Delia turned around slowly, examining their environment.

"There are no stars," she finally said, looking up. "Just the full moon...full moon on Friday the 13th...13 guests left in the Mansion...."

Delia shrugged.

"I got nothing, yet, at least. Other than that, I'd say your hypothesis is fairly reasonable."

No sooner had Jeff dismounted from his perch when he was confronted by a young woman asking to lend a hand. "Now that you mention it I do have a very big sock problem, my left ones keep running away." Said he, replying with a disarming and cheeky grin.

"In all seriousness ma'am, as far as I am aware we are experiencing a simple power outage. No need for you to be concerned."

"Full moon, thirteen appearing twice and falling on a Friday are all terribly unlucky... if you go for that sort of thing." Neal examined their surroundings again in hopes of noticing something new or finding a clue to where or when they were. Still nothing, except....

"I believe we have a snoop, Delia." Decker said with a smile aimed at the young woman standing hesitantly in the doorway.

"Um, hi?" Anna said, venturing out into the open, dead, extremely creepy outdoors. "I just wanted to know what was happening. Well, mainly my sister wanted to know and she made us follow you. The thing I was most interested in knowing is how likely we are to die horribly before the evening is over."

Delia glanced at Neal, then smiled reassuringly at Anna.

"Well...there aren't any animals around. Or anything else. So, I think for now, you're ok. Just in case, though, let's go back inside. We...can figure it out more in the morning, when it is easier for everyone to see. Alright?"

Neal nodded in agreement to Delia's plan and headed back inside the Mansion. The Darkling paused slightly to allow the two women to pass inside before him... which also allowed for last look around this strange new moonlit world they were in.

"Ah, there you are!" Mr. Quigley Earnest Dint turned to greet the rest of the party. "This old mansion is rather lonesome in the dark."

She stood as still as a statue, mesmerized by the light; darkness and safety were at her back. She wanted to run both ways at once.

"Don't be shy, Milady. You're safe with me."

Just focus on Earnest.

She lifted a hoof to take a step forward, but when she set it down again, it was no longer a hoof.

A shimmering cloud of smoke suddenly appeared around her. When it cleared, she had vanished.

Mr. Quigley Earnest Dint sighed. "Perhaps she retreated to the conservatory."

"So if there is horrible death, it'll be unexpected horrible death. My sister says that's preferable, but I'm not sure I agree. I don't think the three people in my apartment building that got eaten by mechadirewolves last week were happy that they weren't expecting fanged death when it happened," Anna said and followed Delia back inside.

"People who have time to get mad about how they die are usually the worst to deal with," Delia grumbled. "They're always trying to figure out a way to get even, even though it isn't usually someone's fault. It's much easier to deal with the ones that were maliciously murdered. They don't usually go on rampages across continents."

She glared at the glass on the floor, then started struggling out of her jacket. She opened the coatroom, stepped inside, and reemerged a few moments later with her normal black shirt, utility belt, and other accessories.

"Ah, I am never listening to Lucy when she tells me to leave my stuff at home," she grinned. "So much more comfortable this way. Now, I suppose you won't be too happy about this, Neal, but I have a feeling that we ought to talk to our little coppity-cop and make a game plan. We most definitely don't want anyone wandering off trying to find town or something stupid like that, and the Mansion has plenty of rooms. We just have to pat them all on the head and send them to bed."

Delia stopped, then sighed.

"Yeah, that'll never happen. Let me go find our resident ticket writer."

"In that case, I'm glad I haven't met any ghosts..." Neal mused dryly as he shut the mansion doors behind him before joining Delia and Anna by the coatroom.

Despite being expected, the idea of having to team up with (for however short a time) Jake... or Jen... er, whatever "Cowboy's" name was, was not the best of news.

Neal watched Delia return to the hall to find Cowboy. Not being particularly sure what to do next, Decker turned to the young woman standing to his side. "What kind of apartment allows mechadirewolves on their premises?"

After fending off the few questions that he did receive, Jeff set out on a quest to light as many candles as possible. Illumination always made a scary situation less frighting, not to mention that it kept people from doing stupid things. The boys in blue are always so pro-streetlamps for a reason. That's when he spotted Death headed his way.

"So what'd you find?"

Delia stepped close to Jeff and looked around.

"Stuff," she said quietly. "And, well, I might fit right in, but I've a feeling it would give some of our highly esteemed guests a case of the vapors. Come out in the hall, and we'll talk about it more."

"We don't have a doorman ... oh, and the lock on the front door is broken. That and my sister says the landlord is probably a mad scientist. I keep telling her that having an odd accent doesn't make him evil, but we do keep seeing him in the cemetery. Which probably isn't sinister at all. Plenty of people visit the cemetery ... at night. With a shovel," Anna said, ignoring complaints that she was rambling. She was determined not to acknowledge her sister until she'd found a way to explain their situation in a way that didn't make her look crazier than the average Dittotopian.

Angie watched her husband make his way over to their hostess, the Ghost Wrangler, who by now had returned from a quick trip outside and was surrounded by a small entourage of interesting people, including someone from the Ditto Town PD.

She hoped the situation could be resolved soon. The earthquake had left her a little uneasy. They were from a place where the earth was solid and behaved in a predictable manner, so having it move under your feet was disquieting.

She had overheard some comments from people who had been outside and decided to investigate for herself. She managed to weave her way through guests until she stood at the Mansion’s front entrance. She shivered as she looked outside. Ground like ash, grass and trees dead when they had been full of life earlier this evening.

And the moon….she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it seemed different. And why weren’t there any stars? Even a few could be seen on a normal moonlit night. Between the earthquake, power outage, and now all this, Angie knew this was no longer a normal night.

Dan, meanwhile, reached the Ghost Wrangler’s side and waited for a pause in the conversation before introducing himself. “We haven’t been formally introduced, Ma’am, but my name is Dan Baxter and my background is in electrical engineering. Some say I have a way with electricity and machines, so I’d like to offer my help in figuring out this power outage.”

Delia looked Dan up and down, then nodded curtly.

"Follow me out," she said quietly, turning and heading out into the hall, cop and engineer in tow.

Once the group had assembled together in the hall, Delia finally spoke.

"Well, we're not in Ditto Town anymore," she said.