The Scotsdale Virtual Estate

To begin with, Saija's advanced state of drunkenness helped her to assume that Dare meant to play like she wanted; thorough, close-in and intimate. The closeness of their bodies was making the other woman hum and moan softly, her eyelids shuddering part way to closed as the alcoholic haze left her scarcely able to believe her luck. She had come to the party fully expecting the only women present to be of the high-class and fancy variety, and almost certainly with hetero leanings, if they had any at all.... and yet here she was, in a secluded back area, with Dare; a woman who was both to her visual likes, and also seemed genuinely playful.

All in all, it really seemed too good to be true, and the more she drank, the less the one annoyance, the ever-flirtatious Drisco, really annoyed her. To that end, she managed another sip in between eager giggling as Dare moved in for the kill. It was debatable as to whether the way she pressed her body back against Dare at every turn was conscious, or simply automatic, but the resting of Dare's by her shoulder was met with a nuzzle in return, the brief squeezing with a press of the hips, and a sharp gasp. When her frisker passed comment on her undergarments, Saija turned her head enough to bite Dare's ear and murmur a response, though it sounded just a little bit run together, and not at all steady.

"Ahh... That's not all I keep tight... hehe... further! Mmmm!" Not a stable voice at all. Though Dare wasn't seeing, close in as she was, Saija's eyes had closed fully by this point, though whether it was from the difficulty of keeping them open, or something else, was anyone's guess. Truthfully, it was entirely possible that her eager arousal was actually the only thing keeping her conscious by this point.

When Dare's searched moved to the front, Saija's grip on her tightened forcefully and her head rolled back, a long moan hummed between her lips. She might have murmured something to the extend of being almost there, but given the circumstance she wasn't necessarily referring to Dare and her quest. When Dare went forte actual prize, the barely believable excitement proved too much for Saija in her current state; even though it was only a very small amount of contact, really, and ruthlessly brief on Dare's behalf, even that small amount of intimate contact, from a pretty woman, was too much stimulation for Saija. The low groan became a hard, startled gasp that sounded like it had surprised even the woman making it, even as her legs locked about Dare like an iron vice and she tried to simultaneously grind her hips and crush Dare's hand in against the source of her heat. The gasp was followed by another as her body spasmed roughly, then a long, defeated moan.

As Dare freed herself just as quickly as she reasonably could, Saija fell back, her limbs going slack as she sprawled in an exceptionally unlady-like fashion on the counter-top. She remained like that, breathing deeply as the other woman cleaned herself up. Through all of this, there still had been no particular intrusion from Drisco, and Dare would be able to see his intent expression as he simply watched things unfold. Win or lose, his expression said he had certainly won here, game aside. He managed a gracious nod and smirk to Dare at her gesture, and for a moment he even leaned forward; he might have been looking closer to confirm that they were, indeed, the right cufflinks... as though Saija might have had more than one pair hidden away... or he might have been contemplating offering to lick Dare's fingers clean for her, but either way the moment passed without him acting on it, and his eyes drifted back to the other woman while Dare finished cleaning and set about paying out her due to Saija.

Sajia herself still hadn't stirred, though when dare sat beside her on the counter, she lazily tried to raise one arm enough to reach Dare. It was a languid gesture that drifted and weaved, more or less managed to accept her prize, then gave up, the hand falling back to rest on her middle instead. She might have tried to mumble something else but within moments she was, quite clearly, gone to the world.

Of all things, this turn of events seemed to have a most unexpected reaction from Drisco: he went from self-assured smiles and cordial joy, to an expression that was far closer to a wince. He managed to seem both concerned, and frustrated at the same time, and the eyes he turned towards Dare were somewhat less mirthful than they had been moments before.

"I am sorry, miss Dare. Forgive me a moment." He brushed past her, moving in to instead check on Saija and confirm that she had, in fact, passed out. He took a moment to straighten her legs and tug her dress back down as well, once he confirmed that she had, then stood back with a heavy sigh.

"I must confess, this is not what I had hoped for at all. I am sorry to spoil your evening and curtail our fun, Daring One, but I could not in good conscience continue our games while dear Saija is like this." He sat on the counter on the other side of the unconscious woman, turning to face Dare with one knee up. "I do hope you will forgive me if I stay to ensure she remains well, but perhaps, if you would like to keep a gambler company for a while, I could explain myself to you." He took a last sip of his own drink, then shook his head and pushed the tray across to the other side of the counter, out of reach. He seemed to assume that she would stay for at least a little bit of his explanation, because he pushed on, though it sounded a though the words were more uncertain than she would have yet heard from the man.

"I... You see, Saija and I have known each other many years; our businesses are not in direct competition, but there is a friendly rivalry, of a sort. In the time we have shared, I have long and often tried to woo her more intimate company, and it has been a game of many years. She rebuffs me, always, but she does not tell me to stop, either." He paused her, frowning and looking down at his hands. Since the drop in his mood, his often extraneous hand gestures had faded away to almost nothing. "I do realise that that must sound terrible of me, but you must understand how well we know one another. If she wished me to stop, truly, she would make it clear, and I would. I never knew until this night that she looked to women; in all the years I have made advances, she has never told me so." Here, he shook his head, managing a small, bemused chuckle, mostly at himself.

"I was eager, for with someone new in our formula, things seemed... possible. We would both dearly have enjoyed sharing such intimacies with both a new friend, and an old one; this I know, but... now..." His eyes trailed down to where Saija slept, blissfully unaware with a small smile on her lips. "I had thought this night might see a conclusion to our long game, but I now realise... it must not be like this." Again, a small shake of his head. "No. Not like this."

A few seconds passed and he looked up to Dare again, then smiled, his impossibly white teeth flashing stark contrast to the darkness of his skin.
"Do you know... I do spend so much time in business politic, it feels very good indeed to speak such words plainly. Perhaps the drink is getting to me as well." Sure enough, having spoken his mind, the man did seem to be in better spirits.

"Again, I must apologise to you, Daring One. You have played our games with more spirit and vivacity than any I have known, and it has been grand sport. I do not wish to keep you from the remainder of the evening. I will remain here, and care for dear Saija, and say that it has been a very great pleasure to meet you. If you do return to the party, maybe I could ask one more favour: perhaps you might send one of the servants our way with a pitcher of water. I do suspect that she will need it, when she rouses. I do think that it will be long before I allow her to live down this evening." This time he did manage a soft chuckle that was more in his earlier form, and even offered a brief wink to Dare.

After a moment, he bowed his head to Dare then turned his eyes to watch Saija sleeping; it looked as though the animosity they had displayed earlier in the evening was in truth the ribbing of old friends, after all. It seemed as though games for favours were more or less over, at this point, and the atmosphere had quite thoroughly cooled. Dare had her trophies, and it would be hard to claim that either of these two had not had a good time, and barely thought about business at all; if she felt like excusing herself, Drisco certainly didn't seem like he would mind.

It was only a few moments after his voice had gone silent that the private line given to Dare by Zenny herself snapped open, though mercifully, it gave no outward sign of existing at all. The voice-only channel delivered Zennocracy's irate voice directly to Dare, and sounded like she was in no mood to brook delay or excuse.

"Our security system is registering navis accessing combat routines and a great deal of violence coming from the under-croft. None of my staff know anything about this, and I'm unable to reach three who are supposed to be on service tonight. I will be most irate if any of you three are the cause of this disturbance. Do any of you know what is going on down there? Speak quickly."

----

All around the party, the atmosphere was slowly winding down and cooling of, it seemed. The other band members seemed both pleased and relieved that Ante had opted to remain and play with them, and double over, to hear that it was a piece she already knew. If any of them found her reassurance haughty or superior, it certainly didn't look that way; mostly they were just glad to be able to begin playing at last.

The piece began smoothly, with the other players fitting their parts with a smooth practice that made the ensemble sound completely professional. In due course, the woman that had done the talking began the vocals for the piece, keeping her voice smooth and rich as it rolled through the calming, mellow sounds of a song about a night slow-dancing with her lover. To most listening, the lack of the male accompaniment wouldn't really be too notable, but if it was a piece Ante herself was familiar, she would probably feel the way that the deeper answer-back vocal part was absent. Under normal circumstances, of course, The male part would have been sung by PianoMan while he played, while their other missing performer, and apparently his belle, would have taken the female vocals. No doubt the song would have thus been injected with a wealth of soul and feeling that would be hard to match, but even without, it still remained a beautiful piece.

Ante's momentary shock and distraction did manage to draw a few eyes, unfortunately, and a worried glance from a couple of the performers, but they relaxed again when she swiftly got back on track and continued without any further incident. It was a rather long piece, designed to accompany many long minutes of graceful, slow dancing on the floor, and indeed many couples obliged, but though the performers had vaguely hoped for a return of their male vocalist during the piece, the song went on without him. As much as the irony of Dare piece by piece giving up the outfit Ante had made was not lost on her, it was an internal chagrin that she didn't, thankfully, have to share or explain to anyone else.

By the time the piece drew to its soft conclusion, and the couples on the floor took their last steps with one another, there was still no sign of either PianoMan, or their other lost player. In the quiet that followed the conclusion, the band's liaison with Ante stepped over to stand by her.

"We worried we were losing you there for a moment, my lady, but you pulled it back. The rest of the piece was done beautifully, so please don't worry about any small misses. It was wonderful of you to stand in for us, and perform so well, at such short notice!" She glanced around to the others and received a variety of small nods. "The next piece in our list is one we can manage without Harmonia or PianoMan, but, my lady, if you would like to stay and play further with us, you would be most welcome." The one man who hadn't nodded an agreement was a grim and serious-looking navi who had been their cellist for the last piece. He reached out reached out to tap the girl on her shoulder.

"Call him again." Without any hesitation the girl nodded, then ducked her head apologetically to Ante. Her eyes flickered for a moment as she, apparently, tried to contact their missing pianist, but after a moment she shook her head. Biting her lip still she turned away form Ante to address the others in the troupe.
"He's not responding now, but returned a message to say that we should play on without him or Harmonia. The message said it was serious, and bad, and that he was too angry to explain yet."
"PianoMan, angry? What on earth would it take to do that?"
"I can't imagine what that would take... what do you suppose...?
"If Harmonia isn't coming back either... what if...?"
"Something must have happened to her! We can't just stay here and..!" The flautist in particular seemed distressed by the message she had received, but the grim-looking navi rested his hand on her shoulder again.
"Melodia, be calm. He said for us to stay, and play. So that is what we will do. The ball goes on." She stilled under his hand, and nodded, and he looked past her to meet Ante's eyes.
"My lady, would you stay and play with us again? I'm sorry to have involved you now, but I think having a guest amongst us will help everyone's nerves."

If Ante did decide to stay, it seemed generally assumed she would remain on piano while the others made instrument switches as needed; the pieces in order down their playlist only grew smoother and more mellow from here, though there were not, in truth, a great many left to play by this stage.

It was in this brief break that the line given to her by Zenny directly came to life. The woman sounded more than slightly annoyed as her voice snapped across the channel to Ante, the same as Dare was also hearing at that particular moment in time. No-one else would be able to tell that Ante was receiving any sort of communication at all, but the woman didn't sound like she expected to wait very long for an answer.

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The reason for PianoMan's further delay was far more apparent to Fold as they exchanged the kind of perfectly polite edge-of-fury pleasantries that only the high class and those of indentured service are capable of. Though he didn't take his eyes off MyofibrilMan, he nevertheless nodded once to her answer.

"My thanks, Lady. I am glad to save you the effort of sullying your own hands with a creature as vile as this." Down the way, the body-builder had picked himself up, looking infuriatingly none the worse for wear. He clenched one fist low and pointed towards PianoMan with his other hand, then shouted loudly enough to be heard the length of the garage.

"MyofibrilMan remembers you now!" His attention, understandably had been completely diverted from Fold, and was squarely on the pianist now. "You played tunes and sang when MyofibrilMan wanted a drink!" The statement was oddly lacking of any relevance to the situation, but it seemed to make the muscle-man feel justified about himself in some way. "You should sing MyofibrilMan a song, little music man, before he crushes your body with his perfect muscles!"

PianoMan began to walk slowly towards the bodybuilder, flexing his fingers and playing more notes over an invisible set of piano keys in front of him. He spared one brief glance for Fold is she wasn't already on her way.
"If you'll excuse me, My Lady." His final words to her were soft and polite, before turning his attention back to the imminent fight. His voice rose to meet the other man, and Fold would still be able to hear it as she departed the area. "I'll sing you a song alright... My name is PianoMan, and if you never bothered to learn hers, I'll make sure you remember mine, you oaf."

The sounds of combat and badly mistreated motor vehicles followed Fold a fair way as she left the retainer and the body-builder to resolve their differences, rushing back towards her primary charge's protection.

She had almost reached the ballroom again when the private line given to each of them by Zennocracy lit up, relaying the same words that Ante and Dare were hearing in that same moment. Of the three of them, Fold, of course, knew exactly what was going on, but the real question was what, if anything, she would elect to say to the woman on the other end of the line.

Dare rattled her fingers on the countertop as she looked between Saija and Drisco. It was clear to her that Saija was just about ready for the three-count, even though she'd accepted her reward. The woman's powerful reactions had surprised Dare, to be sure, but more surprising were those of Drisco. She let him go about the business of making Saija decent and was more than happy to interpret that there might be a brake on their festivities: after all, things were getting heavy, even for her, and she had a meeting to make before the night was over.

Her bemused smile showed that she was expecting an explanation from Drisco, and he didn't keep her waiting long. Her slight grin fell to a more pensive frown as it gradually dawned on Dare what her acquaintance was describing. She felt a bit guilty... just moments earlier, she had assumed Drisco was about to tell a funny story about Saija while she couldn't refute it, or (perhaps conceitedly) that Drisco was about to try and make a move, now that it was just the two of them. She thought back to earlier in the night, when Drisco and Saija had been by themselves at the bar, the only two that would do for the other's company... "And of course, I made that all about me... Typical." She wasn't really upset that Drisco seemed to be more or less admitting that he had intended to use her company as a foot in the door to romantic relations with Saija. Moreso, she was mad at herself for not picking up on any romantic tension earlier. She had gotten carried away, and the end result (at least in her mind) was that she'd given Drisco a slap in the face by more or less forcing his romantic interest to climax with a woman in front of him, then pass out from the pleasure.

It wasn't like Dare to have regrets. She figured that was the wine working on her, and she didn't know if she could trust that feeling, so she put it aside to deal with for later. As for now...

"I understand, Drisco," Dare told him, hoping that was true. "Truth be told, I was in this for the fun. Don't take this the wrong way, but... I hope I'm not surprising you when I tell you I'd intended for this to be a 'What happens in NetVegas' type of thing. I didn't mean to mess with you, but..." Dare paused, contemplating. She wasn't really sure how she felt on this, and she wasn't sure if it was good advice to give, anyway. She supposed she might as well. With how much she'd been drinking, odds were pretty good she and Drisco wouldn't remember it the next morning.

"This is just my two cents, and... I hope I'm not giving you advice you don't want to hear. I'm a Navi who doesn't believe in limits. I don't believe in the boundaries society would try to put on something like love, or friendship. There are... a lot of ways to interpret that, but I guess what I'm saying is, this is a tough world, you know? Again, I hope I'm not surprising you too much when I say I know nothing about business politics or maneuvering. It seems like a cut-throat type of world, and to have a real friend in that kind of business is real important. The important thing for you is you have a goal line, and you move towards it. You keep in mind what is important to you. If... Saija is important to you, don't give up on it! Under the influence of booze, who knows what we do? Heck, I didn't even know I was capable of half the stuff I did tonight! So, you know, maybe don't lock a door for yourself... that might swing both ways...?" At this, Dare kind of helpless cracked a laugh, even though she was intending to give a serious heart-to-heart. "But, if you value your friendship, and you think pushing on a door that won't open might hurt that... don't throw that friendship away. You know you best, so, you know. Up to you."

Dare rose, smoothing her dress down more politely over her legs. "I've got... sort of a female rival? She's a very important person to me, but... sometimes, I can't tell if she feels the same way about me. For a person like me, a rival's important! I think it's something deeper than friendship, or... or love..." she said, giving a bit of a fluttery smile that was uncharacteristic of her. "I guess what I'm saying is, I don't tell her that all the time. I think it'd be kind of mushy or uncool to do. But I want to believe there's hope... that those feelings get through to her, you know?"

The Navi didn't wait for a response, and backed up a bit to signify that she was ready to leave. "Aaanyway, sorry I'm not very good at giving advice. I don't even know if half of what I'm saying about myself makes any sense, so why listen to me trying to talk about you? But I'll tell you this much: what you and I did today, competition... that makes us rivals. So we'll meet again, Mr. Legend! Thanks for a fun night... take care of yourself, all right?"

Dare started to turn to leave, but gave a call back. "I'll let a server know if I can find one, but you gotta do a favor for me in return! I dunno how you feel about it, but make sure Saija finds those stockings when she wakes up, all right? I can't be known as someone who doesn't pony up when they make a bet!" Feeling she'd salvaged a bit of her face, Dare picked that moment to exit and make her way back to the ball proper.

---

Now that she was no longer wearing shoes or stockings, the lack of shoes became a more apparent issue to the Navi. Feeling the cold surface of tile beneath the pads of her feet, Dare decided to first head where she'd left her shoes earlier, and hope they were still there. In the meantime...

The Navi was suddenly blasted by an earful of Zenny, which certainly made her jump. Not two minutes ago she had been fooling around in Zenny's kitchen, using her sink to wash off post-play residue, so her first thought was naturally that the buzz was for her. Although her mind was racing to find a cover-up, it quickly became apparent that it wasn't needed.

What did seem important was that Zenny was apparently relaying news about some sort of violence in the estate. Hearing about this, Dare didn't respond to Zenny, but she did check her messages. There was something from Fold about... potential problems? In bold, no less!

Her shoes could wait. For that matter, Drisco and Saija's water could wait... "After all, you're in a kitchen! Zenny's got bigger stuff to worry about than if you sneak a glass of her water." For now, all of Dare's attention shifted to trying to find the undercroft/garage/whatever. She quickly made her way back to the ballroom hallway. She figured that would be a good place to start... with any luck, she would meet Ante and/or Fold there and the three of them could get to the bottom of it together.

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are you two all right? no violence here. finished and left. let me know if you're in danger and i'll come help


The Navi sent out her message to Ante and Fold only. Unaware of the situation and unable to offer anything helpful to their employer anyway, Dare decided to stay quiet and see if Ante or her SP would return Zenny's alarmed request. If not, that would probably be a bad sign in and of itself... Moreover, Dare had no idea if the situation Zenny was worried about was something Ante, Fold, Hoodwink, or any combination of the above was trying to keep secret. "Best to keep communication internal until I figure it out..."

Dare thought she was being remarkably calm considering the situation, and decided maybe alcohol didn't have that much sway over her decision-making after all. But then she remembered what she was just involved in, and the sappy speech she'd given. "Uh, yeah... I'll think about what I think about that later."
Ante laughed at the respectfully phrased implication that she had misplayed some part of the piece, which she was quite certain she hadn't. After all, the playing had been a smooth, mechanical operation with only a minor distraction in the form of briefing herself on Dare's antics, as well as she could recall. "I can't blame them for being a bit miffed... Professional pride and all that," the princess thought to herself. "I'd be happy to play another piece, if you'll have me," she responded.

Another complication came up, as it turned out that PianoMan had been contacted and was irate somewhere on mansion grounds. Worse yet, although she couldn't tell the others, she knew that he might be more than irate... he might be violent. As much as Ante wanted to play another piece, she couldn't rightly hope sit still and hope that the violence would sort itself out. No ball ought to be interrupted by violence, she figured, and felt a duty to make certain that it didn't. That said, she also felt a duty to make sure the party had decent ballroom music, and furthermore, to calm the nerves of the worried musical navis. This appeared to be a case where she'd have to use her royalty-given powers of delegation to handle the situation efficiently. She started by answering over the channel to her mission compatriots:

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I'm here in the ballroom, playing the piano. No sign of violence here, nor any reason to think anything has been instigated. Fold, please investigate the cause of the disturbance, if you are available to do so.

For your information, a navi named PianoMan may be involved in the tussle. I know he was in the garden at one point, but there's no telling where he is now.


With that sent, Ante allowed herself to smile again, showing none of her own nerves, and composed herself for another piece. This one would go a little better, so long as nobody talked to her about taking their clothes off.

---------------------------------------------------

Now nearly to the hall that Dare had just entered, Fold clenched up her shoulders and grimaced as she read Zennocracy's message. As usual, the hostess was on top of everything, at least when it came to endangerment of her property (but not to her guests, apparently, as no one had intervened to stop the harassment that Harmonia had received earlier). She realized that it was up to her to take care of the situation, her being the one who knew the most of the particulars and being uniquely qualified to make 'the right call' when it came to separating the two. She couldn't leave it to Ante, who'd want to hear both sides and would give MyofybrilMan a chance he didn't deserve (and furthermore, may have to learn the nasty particulars of the situation). She suspected Dare was still drunk out of her gourd and, frankly, didn't know if she could trust her to make the right call either. No, Fold believed that she herself was the only one who could provide the resolution that the brawl called for.

The bodyguard realized that she'd allowed herself to become so agitated she'd nearly walked into the ballroom carrying her spatha and her shield. She still needed them, so she didn't put them away, but she returned the message to the others as she made her way back to the garage.

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I'll resolve the situation myself.


That terse reply was all she'd afford; she didn't need Dare and Ante worrying, and she didn't need Zennocracy understanding at all. She doubted Zennocracy really wanted to know the particulars, regardless. Their hostess for the night would probably just as well be spared the details, so long as what she asked for was accomplished.

Fold hurried back to the garage with all the speed she could muster while carrying a thick shield and minding her skirt. She was used to high-heeled boots, but not so much to running around and fighting with a bell skirt on. Rejoining the fight in progress, she made as little noise as possible (thankfully, this was a bit easier in cloth attire than it would have been in her ordinary armor). She'd have to survey the situation before getting involved, but she'd already decided that her best strategy would be to distract MyofybrilMan, make certain that he was held in one place (perhaps using herself as bait), and then allow PianoMan to hit him with a few more hits of the nifty attack he'd managed earlier. Certainly he'd go down after enough of those... If not, she'd be in bad shape, because her short sword, while better than nothing, didn't enhance her combat strength in nearly the same way it used to, since she'd been converted to an SP.
Even if Dare was concerned about rambling, or how sappy she may or may not have sounded as she stumbled her way through attempting to console Drisco, the dark-skinned navi seemed to appreciate her efforts with a grin much more characteristic of his earlier brashness. He didn't seem to begrudge her part in attracting most of Saija's attention, or the result; just a little dampened that things had eventuated as they had.

At her final comments he nodded and shrugged, spreading his hands wide as he chuckled quietly. He winked at her before answering.
"Maybe you are right, oh Daring One. Maybe indeed. The game remains afoot, after all, and so long as it is played, those are odd I shall always wager on. As for ourselves... well, I would always welcome a wager with you, Daring One... So Perhaps we will meet again after all. Just think; Perhaps there will be something of me waiting in every shadow you pass on your journey from here." He nodded a farewell to her as she excused herself, reaching one hand over to help curl Saija's hand more firmly around Dare's latest gift to her. As a competitor and a sportswoman, Dare didn't want to be seen to skip out on a forfeit, and as a gambler, Drisco completely understood the importance of the request without need for explanation.

Retreating from the scene of her indiscretions, the marble underfoot actually felt quite cold against Dare's bare feet, but she eschewed seeking out her shoes when more pressing concerns demanded her attention. Though they were almost within calling distance of each other, Dare and Fold didn't quite manage to meet up, as they both paused to deal with their mutual communications just a short way out of sight of one another.

Once she received the other messages, Dare's choices would probably be a bit limited; there weren't really any more guests that needed specific attention, though Fold's terse response, right after her more conspicuous message about potentially problematic guests and lack of a report on how meeting her second guest had gone, might well be causing some concerns.

Still, the suggestion had been to meet in the ballroom directly, which was where Ante herself still was, on the piano, no less. The fact that she was apparently playing the piano, and that she mentioned a navi named PianoMan as possibly involved in the disturbance would make fitting some of the pieces together a bit more straightforward, possibly. With the night growing late and the party winding down, perhaps teaming up again would help get things more thoroughly sorted out and in order. Going in with no shoes likely wouldn't be a problem, since her dress would hide the lack... but any sudden motions could easily leave her flashing bare toes. Unfortunately, if she did take a few extra moments to check by the stairs where she'd left her shoes, Dare would find that they had been 'cleaned up' at some point while she wasn't there. Oh well.

On the other hand, even though Fold had said she'd deal with the matter herself, it sounded like a less than safe or comfortable situation, and perhaps her first inclination to track down the problem as well was the right one? Finding a house servant to point her in the right direction wouldn't take long, but simply asking for the quickest way to the vehicle garage would see Dare sent after the SP, who was already making her way back towards the source of the conflict. If she hurried, Dare would likely catch up to fold by the time they arrived, but otherwise she'd make the scene a minute or two after the other woman.

---

The scene in question, back at the vehicle garage, had degenerated quite profoundly, and only got worse the longer it went on. Zenny's response to Fold's communication was equally terse. She sounded no less put out but was at least mollified at having a simple response offered by at least one of her hired hands.
"Good. I need eyes on this. Keep me appraised; I want it resolved."

Once she decided to make her about-face and return to the scene of the disturbance, Fold was able to retrace her steps without and issues, but the sounds of destruction and crashing only grew louder the closer she got. Well, crashing... and piano music. Emerging again into the under-croft revealed that a great many of the neatly arranged cars were no longer in their correct positions, or indeed, wholly intact.

MyofibrilMan was standing towards the back right of the expansive area, wide-stanced and panting, with the broken wreckage of vehicles all around him in crushed and shattered heaps. His fists were up defensively, and he wasn't all laughter and boasting now. Nearer to where Fold, and possibly Dare, might enter from, PianoMan had his back to them, facing his target. He didn't have what one would exactly call a fighting stance, per se; he was standing straight and tall, with his feet close together, and his arms raised slightly in front of him, fingers moving and dancing on piano keys that only he could see.

The music that filled the room was beautiful and swelling, and as the chords of it crashed and pulsed the tune bore a tangible weight of emotion; there was rage, yes, and fury, but more than that, there was a sense of helpless, hopeless, horror to it; of sadness and desperation. It was difficult to tell whether what they were hearing was an actual composed piece of music, or simply the keystrokes of a master enraptured in trying to express himself wordlessly.

What was clear, was that it wasn't just music. In perfect time with the player's rhythm, he slid forward a few steps, hands darting over the keys as another of the expensive vehicles shot from its position towards the body-builder. The other man punched it aside with a growl, unwittingly making the crunch fit near perfectly with the music that was being played. Even as he deflected the first, another piece of the wreckage blind-sided him, sending the muscle-man tumbling and staggering sideways.

He recovered himself and leapt towards the musician with a roar, aiming to slam both fists together down onto the slender man, but as he crashed down, PianoMan made a small sliding motion in an arc over his invisible keys, at the perfect point in his music for the rising chord that ensued, and his body followed the action, gliding smoothly out and around where the blow hammered down. This put him at the body-builder's back and he spun a small circle, fingers trailing a falling cascade of notes that culminated in a fierce collision of force at MyofibrilMan's back. This one sent the other man crashing bodily through three additional cars that had, until this point, survived.

This left Fold able to clearly see PianoMan's face at last, and though the boiling rage that had seethed beneath the surface when he had been about to engage MyofirbilMan, and when he had lashed out at first, was still there, now his features were schooled to a calm coldness that only betrayed his feelings through his eyes... and of course, through his music. It seemed highly probably that he hadn't suffered so much as a scratch as of yet. MyofibriMan, on the other hand, seemed to be staying down this time.

"No you don't..." PianoMan's voice, like his face, calm and cold. His next notes created a glowing circle around the body-builder, infusing him with light and visibly patching up many of the minor cuts and abrasions he'd received so far. He groaned and stirred. "Get up. You don't get to just walk away from this, you monster. Miss Zennocracy won't punish you for what you've done. Your money is all she cares about, but I will not let this pass. Not this! Now get up!" The cold mask faltered briefly as his voice rose to shouting and the music of his fingers bore up into a swell of heartbreak and helplessness.

It was about at this moment that his eyes flicked up from the target of his righteous vengeance, to the doorway. His fingers slowed and the sounds of his heart-wrenching music faded.
"I thought I asked you to return to the party. This is no place for guests." It was clear that he was at least trying to speak with the same cordial politeness that a servant might address a higher-up, for her sake, but in his current state it was proving very difficult for him to achieve.

If there was a moment to intervene in any way, or to wade in, this was probably it... but once again, the situation wasn't exactly cut and dry. How exactly should an intervention go, if one was to be made? Fold's original plan to join the fray and restrain the muscle-head hardly seemed warranted now, but if not that, then what? MyofibrilMan was groggily struggling to rise again, mumbling something that was indistinguishable, except that it started with him saying his own name. He was leaning hard on an upturned car, and didn't seem to have any real fight in him at the moment.

----

Back where things were still progressing in a more or less refined manner, Ante gracefully glossed past her slight tonal mishap from before and prepared for another piece. The other band members seemed genuinely relieved that she would be staying, since their other two seemed not to be coming back at all, and several of them quickly exchanged instruments. The young lady, Melodia, picked up her flute again, but spared a relieved smile for Ante before putting the instrument to her lips.

The next piece had a much subtler, softer piano score, and it served mostly as a background to the other instruments, though no less an important one. Only a few dedicated couples remained to dance at this stage, and the music itself served more as an ambient relaxation piece, while the remaining guests chatted and sipped drinks. There were, indeed, fewer guests here now, looking around the room. Perhaps some were beginning to retire from the evening? There was no doubt things were winding down. It would probably soon be time to report in, provided they could sort out the most recent worrisome development.

With her responsibilities delegated successfully, however, Ante was free to enjoy another soothing piece of music at the end of her elegant evening. The piece was only a short way in when Zenny responded to Ante's message, though now her voice sounded more calculating and considering, than irritated.

"You're playing piano, and PianoMan is one of the three who isn't responding, and you say he may be involved. Why is he not at his post, tonight of all nights? Harmonia seems to have left the grounds completely, otherwise I'd assume... Hmph. Remain where you are and watch the other guests, Ante. I'll see the three of you in my office after this last matter is resolved, since the evening is about done with." Her voice had taken on amusing tone before she had caught herself being accidentally conversational with the hired help. It had jumped back to formality again a moment later, and once she finished speaking the line snapped off again, leaving Ante able to focus more directly on her playing.

Dare kept an eye and an ear to her communications, but there didn't seem to be anything that was clarifying much. What she could piece together was that Ante was apparently still staying put in the ball room, and there was no commotion there... on the other hand, it didn't sound like Fold was heading to the ball room at all. Wherever the "undercroft" was, that was probably where she ought to try and focus her attention. If she could meet up with Fold, the two of them could presumably make their way back to Ante.

Following that train of thought, Dare flagged down a servant and got directions to that location. She didn't bother mentioning the water Drisco needed: again, she figured Drisco could handle that himself, and as she reconsidered it, she felt she might be digging herself a hole if she directed servants in there to see that scene.

With her destination in mind, Dare began closing the shortest route with the quickest movement. Maybe Fold didn't need her help, but then again, she really didn't know much about Ante's SP yet. "Sorry if you were hoping for all of the spotlight to yourself...!"

Dare began to close the distance was greeted by a strange symphony, sounding something like a destruction derby taking place in a concert hall. "Fold!" she called out, cupping her hands to her mouth as she closed in. "You okay in there?!"
Ante still couldn't connect all of the dotted lines to discover exactly what had happened to Harmonia; she was still missing too many pieces of the puzzle. At this time, she still believed that perhaps Harmonia and PianoMan had gone out to fool around, had done so, and now that they'd finished up, Harmonia had left to... recover... while PianoMan prepared himself to come back to the ball room. Then again, he could also be involved in the fight that Fold was taking care of. No telling.

Zennocracy had asked her to keep an eye on the guests, though, and the best place to do that was from the ballroom, where the largest number were still assembled. The band hadn't stopped playing yet and she wasn't about to leave them without a pianist, if she could help it. Guests should never be forced to retire for lack of music; rather, by her estimation, the music shouldn't stop until the guests are all ready for it to. Therefore, she'd continue to play until the ballroom was sufficiently empty.

------------------------------

Fold winced when she re-entered the garage. Not only was the damage to the vehicles... more complete... than she'd imagined, but PianoMan was also executing his vengeance in an unfortunately thorough way, repeatedly mending his target so that he could beat them more thoroughly. She appreciated the sentiment and didn't find it undeserved, but she also wished he'd picked something that would have at least left one or two very expensive cars left standing. It was now clear that he cared even less about keeping up appearances with Zenny than Fold did by a significant margin. "I'd come back to see if you required assistance, but it is now quite clear to me that you don't," Fold responded truthfully, tightening her grip on her shield unconsciously. She had to talk some sense into him and she half expected he'd try blasting her when she did, so great was his rage and so needing an outlet.

There were two ways for this to go: first, she could explain to PianoMan that he was essentially screwed for his actions so far, which she figured he, honestly, was. Zennocracy was probably going to be in MyofybrilMan's corner to begin with, throwing her servant under the bus to appease him, and the destruction of her automobilies would only make that route more appealing to her. Without a jackout barrier, they couldn't permanently delete MyofybrilMan, and he probably had an operator to watch him regardless; no amount of just beating him up was going to work. Her second option... her mind worked feverishly to figure out a second option, one which would punish the guilty, protect the just, and not ruin the mission for her and her allies. Finally, she came to what she thought was a solution. It would have to be, because there wasn't a lot of time left to think. PianoMan would soon return to beating the tar out of MyofybrilMan, and if things went like they had been, the walls might be next to go.

Quickly, she ran to MyofybrilMan's side, as if to protect him. It soon became apparent that was not her intention, instead, she made certain that he was lying flat on his back, with a kick to the side, if necessary... and with a surprising coldness, stepped one heel onto his outer thigh. Grimacing down upon him, she cast aside her shield and reached down, seeking out his much-lauded symbol of manhood with one hand, and attempted to grab it tightly. "Your rage has you blinded. Punishment must fit crime, after all, and there's only one punishment that serves," she spoke to PianoMan, now kneeling over MyofybrilMan's body. If she managed to find her hold, she'd then level her blade to his member and would press the edge against the fabric of his small pants, where she was priming the length of it for cutting using her other hand. "MyofybrilMan, are you conscious? Operator, who seemingly condones his actions, are you listening? There is a price to pay for what you've done. It can be waived, however, if you do one thing: when MyofybrilMan meets Zennocracy later, he will tell her that he got a little tipsy and destroyed all of her prized vehicles on his lonesome. PianoMan was not a party in it, nor was I," she threatened, a threat backed up by the tension of her blade against MyofybrilMan's prized possession. She had to hope that the big man hadn't caught on to how weak she really was, in terms of fighting strength... she wasn't quite sure she'd have much better luck chopping that part off with her sword than she would simply tearing it off with her hands. "If you'll promise that much, then I'll allow you a bit more time to learn how to use this thing the right way."

She sensed that this probably wouldn't go over well with PianoMan; it wasn't real justice, after all. It was basically self-preservation. Still, she thought that plenty of justice had been served already and the two of them both needed a large insurance policy to make sure that their asses weren't mounted on Zennocracy's wall once the night was over. Best to let the fall rest with the guy who deserved it and had the means and money to survive it, if possible. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. I understand where you're coming from. But you must know that this means more to him than even his muscles, which you have demeaned. Hopefully, this is something he'll give thought to, for once in his miserable life."

It was at that moment that Fold heard Dare about to walk in on the upsetting scene; the SP hadn't been prepared for another guest to show up, let alone the friend of Ante. If possible, she had wanted everyone to remain unaware that this had happened, most of all the princess. She wasn't sure that would be possible any more. "Miss Dare! I've got the situation... er... in hand," she murmured, taking another look down at what she'd hopefully grabbed hold of. "You really don't need to come any closer..."
As she entered the garage area, the sights that were at least partially familiar to Fold would be brand new to Dare. In particular, her first sights would be of the utter wreckage of damaged vehicles that the place had become, rather than the orderly rows that Fold had first encountered.

She would also be laying eyes on the barely restrained fury and sorrow that was PianoMan for the first time, and the obvious signs that the carnage was his handiwork, and the thoroughly beat-up body-builder type also his doing.

Fortunately for Fold's concerns, the trashed remains of the car that MyofibrilMan had been leaning on, before she had unceremoniously kicked his feet out and pinned him down again, also obscured Dare from seeing clearly what she was doing in the muscle-man's pants. All she would be able to see was fold bent almost protectively near the downed man, while the seething pianist watched on.

All in all, that might actually make Fold's words to the roughed-up navi seem all the more confusing and curious; surely, he had been thoroughly trounced by the slender navi, but here was Fold now threatening him into taking responsibility for trashing the garage as well.

PianoMan's hands were poised above his invisible keys, holding off on anything further while Fold was in the way of his target, but he snarled visibly and his fingertips twitched as she laid out her ultimatums. As she spoke, first to MyofibrilMan, and then to PianoMan himself, he looked around the area, helpless. When his eyes fell on Dare, it seemed to be some sort of last straw for him.

"More guests, seeing this mess. Why? Why is this happening?" His fingers clutched in on themselves and flexed again, the sign of a pianist needing to play, but not knowing the notes. He heard the rest of Fold's apologetic solution, and began shaking his head.

"No. No! This isn't right. It's not fair... I... He... he can't get away with this. You can't just... No, not this... He can't just... He has to... has to..." but underneath the desperation, he was well aware that some trespasses couldn't simply be taken back, or undone, or made up for, and it robbed the despairing navi of the ability to articulate the line. His breathing was more laboured now than it had been while he was fighting, and his voice shook towards the end. It seemed like he might be on the edge of breaking down completely, but the manservant in him was doing a sterling job of holding the tears back. What he couldn't restrain, however, was his music, and after a few more moments of struggling with himself, the man let out a frustrated yell, fingers hammering down on the keys in a final flurry of discordant despair, that elicited a potent shockwave around his person, sending battered and broken vehicles and vehicle parts flying in all directions. Thankfully, none of them struck anyone else present, but when the sound cleared the pianist was standing with his head down, hunched as he tried to regain his composure.

"I..." He took another long breath, then looked up, his eyes moving between Fold and Dare, pleadingly now. "Harmonia. I have to go to Harmonia. She shouldn't be alone. I must go to her. I'm sorry." He'd barely said the words, before a pale beam of light and a flurry of black and white piano keys removed him from the scene of the destruction.

----

This left Dare and Fold alone with the, admittedly still rather out of it, MyofibrilMan. For her own part, Fold found the body-builders anatomy to be every bit as intimidatingly larger-than-life as the barely-concealing tightpants had suggested it was. Thus, making a threat against it with her blade became an easy matter, and as worn out as he was, she found it quite easy to keep him down, once she had knocked his feet from under him.

Worn out or not, her grip, and the edge of her blade, got his attention, and his eyes focused a little better, more out of renewed fear than anything else. He made a motion as though to try sitting up, but swiftly decided against it once the full gravity of his situation settled in.

"My-MyofibrilMan doesn't think he has done anything to deserve this ill-treatment! He thinks the piano player and the little lady must have set this up just to make a fool out of him!" A moment later, Fold's increased pressure against his delicate places made his eyes bulge. "Agh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't, I promise I'll..." He caught himself a moment later, and tried to recover the sentence, rather clumsily. "MyofibrilMan takes responsibility for his own actions, no matter what they are, of course, but he doesn't think the piano-player should be released from his own actions either." Whether he realised that Fold might not actually be able to make good on her threats or not, the body-builder really didn't seem in the mood to take chances; he'd already been shown up a slender musician servant, and didn't seem to want to risk adding dress-wearing lady to the list, just in case. At the very least, he wasn't going to make any sudden moves as long as Fold hand her hand firmly on his manhood.

This did raise the question of what exactly Fold and Dare planned to do with him now. What could they do with him, really? There didn't seem to be a lot of good or satisfying options, but perhaps they could think of something. One way or another, they'd need to be heading back to report to Zennocracy herself soon, and gods only knew what they were going to say.

----

Oblivious to the violence and drama playing out elsewhere, Ante continued to do a wonderful job of entertaining the guests and keeping the atmosphere in the ballroom pleasant. In that regard, it could be said she was the only one of the three really still doing the job they'd been entrusted with.

More guests departed through the final few pieces, until the ballroom itself was more or less empty. Only a few remained, and even they looked to be getting ready to depart. When Ante reached the last piece in the piano's score book, the gruff-looking musician reached out a gentle hand to touch her on the shoulder. Provided the soft gesture could get her attention, he would shake his head.

"The final piece is one we always play together. As much as we are all grateful for your company and your playing tonight, my lady, that final piece is personal to our group, and if the other two are not here with us, we shalln't play it. Please, pick something else for the ball's final piece tonight; we will wait for them." With that small remark aside, the group would be more than happy to play any of their other songs with her, as the evenings last piece, and by the end of it, the last guests were just leaving. When the last notes died, the grand ballroom was empty, and the cords seemed almost to echo. Not quite empty, it turned out, though; Mordenite had remained to listen to the last, even after exchanging pleasantries with other guests who came to speak with him.

Once it was clear that the band would play no more than night, with the other musicians relaxing and two of them slipping away to get refreshments, the kindly gargoyle made his way over to stand nearer Ante and the piano. Standing to his full height as he walked, he was indeed quite intimidating, but it also showed the truth behind his earlier assertion that he wasn't made for dancing. Still, he settled back again once he was close enough to talk quietly to Ante and still be heard.

"My lady Ante, I hope you don't mind my saying, you played as beautifully as you danced. It was very kind of you to stand in for the players here, when their own musicians were called away." He bowed his head to her before continuing.
"I confess, I grew concerned earlier in the evening, when master Hoodwink escorted you from the floor, and then lady Zennocracy seemed so intent upon pursuing you both. But I see the evening finds you still in good spirits, nevertheless. I hope all is well with you, then?" As before, his delivery was calm and ponderous; the sort of slow congeniality that was pleasant to listen to, despite coming across more gradually than most.

Dare didn't understand why her friend's friend was so insistent upon handling whatever was going on in the room herself, but after disobeying her call to stay away in the first place, it wouldn't make much sense to start paying attention to her bravado now. "Comin' in!" she shouted, swinging the door open.

Being something of a fan of fast cars herself, Dare's mind immediately rushed to calculate the zenny values of what she was now seeing. Her mind quickly gave up on that endeavor. Some of the cars were so banged up it was hard to identify what model they had been, and there were so many scattered parts that she couldn't imagine trying to fit them back to the correct vehicles. She laid eyes upon PianoMan and began trying to approach him before finding herself dodging a flying car mirror. "Woah! Hold it, buddy!"

Unfortunately, the Navi didn't "hold it" at all, and quickly fled the scene. "What the heck..." Dare muttered, before finally locating Fold. "Hey, uh... Yoohoo! I don't mean to, uh... interrupt whatever it is you're doing," Dare said, giving a small cough. "In fact, normally I'd be happy to let this play out and then hear you talk about it over drinks. But, uh, the hostess has been saying some things about a commotion in this area, and it seems like she's out for blood..."

The Navi inched a little closer and got a better look at what Fold was really up to, but it didn't make her feel a lot better. She wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation: she hadn't really gotten to know Fold well enough to give her character the benefit of the doubt in this situation. She kept her eyes carefully on her ally and prepared to dash in and restrain her if need be. She had a pretty good hunch that the slab of meat she was menacing was one of their targets. As she began to put two and two together, he may very well have been one of the "problems" Fold was talking about... regardless, one of their mission objectives was to make these guys happy. She had just met MyofibrilMan and didn't yet know his kinks, but she had to doubt this was one of them.

She was happy to let Fold try and govern the problem, but she needed an explanation before she let Fold dismember a business partner of their client. "Why don't you give me an explanation, Fold, and we'll talk about what needs to happen next here...?"
Although the gesture had been innocent enough, Ante couldn't help but audibly start when the musician touched her shoulder; it brought back to mind her scandalous affair with Hoodwink in the greenhouse just a short while ago. "Yes, please! Proceed as you will. It was my honor to help," she excused herself, giving a small curtsey before clopping quickly away from the piano. She found her guilt was beginning to get the best of her. Dare was nowhere to be seen and seemingly being forced into some scandalous actions by her party guests, which was the only way to explain why she would be without any part of her carefully assembled wardrobe. Fold was off on one of Zennocracy's tasks which might involve a violent malefactor and Ante wasn't helping her. In fact, all Ante had really done during this party was entertain herself... in some rather crude ways, at that. "I really should rendezvous with Miss Dare and Miss Fold," she resolved, preparing to leave.

Perhaps thankfully, as Fold really wouldn't have wanted her walking in or getting involved with the scene regardless, Mordenite captured her attention. Well, a little personal guilt was no reason to be rude to other guests, after all! With that in mind, she abandoned her plan to leave and decided to speak with her friend instead. "No; I thank you for your concern, but all of the incidents following me tonight have been the results of unfortunate happenstance," she chuckled. "I had a small dizzy spell earlier, which Mister Hoodwink rescued me from. I suppose that caught Miss Zennocracy's attention, because she did indeed seek me out later," she admitted, although she said nothing further... she didn't want any other details of that encounter being explained, for one thing, but she also didn't want to give away her relationship with Zennocracy herself. "Enough about me, though. I hope you've gotten everything you wanted out of the ball tonight?" she inquired of Mordenite, as some part of her still was still aching to do something to repay the gargoyle's kindness. "Setting aside your appreciation for my meager attempts at recalling an upbringing in classical music, that is."

------------------------------------

"For some people, this sort of thing is worse than dying, you know?" Fold retorted to PianoMan, which came out more like a joke than she wanted; it was intended more as a serious statement, seeing as she really believed MyofybrilMan would probably see it that way. She just wanted to finish up the whole dark business and this was really no time for joking. Regardless, PianoMan wasn't listening to her right now. He made the right call, in Fold's estimation, by leaving to attend to his lover, who sounded as though she'd been abused by MyofybrilMan, perhaps even injured. "Please, do," she agreed, before he took off.

With him gone, the situation was easier in some ways: she didn't have to worry about his continued aggression, drawing Zennocracy to this spot, and she also didn't have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire or revealing her affiliation with Zennocracy to him. On the other hand, it made the situation more difficult in one important way: without him around, her threat to MyofybrilMan was mostly a bluff, and she needed to finish up before he realized that. The crucial need to hurry this along was casting a shadow over her tired eyes and making her look especially frustrated as she faced Dare. "Please, Miss Dare. Leave this to me," she responded, blowing to get one dark lock of hair away from her lip where it had escaped from the side of her cap. "I'll explain this thoroughly... later."

Hopefully having placated Dare, she turned her attention back to MyofybrilMan. "Unfortunately for you, your only option to leave this room with your manhood in-tact and attached is to convince me that you are going to absolve the piano player of his role in this. Your opinion of whether that is right or wrong is inconsequential. So, convince me. Quickly," she reiterated, tightening her grip yet further (that part of her was not particularly weakened since converting to an SP) and keeping her blade pressed where it was. With the situation cooled down, she'd lost most of her appetite for threatening MyofybrilMan, much as he might deserve it, and she'd never had a desire to hold his member in the first place, so the sooner this was over, the better for her.
Dare wanted an explanation for the threats of dire slicing. Fold wasn't giving one. MyofibrilMan spent the tense exchange with his eyes flicking between Fold's face, and her critically positioned spatha, almost as though he was trying to work out if he could jack out fast enough to prevent her making an unfortunate incision the moment he tried.

The good news for Dare was that this left him far too preoccupied to ask the question of how exactly a normal guest would have been hearing anything about Zennocracy's security worries, or even to think it... although, in retrospect, it really didn't seem to matter much what the body-builder thought about anything, by this point. He certainly wasn't having an enjoyable evening any more. True to her vindictive words to PianoMan before his departure, it did seem as though the threat to MyofibrilMan's favourite muscle was a far more potent ultimatum than any amount of beating or thrashing, and his frightened discomfort only grew as the moments passed, spreading ever more cracks cross his already crazed composure.

As Fold pressed for his word of responsibility, the shifting of his gaze fixed on her eyes, and he seemed to conclude that whether he would be fast enough or not, the stakes were too high to risk attempting escape, just in case he was wrong.

"My-MyofibrilMan is a man of his word! If the little lady wants MyofibrilMan to lie to Zenny, and say he broke her things, then he will. MyofibrilMan never breaks a promise! He has been damaged enough for one night, for no crime that he can see!" A moment later he seemed to rethink his last words, in light of the woman above him, who was both holding the blade, and clearly felt he had done something wrong. "Ah, that is... If the little lady says MyofibrilMan has done wrong, then maybe he has?" At least Fold's ruse was holding; the man seemed far too cautious to risk questioning it in his current state.

For better or worse, they had his word on absolving PianoMan. There seemed little doubt that he was thinking about getting right out of there the moment Fold relented and let him up, so if they wanted any further assurances from the muscle-enthusiast, they had best extract them swiftly.

--

Elsewhere, in the more or less emptied ballroom, the only two remaining guests exchanged pleasantries while the band members waited patiently for their missing members, and the serving staff began the duty to clearing away what remained of the evenings festivities. Mordenite nodded slowly, smiling and offering a quiet, deep laugh for Ante's reassurances.

"I am glad to hear that you keep well, my lady. I hope that our hostess was not stern with you; I fear she can be quite abrupt with those she doesn't perceive a direct use for." He paused to shake his head slowly, and his smile was more wry than anything else. "And also, truth be told, with those she does." The gargoyle paused to glance around the now deserted chamber and then took the opportunity to stretch briefly. Standing to his full height and flexing his wings truly made it feel as though he filled half the room, but after another moment or two he settled back to his more compact posture.

"Never fear. For myself, I have found much to enjoy this evening. It has been a thoroughly pleasant night. Not least of my joys has been your company, lady Ante, and your performances. I much prefer to leave business out of such a night, but I feel I must say this, at least: there is no representative in my employ who could so well show the elegance and grace required of formal gatherings such as these, as you have this night. I know not which of my associates you arrived under, and I do not ask, but, as times and fates shift, my lady, if ever you should find yourself adrift and seeking position, it would be my honour to find a place for you amongst my own family." Here he dropped his gaze and bowed deeply, stretching one leg out behind him as before, to better accomplish the low gesture.

"Apologies if the offer is abrupt, or unfitting, of course, Lady Ante; your refinement is so natural, it feels almost churlish to speak so. I merely wished to extend an open hand on that front, if ever you find such to your choosing."

All in all, they would only have a few more minutes to chat back and forth at most, which, for Mordenite's gentle and deliberate speech, was not a lot of time to say much, before the stone-hued gentleman would shake his head.

"Alas, the night comes to an end, my lady, and I must take my own leave. Thank you again for giving this old one such an enjoyable evening, Lady Ante. I hope we may meet again." With a last small incline of his head, Mordenite excused himself, stepping back a short way before a small circle of crystal sprays surrounded his feet, then raced up to transform his body into clear, sparkling diamond in the last moments before the jack-out process removed him from Ante's presence.

And then she was alone, more or less. There were no more guests in the ballroom, or from the sounds of things, anywhere else. The band members sat silently, sipping drinks and waiting for their missing two with pensive looks, and the occasional liveried servant continued to move here and there, but all in all, the mansion felt like it was close to deserted.

Dare tightened her lips into a frown and crossed her arms. She was never happy about being told what to do, especially if that was "nothing," but it certainly felt like Fold was in the middle of something important. She supposed if she was in Fold's situation, the last thing she'd want to do was have to explain it to someone who just showed up... "Then again, I do love to hear myself talk, and I'd probably want to brag about it...? Anyway, that's kinda besides the point right now."

From the bits of conversation, she was certainly getting the idea that MyofibrilMan hadn't actually broken all of these cars, or at least, both he and Fold didn't seem to believe he was solely responsible. Furthermore, he was clearly being menaced into offering a confession that he was, indeed, solely responsible. Dare wasn't going to quibble with any of that on moral grounds, but she sure would have appreciated an explanation...

The Navi scratched the back of her head. "You're really not putting us in any easy spot, you know that? I can see the Big Guy here wants to get away, and you don't want to let him, and that you're keeping him in line by offering to serve him up a thick slice of his favorite deli meat... But you understand what I mean when I say Zenny is like, storming down the halls for whoever has been messing up her garage, right? She's expecting..." Dare wasn't really sure what to say in front of MyofibrilMan that wouldn't immediately give away that the two of them were working for Zenny, but then, she supposed that didn't matter now. "She's expecting us to see her, ASAP! If the three of us don't come to her, she's gonna come to us, and if she comes to us and sees her garage like this, I have a feeling talking to her is going to get ten times harder. I'm all for it if you've got a plan, but are you planning to walk down the hall holding your business end to this guy's business?"

Dare walked up, put a hand on Fold's shoulder, and put a foot on the big brute's upper leg, right next to his groin. "Here's an idea. One of us has got to explain this to her, preferably face-to-face. That's probably going to have to be you, since I'm sensing you're not going to chat with me on it. One of us has to keep this guy in a vice... apparently. Why don't you leave him to me, let Zenny know you're coming, and bring Ante with you so you three can talk?"

She hoped that Fold would catch the undertone here: compared to other Navis on the Net, Dare was no powerhouse, but Fold wasn't a Navi at all. Dare knew that Fold was practically fresh out of the coding line, as far as how long she'd been on the Net. She had a feeling MyofibrilMan didn't. As a result, she couldn't say her concern out loud, but if MyofibrilMan really was dangerous, it would be too risky to leave the two alone. She had a feeling a lot of Fold's earlier bargaining power had depended on the rude guy who'd bailed a moment ago, whether MyofibrilMan knew it or not.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna take it easy on him! You're Ante's buddy, so if you say 'Cut this guy's Johnson if he moves an inch,' I ask 'How short do you want it?'"

Meaningfully, she summoned her Fireknife to her her hand, replacing it with a blazing blade. "I'm even faster than her, much more impulsive, and much, much drunker. I can't guarantee a clean cut at all!" She gave MyofibrilMan a smile as though joking and waved her blade again.

"So," she said, crouching next to Fold, "I think he'll know not to take his chances." Dare put the option out there, but ultimately, Fold was the one with the information. She'd leave the decision to her, and try to do what she said.
Ante was more than a little surprised at Mordenite's words. For starters, they revealed that many of the guests tonight were apparently 'under' various masters, which she hadn't realized... she hadn't even realized that there was a distinction of class here at the ball. It appeared to be a class exclusive enough to the point that Mordenite realized she didn't belong to them, therefore, she must belong beneath them. On the other hand, there was another mildly insulting possibility that she could entertain: that Mordenite might think that she was here as a servant for the party rather than an invited guest. She supposed that, in truth, she was... but she'd like to think that she gave off the air of a member of high society, rather than a particularly graceful worker. All in all, while she was curious, she mostly remained pleased that Mordenite was pleased, as he deserved to be. "That's very kind of you, Sir," she answered, placing both hands upon the front of her dress. "Alas, I already have a place and a people to which I belong and whom I serve... If they'll have me back, once I return there," she chuckled. It was a long story and one she didn't need to divulge here... furthermore, one that would be hard to divulge without describing the particulars of her embarrassing inset bug.

"It's been a pleasure," she finished, smiling kindly and hiding her sadness at parting as Mordenite vanished. "May we meet again." When he was gone, she stared at the space in an almost pouty way. "Such good company is hard to find," she thought to herself... although, she supposed it was also nice to expose oneself to energetic and unusual company like Dare or... uniquely enchanting company like Hoodwink every now and then as well. "The net is truly built on all kinds," she reminisced, probably being the only of the three ladies who was now content and happy. At this point, the ballroom was almost completely empty save a few servants and players; she figured that her job entertaining the guests could now truly be called finished. With Fold still occupied, Ante supposed she could serve the general good by returning to Zenny and giving her whatever report she could, perhaps assuaging her fears about the recklessness of the company she'd hired to help her tonight. She thus returned to the spot where she'd received her original instructions from Zennocracy, assuming that all of the doors were open and welcoming her to do so. Given the night's events, it would not be at all surprising to find some of them locked or even for Ante to meet her employer storming through the halls before she had a chance to reach the office.

------------------------------------------

Fold was becoming exasperated between trying to judge if MyofybrilMan was okay to leave alone (judging by his words, he didn't understand the wrong of what he'd done, but then, that wasn't Fold's priority as much as making sure he was the only one being punished for it) and pondering how to explain this to Dare without upsetting the delicate, working relationship of threatener and threatened that she'd worked out with MyofybrilMan. At the very least, Dare seemed reluctantly willing to help her... or rather, surprisingly enthusiastic about helping her, in a way that was almost alarming to Fold. After all, she'd been sitting here squeezing a man's sensitive parts and threatening to cut them off with a combat blade... She would expect at least a little more hesitation in trusting her. At the same time, she was thankful. "You're right, one of us has to get ahead of this situation," she sighed, agreeing that the last thing they needed was for Zenny to walk in and see what was going on. Still, Dare's plan didn't really jive with her own, and she couldn't help worrying that Dare was too drunk to think properly. Fold had never had any intention of letting Zennocracy walk in and see anyone threatening anyone else's genitalia with a sword... but then, maybe that was really the only way to make sure that MyofybrilMan gave the answer they needed him to give. Namely, the answer that he had trashed the cars himself and PianoMan hadn't been involved. Perhaps Dare's way was the right way after all.

"Alright, you stay here then. I'll give you a brief explanation while I head, quickly, to Miss Zennocracy's office. I'll explain to Zennocracy that I happened upon MyofybrilMan destroying the cars on his lonesome as we met in the garage," she continued, putting an inflection on 'garage' that might make Dare laugh in her tipsiness if the situation wasn't so dire... or might anyway. "MyofybrilMan, you may try to act natural or whatever you like, but the ultimate implication will be that you never met PianoMan here and never battled him, nor me. If you leave out that element, we'll be fine. Dare, you simply explain that this was the only way to apprehend MyofybrilMan and ensure that he received due punishment for what happened to the garage. That is all." Fold found herself blowing again, as more of her hair had fallen out of her hood and was threatening to over-take her face. It had a tendency to fall over her eyes if she didn't specifically tend to it. Aggravated, she adjusted the hood to get it in there again, then lifted her skirt and head quickly for the door.

Fold dismissed her spatha and her shield as soon as she stepped outside, hurrying across the halls with her dress held up from her ankles and furiously scripting a message for Dare as she moved... furiously both in the sense of urgency she held and in the sense of being angry as she recalled events. She sent the message only to Dare... although, she acknowleged that she'd need to explain this to Ante eventually too, lest the princess think that she'd beaten and threatened the innocent MyofybrilMan just to ensure his cooperation with the night's events. Without proper explanation, this would probably look like a case of "I couldn't think of how to make him happy, so I just tried to beat him into submission instead." She might ought to start thinking of how to explain it sooner rather than later. For now, Dare's explanation:

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MyofybrilMan forced himself on an unwilling woman tonight and implies that he may have done so in the past as well. He'll say that she admitted willingness later, but what he's referring to is, I believe, his delusion that orgasm during rape implies consent. He attempted to do the same to me before I evaded him and left him to PianoMan. The woman was PianoMan's lover and the man roughed MyofybrilMan up rather badly out of vengeance; the two destroyed much of the garage's holdings in the process. I finally persuaded PianoMan to leave while holding MyofybrilMan in place, threatening his penis while encouraging him not to reveal PianoMan's part in this, out of a sense of obligation to that man both for justice and for rescuing me. There will be no making MyofybrilMan 'pleased' with tonight's outcome. The best we can do is shift all of the blame onto him, as it should be anyways, and hope that Miss Zennocracy's anger at the state of her vehicles means that she is not cross at us for failing to ensure his cooperation, so much as cross with him for what he's done.


With that explanation given, she hurried to the office from earlier, moving faster than her princess, although Ante had a significant starting lead on her. She desperately hoped that she'd encounter Zenny there in the office, so that she could immediately recapping events in her favor, rather than allowing the employer to jump to her own speculation.
As the second woman joined the first in dangerous proximity to his groin, and began waving a weapon of her own, MyofibrilMan looked like he was approaching the edge of a panic attack, wide eyes darting rapidly between all of the too-numerous danger points within the scope of his awareness. An involuntary flinch and wince followed Dare applying her own pressures to the area in question, but he held his tongue as the two casually discussed which of them was going to do the slicing of his bits, and by how much, and how neatly... or not, until at last the shredded remains of his composure, and his flamboyant persona, disintegrated.

"Please stop! I haven't done anything wrong, I haven't! It's not fair! I'll say whatever you want, I promise, I promise!" His voice blubbered slightly now, and he seemed to have missed the finer points of their discussion regarding Zenny completely. For such a large, muscle-bound man, the image of him pinned down so, and having what could more or less be described as a meltdown, was actually kind of pathetic.

Regardless of his pleas, the women agreed upon their plan, sending Fold scurrying to play house with Zenny and keep things friendly, while Dare was left to menace the man some more. Fold had barely left the room before he began, in something of a broken rush, tying to explain things to Dare instead, though Fold's own version of events would probably arrive about halfway through MyofibrilMan's pleading.

"No more, please. I can't take any more! What kind of monster even was that piano guy, huh? I'm strong but I couldn't touch him! Musician my arse! I didn't hurt anyone! I just came to have fun and party, and maybe sell some product! Then I get led all over the place just so Zenny can show off her fancy mansion, when I only wanted to go the bar... and, and the pretty girl took me all the way out away from everyone else, and then she was being all shy... I mean, I, ok I tried it on, sure. She didn't have to let me. She could have jacked-out, if she really didn't want it, right? Right!? Not like she didn't have fun. I could tell! I'm, I'm good at that stuff, you know?" He sniffed in between blubbering, thoroughly beaten by now.

"Then the little lady shows up, just after the other girl left, and that freaky music guy, like some kind of set-up, and they start beating on me and wrecking everything, and acting like it's all my fault, and then she's threatening me and now I've got to tell Zennocracy that I did it all, and it's not fair. It's just not fair! What did I even do?" Without his trademark boisterous voice, the navi's near-tearful words had a much more normal sound to them, and it would probably take a significant restoration of his composure before he'd manage to slip the mask back on now.

"I just want to go home. This has been a rotten night. I just wanted to go to a party, have a few drinks, maybe try some fancy food on little sticks, and maybe have a little fun if I was lucky... that's all. Screw Zennocracy and her fancy balls. It's not like she hasn't screwed us all anyway with this deal. If she thinks some silly party is going make any of us forget that, she's dumber 'n most people think I am!" With that last pronouncement, the body-builder seemed to have run out of things to say, though overall it left Dare with two subtly different accounts of things; his defeated rambling, and of course, Fold's more succinct explanation. The question of what this left Dare and her moderately addled wits to do, was equally murky. Maybe slicing off this navi's man-parts wasn't a particularly forgiving idea... but at the same time, it would be hard to find anything more personal than that to offer to their other employer, even if it was far more than he was likely expecting.

----

In more civilised, and quieter settings, Mordenite had simply nodded softly when Ante refused his offer, though her mention of having people to serve had brought a slow smile to his face before they exchanged their last pleasantries, and a murmured response.
"Indeed, yes. Do we not all?" It seemed as though the dichotomic meaning hadn't been lost on the gentle navi; that just as the servants must serve their family, so must the head of a family serve all those below her as well.

Still, with their goodbyes said, Ante made her way back up the long walk to Zenny's office. None of the servants did anything to impede her, or even to look at her askance, and though the walk gave her more time to think it was nevertheless an uneventful trek.

Moving much more quickly, Fold caught up to her lady by the time both women reached the uppermost hallway, and they would be able to make their way down past the line of portraits together, and possibly exchange notes if they felt there was time.

When they both arrived at the door to Zenny's personal office, they old find the door closed over, but not properly shut. The sound of rapid typing could be heard, as well as the electronic hum of different documents being moved about in between. It sounded as though their boss for the night was still multi-tasking furiously, and with a fair level of agitation is the force of her keystrokes was any indication. Waiting would probably see them hanging around for quite along while, at this rate, but if either of them opted to knock, or otherwise announce themselves, they would be answered after a few moments by a sharp "Come!"

Inside, the office the setting looked largely unchanged, though the wineglass that Zenny had taken with her at their last proper meeting had now been replaced by something that smelled more like strong black coffee. The woman herself was seated at her desk, working away, and didn't spare more than a cursory glance up at the two women in between her rapidly shifting attention.

"Where's the other one? There's only a handful of guests still on the grounds, from what I can tell, and the guests she was entertaining earlier have already left. No matter. I want your reports on the night, and after that I'm going to have some very serious questions for you. Especially you." Here her eyes cut up to Ante with a glare fierce enough to melt steel, though they returned to her other work a moment later. "Speak. And don't either of you dare lie to me." Regardless of how either of their reporting went at first, it would be hard to tell that Zenny was listening to them while she continued to work, at least from any visual cues, but given the rest of her behaviour, it was probably safe to assume that she was.

Dare remained crouched next to MyofibrilMan, and gave Fold a nod in response to her instructions. She did seem a bit giggly for the gravity of the task she was being entrusted with. "Heh. Garage. Undercroft." The Navi snorted a bit as she laughed, a joke that probably only meant anything to her. "Anyway, can do."

The Navi turned her attention back to MyofibrilMan, still with the same calm, buzzed smile and the same accompanying knife, held devil-may-care close to his privates. She continued to listen to him, but didn't offer any response, just her same somewhat listless smile. When she received a message from Fold, she took a moment to read it. Multitasking, she kept her eyes darting between the message and her captive, and kept her ears trained on his story.

She kept nodding along, occasionally throwing in an "Mm-hm," to convince him she was really paying attention. Having finished her message and also reached the end of MyofibrilMan's yarn, she turned to him and gave her full attention. "Yeah, I know! You're clearly such a great guy, and I'm sure you've got a lot of friends, and business acumen, and, Lord knows, all kinds of brains running around in that interestingly proportioned head of yours. And we all have bad nights! It sucks, my man."

The Navi kept her eyes trained on him, her smile curling a bit as she drew her blade even closer. "But hey! I know you're not the sharpest, and I know you must've had a lot to drink to wreck all these cars by yourself, but have a little dignity!" Dare showed some teeth, the drinks she had earlier giving her some mean-spirited courage. "You're slurring your speech a little! I don't speak Loser that well, but I could have sworn I heard you say you hadn't done anything wrong, and that there was some... what, musician guy here? Wrecking stuff? I don't think your memory is too good tonight."

Dare let the corners of her smile fall a bit to reveal her true mood. She lowered her voice to a bit more of a whisper, realizing that at any time a guest, servant, or Zenny herself could show up and start eavesdropping. "Look, normally I'm a fun gal myself, but I think we've both had our exercise for the night. I'm already going to have to explain to Zenny why I'm sitting here holding some weirdo's junk. Are you going to make me explain why I'm standing around holding some weirdo's dismembered junk after he fled with his... well, maybe 'tail between his legs' would be a poor choice of words? We've all got unpleasant stuff to do before we can get to nursing our hangovers tonight. Maybe you should spend a little less time worrying about your crummy deal, and a little more worrying about how you're going to pay Zenny back for all of her vanity projects?"
Meeting back up with Ante, Fold breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the princess wasn't harmed; the worrier in Fold, after what had happened with MyofybrilMan and PianoMan, had worried that Ante might have become entangled in something dangerous herself. The few articles of clothing she was missing didn't bother Fold (after all, she had been up to some saucy business in the garden, which Fold fully intended to hear the conclusion of later). On the other hand, Ante was curious as to why Fold looked like she had just gotten back from one of her intense workouts, her hair being out of place and her heart rate clearly elevated. "I'll explain in a moment. Maybe," Fold sighed, still not having quite decided what she was going to do to explain everything to Zennocracy. She was running out of time to get the story together in her head.

Ante led the way and did indeed knock, finding that their host was seated within her office as before. The fact that she didn't properly greet them or stand might have bothered Ante and Fold before, but by this point, Ante was looser than she was when she started, worn out from the night's festivities, and Fold was tighter than she had been originally, tense from the very real threat that Zennocracy was about to explode full force on somebody during the fallout of this story. "I'll explain in a moment," Fold repeated when their hostess inquired about Dare, a line which was becoming her motto for the night. Fold couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at Zennocracy's implication that Ante had serious explaining to do; it was actually pretty funny and even a little reassuring. The accusation showed that Zennocracy was unaware of everything Fold had been up to, including, in chronological order: providing one of her opponents with documentation that incriminated her, berating one of the guests she'd been assigned to tend to, and finally threatening the sexual organ of one of the guests she'd been assigned to tend to.

One way or another, though, she expected that her explanation and Ante's were going to be necessarily brief and necessarily dishonest.

Ante led off, seeing as Zennocracy had underlined the urgency of knowing what she'd been up to. "I began the night in the ballroom, as you know. There, I met Sir Mordenite, who was nothing but a gentleman. We thoroughly enjoyed one another's company and had a short conversation before another man showed up, Sir Hoodwink," she began, figuring that it would do no good to hide that she'd been with him. After all, Zennocracy was clearly aware that the two had been together, or else she wouldn't have stormed down to the greenhouse like she did. "I confess that we did spend some time together, but as a lady familiar to these sort of events yourself, you must know that I had no other option. For one thing, Mordenite and I both agreed that a dance was appropriate and I needed a willing partner. For another, when a man of such obvious stature asks a lady to dance, why, the entire room is watching! It simply wouldn't have been feasible for me to refuse him, lest I defeat the entire mood of the ball and take the wind out of everyone's sails," she explained, with a few half-truths here and there.

"Here I confess that I was not quite myself this evening; perhaps because it has been so long since I've been to a party or perhaps because of the eyes on Sir Hoodwink and myself, I began to feel ill. Sir Hoodwink, acting as a gentleman himself, took me aside for a moment so that I might catch my breath. The respite was helpful, and after a short time, we returned to the hall. Once inside, I caught the attention of the players, who I noticed were in some trouble. They were missing some of their ensemble, most importantly the pianist, and I wished to offer my service to them immediately. I gather the musician had some important business to attend to. Again, without music, the last moments of the ball would be ruined, and I prioritized the sanctity of your party; plus, I was eager to play, though that hardly matters," she chuckled lightly. "I played two songs, before they agreed that I'd done enough and the final guests were leaving. I spoke to Mordenite again for a short time, we exchanged a few pleasantries, and then my night was over."

Hearing all of this had relieved Fold. All the guard had wanted after seeing this mansion was for her princess to enjoy a safe, refined party, and she'd gotten her wish. Unfortunately, it was now time to give her part of the speech, one she figured was going to involve a lot more warping of the truth than Ante's had. "I left the ball almost immediately and headed out to look for some of our other guests. I encountered DueAccountabilityMan, henceforth referred to as Duey, in the library. Whatever he was doing there, I believe I may have distracted him from it, as he no longer appeared interested in the books. We got onto a conversation regarding my old duties and the customs of the kingdom. We walked about a bit before parting ways, as you saw when you passed by us. He did not appear difficult to please, so I judged it time to move to assisting in another location."

"I next adopted the responsibility of finding MyofybrilMan. I arrived there before him and, unfortunately, he was mad as a hatter and thoroughly inebriated with drink by the time he showed up. He made a few untoward passes directed at me before I, with great effort, excused myself," she lied, thinking that here, events had to be blurred. "He was just the lout you described him as. My grave error was not realizing how thoroughly untrustworthy he was; I should have stayed there to occupy him. Instead, he must have become even more belligerent and, with nothing around to entertain himself, he began to occupy himself with the wholesale devastation of the garage. I am here delivering the message to you now rather than tending to him only because Miss Dare and I, together, managed to subdue him. When you see the situation, you will understand what lengths we have gone to to ensure he does not escape you without recompense for the damage he caused," she finished. "Miss Dare is actually still occupied with keeping him in place, at the moment. If you're willing, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could follow me to the garage, where we'll relieve her of that duty. I'm sorry to say that we have not secured MyofybrilMan's 'good mood' tonight, but I'm afraid that there was nothing I could have done short of giving him my body. I was unwilling to compromise to that extent and, after seeing the state of the garage, I am not certain I'd have survived without injury if I had gone that route."
For a little while, it seemed as though Dare might actually be lending MyofibrilMan a sympathetic ear. She didn't cut him off as he bemoaned his situation, and even seemed to empathise a little bit. He nodded and relaxed a little bit, though his face was still a mess of borderline blubbering and feeling sorry for himself. Unfortunately, it wasn't to last, and the slightly tipsy knife-wielder soon made it obvious whose side she was really on.

His face fell when it turned out to be sarcasm and she began to add her own layer of threats onto the violent ministrations of the others, and now it really did look like h was about to burst into tears, but as he began to grumble at his captor, he said some things that might just have given Dare some cause for concern, if she had known the story that Fold was telling Zennocracy at that moment.

"Should have known you'd be in on it too. Zenny set this whole thing up? She's always hated me. Hates that someone like me can be successful. Hates men in general. Hmph. Wasn't like I meant anything by it that one time. Was only friendly advice. True too; she'll never get a girlfriend if she doesn't pull the stick out, first. Hmph." What came next amidst his sulking was the problem. "Now you're all goin' to tell her I got drunk'n wrecked her things? She'd love to hear that, wouldn't she. Only she won't buy it, of course." Perhaps it was just rote habit by this point, but he slipped back into his third-person reference as he went on. "Only thing MyofibrilMan drinks are MyofibrilMAX power shakes. They're the only drink a man and his muscles ever needs! He was even going to sell some to the bar keeps here, on the cheap. They don't stock MyofibrilMAX, so their service is incomplete! Hah! Fat chance of that now."

He grumped on further about how unfairly he was being treated by everyone around him, and repeated, mostly to himself, about how it was all some kind of set-up to make him look bad, but if he was telling the truth about his drinking habits, that might be a problem. A short way from them another half-destroyed vehicle sifted, some part or other giving out and sending it crashing apart further for a few loud seconds.

It was certainly true that, having been led from pillar to post, the body-builder hadn't actually touched a drop, or had a chance to, all night. If his intent immediately seeking out the bar had been, as he claimed, to try and sell them his product, and Zenny knew it, that might be putting a rather difficult hole in their story right about now.

----

Right about now, in Zennocracy's busy office, the woman herself was working away as she listened to Ante reporting her evening. Her other motions stopped however, and her glare flicked up at the mention of Hoodwink's name. Her lips were an angry, displeased sneer, but broke into a briefly snorted laugh when she heard ante describe her rogue-turned-prince so grandly.

"Hah! Dress the part, did he? I'll be he did." She seemed to accept that part of Ante's explanation with grudgingly poor ascent. "It would be just like him to set it up that way. Whisk off one of my hands because it pleases him to interfere, and doing it just so perfectly that I can't blame you for going along. Damn him... Ughh... Go on..." Ante's ever so slight twist on the truth was, in reality, a very skilful way to get herself off the hook for sneaking off to enjoy some heady romance, and it seemed to have worked perfectly, at least as well as she could have hoped, anyway.

The rest of her tale went over well enough as well, enough so that Zennocracy returned to her other work as she listened. When the to her woman was finished her description of helping the musicians play, Zenny again glanced up, though this time it was to pause and put a hand to her forehead.

"Still no word from Harmonia, and now PianoMan seems to have left the grounds as well. If the pair of them were just sneaking away to canoodle, they'd have gone together, and I'd at least be able to confirm it, but no-one has had an answer for me, and it still doesn't account for Floriana disappearing either. I need answers." With a sigh, she looked across to Fold, to allow the other woman to begin her own report.

She appeared, for a change, satisfied and possibly even pleased to hear about Fold's artful redirection of Duey's interests, unaware of the other lady's fabrication, but her expression grew sour again as they moved onto the topic of MyofibrilMan. Apparently even thinking about him was enough to disgust the lady, so the odds were she wouldn't be too displeased to learn that he wasn't, in fact, happy.

From the first lines of Fold's description, Zennocracy simply watched the other woman, her expression displeased, but otherwise unreadable. When it was done, Zennocracy drew a long breath and let it out slowly.

"As rightfully you should not have. As I said, at the outset; I will not tolerate anyone in my employ being handled in that manner, unless they wish it, and all whom I employ know that if such an event were to occur they should report it immediately to me, so that I may handle it." Her reassurance sounded more like a chastisement, in reality; from the receiving end, it had to come across more like the woman demanding to know why Fold hadn't reported the incident directly. Unfortunately for Fold, Zennocracy wasn't quite finished.

"So, he was thoroughly drunk, you say, and tried to force his attentions upon you, then wrecked my collection when you refused and left him." There was something cold and a little dangerous in her confirmation of Fold's story. "The alerts from our security system were him destroying my cars, and nothing else, is that right? And if I go down there now, I'll find a very drunken MyofibrilMan, being contained by your third companion, and no-one else. That is what happened?" She was clearly waiting for an answer, but it was obvious some part of what she'd heard had made her seethe coldly. Hearing that one's exceedingly expensive collection had just been destroyed beyond retrieval, of course, might just do that, and hearing that it was done by a lout one despised and would rather have not invited wouldn't help matters. If the collection represented a very large amount of capital, then one might even suppose she was taking it rather well.

Ante creased her brow, thinking hard about why Zennocracy and Hoodwink were so at odds with one another, besides just the dichotomy of a roguish prince versus a prudish princess. There had to be a deeper reason, but she didn't have the means to research it and certainly wasn't willing to go out on a limb and ask her employer. She said nothing in response to Zennocracy's questioning of the whereabouts of the missing musicians, because in reality, she didn't know. Fold did, but she wasn't talking about it either.

On that note, Fold gave her report and, for once in her life, all things seemed to be coming up Fold. Zennocracy wasn't exactly pleased with Fold's trying to handle the situation herself, but at least she seemed to acknowledge the least savory elements of MyofybrilMan's character and accept that he might be the sole instigator of the events in the garage... Except no, she wouldn't. It was clear upon her final questioning that Zennocracy had seen through one crucial element of Fold's story: namely, that MyofybrilMan wasn't and couldn't possibly be drunk. She didn't make the connection that he would only drink Myofybril brand drinks, but she now recalled that he'd been specifically forbidden to reach the bar and obtain alcohol there. Fold mentally chastised herself and tried her best to keep on a poker face, which wasn't something she was particularly good at. Still, the luckless bodyguard might be able to flip her last card, so to speak, and pull a winning card in spite of herself.

"Now that you mention it, he couldn't possibly be drunk. After all, you confirmed to me that he was wandering the premises and never reached the bar, correct? This is abhorrent to even consider but... perhaps his personality is just normally like that? I assumed he was drunk because of the remarkable, raw crudeness of his advances, his unmasked vulgarity, and really, the unusual stench coming off of him. But it's amazing to think that he's always like that..." she sighed, wringing her hands together. Maybe it would work? One might be forgiven for suspecting that MyofybrilMan was drunk upon first meeting him, given the way he acted (towards women at least). "But yes, you will find Miss Dare there guarding him. On that note, it is essential that we hurry down and relieve her of the duty. MyofybrilMan was restrained when we left, but he is quite strong; I can't guarantee Miss Dare will be able to keep him down indefinitely."

At this time, Fold may have had a far-away look in her eyes, because she was presently involved sending a secret message to Dare as well.

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MyofybrilMan can't be drunk, he never reached the bar. Omit that from the story. We attribute his destructive outburst to his personality.

Fold had forgotten something here that she almost never managed to forget: the princess. Grasping hold of her bodyguard's hands, Ante looked sternly into Fold's face, causing the tall woman to gulp deeply. "Miss Fold... I can't believe that you would keep something like this from me! I used the night to dance and contentedly play the piano while you suffered under the labors of your task... You know I can't allow you to take on such hardships alone!" she chastised her old friend. "And to think that we've even left Dare alone down there with that horrible character. We've no more time to stand around here chatting! Let us head downstairs, immediately!" Ante urged both Fold and Zennocracy, lifting her skirt around her ankles and rushing off as fast as her heels would take her, without waiting to see if Zennocracy was going to accompany them or not. Frowning, Fold took off after Ante.
"Successful, huh?" Dare said, looking a bit bored now as she kept her eyes on MyofibrilMan's face. She would have loved to have looked at some exotic, expensive, still in-tact motor vehicles instead, but unfortunately those were now in short supply. "There's all kinds of metrics of success for different people! I normally mean that in a good deep way, but this time, I mean it in an insulting deep way. Think on it a bit." Convinced she'd said something genuinely deep, the Navi nodded and smiled.

Dare stayed quiet, not seeing much need to keep up a conversation, but MyofibrilMan was saying some interesting stuff (at least to her drunk mind). Furthermore, Fold had sent her an interesting message, so Dare thought she now had an interesting conversation topic to focus on. "Hmm... yeah, you're right. You look less like an alcoholic muscled-up moron who managed to break a bunch of ludicrously expensive cars in a hissy fit, and more like..." Here, Dare drew it out teasingly, giving him a winning smile. "... More like a sober muscled-up moron who managed to break a bunch of ludicrously expensive cars in a hissy fit! That makes sense. But the plan hasn't changed, and this thing's still hot enough to go like a... well, a hot knife through butter, although that's probably not an image you wanna focus on right now. So, why don't you just sit tight, wait for Zenny to show up, and we'll all talk about what happened and what happens next?"

Truth be told, Dare was in a bit of a bad mood now because she really did want to be doing something, or making some conversation. Talking took her mind off of her growing headache. In particular, she was actually pretty curious in hearing more about MyofibrilMan's past conversation with Zenny, and really, her history in general. However, she couldn't really afford to be in a relaxed, conversation atmosphere with her detainee when the others arrived on the scene.
While Fold did her best to back-pedal and retrieve her account, Zenny simply glared her down. It was a very cold, very hard stare that continued for a second or two after the unfortunate woman had amended her story, and even though the cover of an assumed supposition made perfect sense and really ought to have been entirely believable, it didn't really seem as though Zennocracy was buying it. She opened her mouth to speak, but before the business woman could say anything at all, Ante was already making her outburst, and then rushing out the door. When Fold followed, Zenny sat back in her chair and frowned for a moment. With a small sigh she raised one hand and brought up a small holographic display. With her free hand, she gestured to the door of her office, which shut itself and locked, while her first touched a few points on her view screen.

"Override Grade Three. Guest Profiles. 48-A and 48-B. Summon." The words were sharp and clean and though no-one but Zenny herself heard them, it seemed to cue certain actions either from the homepage, or else from Zennocracy's own protocols; it was hard to tell which, exactly, but the effect was immediate.

Either way, what Ante and Fold would experience as they rushed down the hall was a sensation that was something similar to a normal transport link, but subtly alien. All the more-so for being both a surprise, and involuntary. When both of their vision cleared, they'd be lucky not to run straight into the now locked door of Zenny's office.

"I did not dismiss either of you yet. This is my property, ladies, my capital, and capital is king, so we play by my rules. Now..." She drew a breath and squared her shoulders, standing up from her chair and walking around her desk to stand closer to the other two women. In particular, her attention was on Fold, and presuming the bodyguard had turned back to face her after the moment of disorientation, Zenny would be right back to that cold staring.

"There is something that you are not telling me, and I really, really do not like that." There was a beat of silence, before the other woman suddenly closed her eyes and seemed to visibly force herself to relax. "However... I would very dearly like to believe your little story, and lay the cost of this destruction at that oaf's feet. So for now... I will." With one more short glare she shook her head. "I would like to see this destruction myself, however, and I also need to hear what your third has to say for herself, so you need not run. Come." This time, the woman extended a hand towards each of them, palm up and fingers out, expectant. If either woman hesitated over-long in taking hold, however, the business woman wouldn't hesitate to reach out to make contact, even if just long enough to catch all three of them up in the whirling storm of virtual Zenny that marked her own transport beam.


They would arrive at the undercroft in the same manner, potentially as something of a surprise to Dare, nearby. MyofibrilMan had given up on trying to get Dare on his side, and subsided into sullen silence for now, but he looked up at the sight of Zenny herself dropping in.

The woman herself released her grip on her two companions immediately upon arriving, and looked around instead. She surveyed the damage and destruction with a cool, calculating eye and anyone who knew anything about her would guess that she as doing the maths for exactly how much cost it represented, but her features drew into a very overt sneer of displeasure when her eyes fell on Dare, and MyofibrilMan, and their... position.

"Put that disgusting thing away this instant!" She strode forward through the wreckage, attempting to wave Dare away with a dismissive hand and ensure that the male in the room was properly covered again, though she avoided at all costs actually touching him herself. One side glance for Dare was about as unimpressed as her hand gesture had seemed.
"With them, I'll hear your report in a minute. I'm just going to assume that your story for this mess will match your friend's, so you may as well confer if you need to. You though..." Her attention had swung back to MyofibrilMan, and the glared daggers were back again.

"Is this what you call fitting in with polite society, you musclehead? Out with it, what's your side?" The waspish snap of her tone had almost reached the point of shouting, but it was still too quiet to really be called such. Still making sure his valuables were all safely hidden away and intact, MyofibrilMan scowled at his business partner.

"Like you care, Zenny. Like you didn't set this all up anyway. Hmph." She tapped her foot a few times and he sighed. "MyofibrilMan arrived, dressed in a fancy suit, all formal-like. He asked a pretty music lady where he could find the bar, because MyofibrilMan knows you don't stock his drink, so he was going to do you the generous favour of selling some to your bar at partnership rates. Music lady took MyofibrilMan all the way out through your gaudy great mansion, to show it off, all the while saying she was taking him where he wanted, and then she starts acting all coy about it." He folded his arms, and shot a glance at Fold before continuing. "MyofibrilMan understood the hint, and he flirted back, and offered the lady his time and his skills. She—" Zennocracy waved a hand, clearly repulsed by the direction the story was taking.

"Spare me the details of your vile lechery. Tell me how all this happened." Despite himself, MyofibrilMan couldn't help but steal another small glance at Fold, and at Dare, which was probably going to be an obvious tell that he was speaking under duress. His poker face, apparently, was terrible, just after having his junk threatened. "He arrived here, and met the little lady in black. She flirted with MyofibrilMan too, but when they were about to have some fun, err..." He faltered, stumbling over the fact that, for all his agreement to omit PianoMan from his recount, he hadn't actually come up with another cover.

"Well, the little lady ran away. Then, ah, MyofibrilMan felt kinda frustrated? And he was angry at you for sending him all over the place? So... he wrecked your cars?" The latter half of his story came out sounding like a series of uncertain questions, as though the body-builder was trying to guess at what Zennocracy wanted to hear. Zenny had already guessed that she wasn't getting the full story, though, so his poor attempt at fabrication only really revealed that he was aiding in the cover-up; that he'd clearly been beaten senseless painted a clear picture why. Zennocracy looked like she wanted to hit something... or at least order a servant to hit something for her.

"And how did you end up with your worthlessness so thoroughly exposed, then, pray tell?" It came out as a growl. MyofibrilMan's eyes darted.

"Ah... Little lady came back with her friend? And the two of them did it?"
"You don't sound sure." The woman's voice had gone from roughly angry to a razor edge, and if anyone was watching her closely, they'd note that the hand by her side had clenched into a white-knuckled fist. MyofibrilMan, patently, didn't notice. He made a helpless gesture and threw up his hands.

"Well what do you damn well want me to say, Zenny? You set it all up for me, you rigged it to ruin my night, didn't you? I even wore a damn suit because you insisted, you dried up old dyke! What do you want!?" Again, the power-drink pushing persona slipped away to reveal a very frustrated man underneath, but in the face of MyofibrilMan's shouting, Zennoracy... exploded.

"I want answers, you vile, disgusting excuse for a creature! Answers! True ones!! Why are three of my staff missing!? Where are they!? Where the hell was PianoMan when there was violence and combat occurring on my grounds!? Why wasn't he taking care of it!? Why hasn't he reported to me!? What are THEY lying to me about!?" Here, one her her hands flung back to vaguely include all three women, though she didn't take her eyes off MyofibrilMan. "Answers! The Truth! Talk straight, man, or I swear I will buy out your operator's whole company and delete you myself!"

MyofibrilMan, understandably, shrank back on himself under the force of the woman's tirade, though rather than answer her, he seemed more worried by her final threat, beginning to shake more than a little fearfully.

"You... You won't really..." He didn't sound completely certain of the half stammered line, but the outburst seemed to be over for now. The woman shook her head, then turned her back on him, making something of a disgusted sound in her throat as she did. A few steps carried her across to the other trio, and she looked to Dare.

"You, Dare, was it? Report. Tell me how your night went, and then give me your understanding of this whole mess. I've had enough lies tonight, and I'm tired, so don't test my patience. Out with it."

At the very least, her voice was at a much more reasonable tone and level when she spoke to Dare, but it would probably be a mistake to assume she was calm. Overall, as much as she had looked over and calculated the cost of damage to her property, it didn't really seem to be the thing that was actually making her angry, in the end. Feeling out of the loop, rather, appeared to be having a far more profound impact upon her inner peace.

Dare smiled back at Zenny, and took her hand and knife off MyofibrilMan when she was commanded. She looked back and forth between MyofibrilMan's terrifying package and her own weapon a couple of times. There wasn't really any way MyofibrilMan could "put that disgusting thing away" in his current state, so Dare assumed Zenny must be talking about the weapon. She quickly dismissed it, flexing her gloved hand as it returned.

The Navi had to admit she was miffed at Zenny giving her the stink eye and pushing her around when Dare figured she was supposed to look like the responsible employee guarding a dangerous element in this situation. Dare supposed it probably wasn't lost on Zenny that she was missing various miscellaneous portions of the ensemble she'd first appeared in and looking drunk as a skunk. She made her way over to her friends, but gave a sort of mock bow with a twirling hand at Zenny as she did, as noiselessly as possible. In her current state, she was about one hundred percent positive that her friends would find it as funny as she did.

"I get the sense our hostess is not taking this buttermilk smooth," Dare told the others in a low voice, still grinning in spite of herself. She paused a bit to look at Ante. "Gee, did you not get to drink? This place is stocked!" These words were superfluous, as Ante could probably could have done that bit of detective work from Dare's breath alone.

The Navi sat back and watched what she was sure was the unfolding car wreck of MyofibrilMan's explanation, wishing she had some popcorn. She kept her same fixed smile as she heard the first part of his story, but ended up throwing her hands in the air in spite of herself when the muscleheaded Navi started pitching fouls. "Ugh... you just can't scare up good help these days!" she thought to herself.

She continued to try and keep her reaction silent, nearly losing it when MyofibrilMan started some more creative ad-libbing. "Whaaat?! Fold and I started tearing your clothes off? Cause we wanted your business so bad? In your dreams, chump!"

The Navi had to sit back and see the situation go from bad to worse, so really, by the time Zenny got around to putting the finger to her, she was just happy to get a chance to speak. "I'll give it to you, Zenny, so try and take some deep breaths, all right? I loved your party, and I think some others did too, so... anyway..."

The Navi tried to decide where to start and how much she really needed to say. "Well..." She suddenly bit her tongue, wondering just how much of Zenny's plan she was allowed to divulge in front of the miserable MyofibrilMan. Then again, it seemed like MyofibrilMan more or less had drawn his own conclusion that they were part of a setup explicitly to frame him, so it didn't seem like trying to take his mind off the deal had much point any longer.

"Ante's the type of woman more for the ball than the bar, so I decided to hit up that particular locale when we split up earlier. There I met Drisco and Saija, and we hit it off just fine. We ordered some drinks and played some games. Uh... I think you saw that we got a bit rowdy. I can't resist a challenge and I was kind of drunk, so I figured I'd show off, and I ended up running in your halls. Really sorry about that, by the way, but I didn't break anything! And when you told us to tone it down, we got out of your other guest's way. I don't think they got bothered all that much."

The Navi carefully considered what to say next. "Well, to be frank... the next thing we did is go to a more secluded part of your mansion and start messing around. I don't think you really want all the details of the kind of fun we had, but uh... suffice to say, we didn't break anything, we didn't mess up anything, we didn't leave anything lying around that I know of... except my shoes, which it seems like somebody cleaned up... oh, and like I said, we didn't bother any other guests from that point on. So I'd say I pretty well handled what you asked for: those two were well-entertained. I figure they're probably outta here by now."

"Anyways, after that, I got some messages from Fold, and I made my way here. When I got here..." she frowned, deciding they probably weren't getting out of here by skirting the truth in Zenny's current mood. "Well, some musical guy and MyofibrilMan were wrecking your garage. I mean, tearing it up. PianoMan, I think? But, Fold's an SP, so she really isn't equipped to stand in between those two. That, and, as you heard, MyofibrilMan had already revealed himself to be a grade-A sleezebag from his earlier conduct, so PianoMan seemed to have some righteous rage against him. Fold somehow calmed down PianoMan and got him to tone it down for the sake of your surviving vehicles. The guy muttered something about Harmonia and beat it."

"So finally, the two of us came up with the idea of detaining MyofibrilMan... as you saw... until things could be taken care of. Fold probably would have gotten your guards, but stuff was hitting hard and fast about that time. Any moment she took to do it during the fight would have been another car those two boneheads wrecked. Any moment she took after would have been wasted time she could have spent explaining it to you."

The Navi sighed, finally coming to the tough part. She really wished she could jump in and take credit for the plan to shield Fold, but she had no guarantee MyofibrilMan wouldn't let out a big stupid "Huh?!" when she started trying to, which would just make things worse. Zenny pretty clearly wanted things straight. With a frown, Dare opened up. "The two of us came up with the idea... and I thought this was a pretty blameless crime... to pin the whole thing on MyofibrilMan. PianoMan was just losing his mind over what he thought had been done to Harmonia, I'm pretty sure. His heart was in the right place. I have zero doubt he would have spent a peaceful night if MushheadMan wasn't waving his big junk and touting his bad business at anyone who was paid not to leave him alone."

Dare paused, thinking a moment, and added an appeal to logic as well. "Plus, I think that making that deal was Fold's way of talking PianoMan down from wrecking more of your valuables. If Fold hadn't gone through with that, and brought to bear the uh, no offense, very likely possibility that you were going to give PianoMan at least a pink slip for his part, he probably wouldn't have stopped firing until MyofibrilMan and however much of your garage it took was out of the picture."

"A-anyhow... if you're going to punish someone for the coverup, you should punish me. I think Fold was going to back out of her plan and come clean, but... I'm a little judgment-impaired, so when we started trading messages, I convinced her that her first idea was good and that, like I said, in my opinion, the lie would be a victimless crime. A service to humanity, you know?" Dare was already frowning and feeling bad that she had to turn around and sort of throw Fold under the bus to try and smooth out the situation. The least she could do was try and self-sacrifice as much as she could in the areas MyofibrilMan couldn't reasonably dispute. "I mean, take a look at me, and take a look at her! Fold got a bad idea because she's clever and probably has a good heart. I talked her into seeing it through because I'm drunk and I couldn't stand MyofibrilMan when I first caught sight of his mug. So I thought it would be fun."

The Navi tightened her lip again and bowed. "Again, sorry! I know your, uh, bunch of money isn't a game. We aren't your mansion guards, but you're paying us to handle things tonight, and we tried to twist the truth. I'll... take what punishment you think fits," she added, casting her eyes up at her hostess and squaring her jaw. She ordinarily wasn't the type who worried about consequences when trying to look cool in front of one's friends, but MyofibrilMan's unmasked fear at Zenny's apparently founded claims that she could ruin the life of both him and his operator came back to her mind.