[Shrubomancy]

"...Is she gone?"

"...No. She stopped in front of the door, disappeared, then reappeared and walked away. There was no reason to do that except for misdirection."

"Then she's still..."

"Yes. More importantly, she can see us, she knows we saw her, and we both know the other knows about each other.

Which means we can stop playing games and have this out face-to-face, Lapis."

Dr. Khafir pulls up a chair by the door and takes a seat, staring into the center of the room blankly. The transparent purple disc floats around the room lazily, drifting in a wide circle.

Meanwhile, Angela's emerged from hiding and is cautiously looking around the room, as though she'll be able to catch a glimpse of the groundskeeper if she just looks hard enough. She's wearing chrome-plated harness around her chest, with a conspicuous orbular device in the center; her hand is still on it, thumbing a switch in the center, currently set to the off position.

She's also standing over a wooden crate on a cargo dolly, about the size of a small bathtub, carefully sealed, with the "THIS SIDE UP" markers unquestioningly obeyed. The crate is held shut by a series of latches, which are in turn held closed by a series of identical padlocks. No other hint is given as to its contents, other than a warning that it's "FRAGILE".