━ DENOUEMENT ( jerome clarke. )

35 ⊳ HOUSE OF TUNNELS.

"No need, Victor. Their youth zest confirms I've made the right choice." Gustav Ziestack revealed to the group, fortunately still sticking by his choice of choosing them to run the exhibition even after the outburst, hopefully meaning that nobody was going to be punished as the bid went successfully, "I like the pupils here."

Pleased at the result, everyone let out a laugh and the room fell into boisterous chatter and cheers once more - however, Sydney's laugh was quite awkward and forced, her mind elsewhere as she cautiously watched Nina and Fabian in the corner of her eyes, seeing Amber approach the two of them as they fell into what seemed to be a concerned discussion. Something was definitely happening - that much was obvious - and the female prankster was determined to find out what it was, especially when she could have sworn that she heard the mention of Sibuna in the conversation.

"Does anybody care I'm hungry?" Alfie's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, with him complaining from where he sat on the second floor of the library - still in costume, of course - hands gripping the railings as he hoped that somebody would save him and get him out of the chains that kept him stuck to the second floor soon enough.

"Speaking of being hungry, do you want to go to that picnic now?" Jerome inquired, a cheeky grin on his lips as he did so - although, as he looked at her, he had noticed her concerned eyes drift over to where Nina, Fabian, and Amber were standing, but he simply presumed that she was worried about the American girl's outburst and whether she was okay, considering that the pair were quite close friends.

"Uh, in a while, okay?" Sydney answered, hardly looking at the boy (who had nodded in response) as she formulated a plan in her mind that'd perhaps help her find out what was happening in Sibuna, brushing past the numerous crowds of people in the library and sneaking out before anyone else - including Sibuna - was able to do so, and that meant that she was the first person back at Anubis House, with even Victor Rodenmaar and Trudy Rehmann still being at the bid.

Not having to worry about how much noise she was making made life much simpler, enabling her to easily go up the stairs without worrying about her strict housekeeper yelling at her for being back at the house at such a time. However, there was quite an issue with getting into Victor's office - the start of her plan - due to it being locked, though she soon remembered the trick that her roommate used quite often - a bobby pin. Seconds later, she had returned with a bobby pin in hand and manipulated it to the lock of the office door, struggling for a few seconds before the door swung open, and then she did the exact same thing with the bobby pin to the cabinet with all the spare keys in, and that swung open too.

And so, her plan to figure out what was happening with Sibuna was in motion.

Meanwhile, hardly anybody had noticed the disappearance of numerous Anubis House residents. Sydney Anderson had disappeared, and soon after that so had Nina Martin, Fabian Rutter, and Amber Millington. Though, that wasn't to say that it was completely unnoticed - Joy Mercer had noticed that Nina and Fabian had left the library, and had proceeded to tell Patricia Williamson. Furthermore, Jerome Clarke had noticed simply a few minutes after his childhood best friend had left his side that she was not in the library anymore, and had become a little bit concerned about it, though he comforted himself with the assumption that she had gone alongside Nina, Fabian, and Amber, who he had also noticed weren't present in the library anymore. Although, most people were focused on other things, such as the exhibition and also Alfie Lewis still being chained to the second floor, which was due to be solved within the coming moments.

"The good news is I am going for my bolt-cutters, and when I return, you shall be released." Victor informed the teenager-turned-pharaoh, honestly not sounding as enraged as everybody had expected him to be, probably due to winning the bid.