Belle had to put his investigation into Sherry and the system on hold as the time for his plan drew nearer. The plan was very simple; it would probably be easy to see through, but as long as they played their cards right, they could win. So he decided to invite everyone over to explain what was going on.
They were all gathered in the living room, and Liz and Avery were sitting side by side on the couch. Lou was sitting on a chair with Luna flying over him. Belle was on the floor, and Leslie was standing. To explain the plan, he first had to tell everyone what happened, and that led to some…adverse reactions.
"So you're telling me, my girlfriend could potentially die soon, and you didn't tell me!?" Liz exclaims, glaring at Belle.
"I needed to figure out a few things first, it wasn't like I was never going to tell you." He tries to defend himself.
"Nope, no excuses, next time you tell me or you're out." Liz threatens.
"Sorry, sorry." Belle apologizes, looking up at Liz guiltily.
"My brother's not going to die…right?" Lou asks worriedly.
"If the plan goes well, then he won't die," Belle replies, and Lou goes a shade paler, whoops.
"What he's trying to say is that the plan will go well and I won't die because it's a good plan." Leslie comforts.
"You promise?" Lou asks. Belle hesitates, for just a second, until Leslie glares at him.
"I promise," Belle states, but it doesn't stop the clench in his gut. What if it did go wrong? How could he face Liz or Lou if Avery and Leslie died? It was his fault to begin with…but his plan wouldn't work without their help.
"Right, down to business. The plan is actually pretty simple. The next place we go to, I'll call him using the business card he gave me. We'll go there ahead of time to investigate and set everything up. When he arrives, I'll track down the ghost that did this while you guys distract him." Belle explains.
"And what happens if he figures out it's a trap?" Avery questions.
"It's almost a guarantee; he'll probably bring backup as well, so I'm going to go all out. I have a couple of allies that would be willing to help us out, so we should be able to handle things." Belle replies.
"This is insane, we're going up against a crazy old man who's the leader of some evil organization to destroy the world or whatever." Avery huffs, annoyance bleeding into her words.
"It's not much worse than what we usually have to go through." Belle smiles, thinking about his past achievements.
"Now that the plan is made, we should go do something fun, you can't tell me you all came here just for a single talk," Liz suggests, glancing around the room.
"By fun, do you mean ordinary person fun or supernatural kind of fun?" Leslie asks.
"You know, there was this museum that recently got their hands on a supposedly haunted doll, how about we go check it out?" Belle grins.
"I don't think we should be breaking into museums." Liz deadpans.
"What? No, I meant we can go look at it like normal people. The story goes that if you take a picture of the doll without its permission, then it'll place a curse on you." Belle explains.
"I want to go to the museum, please!" Lou begs, turning to his brother.
"I don't mind, but no taking pictures of the doll." He says sternly.
"This is ridiculous, count me out," Avery grumbles.
"...It could be fun," Liz admits.
"Okay, fine, I'll go." Avery quickly relents.
"Wow, that was just embarrassing." Belle teases.
"Shut up! Are we going or not?!" Avery shouts, quickly standing up and making her way toward the door. The rest quickly follow after her, each getting into a different car. When they arrive at the museum, they spot the usual crowd of people going in and out. They wait in line, pay for their tickets, and head inside.
The museum is one for antique artifacts, with all sorts of old dresses, furniture, and technology. Each piece has a plaque next to it detailing its story. They wander through the museum, following the path as they explore, until they reach the doll.
"This thing's ugly." Luna sniffs, glaring at the doll. It has short hair sticking out in different places, one of its eyes is missing, and its outfit is old and stained. It's kept in a glass box with the warning, 'Please don't take pictures without asking for permission!', in bright red.
The plaque reads, 'This is an old doll that once belonged to the daughter of a rich family. The daughter got scarlet fever, and the doll was set to burn, but the daughter died before they got the chance. When they tried to burn the doll, it didn't work, and the family simply threw it away. From then on, the doll has changed hands a few times, but something strange always happened to the new owners. When it was brought to a museum, anyone who took its picture without permission suffered a strange fate.'
"So do we all take a picture?" Liz asked, staring at the doll. She was getting an uneasy feeling from it.
"I think only one of us has to," Belle answers, grabbing out his phone and snapping a quick picture. Everyone shrugs as they head off to look at more displays. Lou was fascinated the entire trip, and Luna was as well, though she tried to hide it. When they got back home, they all sat around the living room again.
"Soooo, when do we think it's going to happen?" Avery questions, sitting with her hand under her chin.
"Be patient, it might not even happen today." Belle shrugs. He doesn't inform them of the warning he had already received from the system.
"This is a waste of time, I'm going to leave. I have work tomorrow." Avery sighs, standing up and stretching. Immediately, the lights flicker out a strange giggling noise fills the room.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Leslie teases.
"Just shut up!" Avery yells out angrily.