"I can't believe we're being forced to attend this..."

Rythian huffed as he slouched in his seat, listening to the hoofbeats of the horses that drew the carriage along the road. Ridgedog was having another one of his parties again, but for once, it was manditory attendance. What made this one so special, the mage had no idea. He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Zoey next to him.

"Oh relax, Rythian! I'm sure we'll have fun. It's just a few hours out of your life, how bad could it be?" Said the bubbly readhead next to him. As she turned to stare back out the window, she gave a thoughtful hum and began to tap the side of her head. "I wonder why Ridge only sent two invitations? I'm sure Teep would've like to come. The Jailhouse Six could've held a gig, too! Wouldn't that've been awesome, Rythian?"

By now, Zoey had moved back away from the window and closer to Rythian, the redhead wearing her usual elated smile as she bounced up and down on the padded seat cushion. Rythian looked over to his companion and smiled.

"I'm sure it would've." He assured her. Zoey just beamed again and scooted herself back over to her side window, staring out at the passing scenery as the sun set far off in the distance. The carriage grew silent again, the only sounds the horses' hooves and the wheels crackling over the uneven terrain. After a few more minutes, the mage heard Zoey gasp as she stuck her head out the window, her long red ponytail now swaying with the breeze.

"There it is!" She shouted, pointing up ahead. Rythian raised a brow at her before sticking his head out his own side window. Just up a tall, winding hill sat a large mansion, the path under their carriage now becoming neatly pathed as a row of hedges began to guide them up the serpentine slope. The five-story manor was brightly lit up, marble pillars supporting the red tiled roof over the front porch. The rest of the exterior was painted stark white.

"Ridge sure lives a life of luxury, doesn't he?" Rythian commented, slipping back into his seat in the carriage. The two waited as the horses pulled them up the long road to Ridgedog's mansion, a few more of the other party guests' carriages just in front of them. Once they reached the top of the hill, Rythian could see that the asphalt changed into brick as they reached the top of the hill.

Since their carriage was at the back of the line, Rythian decided to entertain himself by watching the other guests step out of their own rides to pass the time. First out was Xephos and Honeydew, both dressed up in black tuxedos. While Honeydew didn't seem too happy to wear such tight-fitting party clothes, let alone a shirt in general, Xephos seemed content with his outfit as he adjusted a blue rose that served as his corset.

Next was Nilesy and Lomadia. Nilesy wore a simple smokey-grey tuxedo and a messily-tied tie while Lomadia seemed to have gone all out with her outfit. She wore a slimming midnight blue gown that almost dragged along the ground and a black pair of gloves that went up to her elbows. She also had two-inch ebony heels, and her golden locks had been curled slightly for the occasion. She met up with Xephos, where the spaceman bowed politely and offered her his hand before they headed up the marble stairs. Nilesy and Honeydew seemed to share a look before following their friends up to where Ridgedog was waiting by the door to greet them. The overseer was in his usual frilly outfit; long blue overcoat, a dress shirt, and brown dress pants along with matching boots.

Next up was Sips, Sjin, and Minty. Neither man seemed to make much of an effort to dress up, for their tuxes looked old and wrinkled. Hell, Sips' sleeves were torn off up to his elbows for Notch's sake! Granted, Rythian hadn't made much of an effort to dress up either. While Zoey had insisted on him wearing a tuxedo like the others, he argued that his current outfit was classy enough as long as he washed it. Both men were laughing as they sauntered up the stairs. It appeared the were drunk before they even arrived at the party. Minty wore a nicer version of her regular flowery brown dress, looking to be in a mix of embarassment and amusement at her two friends' behavior.

Following the two dirt traders and the barkeep were Martyn and Toby. Both wore black tuxes, the only difference between the two outfits being that Martyn wore a green tie while Toby sported a blue bowtie. Both men quickly headed up into the manor as Ravs stepped out his own carriage. The Scotsman was wearing his mayor's uniform, having recently been appointed the new mayor of Sickbay, and followed Martyn and Toby up the stairs with an excited grin.

It was then that Rythian and Zoey's carriage pulled up to the front of the manor. The driver stepped down from his seat and opened the door for the two, and Rythian climbed out before helping Zoey down. He took a moment to examine her outfit again. Unlike what he had expected, Zoey decided to wear a grey tuxedo with a red bowtie to the party, her tux jacket a little longer than usual so it could, as Zoey had explained, "flap awesomely in the wind." When he questioned why she opted for the tux and not the dress, she simply replied that she wanted to surprise everyone, not to mention feel super badass in it. At first Rythian was confused, but hey, this was Zoey he was talking about, so he just went along with it. Plus, despite her outward opinion on the subject, he suspected she still might be a little self-concious about her new robotic arm when it came to everyone else. A tuxedo sleeve was the perfect cover for it.

After helping Zoey down, the two walked up side-by-side over to Ridgedog, whom was waiting with one of his signature smiles. He shook each of their hands as he greeted them.

"Ah, Mister Rythian and Miss Zoeya! I'm glad you could both make it." He said. Rythian chose not to bring up the fact that Ridge's invitation practically forced them to attend due to this party being "of upmost importance". "Come, take a seat. The dining hall is just across the foyer and to the left."

Both Rythian and Zoey nodded and were about to step inside when the three heard a strange noise up above their heads. Rythian looked over to see some odd...flying...thing, draw close to the manor before landing in an open spot on the lawn next to Ridge's front porch. The mage's eyes narrowed when he saw the machine's tinted glass top roll back and the familiar face of the driver as he climbed out of his strange contraption. Lalna had smug air to him as he raised his gloved hand to press a button on a remote control, and the machine's headlights flashed as it made a two-tone beeping noise. The scientist then approached the three after tucking the remote away into his coat pocket, hands now calmly resting beind his back.

"There you are, Lalna! I was beginning to worry something happened to you." Ridge greeted as he shook the scientist's hand. Lalna gave a small chuckle.

"No need to worry about me, Ridge. The carriage was late so I decided to take my own ride here."

"Well, my apologies for the inconvenience." Ridgedog replied, his toothy smile never once fading. Lalna then turned to the other two party guests and bowed politely.

"Rythian, Zoey. Nice to see you." He said, standing straight again. His tone was a little curt, however, especially when he uttered Rythian's name. Rythian bowed as well while Zoey curtsied.

"Lalna." Rythian adressed, a similar harshness on his own voice as he spoke. The mage looked down to see what Lalna was wearing.

"I see you haven't bothered to dress up tonight." He spat. Indeed, Lalna was wearing his regular lab coat, boots, and rubber gloves. At least this lab coat wasn't stained with blood and chemicals. Lalna seemed amused by Rythian's disapproving tone.

"Why so upset, Ryth? I see you haven't bothered to do so as well." He replied, mockingly leaning closer to the mage's face as he pointed down to Rythian's clothing. "Well, I guess it is better than that black heap of rags you were wearing before, now is it?"

"Why you little-"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen! No need to be so hostile." Ridge quickly stepped in between the two and pushed them apart. "We're all friends for tonight. Now, let's just head inside and get this whole party started, shall we?"

Rythian and Lalna shared a brief glare before they, Zoey, and Ridgedog headed inside, Ridge closing the doors behind the group before catching up to them. Upon entering the dining hall, most guests had already taken to their seats and were chatting amongst themselves at the table. A few others, like Honeydew, Sips, and Ravs, were up and about enjoying a glass of wine near the small fountain spewing alcohol instead of water. Rythian and Zoey found their seats near the middle of the table and sat down, Rythian keeping to himself while Zoey excitedly waved to everyone they passed. The mage looked across the table and saw Lalna find his seat directly across from him. He mentally huffed. This night was just getting better and better.

Ridgedog strode over to his seat at the end of the long table and stood in front of it, the large thing looking more like a throne than a dining chair. He raised a glass and tapped it with his spoon, causing the room to grow quiet and face him.

"Welcome everyone, one and all! Before we continue, I'd like everyone to return to their seats, please." He paused and waited for everyone to do so. "Excellent! Now first thing's first; I'd like to make an annoucement. We have a newcomer in town, everyone!"

A few side-conversations began as the door to the kitchen swung open, and a short little Asian girl stepped into view. She was a tiny little thing, not only in height but in build, and golden-brown eyes shined as bright as her smile. She was wearing a flowery red dress that almost resembled a kimono, and her long black hair was tied loosely into a ponytail with a golden scrunchie. She walked over to Ridgedog and politely curtsied to the party guests.

"Hello everyone!" She greeted, not seeming to be shy at all. Ridge turned to the rest of the group.

"This here is Nano, or Kim as she likes to be called. I'm sure a few of you have met her already, but tonight she'll be helping me serve you all. Be sure to treat her kindly."

Kim gave the group another polite wave before rushing back to the kitchen, closing the door behind her. Ridge then sat down in his seat.

"While we wait on the food, I'm sure most of you are aware of why I've summoned you all here tonight..." The overseer shot a look to the center of the table as everyone but Lalna, Rythian and Zoey nodded. All three looked confused.

"Rythian, Lalna, consider this an intervention." Xephos spoke now, sitting close to Ridgedog's end of the table. "Your constant fighting is beginning to be a problem for the rest of us. It has to stop!" Honeydew suddenly shot up from his seat and glared at the two in question.

"YOU KILLED PORKINS IN THE CROSSFIRE, YOU SHITLORDS!" He yelled. Notch knew Honeydew loved his animals. He plopped back down in his seat and looked as if he was about to burst into tears as Xephos began to pat him on the shoulder confortingly.

"Oh, this is just rediculous..." Rythian heard Lalna mumble as the scientist slouched in his seat and gripped the bridge of his nose. For once the mage agreed with him.

"Hey, why are you all looking at me like that? Lalna's the one who usually starts it!" Rythian defended himself. Lalna just scoffed at him.

"Note the word usually." The scientist shot back. Rythian shot him another glare.

"You blew up my castle and nearly killed Zoey!"

"Well it wasn't my fault the nuke was set off, now was it, genius! In fact, why isn't Sjin part of this intervention? He was the one at the start of this whole thing!"

Sjin simply threw up his hands in a form of defense.

"Don't look at me! I'm just running a farm now!"

"Yeah! Leave Sjin alone, you big babbies! He gave up the whole psycho tyrant act a long time ago!" Sips added. More quietly, he added to Sjin in a whisper. "For the record, I have no idea what you're up to. I just wanted to call everyone a big babby."

"Gentlemen, please! Control yourselves!" Ridge yelled from the end of the table. "Now I think I have just the proposal to settle this little disagreement. The whole solution to this mess is-"

Before Ridgedog could finish his sentance, there was a loud pop! before the room grew pitch black. A few of the guests gave a cry of surprise, and Rythian heard footsteps and the sound of a wine glass breaking nearby. He felt Zoey grab onto him in the darkness, no doubt as startled as the rest of the guests. Just as quickly as they had gone out, the lights in the room flickered back to life. Everyone looked around in confusion.

"Something must have blew a fuse." Martyn theorized. Suddenly, everyone turned when they heard Minty give a bloodcurtling scream. The blonde had a hand over her mouth as she pointed across to Ridgedog at the end of the table.

The poor man was slumped over on the dining room table with a knife in his back.