Especially as you are the only ones who have gotten this far in the game.. I know some of the tasks are difficult.. Morning", Terzo nodded as they arrived to the dining hall.
"Morning, marmot. Did you sleep well?", Meena and Nikki asked, already sitting at the table. Copia was sitting with them as well, with Barty curled up on a ball on his shoulder.
"Ah yes, morning, signorina", he too nodded, nonchalantly stroking his mustache, as Terzo pulled out a chair for her.
"I slept okay, thanks. My leg is already better as well..", Mary smiled shyly.
"Mm, that's good, that's good. I apologize for Plushia. It's not usually that violent, I swear. I guess the full moon last night gave it an extra amount of energy to try its tricks.. But I'm glad that nothing irreversible happened..", he shrugged. The girls noticed how at least some of the Ghouls started to arrive to the table as well, taking their places and greeting each other.
"We have very Italian breakfast, signorinas. Mostly several kinds of pastries to choose from, coffee and orange juice.. Pancakes, fruits, eggs, occasional salads and warm, more savory breads are a possibility as well.. Not the basics really, but acceptable, if you like them..", Secondo called from the kitchen.
The girls admitted that they hadn't tried specifically "an Italian breakfast" before, but it sounded good. It sounded very simplistic, but tasty.

Mary, Meena and Nikki watched as Rain and Aether started to carry the trays to the table. Indeed, there was several kinds of pastries, breads and other treats to choose from.
"We Italians don't really believe in overly heavy breakfast, like some parts of the world does. We have just something light to nibble on, enough to last for until lunch time.. But since we do have guests over, I wanted to make sure there's some extra to offer for you, such as those eggs, fruits and salads, we count them more as brunch items than ones to be served at breakfast", Secondo explained as he too joined them at the table.
The girls nodded, it sounded completely logical to them. All of the baked goods were freshly out of the large ovens that filled the whole kitchen with warmth.
"Be careful, they are still quite hot", he warned. The girls nodded, carefully picking up some warm, soft breads and other pastries, both fried and scrambled eggs, the fruits of course were fresh from the garden, and steaming hot coffee.
Even after staying there over the night, the girls still blushed a bit when the Ghouls looked at them. There was this mysterious aura around them, it almost looked like they knew something that they didn't.
While nibbling on their breakfast, the girls actually noticed that all of them weren't at the table.
"So.. We kinda paused the game in the middle last night.. What were we supposed to do again?", Nikki asked, fixing her glasses a bit. She had tried to count which Ghouls were missing, if it could give them a hint what was the next task.
"It was something about fire, if I remember correctly..", Meena nodded, noticing that out of the Fire Ghouls, Special was behind some lustful romance novel again, flapping his tail as he turned the page, and both Ifrit and Alpha were quietly chatting with Omega on the other side of the table.
"Special, you aren't supposed to read at the table, per favore", Secondo pointed out.
"I'm sorry, Papa.. I got to a good part.. And wasn't able to put the book down..", he shrugged, carefully putting the book away from his hands. The girls did soon notice that Sodo wasn't there, he was quite easy to recognize with his ivory white horns.
"He was a Fire as well, right? Maybe it's his room we need to check out next?", Mary guessed. The Papas smirked at each other.
"If my memory serves me correctly now, yes, the last hint you were given was pointing towards the fire..", Primo nodded, slowly sipping his tea.

After the breakfast, Mary, Meena and Nikki politely asked could they hear that mentioned hint again. Swiss, now materializing completely out of nowhere with a puff of smoke, flashed his dangerously sharp grin at them and answered their question.
"All you need to do is to follow the southern corridor, and choose the door with an upward pointing triangle on it", he grinned.
"Mm, good luck, signorinas. You still have quite a lot of things to do before you have finished the whole game. The dark secrets of the Ministry are still waiting for you", the Papas nodded in unison.
The girls thanked for the breakfast and were about to leave the dining hall, suddenly realizing that once again, they had no idea where to go.
"South is that way, dolls", Swiss whispered, his spade tipped tail pointing them to the right direction.
"It must be Sodo's room next. I mean, it would make sense, it was hidden in the hint that the element is fire, and he wasn't in the dining hall either..", Nikki pointed out as they were walking down the corridor.
"And you know, Swiss seemed very eager to help us forward. Aren't they supposed to be like.. Partners or something?", Meena nodded.
"Yeah, partners in sin and mischief, that's how they introduced themselves..", Mary admitted.
"So, right now we just need to find the correct door.. What kind of a theme do you think we'll find this time?", she continued. The girls shrugged, by this point, it could honestly be anything.
"Mm, we have seen an exciting jungle, a sugar filled candyland and a Vegas inspired casino already..", Nikki nodded.
"The fourth theme room could be..", Meena started, but her sentence got interrupted as they stopped infront of the door with an upwards pointing triangle on it, glowing soft red light.
"This must be it, that's the Fire symbol..", the girls whispered to each other and one of them grabbed the handle. Despite the element being fire, at least the handle didn't feel hot to the touch.
The girls counted to three and peeked in. A thick cloud of steamy, white smoke greeted them immediately.
"Oh, they are here now. How do you like it?", the Ghoulettes giggled.
"Looking good, as always, thanks. You girls have some magic in your fingertips. Though thankfully I don't wake up looking like this.. I'm too handsome to look like this on a daily basis..", he shrugged. The Ghoulettes giggled some more and disappeared before the girls could see them.
"What is this place now.. There's large tables and a lot of shelves and.. Is that a chalkboard?", Meena noticed.
"Maybe it's a classroom? He could be a hot teacher, pun very much intented..", Mary giggled.
"You and your kinky fantasies, marmot.. Though I do think you might be onto something, this does look like.. A chemistry class..", Nikki admitted.
"Or perhaps a ghoulish science lab? Hello, ladies, and welcome. I am Doctor Dew, at your wicked service", Sodo grinned, suddenly appearing from a puff of smoke right infront of them. The girls gasped, they would had never guessed that his theme would be "a mad scientist". A teacher, maybe, but this was quite more exciting.

Chapter Text

The girls just looked at him for a moment. The Ghouls seemed to like to take their roles in the game as seriously as it was just possible. Sodo was even dressed for the part, with a classic white lab coat over his usual black suit, large safety goggles pinned between his horns, and the Ghoulettes had even messed his long hair and usually so nicely trimmed mustache to look like some of the test tubes had exploded on his face.
The girls even noticed a small tag on the inside lining of the coat, reading with a neat handwriting;
"Property of Beta, the Ministry's Fetish Ghoul. Please return the item to the Pleasure Chambers after use. For proper use only. If ever in doubt, call The Sinner's Hotline, zero eight hundred, five five five, seven three nine, someghoul will answer you as soon as possible, in case Sin Manager is already buzy."
"You guys even have a hotline?", they whistled and Sodo nodded all casually.
"Yup. It was Beta's idea, obviously. Then the triplets started to mess around with the phone connections and made it work. After that, Special used his endless knowledge of spicy harlequins to come up with a bunch of sultry oneliners for us to record.. One of my personal favorites was 'I feel there's a spark between us. It's up to you will it flare up or fizzle down. Should we check it out?'", he shrugged, stroking his mustache, not even trying to hide a mischievous grin on his lips. The girls giggled, it sounded fun.
"But right now, your theme is a mad scientist's lab. I bet you already wait for the next task?", he grinned and the girls nodded.
They looked around a bit, wondering what this task indeed would be. They saw the bottles and test tubes filled with some colorful liquids and at least some realistic looking equations scribbled on the chalkboard.
"Mm, yes? You look quite confused already, dear?", he lifted his brow a bit, noticing the look on especially Mary's face.
"Well.. I was just wondering.. It's an another theme room again, so.. Where's Mr. Beta?", she asked innocently. Meena and Nikki giggled, it sure sounded like she had a crush on the leather-bound fetish Ghoul as well. The words had just barely left her lips, when the familiar scent of leather indeed wafted into the room.
"I'm right here, doll. It just took me a moment to choose what to offer to you on this round.. Hi, Sodomizer."
"Hi, Beta", he nodded casually.
"My fourth round notes didn't specify is this a lab or a classroom, there is a subtle difference after all.. But I fixed what I was able to find..", Beta purred. He smirked, noticing how excited especially Mary looked immediately. While Meena and Nikki were also curious, at least enough to try something new, they weren't as excited as she was about it.
"Mm, my hunch was right once again, she does have a thing for roleplays..", he grinned.
"You are always right about kinks and stuff, leather daddy, even if they are something vanilla that they don't show too easily", Sodo shrugged.
"I wouldn't be a proper fetish Ghoul otherwise, would I now, mm?", he chuckled, snapping his fingers. A similar chest of clothes like earlier appeared again infront of them and he opened it.

This time it wasn't cute fairytale dresses or Vegas worthy cocktail ones with high heels. No, this time it was simple, pleated short skirts, matching puffy sleeved blouses with little bow ties on the necklines, white knee high socks and cute buckled shoes.
"Are those what I think they are?", Meena asked.
"If you think the same thing that I do, yes, I do believe so..", Nikki nodded, fixing her glasses a bit.
"School girl uniforms, I think that's cute", Mary giggled.
"I'm glad that you like it, kitten. The skirts and blouses themselves are matching, but I thought you would like to have different colored bow ties to go with them. So, here's a few color choices..", Beta purred. After looking at them for a moment, he wasn't honestly too surprised how Nikki, Meena and Mary pointed at the red, green and purple bow ties respectively.
"Excellenct choices, as always, sweetlings", he smirked, snapping his fingers again. The girls gasped, this time just that was enough to fully change their clothes, without showing too much skin as it happened. Their own clothes appeared on the side table near the door, on a neat pile, with their shoes on a row next to it.
"You sure do look quite cute, sweetlings. You can always find me from my office if you need something else. And Sodo, return my lab coat once you are done here. No tricks, I warned your grinning partner already earlier..", he reminded before leaving the room.
"Don't worry about it, I know your rules. For proper use only, and tell you beforehand if something will be kept over the original loan time..", Sodo rolled his eyes. Then he turned to look at the girls who were still waiting for their next task.
"I do agree with Beta, you indeed look cute. Anyway, I did have notes for myself somewhere.. Ah yes, here we go..", he nodded, dramatically going through his pockets, eventually finding a small piece of paper. There was a mischievous spark burning in his amber glowing eyes.
"Just please don't be maths..", Mary hoped. Before Sodo even got a moment to explain the task to them, there was a knock at the door.
"Sodo, are you in there?", the other Ghouls asked.
"Of course I am, I'm doing my part of the game. What is it?", he answered.
"It's the day. The fireworks need to be fixed ready before the evening", the boys explained.
"It's today? Are you serious? Fuck! I completely forgot! But I can't come now, I was just starting to explain the task to the ladies! Ask Alpha or Ifrit, I could bet that Special won't put his harlequin down for long enough to fix them!", he called back. The girls looked at each other confused, what was the sudden fireworks for?

Indeed, the girls could hear through the door how the other Ghouls were all of a sudden rushing around.
"Aren't you supposed to be out there as well?", they asked innocently.
"Technically I should, but the others can fix things without me too. I'll check on them later on", he shrugged all casually, without actually revealing to them what was going on.
"Sodo, when you do have a moment to spare, come here, okay?", Kevin soon enough called through the door.
"Fine, I'll be there as soon as I just can!", he huffed. The girls were even more curious now.
For a moment, they were honestly worried they had now overstayed their welcome, after already staying the night and everything, as it sounded a lot like there was a party of some kind coming up.
"I actually do need to go to do a thing with the others, I will come back as soon as possible..", Sodo shrugged. It sounded like it wasn't a part of his original plan, but he had to improvise.
He snapped his fingers and the lab coat, with the safety goggles in the chest pocket, appeared on the coat hanger near the door as well and he too pulled a leather robe on, hiding his face with a silver mask.
"I'll be back soon, sweetlings.. The others have already started..", Sodo nodded, and the girls too could hear some quiet chanting coming from the corridor, slowly going towards the ritual chambers.
"Wherever I go.. You're always there.. Riding next to me..", the Ghoul choir chanted softly. He winked at them, reminding one more time that he would be back soon, quickly disappearing into a puff of smoke, and the girls looked at each other.
This was getting more and more interesting. After all, surely they would had been politely told to leave already if it was something private, so maybe it was something they just needed to get ready beforehand? The girls just thought that well, it was a church as well, so maybe it was just some kind of a church related celebration that just so happened to occur at the same time?
"These guys sure have a chant for almost every situation..", the girls whistled, wondering what would happen.

Chapter Text

Soon, Mary, Meena and Nikki noticed that anywhere where the elemental symbols were depicted, they suddenly started to glow their respective colors, red, blue, green, white, silver and purple.
"There must be something really big going on..", they guessed.
"Do you think they are doing some actual ritual right now..?", Nikki whispered.
"Whatever it is, it does make all those symbols react much stronger..", Meena pointed out.
"That is kinda freaky actually..", Mary admitted. The girls focused to listen, if they could hear anything what was going on. The stone walls did give a decent echo, even though they didn't hear everything, just some bits and pieces here and there.
"I'm pretty sure they are chanting something again..", she continued, leaning against the door. Suddenly, there was the clicking echo from high heeled shoes walking past the same corridor.
"Yes, Ma'am. No, Ma'am. Everything is under control. I understand. I'll take care of everything, and be ready when he arrives. Of course, Ma'am..", they heard a lady's voice speaking to someone. There wasn't any answers though, so she must had been on the phone. The voice was soft and sweet, though the tone was very polite and formal, so whoever this "Ma'am" was, she must had been someone important, judging by the way this other lady was talking to her.
"When he arrives? So someone is coming here?", the girls wondered as she was walking away from the door. As the echo from the high heels was gone, the girls were able to hear the Ghouls chanting again, this time, they were already loud enough that now they managed to fill a complete sentence.
"Come together, together as a one! Come together for Lucifer’s son! Come together, together as a one! Come together for Lucifer’s son! Come together, together as a one! Come together for Lucifer’s son! Come together, together as a one! Come together for Lucifer’s son! Come together, together as a one! Come together, forever as one!", the Ghoul choir's voices echoed loudly around the stone corridors.
"Don't necessarily quote me on this, but that sounds a lot like something a cult would say..", Nikki whispered.
"In all fairness, they do sometimes act a bit cultish.. I know, a church and a cult are two different things, but still, there's some similarities as well..", Meena nodded.
"We got an another one! We got an another one! Oh my Asmodeus, what a cutie you are!", the Ghoulettes squealed happily somewhere in the background.
"Well hello there, handsome. Looking good. You are a perfect addition into our pack. Can't wait to have you here", the Ghouls too smirked in unison.

Eventually, Sodo reappeared back in the room, taking his robe and silver mask off, and pulled the lab coat back on.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, sweetlings. I had honestly completely forgotten that he will arrive today..", he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Who is this "he"? Some lady went past the door and probably talked about the same person as well..", the girls asked curiously.
"Mm, Papa is coming home", Sodo nodded casually, opening his hair from a lazy man bun he had put them on to make the mask stay over his face. The girls shared the same confused expression. Hadn't they already met all of the Papas?
"But.. We thought we had met them already..", Mary wondered.
"Yes, the ones who stay here at the Ministry. You haven't met this one yet. He has been away, for Clergy's business. Now it's finally the time that he comes home", he explained. The girls just thought that well, maybe he wasn't pictured in that family portrait if he had been away when it had been painted, it made enough sense why he was missing from it.
"A lady, you said? Did she sound soft and sweet or more like a hoarse hag?", Sodo lifted his brow.
"Soft, but she was very formal..", they nodded.
"Uh huh, that was Miss Judith then. She works at the office side of the Clergy. We very rarely see her around here, occasionally, she might drop by bringing some paperwork or something like that. She's mostly in contact with Sister Imperator and Mrs. Psaltarian anyway. Nice lady though, a pretty brunette, very secretary like, though I think her official title is the social media manager or at least something along those lines.. Old goat sometimes groans that nowadays you can't do anything without "socialist media".. Please excuse him, he's quite old-fashioned after all, he likes to remind how back in his day, the church folks simply handed out leaflets and walked from door to door preaching the word.. Times really were much easier some fifty odd years ago..", he shrugged.
Obviously the girls were still too young to even remember the time "some fifty odd years ago", but they could imagine how then still youthful and surely decent looking Nihil in the prime of his glory days worked as a man of the cloth, handing out church leaflets and preaching at the doors.
"I would had opened my door for him..", the girls giggled.
"We promise to be out of the way before that..", they continued. Sodo had a sly smirk on his lips as they said it.
"With all due respect, you are very smart girls, but I don't think you will be finished before that either..", he grinned and the girls looked confused.
"There's still three more theme rooms alone after mine, and the Ministry itself has many, many more rooms you haven't even seen yet..", he purred.
"Oh.. We really don't know how long this whole game will be..", they admitted.
"Seeing how fine the other brothers are.. I wouldn't mind meeting this one as well..", Mary giggled.
"It has been a while since we last saw him.. But as far as I recall, he is quite similar looking with Terzo..", Sodo shrugged, making her blush again.
"Oh wow, now just mentioning his name makes her all giggly and blushing.. It must be that smooth Italian charm..", Nikki and Meena smirked.
"Okay ladies, pay attention now, as the class is in session!", he grinned.

Mary soon huffed a bit, of course chemistry also needed maths to work.
"I hate maths.. I just can't understand it..", she groaned. Meena and Nikki were both better at maths than she was, and she honestly felt bored. The school girl uniform was cute, sure, but she wanted to do something as well in the science lab room so they could continue the whole game.
Sodo thought about it for a moment, of course it would be more fair that each of the girls had at least something to do in his room too.
After all, in Mountain's jungle empire, they needed to do team work to get through it, same in Rain's candy kingdom, but already in Swiss' sinful casino, Mary was already bored, since the card tricks too used maths to some level.
"You seem bored, baby girl. Is the game too long to you?", he worried, but she shook her head.
"No, the game itself is still fun, I just can't do maths to save my life, so I'm basically useless in this cool looking room..", she shrugged.
"Mm.. Let me think.. Surely there's something that you could do too as a part of this room..", Sodo hummed, stroking his mustache again.
"Ya could rock his socks off, love", Mountain's lazy drawl suddenly echoed in the room.
"Mountie, you are a genious!", he answered.
"Nah mate, don't flatter me, I just happen to get decent ideas every once in a while!", he chuckled.
"Sure, my element is Fire instead of Earth, but hey, everybody likes shiny rocks, right?", Sodo grinned and Mary nodded that yeah, she did indeed like shiny rocks.
"I have to improvise on a spot here, but.. Let's see.. Okay, that could work out.. Mm, so, you clearly have noticed that our Papas like to wear certain colors?", he asked and she nodded again. Yes, she admitted that simple colors were so much easier for her to understand than maths was.
"That sounds a lot like a task where I need to combine who wears which color, and it has something to do with the shiny rocks?", she guessed. It didn't sound like something that needed maths, at least not necessarily.
"Try it, marmot", the girls encouraged her too.

Chapter Text

Sodo grinned slyly and snapped his fingers, he had gotten an idea how to make this extra task more chemistry like without having to use maths.
While Meena and Nikki needed to actually count how much of each colorful liquid they needed to move around to make the equations to make at least some sense, all Mary would need to do was to put them in the correct order.
They knew that she was honestly bad at maths, so they didn't mind if she got a different task to do, to make sure that she too had fun in a theme room that was otherwise a bit too difficult for her.
"Read these through carefully. They give you hints which jewel colored liquid corresponds to each Papa. But remember, there may or may not also be false information to make you confused on purpose, just to make it sure it won't be too easy to tell them apart", he explained, giving her a handful of cards to read before touching the test tubes, and she glanced at them.
They looked like poems of some kind. She didn't really care about poetry either, but hey, she only needed to try her best, right?
"Okay then, let's see.. On this night of ritual, invoking our master.. Underneath the moonlight, buried in the blood-drenched earth.. An evil old soul, piercing eyes emotionless, a heart so black and cold.. Devil's power is the greatest one.. Bloodline of the dark architect, toxic blood..", she read from the first card.
Sure, it didn't directly hint at any of the brothers specifically, but she was sure that if there had to be at least some truthful bit mentioned, it must had been the part about the "piercing eyes", because the whole set sure shared those, their left eyes especially were almost glowing, but they sure as hell weren't "emotionless".

Then she glanced at the liquid tubes. Four very brightly colored ones, blue, red, green and purple, and one that was completely clear, respectively.
"Mm.. Maybe if I read the next one, it might give an another hint for this one too..", she thought.
"Unholy is the lust in your eyes, blasphemous would not suffice.. Perverted are your wishes and dreams, devour us all, hear our desperate call.. I am the one who preys on weak, I offer everything they seek.. And I am the son who comes into the daughters of men.. Destroying all and make them want it again.. I am the way.. And you invited me to stay.. However fair and pure, you crave the wand.. You see through me what lies beyond..", Mary started to read from the next card, soon noticing that this poem was much longer than the first one, she wasn't even halfway through it yet, while starting to blush quite more harshly.
"Oh right, I forgot to warn you, Special got free hands to write the hint cards and he got a bit.. Excited with his poetic juices overflowing..", Sodo smirked, noticing how she started to blush again.
"The moon is full and shines an evil blinding light.. He will tremble the nations, kingdoms to fall one by one.. Victim to fall for temptations, a daughter to fall for a son.. The ancient serpent deceiver.. To masses standing in awe.. He will ascend to the heavens.. Above the stars of God.. Imaginations fed to children, it has served me well.. That the bowels of the earth hides the pits of hell.. Into the eyes of fire.. Into the gaze ablaze.. Into the burning light.. Into the endless depth of Satan's eyes.. Spiral and pulsating.. His eyes are enthralling.. His eyes like a vortex.. A well in which you're falling..", she read, quickly noticing that the eyes were again mentioned, several times, actually.
This time, more or less told to be filled with "unholy lust", "evil, blinding, burning light" and being "endless, pulsating and enthralling" at the same time. After all, it was a detail that could basically fit any of the brothers.
"I'm gonna get too confused if I read the next one immediately, so I'll try to answer these ones first..", she mumbled.
"Mm.. An evil old soul.. Piercing eyes.. A black and cold heart.. Toxic bloodline of the dark architect.. Could it possibly be.. Blood is mentioned a couple of times on it..", Mary thought, looking at the literally blood red liquid in one of the test tubes.
She wasn't sure how completely truthful the hints were, maybe they were chosen simply to match the general vibe, but in any case, each was supposed to reveal one of the brothers.
"Okay, so.. I'm gonna start with rubies, and that they belong to.. Primo?", she nodded, moving that red tube first. For a moment she had thought could it had meant Copia as well, after all, his cardinal robes were quite a similar shade of red.
She only hoped that Sodo wouldn't ask for an explanation why she had chosen specifically him first. He didn't say anything, there was just that sly smirk on his lips.

Suddenly there was a puff of deep black smoke coming from the tube.
"What does that mean? Did I get it wrong?", Mary worried immediately. Sodo glanced at her direction and shook his head.
"No no, your first guess was correct. He simply likes to combine red and black a lot, that's all", he shrugged. Mary smiled a bit, turning to look at the rest of the tubes. Now the red one had a tiny cork on top of it, to show that it was chosen already, so she decided to read the next card.
"Your green muse.. A gateway to secrecy.. Seven seals, the end of time.. There is no return.. You are at the seventh gate.. You have the power, you wear the crown.. You wield the scepter, you wear the gown.. In your empire, it is a long way down.. A candle casting a faint glow, you and I see eye to eye.. Now there is nothing between us.. From now our merge is eternal.. We're standind here by the abyss.. And the world is in flames.. Two star-crossed lovers reaching out.. To the beast with many names.. And all our doubts are now destroyed.. The guidance of the morning star.. Will lead the way into the void.. The disobedience that holds us together.. Here to corrupt humanity.. I will bury you in treasures.. I will smother you in riches.. Divine you feel my thrust.. A fallen angel in his glare.. All those things that you desire.. You will find there in the fire.. Put your hands up and reach for the sky.. You'll be down on your knees and you'll cry.. And you are here to stay and burn with me.. And we are tied as one eternally.. And we are here to revel forevermore..", she read through the card, some blush still on her cheeks.
"Um.. Since this is basically a class.. Will there be a punishment of some kind if I answer incorrectly?", she asked. There was that same mischievous spark glinting in Sodo's eyes again.
"Well, now that you did mention it.. We demons sure like to give out punishments.. When it's suitable for the situation at hand..", he purred.
"Take it easy, chili vein, even I controlled myself, and you know how hard that is to me sometimes!", Swiss smirked, appearing to the doorway and leaned against it as he noticed how he was hovering over her.
"I'm not done here yet, oil hip", he huffed.
"I know, I just got bored since they visited my casino room already. You ladies having fun?", he grinned, flashing his sharp teeth again, and the girls nodded.
Meena and Nikki were almost done with their part already, and also looked how Mary was doing.
She read through the two longer poems again, before slowly grabbing the next tube. Swiss too waltzed in to take a closer look, casually wrapping both his tail and arms around Sodo's waist.
"Don't you dare to bite me again, the girls already gotta fix my other shirt from last night..", he warned.
"I won't, don't worry. I'm just curious to see what you came up with your theme. I thought you were gonna do the obscene mob scene, with the fancy pinstripe suits and all?", he asked, just gently resting his chin on the nape of his neck.
"I did think about it, yeah.. It was a decent choice at first, very Italian and stuff.. But then I realized it could actually be quite hard to arrange here..", he shrugged.

Chapter Text

Mary looked at the four tubes for a moment. Sodo had warned that some of the information might be false, just to make sure that the task wasn't too easy either.
"Okay, so.. This one literally starts with "green".. And also mentions the crown, scepter and gown.. Just like in that portrait too.. I'm almost sure about this. This card, about some green muses, gateways, seals and stuff, I'll say emeralds and that belong to Secondo", she nodded confidently. It could make sense, the girls had noticed how much green-coded he seemed to be. However, when she moved the green tube, there was a loud hissing noice and the Ghouls whistled in unison.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess that that was the wrong answer.. But it would make so much sense..", Meena whispered.
"That's what I thought! The color green, and all the stuff about an eternal merge and standing by the abyss and the guidance of the morning star.. Corrupting humanity, smothering in riches and divine thrusts.. How was that incorrect?", Mary wondered, reading the card through again. Had she read something wrong?
Both Sodo and Swiss laughed a bit, shaking their shoulders perfectly in sync.
"Oh, he would have been flattered by your words, doll.. Especially about those divine thrusts, if you know what I mean..", Swiss smirked, giving the girls a sultry wink.
"Mm, no. It was a good guess though, but you got it wrong. Do you want to try some other hint, or the same one again?", Sodo asked, stifling his laughter. The girls looked at each other. Apparently there wouldn't be any "punishment" for getting the answers wrong after all, just that loud warning hiss?
"At least a part of guess must had been correct, most likely the color and to which brother it belongs to, just the card was wrong..", Nikki guessed. They were sure that green was specifically Secondo's color, maybe the card had just given that false information when mentioning it.
Meena was especially sure about it, after spending that time in the dining hall with him last night, watching him working in the kitchen. The first guess had been just pure luck, that blood would correlate to rubies, and the girls simply remembered seeing Primo wearing red earlier.

Mary glanced at the next card, this time she would be more careful, especially when noticing that it was going to be quite a long poem again.
"You'll soon be hearing the chime.. Close to midnight.. If I could turn back the time.. I'd make all right. How could it end like this? Lucifer, whispering, silently into your mind.. Who walks behind, who walks behind? You have always waded in the shallows.. Between me and the deep blue sea.. I have always kept you closer than you've known.. I am riding in the shadows.. Behind you on a pale white horse.. Your desolation led you into this.. Vile incarnation of consummated bliss.. I know you need it now.. To make you feel alive.. You try to mask it.. But fall back in sin.. You wanna shake it off.. But you're stuck inside.. Communication is key.. When you unlock to believe.. Can you see what I see? For the light of our savior.. There is a better place..", she read the first part.
The girls noticed this time how both 'blue' and 'white' were specifically mentioned within the poem and warned her to be careful, maybe just the first wrong answer made that hissing noice, but they had no idea what an another wrong one would do.
"Stop hovering behind me and get out of my room already, oil hip.. You aren't even supposed to be here right now.. They shouldn't get any outside help.. I'll see you later during the smoke break..", Sodo chuckled as Swiss wasn't even trying to leave at first.
"Fine.. I'll see you later as well, ladies..", he purred, finally letting go of him, just giving a quick peck on his cheek before starting to disappear. The girls giggled a bit, seeing the ever so slight blush rushing on Sodo's cheeks.
"You flirty bastard, you owe me one for that!", he just laughed. Just like Cheshire Cat, only Swiss' wicked grin flashed one more time from nowhere before he was gone.
"Well well well. What do we have here?"
"A group of pretty school girls is what we see."
"We've seen enough hentai to know where this is going..", the voices of the triplets whistled suddenly. Of course they kept an eye on everything through their CCTV system.
"Mm, Beta sure has a treasure chest full of ideas, doesn't he?", Sodo grinned, stroking his mustache once again.
"With that general theme in mind, there's always something that will happen eventually..", Eeta hummed, the girls had already noticed that he was usually the one who started the sentences.
"I mean, the hot teacher is checked, pun very much intented!", Zeeta laughed ironically.
"You can never go wrong with the tentacles.. They are a working cliche for a reason..", Theeta added casually. The girls glanced at each other. While sure, they didn't know all of the details, they knew enough about basics what "tentacles" meant.
"With all due respect, I really don't want to see any tentacles.. Especially in that certain context..", Meena shivered.
"That's the one part of seafood I'd never eat..", Mary continued.
"That's just.. Weird, to be honest..", Nikki nodded.

Once Nikki and Meena were completely done with their part of the task, they came to properly take a look at the test tubes Mary was working on, as she read the final part of the poem.
"Ooh, it's a power trip.. Holy Mother.. You washeth the sin from my feet.. You shine like the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky.. The world has set me on your shoulders.. You want to console the griever.. You want to guide the believer.. You and the greatest deceiver.. And never ever suffer again.. With flesh and blood and bones, I wonder.. Did no one hear the distant thunder? We will break away together.. I'll be the shadow.. You'll be the light.. Nothing ever lasts forever.. We will go softly.. Into the night.."
After reading the card, she thought about the mention about blue and white. The mention about green already had confused her quite a bit.
"Since there is only a couple of choices left.. With a pure luck, I might guess this one correctly.. I mean, surely a clear hint about a color can't be wrong twice, right?", she asked and the girls nodded, it made sense, and they pondered it for a moment.
"It could mean that fifth brother we haven't met yet?", Nikki pointed out.
"It could be, yeah. Red and green are easier, but the purple and blue..", Meena nodded.
"I'm still confused how it went wrong..", Mary shrugged, gently pushing the green tube forward again. This time, there wasn't a hissing noice, just a puff of silvery smoke and she got startled by it.
"Which card was that? It made that puff of smoke again, just in a different color, so it must be correct this time!", Nikki got excited and Meena glanced at the text, reading the first part of it.
"Unholy is the lust in your eyes, blasphemous would not suffice.. Perverted are your wishes and dreams, devour us all, hear our desperate call.. I am the one who preys on weak, I offer everything they seek.. And I am the son who comes into the daughters of men.. Destroying all and make them want it again.. I am the way.. And you invited me to stay.. However fair and pure, you crave the wand.. You see through me what lies beyond.. So this one was his.. That was tricky..", she whistled.
Now, there was only three brothers left, Terzo, Copia and this fifth one they hadn't had the pleasure to meet yet, they didn't even know his name.
"I mean.. I would dare to say that purple is Terzo's color.. Trust me, I got a glimpse at his wardrobe earlier.. But I'm not sure which card is his..", Mary mumbled, looking at the purple tube. It was that fancy shade of royal purple, just like an amethyst.
"Check the last card, marmot. Maybe it gives the final color hint or something like that, at least it would help in some way", the girls suggested.

Chapter Text

The girls glanced at Sodo, in case he had some other hints to give them too. He just gave a very neutral "you are getting warmer, pun very much intented, I'll give you that" comment to them.
"Okay, so the last card.. Here it goes..", Mary nodded.
"This is what dreams are made of.. This is what they're afraid of.. A rhyme with no reason.. When they finally reach you.. You will have seen through.. That dark is the season.. Your love, bright as the starlight.. A black moon over the peacefield.. Oh child, stay close to me.. Like a deadly affliction.. That is twisting and bending my core.. I have begged God for the remedy.. But I'm no longer sure.. Wherever I go.. You're always there.. Riding next to me.. Give in or the war is on.. Wherever you may hide away.. I'm gonna hunt you down.. In the shadows, death becomes your lover.. In the shadows, stripped of sin.. In the shadows, deep within.. In the shadows, I will make you my angel.. Everybody leaves one day.. I know it hurts.. Everybody goes away.. You will, too, I will, too.. Come with me to the rainbow's end.. Come with me to the Holy Land.. Come with me.. You will, too, I will, too.. This is the end of the avenue.. I am afraid of eternity, too.. Oh, this one got really sad towards the end..", she gasped.
"Well, your Short King sure doesn't seem sad, flirty and charming comes to mind first..", the girls giggled, making her blush again.
"Trust in your gut, which one feels mostly like him?"
"Wait a minute.. This is really awkward now.. I thought that the part about candle glow and eternal merge sounded somehow familiar.. He was humming that same verse last night.. It sounded a lot like a start to a song.. That one must be his then.. So, I choose Terzo and pretty purple amethysts..", she realized, putting the purple tube carefully next to the third card.
Indeed, this time were a puff of golden smoke. Sodo smirked, checking his nails, they were nearly done with the fourth theme room.
"Now it's one or the other..", the girls looked at the blue and clear tubes.
"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say the fourth card, Copia and sapphires?", she guessed and the girls waited what would happen this time. After a moment there indeed was a puff of soft white smoke coming from it, and the girls got excited. They were nearly done with the lab!
"So, we haven't met the last brother yet, but since there's no other choices anymore, we'll say his is the last card, and most likely the clear tube should be diamonds!", they nodded in unison. There was a puff of deep indigo blue smoke.
"Congratulations, ladies, the class is dismissed!", Sodo grinned when it happened.

The door creaked open and the girls saw that this time, Copia was waiting for them behind it. He was wearing those already familiar looking red cardinal robes again, nonchalantly stroking his mustache.
"Hello, signorinas. How are you doing so far?", he asked politely. The girls waved and explained how excited they were to see the next theme room, since Sodo had mentioned that there would be three more after his own. A little grin pulled the corners of Copia's lips.
"It's a good thing that I caught you before you went into the next room then. You see, ehh, I needed to ask you something", he nodded shyly. The girls smiled, he was the complete opposite of his brothers, more meek and shy, such a sweetheart. And Barty the rat was always a cute bonus, as the girls could hear a tiny "squeak" coming from his chest pocket, and they saw little squirming against the silky material of the robe.
"What is it? We know it's the day two already, are we taking too long?", they worried immediately.
"No no, nothing like that! We are glad to have you here! Take as much time as you just need! What I was meant to say was that maybe you have heard already, I'm not completely sure, but our brother, my twin to be more precise, is coming home tonight. He has been away, for the Clergy's business, you see. However, now it's finally time that he comes home. So, me and my brothers were just wondering if you possibly would want to join us to celebrate his homecoming, si?", he asked nervously. He added "you are practically family by now" but so quietly that the girls didn't hear it, they simply thought that he was doing that nervous mumbling again he had been doing earlier as well.
"Oh, we would love to, thank you for inviting us. Is it going to be a big party then? We heard the Ghouls talking something about fireworks earlier..", they wondered curiously.
"Mm, we do like to be showy when given the chance, si. So, you will stay? Just so Secondo knows on time to make enough food for everyone.. And don't worry about the clothes either, I'm sure you can borrow something nice from Beta, he has a lot of stuff to choose from..", Copia smiled.
"Copia, are you done yet? You were supposed to go upstairs to get your new suit fitted", Primo rushed him as he appeared from behind a corner.
"I was on my way there, and just asked the signorinas if they wanted to join the evening festivities", he nodded.
"You wouldn't want to miss it, Secondo knows how to throw a hell of a party", he smirked a bit.
"So that's why Sodo said we won't be finished with the game yet, even if we had gotten somewhat forward before the evening..", Nikki realized.
"I heard my name being mentioned, Your Ratness?", Beta purred, appearing from a puff of smoke, and when the girls waved at him, he answered by waving back at them with his tail.
"There's a party tonight, as you know, and the signorinas would like to join us", Copia explained.
"Mm, I'll come up with something nice for the kittens. I assume I still have at least a handful of hours?", Beta asked politely and he nodded.
"I may have an idea already.. I just need to check my wardrobes first.. I'll come back to you later, ladies", he hummed.

Once Beta disappeared, Copia started to walk towards the staircase.
"Hey, Copia? Can we ask you something in return?", Meena asked politely.
"Mm, of course. What is it?", he smiled, carefully fixing his biretta.
"Well, if that party is later in the evening anyway, can we still continue the game in the meantime? We got into a very good start already..", she said.
"Oh, absolutely! I assume you didn't yet get the hint where to go next then?", he checked.
"No, we just got out the lab room.. And Sodo didn't say where we need to go now.. He was more focused on going on the smoke break with Swiss..", Mary shrugged. Copia nodded understandingly and checked his notebook.
"Let me see then.. Ah yes, that's the next one.. The hint is very simple. Follow the music. I can say that it's going to sound very different than the church music you may usually hear around here, so you can separate them from each other. Go now, he must be waiting for you already. Now if you please excuse me, I need to get my suit fitted before the evening", he grinned, putting the notebook away.
As he left, the girls listened for a moment, if they could hear anything, even a note, to know where to go now.
"Wait, I can actually hear something! It's really faint from this far away, but it sure doesn't sound like any church music I know!", Mary gasped suddenly.
"Show us the way, marmot!", Meena and Nikki giggled and they rushed down the corridor where the faint noice was coming from.
"What did you hear anyway?", they asked curiously.
"I heard bells. And no, not church bells. Like something more melodic that could be heard at.. An old time carnival..", she explained.
It sounded like a lot of fun, and the girls couldn't wait to see which Ghoul would be the master of a carnival room. Swiss would've honestly had made a lot of sense, but they had already seen his casino room, so it couldn't be him again..
The bells were slowly getting louder as the girls got closer to them. It was a slow, hauntingly beautiful melody. They guessed that it was coming from an old time carousel, maybe, if it indeed was a carnival?

Chapter Text

Soon enough, the girls reached the door where they heard the bells chime, now loud and clear. It almost sounded like a mix of an old time carnival and a circus.
"As long as there's no clowns, I'm happy..", Nikki shivered.
"Oh no, my dear, no clowns here. But how do you feel about magic tricks and stuff?", a soft voice whispered, loudly enough to be heard just over the bells.
"Magic tricks? They are fun. But we saw card tricks already, so.. Could it be Swiss again after all?", Meena wondered.
"I don't think so, that didn't sound like him..", Mary pointed out. The bells slowly got a bit more quiet, enough that they could actually hear each other talking over them, and the door opened.
A lanky arm slowly reached out from behind it, covered with a sleeve of a very nice looking tuxedo, and the long fingers with those already familiar looking, sharp dagger like nails made the beckoning "come hither" motion at the girls.
They giggled in unison and stepped inside. Of course, the girls had seen modern carnivals and circuses, but this one looked like it like it was from somewhere between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the golden days of such gigs.
"They put so much effort in this whole stuff.. It's amazing..", they whistled as they looked around.
The girls were standing next to a cute looking little ticket booth, painted in dark red and creamy white, with some golden details here and there.
"It's like a dollhouse carnival.. Where we are the dolls..", Mary giggled.
"So.. What are we supposed to do here then?", Meena asked.
"Ooh, hopefully we get to play some of the carnival games..", Nikki hoped.
"Mm, I'm glad that you asked..", the girls heard a soft, purring laughter and this time, Phantom appeared from a puff of purple shaded smoke.
The tuxedo sleeve made now even more sense to them, he was dressed as a classic ringmaster, with smart black tuxedo, matching white gloves, red long tailed coat and a fancy looking top hat, the tips of his horns were poking out from the rim of the hat.
"This looks so much fun! What's our task in here?", the girls asked curiously and Phantom grinned.
"Well, you did ask about the carnival games..", he smirked, snapping his fingers. Bright spotlights flashed on, pointing at different game booths.
Like the ticket booth, they too were painted in different colors, mostly darker, muted hues of brighter shades, with some white, copper, silver and gold here and there as accent colors.
"Take some tickets and have fun playing the games. You can always get more of them if necessary, there's no limit how many of them you can take or use, I'm simply suggesting that you should take a good handful at first to get started. If you don't know how to play something, I'll be glad to explain the rules. Do you have any questions right now?", Phantom asked them.
The girls glanced at each other and shook their heads, It sounded quite simple, get some tickets and play games, they would ask for help if it did become necessary.

Phantom grinned again, flashing those sharp teeth every Ghoul had, though the girls had noticed that especially Swiss had them extremely sharp when compared to the others, and snapped his fingers once more with a smooth flick of the wrist.
When he did so, the machine within the ticket booth came alive, starting to whirr and make soft clicking sounds.
The girls giggled and each took some tickets, then looking around which games they wanted to try.
"Aw, that's cute, I always liked the duck pond as a kid whenever we got to go to a carnival!", Nikki soon laughed, walking closer to one of the stands. Indeed, there was a decorative little pond, filled with colorful rubber ducks.
"I understand the basics of this game, but is there some specific duck I need to get or something?", she asked, noticing that some of the ducks had some similarities with the Ghouls. Obviously they had the tiny horns, and the colors themselves were a clear hint they were supposed to be them, and she adored every tiny detail.
One red duck clearly was supposed to be Sodo, as it was the only one with ivory white horns, and it also had a fabulous mustache on top of it's beak. Rain was obviously the blue one, with huge and deep, shiny eyes and a soft little curl between the horns. Mountain was pictured as the green one, wearing a tiny, brimmed leather hat. Swiss was simply black, with some silvery glitter on top, and the duck's beak was painted to look like his sharp teeth.
Phantom himself was purple, and Nikki noticed a small beauty mark on the cheek, near the corner of the lip, just like he had. She also guessed that the classic bright yellow duck must had meant Aether, simply because it was carrying a small, lighter yellow banana on its back.
And the Ghoulettes seemed to be a pastel gang when compared to the guys, pink for Cumulus, it had a tiny bit of red lipstick on the pouty point of the beak, the girls had seen her wearing a very similar shade, green for Cirrus, with a little diamond under the eye, bluish purple for Aurora and yellowy orange for Sunshine, they both had tiny wigs on, cute space buns and tight copper shaded curl, just like they wore their hair as well.
Nikki giggled, even the Papas had descriptive ducks. Each of them had those dark rings around the eyes, and the left eyes had small white dots. She could had guessed which ones were Copia's, as two of the ducks had tiny red and black birettas, while two others had shiny red and blue glitter coats on.
Secondo's duck of course carried the Grucifix staff under its wing, while Primo's one had a small incense burner. Terzo and Nihil seemed to be carrying their golden kazoo and a saxophone, respectively. Then she noticed one more duck.
It too had the dark rings around the eyes and a white dot on the left one, but it's little coat was bright purple.
"Huh.. That's weird..", she wondered for a moment.
"Mm, every duck gives some sort of a prize. It's all about luck which ones you might get..", Phantom purred all casually and went to see what Mary and Meena had found while Nikki had chosen the duck pond.

Soon enough he noticed that Meena had stopped at the ring toss booth.
"Wanna try your luck at the rings?", he grinned.
"Mm.. It looks simple enough to start from..", she nodded, glancing at the wooden posts the rings were supposed to be thrown at. It shouldn't be too hard, just asking for a lot of concentration.
"Well, if you do need anything, just ask. And remember, every ring wins something..", he smiled, going to see what Mary had chosen.
Eventually, he found her at the massive wheel of fortune.
"Feeling lucky?", he smirked.
"I have never tried a wheel of fortune this big.. I have only tried those small ones that fit on top of the table..", she shrugged. He reminded her too that no matter where the wheel would stop, there would be a prize of some kind to be won. It was only fair, that they could win at least something from each game they tried.
In general, Phantom was quiet, like a shadow he was, and just overlooked as the girls tried the games, they soon noticed him being perched up on one of the platforms on the side.
After all, Copia had warned them earlier that he was more shy than the others, and took more time to get more comfortable with any visitors.
Nikki was very focused at the duck pond, she wanted to try and catch as many of them as possible, if there really wasn't a limit how many times they could try each game. She was specifically trying to catch any of the "Copia ducks", simply because she thought that the tiny birettas, color coded to match his own, and shiny coats looked so cute. She liked especially the one with the red biretta, and tried to catch it first.
"Ooh, I got it!", she soon got excited and lifted it up from the pond.