Break This Down [D3]

5 - Night Falls

Third Person POV

Mal called out for Ben as she followed Dude through Ben's castle.

"Ben could be asleep anywhere." She said, exasperatedly.

"Or turned to stone." Celia added.

"Okay." Evie whispered, covering the young villain kids mouth.

"Ben!" Mal called out more urgently.

"I got a scent." Dude announced, sitting at the end of the hallway. "Very pungent cologne, easy to track. Follow me, people."

"That's great, Dude." Jay nodded at the mutt.

"FYI," Dude said. "I give great cuddles, too."

"Really?" Gil asked, making Bridgette smile. "I never had a pet growing up. Except for the elk head in dad's man cave, but that's not really-"

"Hold up." Uma said, running her fingers over scratch marks in the wooden panelling of the hallway wall. "What's this?"

Carlos stepped around Uma, investigating the painting that appeared to be slashed through.

"Uh..." Carlos trailed off, looking back at Mal and his girlfriend Ozzy. "Any chance this was already there?"

Ozzy shook her head while Mal sighed. Dude turned his head down another hallway and stood up.

"And, follow me!" He commanded, leading the group of villain kids- and Ozzy- to a room where suits of armor stood lining the walls. Mal called out for Ben as the villain kids and Ozzy dispersed around the room. Evie told Celia to stay by the door before she too stepped into the room, searching for Ben.

Harry Hook ran his finger across the blade of a sword, whistling as he did so. "I can feel you lurking."

"Good." Jay said over Harry's shoulder.

"So you can track, cuddle, and talk." Gil listed, kneeling beside Dude.

"Sounds like you, love." Harry smirked at his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes at him and looked at another suit of armor.

"Hey," Gil asked, turning back to look at Carlos. "Do you think his puppies will be able to talk, too?"

"He's such a freaking bean." Bridgette muttered with a grin on her face.

"Alright, man." Carlos chuckled, patting Gil's shoulder. "He's taken. You want a dog, adopt a rescue."

"Talking puppies," Dude laughed. "That's crazy."

Celia beckoned the dog over, scratching behind his ears. Evie stood on the podium in the middle of the room, looking around at the armor stands. In front of her, Mal, Uma, Ozzy, and Bridgette were finally talking to each other.

"I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose, huh?" Uma asked Mal with a smug smile.

"No." Mal deadpanned. "Dragon's don't really lose sleep."

"Hey," Ozzy sounded. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

"I thought you would know, princess." Bridgette stated, venom laced between her sickly sweet words. "My mistake."

"Okay, guys, can we not do thi-" Evie interjected, getting cut off by Uma.

"We're celebrating our differences." Uma said, using Evie's previous words against her.

"I believe we're being challenged." Harry said, tapping Bridgette's shoulder. She shrugged his hand off of her and glared over at Ozzy.

"Let's split up and look for Audrey." She suggested.