Hideo could hear the *whirring* of the electric wheelchair approach, and he made sure to open the door wide open; didn't want Andy getting caught on it on the way out.

Hideo stopped when Andy pointed out which picture it was - which Hideo was made aware of by his Beheeyem - before grinning as Andy realized the futility of the request. "Maybe Elga was telling me he was curious," he said, holding back a snort, "It can get a little tricky to tell if some stuff he says is from him or my own thoughts."

He knew the answer to that, though; it was a lie. He just wanted to get Andy moving, and that's what he got. And it did give him an idea how far back this family line went. "So is the one next to it yours?"

But as Hideo teased Andy, his Beheeyem's attention was taken by the Gengar, who seemed to have something to say. He nodded, Telepathically telling the Gengar that he could try to send the message - though it wasn't as easy getting stuff across to a human as with another Pokemon.

He just had to know what message had to be sent.

Hideo was ready to ask Andy what he meant by the old-fashioned way - to Hideo, that meant going from room to room one at a time. He ended up getting an earful of Andy's version, tensing up as the shout echoed through the mansion.

He waited a moment, listening to hear if that actually would get the Yamask to respond.

But as the echo dissipated, there was no Yamask to fill the void. "I ain't hearing a response from any 'whiny cunts'," Hideo muttered. If only it were that easy.

"Don't suppose there are any spots where he couldn't hear you?" he asked. "We either work off that or we gotta check every room we can."

Andy Blackadder

Though the subtleties of branch family politics was lost on Hideo, he could understand well enough with this being his Aunt's house. "Well, I'm sure you'll get a portrait drawn of yourself on a wall someday. If you don't already have one." Didn't have to be in this house either; he had to imagine Andy had one lying around back in Galar of him as a baby.

Hideo did consider the Yamask being outside for a moment - but no longer than that. "If he were stuck outside, he could've just tried the doorbell. Or he would've seen me and tried squeezing my cheeks." And his cheeks were notably unpinched. "Elga would've told me if he saw a Yamask flying about."

His Beheeyem didn't confirm or deny that right away, but he could trust Elga to tell him if he did see anything.

The Beheeyem was distracted trying to get what Epitaph was telling him. It was fairly complicated, to say the least, and he wasn't quite sure what to tell Hideo - and if Hideo would even fully understand the message.

Hideo nodded as Andy agreed with his other plan, only to shrink a little as Andy brought up why it'd be pointless. "You got a point there," Hideo said with a sigh, "Unless he got locked in a special ghost-containing room, he'd come out if he heard that." He probably wasn't outside, and he didn't respond to the echo through the two floors.

It did narrow things down, at least, do no going door-to-door. As Hideo thought about where else he could be, an idea popped in the boy's mind. "Don't suppose he could've gotten stuck in the basement? This place has a basement, right?"

He was pretty sure they did; that's where rich people stored a lot of stuff. Like alcohol.

Andy Blackadder

"Oh, so the only portrait they got of you is Little Andy." Hideo wouldn't prod any further than that, though; he still recalled what Andy told him about his parents going missing, and that Andy was still very sore about it, even showing anger at his mother when they reunited. "Maybe you can get a newer portrait when you're healed up."

Though Hideo was caught by surprise by Andy's other reveal. "Really?" There was legitimate surprise in his voice - he thought every mansion had some kind of basement. "Even my house has a basement - though we don't really use it for anything. Mostly just as a laundry room, but I woulda thought you'd have an even bigger one."

Hideo could only give a shrug. "Oh well. Maybe we will have to check every room then."

It was for the best that the Gengar had a better idea where to look. Hideo could hear Epitaph say something, then he could hear him move down the hall. "Think he wants us to follow him?" Hideo wondered aloud - and he quickly received a sense of confirmation, no doubt from his Beheeyem. "Elga says we should."

Hideo followed beside Andy, noticing that they went right back to the stairs. "You think he's telling us we have to go downstairs?" he asked, once again receiving confirmation from his Beheeyem - a sense that Andy would get as well this time.

Hideo sighed. "Well, only one way to do this." He searched around for a railing, grabbing on and taking the first step down the stairs. "Elga, you mind helping Andy if he needs it?"

His Beheeyem nodded, looking over to Andy to see of he'd accept the aid. He could lift himself and Andy's wheelchair Psychically if allowed, leaving Hideo to descend down the stairs on his own. Hideo would take less time to descend than ascend, though, both because he was going downstairs this time and because he'd already managed the steps once before; confidence definitely helped carry him down faster.

But he'd still take more time, still descending step by step. Hideo still had to be careful, so even with his increased pace, he'd be the last one to the bottom.

Andy Blackadder

A delighted grin found Hideo's face at Andy's "suggestion". "Oh wow, a group portrait?! I didn't think of that." He'd thought that was just something for rich people - everyone else had to settle for photos. "Maybe when things settle down and you're doing better, we can try to set one up." It probably wouldn't be easy, and it wasn't like he'd be able to fully admire the product, but it was worth a shot; everyone else could enjoy it.

Andy still seemed pretty set on there being no basement, but Hideo could still tell his Gengar wasn't wandering aimlessly. "Yeah. I don't really have any better ideas-" other the brute-forcing the search, "-so let's go see what he wants to show us."

Going downstairs was much less of an ordeal, but it still took Hideo some time. The moment he heard Andy's wheelchair touch down on the bottom, he tried going faster, though he still had to be careful. "This is why I live on the first floor," Hideo muttered as he finished his descent.

And at the bottom, the Gengar seemed to have a location in mind. Hideo followed along, his Beheeyem informing him they were now in a room with a lot of filled bookcases, papers, and a nice desk - much like John Sullivan 's study at his gym.

And as his Beheeym told him, the Gengar seemed focused on one bookcase in particular. And with his knowledge of fiction in mind…

"Elga, try moving that bookcase," Hideo said. His Beheeyem looked at him, confused by the sudden request. "I think Epitaph's telling us there's something behind that bookcase, like a secret passage or something. All mansions I've read about have secret passages in studies."

The Beheeyem just stared at his trainer, before looking back at the Gengar. He shrugged, his hand reaching towards the middle bookcase - attempting to move it Psychically.

"If I'm wrong, we can just move it back."

Andy Blackadder

Eagerness ran through Hideo's heart, excited to uncover a secret about this house that not even Andy knew about. He could hear the middle bookcase jostle as his Beheeyem's psychic energy ran through it, those creaks impossible to miss.

But that was as far as it went. The noise would stop as the Beheeyem let go, sending the message to Hideo. "So that wasn't it?" Hideo asked, a hand to his chin. "Dang. We still can't rule out a secret passage though." If only because he really wanted to find one. "Epitaph had to have brought us here for a reason. And he pointed at that bookcase for a reason too."

But for what?

He had to think it over a moment, before another possible answer came to mind. He walked over to the bookcase, feeling around. "Well, if the bookcase itself won't budge, maybe it's got something that'll open something up, like a book you just tilt." Not the most solid guess, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

"You got any other ideas what we should do, Andy?" he asked as he probed away, his Beheeyem keeping watch in case anything threatened to fall on his trainer.

Andy Blackadder