The room within wasn't so much "darkened" as simply not lit as brightly as the hall without. Once the group's eyes made the adjustment they found themselves in a spacious drawing room, easily twenty-five meters wide and fifteen meters to the far wall. There was so much to see that the mind boggled. Several portraits of men and women in the finery of eras ranging from the Middle Ages to the time of the English Restoration. Tapestries of great battles adorned the paneled walls, and as many as six suits of armor stood empty around the perimeter. And then there were the weapons racks -- swords of every description, and of such varying points in time that it seemed as if it were a museum.

The fire in the massive hearth was without source -- no wood, no visible hardware for gas. Above it was a long banner in red, with 3 dark-golden lions upon it. On either side, heraldic crests similar to one on the tapestries in the foyer (a dark golden colored sword crossed with a capped stick of some kind, inside an upright, five-pointed star supported by rampant griffins).

In one corner of the room an immense hourglass was suspended from a sturdy wooden frame. The sand in the upper half of the glass was 3/4ths gone. Richard glanced at this uneasily, then handed Isobel over to a most extraordinary-looking creature. It -- he -- looked human. And that was exactly the issue -- he looked like someone's idea of what a human being should look like rather than an actual human being. It was as if a group of "Second Life" avatars (for there were perhaps eight in the room, some armed) had stepped out of their computer world and into this one, in all their three-dimensional glory. This creature accepted Isobel, listened to something Richard said in a low tone, then nodded and stepped behind a tapestry, carrying the quietly sobbing woman with him.

"Please, be seated if you wish," Richard said. Unlike Isobel's air of noblesse oblige Richard's manner was forthright to the point of bluntness. "Or not, if not. You have until the sand passes from that glass to get what information I've got for you. After that I won't be talking to anyone, not for a long time. For your own health, you'll find it best to be elsewhere."

Blitz did not sit but instead wandered up to the hourglass. He did not touch it. Even though he could fully control the electric energy of his own body, he didn't want to risk affecting the glass or sand in the timepiece. Instead, he tried to think about their predicament. That was a little difficult. The others began asking lots of questions and there was also some mental chatter going on as well.

Kitsune nodded her head and stood, feet lined up with her shoulders in a stance resembling parade rest. Her mind shifted to send a thought to Nocturne, {Nocturne-san, are we still being observed, or is it more limited to me, or are all of the observers gone?}

Dylan relayed Kitsune's question to all, then he sent his answer. {I am sensing no more scrying now that we are in this room. I don't know if they have stopped, something is blocking it, or whether I am just not picking it up any longer."}
"Thank you for that, Nocturne-san," Kitsune replied with a smile to her mental voice. "Should that change again, would you let us know, please?"

"From what I can tell of your speech, you are from 20th century Earth. Mostly Americans. You were on your way to a meeting in Colorado and you found yourselves here, with no explanation. Well, let me tell you if you haven't guessed -- you're in mortal danger now. The same thing happened to myself and five others in 1988. We were headed to a remote location in Switzerland when we were abruptly relocated to this castle with no idea how we'd gotten here. We were all strong, most of us knew how to fight."

He looked grim, very grim. "I am the only one who survived, if you can call a cursed half-life survival." He glanced at the hourglass again and hurried on. "Let me tell you what we discovered before the last of the party was slain and what little of sense I've been able to get from Isobel and Jean-Louis, the only two I've met here that are mostly sane enough to be trusted.

"A long, long time ago, her brother Prince Corwin of Amber ruled in Averoigne. The Ambers are a long-lived family by nature, highly intelligent, extremely ambitious, very powerful. All of them have, or had, powerful friends and allies from outside the family too. Most of them wanted the throne, but none of them were powerful enough to take it on their own. Didn't stop them from scheming, though.

"Then Corwin disappeared and everything went to hell fast. Henry, the next eldest stepped forward to claim the throne. He'd married a second cousin of the family named Catherine, a powerful sorceress. Isobel didn't say as much but I gather they formed an alliance with some of the `dark powers' -- one of the family had been dabbling in that but none of them would talk to her about it, they know how devout she is. Anyway, they settled whatever opposition there was to their claim and set the date for their coronation.

"Now, I have never seen this with my own eyes," Richard went on, glancing at the hourglass and pacing the carpet in growing agitation, "but Isobel was watching through some device of hers, and everytime she remembers the coronation she goes into hysterics, as you saw. She says that the moment the crown of the Ambers was raised to be put upon Henry's head, everyone in the room froze. Just... stopped. Then time seemed to accelerate --- their flesh rotted, hair fell out, clothes wasted away until there was nothing left but skeletons standing about the throne room, all frozen into position."

He threw up his hands. "And that was that. The castle itself became surrounded by that mist -- deadly, in case you didn't check it -- and has been held outside of time altogether while the family left inside, both loyal and disloyal, went mad with boredom, or guilt, or some combination.

"The odd thing is -- as years rolled on, Earthside, teams of people kept appearing here in the castle. Not with any regularity, but often enough to make the Ambers wonder how they're getting in -- forgive me, but it's obvious that none of you have the power to traverse the mists on your own. Jean-Louis thinks... well, he's crazy too, but he thinks that maybe Corwin is behind it. Somehow."

Richard paused in his tale. "I can tell you more about this wing, but since I've never left it I only know what Isobel and Jean-Louis have said about the rest of the house. But for right now, I'll answer whatever questions you have." He glanced at the sand in the glass. It was noticeably lower, but not in danger of emptying just yet.

Kitsune nodded her head, quickly considering matters. "Very well, then," Kitsune murmured softly. "I'm certain we have plenty of questions, Richard-dono, and I hope you can answer them for us. You spoke of privacy, for instance. Were we under observation outside of this room, then, and are we no longer under anyone's gaze now?"

He glanced at her, resumed pacing almost immediately. "It's just the smart way to bet," Richard told her. "Isobel can use that glass of hers to see whatever she wants within these walls. She says she's made it so the others can't see in here -- I've no reason to doubt her. However manic she becomes, she still knows her business when it comes to magic."

"Alright, so basically we're in a haunted house so to speak, one that if it can eats, for lack of a better word, its guests? Everything went wonky at the coronation? My first question then would be from what you've been able to tell, from what you've heard and so on, is there anywhere like a library where we could read up on the members of this family?" Grinning asks, counting off on his fingers as he repeats for verification where needed, then stops as he asks about the library.

The leonine man considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "There's a library in the other wing, Isobel says. I don't know what's in it other than her brother Claude, who's taken up residence there."

"Yes," said Aodh. "Yes. This is becoming clearer the more information is provided. The rules of this Space make more and more sense."

With urgency, the Bostonian continued, watching the hourglass concernedly, by his expression suspecting more than he says, "I should let you know, and I realise this will not be easy to believe, but this Space appears to be a construct and an engine. It is like a parabolic reflector, and we are near its point of focus. Which means every word we utter and every action we take reflects outward from here to the worlds and realities we all come from. Try to say only positive things. Our words may become real in the reflections. Try to do only positive or neutral acts. Manners matter here. They may become the broad sweep of politics, current events and organized activities in our own worlds. I think. For natives of this place moreso than we guests."

That actually stopped Richard's pacing completely -- at least momentarily. He stared at Hugh/Aodh as if looking him over closely. "Okay, you're not an Amber either," he finally said. "But you sure talk as crazy as one. If reality is reflected outward from this place then the world is a lot more fucked up than I want to think about."

{Please.} Hugh reflected mentally on the situation. {If you hear my thoughts, let go your normal ways of looking at the worlds. The Rod Bellar of this Space -- though he is called something else here -- spoke to us through the Rod Bellar of our world, and made this Space's version of Rod Bellar's offer. By the laws of this Space, when we agreed to our Rod Bellar's offer, we agreed to the offer in this Space. When we accepted Rod's invitation, we accepted the invitation Isobel spoke of. We must not leave this house. We have a mission here, true to our own goals, that can save far more than just this world, but also many others. And we have to be careful. We will be opposed.}

{Hugh, you seem like the sort of person who could memorize every portrait on the wall and who the names are for later.} the Black Cat began. {Is that true? Also, could you tell us how much time we have left on the hourglass?} The Black Cat was starting to understand why they were there. "So do you think we have to stop the coronation, or help it succeed?" he asked the other specimen of Homo Felius in the room. He sat on the edge of one of the wingback chairs in the room, facing his host. He had so many questions, and so little time, whereas his host had all the time in the world, and so few answers. It was one of many of the day's cruel ironies.

"Who cares about the coronation? How do we get out of here?" Tapestry asked, still standing near the door to the lion's den. His cape billowed and fluttered quietly, reflecting his own frustration, even if the mask on his face concealed his expression.

"You'd better care about it," Richard snarled, showing the length of his fangs for the first time. "Because if you choose wrong, you're either dead or stuck here until a group comes through that's smarter than you are and can choose aright."

In response, Tapestry's cape billowed back as though blown by a great wind. He said nothing, but he did not slouch or look away.

"And dying is the last thing I want to do," Kitsune said softly, that hint of a smile in her voice.

His golden gaze swung back to Black Cat. "I don't know the answer to your question, but like I told your friend here, it's the key one. Isobel says none of those skeletons have moved in that room since it happened. It's surrounded by an aura of malevolence and not even rats will go near the throne room now. She doesn't know how your predecessors got here, but in her more lucid moments she knows it would take more power than any remaining member of her family possesses to do it. She agrees with Jean-Louis that Prince Corwin could be somehow behind it -- and if that's true, he's the one you've got to find."

Kitsune nodded, "So we have to explore and keep track of each other. Splitting up would be a bad idea, and I probably should be a good girl and stay in my armor. Now, what can we expect in the way of opposition? Traps, for instance, or insane servants or do we get summoned foes just as we were summoned, as in 'wandering monsters'?"

"Your biggest worries are going to be the Ambers themselves," Richard replied, nodding at the armored figure approvingly. "They're insane, highly intelligent, and bored. A bad combination." He gestured at the odd, human-looking creatures in the room. "Those are called `magen' -- artifical life constructs. A couple of Isobel's brothers cooked them up because they were bored and had nothing better to do. They're formidable in numbers, diverse in talents and utterly loyal to the Amber family. " As for the rest...." he shrugged, then tugged at his collar and glanced at the hourglass again. "I can only tell you what I faced in this wing and the indoor forest at the end of the hall. I didn't make it any farther into the castle. Isobel's information is almost useless because nothing in this castle will hurt any of the Ambers."

"So we should be concerned with the Ambers, who apparently have connections to this place, and their servents, the Magen, who have a variety of powers and capabilities." Kitsune nodded her head. "Were there any other items in this wing we ought to be aware of, then?"

She sent a thought to Nocturne to relay to the others, {Oh, I don't like this thought, but it has to be considered. The gods only know how long this place has floated here, but it has me wondering what is to be done about food. I hope it doesn't involve my fears, but it's something to consider if we're going to be here longer than a day.}

Thinking back to Nocturne, Blitz 'answered' Kitsune's concern{...tell kitsune that in my electrical form i don't need to eat. or sleep. i'm pure energy, baby...}

Blitz smiled and turned to the others. "We need to help thizz... man", he began but trailed off.

"I suspect we haven't much time," Vincenzo began, looking intently at his host. "Do you have a message we can carry home for you?" The Black Cat hoped Aodh could pull through, so they would know who they were looking at when the time came. He paused to reflect for a moment, and pursed his lips briefly.

Laughter... it sounded like the soft, coughing roar of a great cat. "No, I want you to get me the hell out of here," he replied honestly, throwing up his hands as he paced. "Do you think I want to be stuck with these crazies forever?"

"Do you think Isobel may have a crucifix I could borrow?" Black Cat wasn't a great Catholic, or even a good Catholic many days, but he was baptized and confirmed with the name of Tomas. He was Catholic enough, he hoped.

"I... would prefer she not be disturbed just now," Richard said, glancing nervously at the tapestry, then at the glass again. "She's the one who tends the hourglass. I'd rather she be recovered in time to do that, if possible."

"Deductive reasoning based on available empirical data. I expect there are many gaping holes and probably a few significant opportunities to clarify my conclusions," Aodh said. "Tell me, Richard, is this affl-.. challenge of yours," he looked to the hourglass, "violence-related? Did it start after your arrival here? Does something trigger it? How long once it begins before you recover?"

"You haven't a lot of time for this," Richard told him irritably. "I will tell you that this happened to me in the dining room across the hall. Stay away from it if you can. The food smells almost irresistible but it has some questionable aftereffects. I sat down to a meal in there and came away with extraordinary strength, luck in battle, and the unenviable curse of spending twelve hours out of every 24 as a raging, bloodthirsty beast."

"Don't drink the milk. Why? It's spoiled." That shy smile seemed to hover over the small woman at that. "Are there places that do not have cursed food, then, or is it best not to risk it at all?"

"The mechanism," Aodh expostulated for the benefit of the others, "appears sophisticated enough to have failsafes and to attempt self-repair, but it has substantial fixes remaining, and needs attention."

"I can see why most of us may have been selected," Aodh guessed. "The diplomats among us will be extremely helpful gathering information from the .. family members. Blitz and Nocturne are beacons of goodness and innocence, who I believe will balance the energies where needed. We need knowledge of magic, I have none. Black Cat's upbringing makes him the ideal moral compass for us, as the basis of his system of beliefs is steeped in the lore of Platonists. For issues of .. what are they called? .. Er.. Blessed Virtues, and.." Aodh pauses, avoiding a term, substituting another, "good manners, we need his guidance. They are critical to our success. Tapestry can manipulate much of the fabric of this Space, which I believe is part of the mechanism.

The scientist concluded, "so much to try to learn. And yes, the coronation which triggers Isobel's glabrolallic defense mechanism, is a time bubble which we must repair. This Corwin seems integral to restoring proper function of the engine. Which is the only way we might escape. It also seems imperative to put down the forces that broke the machine, if they are still about."

Dylan's mind was spinning as he continued to relay thoughts back and forth to everyone he was linked to. Their thoughts were coming so fast he struggled to concentrate on the spoken word. He had heard the word's Nocturne and Innocence in the same sentence, and he couldn't stop the mental laugh from being sent to those in his link. He wasn't tired, but the focus needed for this sort of mental athletics was something he had never experienced before, and there were beads of sweat upon his brow.

"Corwin is the key," Richard agreed. He seemed to be panting, the talons on his fingertips ripping away the confining cloth at his neck. "Be careful with the Ambers. Whatever you do, do not separate in the indoor forest. What else can I tell you before the beast overtakes me?"

"How will we know Corwin, Henry, and Catherine when we see them?" the Black Cat asked quickly. "Are their portraits on the wall here?" He was watching the lion-man very closely, knowing that what would soon overtake him would bring an abrupt end to their collegiality.

"I'm more interested in the scientists who built this Space." Aodh told, beginning a flurry of data collection, studying the Magen and the items in the room as if they might tell him more. "Certainly the Ambers themselves didn't create it. They seem to be more.. moving parts. And our role if this food experience is to be relied on.. is to either restore the original parts, or take their place, permanently.
"Personally, I would by far prefer the former over the latter,"again with that shy smile.

"That's Corwin right there." Richard pointed to one of the larger portraits in the room, a dark-haired man dressed in black and silver finery, with deep amber eyes and an amber cape draped over one shouler. "Henry and Catherine are the two skeletons sitting on the double throne in the throne room, if you make it that far."

Kitsune glanced at the hourglass, judging the amount of time they had left -- minutes, mere minutes.. It seems this would be the best time to go, then, while you remain our magnaminous host, Richard-dono." Her gaze never left Richard, just in case he transformed before they could escape. At which point, she planned to step forward to block him while the others escaped. She hoped his curse was not contagious, though. The last thing she needed, she reflected, was to be transformed into a catgirl.

"One more thing," he... well, he growled it, there wasn't much point in mincing words. "Across the hall... a pride of humanoids... very cat-like... call themselves `Fex'.... they think they're my men at arms.... been here much longer than me...." The desperate man was striding to the tapestry on the wall opposite the one Isobel had been carried through. "Space-faring race... ship's crew... gone a little mad in here too... they keep talking about keys..."

One of the magen pulled aside the tapestry, revealing a normal-sized door which Richard pulled open, nearly yanking the solid oak planking off its hinges. "Amber light, at night -- stay in it, it will protect you while you rest-- don't eat any food served by ghosts--"

The sand in the hourglass shimmered as if it were under the sun in a distant desert as the last grains fell into the bottom. The magen at Richard's door reached in to pull it closed just as a mighty, violent, enraged roar shook the entire room. Something very massive and very muscular hurled itself into the planking of the door, and then again, each blow bending the stout wood visibly.

"It's OK, really, "Tapestry deadpanned to the departing inmate of the madhouse which now imprisoned him. "We'll just show ourselves out." He continued, under his breath and mostly to himself, "We'll just go introduce ourselves to the other cat people across the hall. It'll all be totally kawaii." He turned to leave, heading back into the mirrored hallway.

One of a pair of armed magen opened the door back into the bright hall of mirrors while the other gestures with his rifle through it -- the cue is obvious.

"Domo," Kitsune said to the magen politely. "I do believe it's time to get a little exploration done, and perhaps discuss strategies." Kitsune moved without hesitation toward the open exit, although she attempted to be aware of her environment and any potential traps.

She glanced over to Hugh and considered things for a moment, "Hugh-sensei, may I ask if you have any familiarity with the X-Men, either from the comics or the movies? I'm asking because I was wondering whether you had heard of the maneuver called 'The Fastball Special' before."

"I doubt we'll so much have trouble identifying the Ambers, as their motives," Aodh began, as he made his way toward the door one close scrutiny of the Magen at a time. "Note that for all her purity and innocence, Isobel keeps Richard, and turns him to her facet of the family's purposes."

"And the Fex sound like our first priority, before we meet any other of the Ambers, I agree. We must understand their technology better, which these keys sound like a clue to. Black Cat, you seem the natural person to open dialogue with them, I imag.." Then Kitsune's question stopped the scientist in his tracks, apparently misheard as the Bostonian focused on studying the phenomena of the Amber mansion. "Erm. X-rated fastba..?! Oh, I think that sort of function in this Space would be the worst thing to indulge. It is good you bring it up, however, as I doubt the dinners are the only way to become inmates. If an Amber attempts seduction.. refuse. However, to simplify our conversations, I suggest if no Amber is present, Nocturne's force wall that he spoke of may assure privacy of our communications. If I begin to grasp how the forces of this world work. Which I'm not certain of."

Kitsune stopped dead in her tracks, utterly gobsmacked at Hugh's misinterpretation. The young woman blushed so hard that you could see the luminescent red glow through her helm, or so it seemed to her. Naturally, that just made it worse.

"I'm not really a cat, I'm just ..."the Black Cat began, but then realized that the professor thought on a level where such practical differences were irrelevent. His comments would be as arrows agains the lightning of Aodh's capacity to add layers of meaning until gibberish resulted. "You're probably right. On to the Fex."

"Kitsune," the Black Cat began, after another brief and puzzled look at Aodh, "if you could hang on to the end of my grapnel, I expect we could create the wrecking ball special, but we'd need a lot of room." He was pointedly trying to ignore Aodh's accidental innuendo, although his advice was sound, as he headed for the hall.

Neko-san, but to use it properly would not only require space but also time to practice it. But yes, that is something to consider."

Kitsune exhaled carefully, then nodded, "I don't suppose you would be able to throw me at the enemy, though? Hugh-sensei would seem to be a better choice, but that may be misleading, and unfortunately he seems easily distracted..." Kitsune gently sighed at that.

"Faztball special" muttered Blitz, shaking his head. "You've read too many comic bookz, Kitzune". Glancing backwards, first at the tapestry of Corwin and then at the magen, Blitz followed the others out to the hall. It seemed like they were all in some weird fantasy world and he was sort of right - they were trapped by villains - but not quite the type he had thought.

The sense of a blush shifted to fury rather than embarrassment. "So my parents informed me," the young woman said coldly. "But unfortunately, there aren't textbooks you can study to deal with the fine arts of being a super-powered heroine. Also, I like the stories."

"Actually" grinned Blitz "there are. Textbookzz. On being a zuperhero". He rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking, and then added, "That Defender guy did one. And Ms Mentalist, I think. Though that one was more for academicz..."

Dylan slid into the group's formation again. He made sure he was protected behind Mesh and Kitsune. {I will throw up my force wall}, he sent to the group. {Don't, however, count on it to prevent anything from getting through. Also}, he continued, {if we are in a fight and you find yourselves tiring, let me know. I may be able to re-energize you at the expense of yours or another's adversary.}

"Oh. Throwing. That sort of thing shouldn't be needed. I'm quite certain the Ambers will be perfectly amenable to diplomacy and negotiation," Aodh said, as he stepped out the door into the Hall of Mirrors.

"The family, mansion and all things native to it seek the same ultimate goal, and are united by that. Since it happens to be perfectly coherent with our own goals, so long as that is well-communicated, we should get along with everyone famously," the Bostonian opined, optimistically. "We merely must not tread upon the individual objectives of the disparate parts."

"Yeah - everybody's been so rational so far, I'm sure we'll all just talk it out, find Corwin, stop the wedding, and then we'll all get a puppy and go home." Tapestry wasn't sure if Aodh would grasp that there was sarcasm going on, but it seemed worth trying, and easier than yelling at the massive man to snap out of it.

Kitsune tried, she really did. But a small giggle managed to escape at that. "I would hold out for ice cream, myself."

Dylan looked at Tapestry a moment, the man's sarcasm not lost on the kid. "Tapestry," he began. "None of us chose to be here. All of us wish to leave. It might help us if we all worked together on this."

"I'm sorry, you're right," Tapestry said to Nocturne. "Good honest open debate would be better." He turned to Aodh. "Are you nuts? The two people we've met so far were the amazing team of Manic and Panic. How can you possibly expect us to run into reasonable people at this point?" He looked across the hall, to the doorway that allegedly held the Fex, and muttered to himself "there, that's better."

"Exactly so," Aodh smiled. "Honesty and, where we can't have honesty, at least truth, are important. Believe me, I understand the challenges you face with what I say about this place. Let me assure you, however great your problems with mathematics, mine are greater."

"As for reasonable.. you're right about that, Tapestry. Though looking at them as people will only tell you half the story. They're complex moving parts in a machine I cannot yet fathom the workings of. It's a machine that has suffered a significant deviation from its standard function. Failsafes are in place, and it is idle. These parts are broken. The last thing we can expect is anything like the sort of reason we're used to from any of them, so much as cunning. But goals, desires and needs, those they will have. Surely you all see how that can work to the advantage of all?"

"Or it might be simpler than that, Hugh-sensei," Kitsune said. "People are more than just gears in some ideal mechanism, after all. It may also be more complex than that as well. It's best not to stumble into the pitfalls of our own expectations. Right now is a time for observation, and we can work on theories and such after we have more information. So, the next place to get some more of that is with the Fex, you think?"

Kitsune considered that a moment, then nodded, "They would be the nearest people to negotiate with, but Richard warned us about their sanity, so we had best be prepared just in case they consider us either enemies, or prey. And I would expect them to be at least well-armed, if they consider themselves to be his warriors. What's the old saying about diplomacy?" She smiled behind her helm and mask. "We had best be prepared, or there won't be any ice cream or puppies."

Blitz shook his head, eyes wide, as he listened to Hugh's and Kitsune's little conversation. {...they're mad...} he thought then realised that he'd broadcasted the message to Nocturne. He turned to the telepath, shrugged and smiled to the slightly younger hero. {... i guess this place does that to people...} he added.

The Black Cat tried to adjust to the metaphors at hand. "I think we may have what Hugh would call competing machines - an unstoppable force working against an immovable object. There are forces that want the coronation to happen, and those that don't. If they agreed, I suspect we wouldn't be here. Since someone can observe us, I think that it would be best if we didn't state publicly which goal we may be working towards for now. I don't even know which one would be better."

Vincenzo looked and of course gestured at the doorway that he suspected led to the Fex. "Shall we? Some allies would be helpful, but a pride of insane alien cat people could be as dangerous as they could be handy."

"I opened the last door, back when there was nobody crazy and dangerous here. Someone who feels bulletproof can open the next one," Tapestry said quickly.

The Bostonian looked about at that, following Tapestry's logic, to see what might set off a roomful of marooned spacefaring furry uberleonids. A man who makes textiles move like balls of yarn. A source of static electricity sparking merrily along. A beautiful, exotic woman in shiny armour. "Right, then," he said, and stepped toward the door, and knocked, head turning to watch Vincenzo.

"The competition appears to be a clear design feature. Something about one side winning.. I believe is what triggered the failsafes.. so that may not have been in the original specification," the scientist mentioned, while waiting for the knock to be answered.

Blitz finally approached Hugh, near the door. "Y'know, I really have no idea what you are on about...krzxst. But you seem to know what it iz yer talking about and thatz what matterz" Blitz smiled and then continued. "I didn't think there waz a competition. We need to find thiz John Louee dude and perhapz theze Fex can help"

Blitz jerked a crackling thumb towards the door on which Hugh had just knocked.

"I could've done the trick with the door handle and zeen what waz on the other side", Blitz muttered. "Doezn't matter now. More fun thiz way anyway".

Dylan stayed quietly in step with the rest. He guessed the others understood his statements about his force wall and ability to re-energize them, since no one had asked for clarification. His mind wandered for a moment to another place.

He didn't know where they were, and needed to try again. {Anna?} he sent with all his force out to her in the hopes she might hear him. He had never severed the link completely, but didn't know whether she had and doubted the chance for success.

"I think we should all think it over together, eh?" the Black Cat replied. He looked at the door, smoothed the front of his shirt, danced a few shadowboxing steps from left to right and back again, rocked his head back and forth nervously, and expelled a whistling sigh through pursed lips. He looked at Nocturne and thought {Get a wall ready - we don't really know what's on the other side of that door,} as he stepped in front of it. He turned back to Aodh, and said with a wink "It's OK, I speak cat."