melodiesoflife | Event || Cluedo

Well... this is probably just me being pessimistic. I always seem to come up with the worst case scenario first.

[Alice knows she's gloomy by nature. And there's a good chance she's over thinking this. But since he asked...]

But... a different method is being used for each murder. What if... what if whoever is doing this is trying all these different things for a reason? What if they're trying to come up with a way to kill us permanently?

[ Ales is quiet. There a light repated sound as he taps the wooden floor with his small feet and thinks. ]

Thats not how most people around here think. Someone is out there, killing Heroes and any unfortunate native that gets too close to the scene of the crime. We have plenty of reason to think a Hero is behind Jade's death because the killer used a Limit Break. That limits the number of suspects.

Your coming in doesn't have to do with you being a monster specifically - not that I would care about your species. First time I heard you being called a monster of any sort.

[ For all Ales knows, he's just something native to his home world. He doesn't see the big deal with non-human species. ]

But Jade did catch a brief glimpse of his attacker, who wasn't human. [ That dpes make himself sound suspicious though. ] Not me. It was humanoid.

Edited 2016-06-26 17:27 (UTC)

You shouldn't forget it. [That he's a monster.] I don't see myself as a Hero of Light.

[He's just going to make sure he's explicitly clear on where he stands, which is partially Midna's fault for convincing him they can both run around not being called Heroes. It also tells a story about how separated he is from the city itself. In the two months since they first met, it's clear Dylas has only distanced himself from things a Hero might instead embrace.]

I don't know what a Limit Break is. [He does look confused by that, and he looks down at Koporo who looks a little uncomfortable behind his veil. Dylas' file is locked, meaning Koporo was very likely someone who could have seen to it.] And I don't know who Jade is.

That you're a monster? Why should I worry about that? Most humans here have a good memory. They remember that I'm something they've never seen before. Lots of rude stares when I first showed up here.

[The other humans in the room might take offense to that, but for now, it's just Ales and Dylas. The latter who's calling attention to his species as if he weren't tired of confused looks seeing the Teensie for the first time.]

Whether you consider yourself a Hero or now, you're technically a Hero of Light. We all have special abilities, Limit Breaks included. [He directs his gaze at Koporo, who's at a closer level to him.] You explained to Dylas what those are, right?

[He doesn't respond to the first part. He's already made it clear that he's a monster, he's not sure if that will help his innocence or not but he's not going to insist he's human anymore and that he has the same view on these happenings as other people.]

Koporo never explained them to me, no.

[And now all of the attention is on the Moogle, who seems to fidget a little before speaking up. He wants to talk about Dylas' Limit Break very little, it seems. First, he explains what a Limit Break is, and then.]

K-kupo...but Dylas' Limit Break is dangerous. It's called W... [He pauses.] The name isn't important, but it's very dangerous! Dylas' hands get cold, and...he'll attack whatever's closest with his claws. It makes him go berserk, kupo! I'm sorry, Dylas...

[Dylas doesn't react much to this news. He just turns away slightly. It all sounds familiar to him, anyways.]

Edited 2016-06-26 18:23 (UTC)

Just between us, did you see or hear anything else? I knew the person who did me in, too. I don't wanna say anything to the police til I know more.

[Or, you know, ever, but Santa's preserving the illusion of cooperation for now, in case it makes Jack more willing to share.]

Well, he hasn't physically lashed out at her so that's a good sign. She knew it was his temper talking and wouldn't blame him. Honestly she was so close to running off with Mary to find more clues but she was needed elsewhere.

"Chances are we'll being implementing a curfew so do follow it. Make sure no one walks the streets alone and keep an ear out if you hear anything.If you do hear something, send me mail directly and I'll come and investigate. And most importantly, do not try to find the killer yourself."

It's hard to remember. All they said was my name. But I can't remember who it was, and I didn't get a look at them. Then they kicked me off the roof.

[By this time, Akane has received Koporo's letter, asking for her assistance. Her face is grim as she reads, but she doesn't waste any time rising to her feet and departing for the station. She knows how prickly Dylas can be, and if he reacts defensively (or worse, aggressively), he's not going to get a chance to understand what they're dealing with. And more people will die.]

[After confirming her status as a Hero of Light, and holding up the letter she received, the guards reluctantly escort her to the interrogation room. It's up to Sparks whether she stays or goes, but she's confident she can be helpful in uncovering the truth.]

[She knocks.]

You sure it wasn't a shove, or a spell, or something? This isn't Sparta, and you're a big guy. It'd be pretty tough to kick you anywhere, right? We shouldn't jump to any conclusions or anything.

[Despite the big scary illusion, the hand that holds Ib's is small and feminine. Akane has to concentrate to adjust the image, so it looks like Ib is holding to Dylas's big ol' monster paw, but it doesn't take more than a few seconds.]

[After Ib gives her statement, and Akane looks decidedly more Akane-like, she waits patiently nearby. Ironically, Akane may have taken the form of the actual murderer, but she doesn't realize this yet as she hasn't seen the bodies or the evidence that might make her consider Dylas. The authorities say they have it in hand, so Akane supposes she shouldn't snoop around and get in their way.]

[It's very late when it's all over, and Akane rises from her chair to brush at her robes.]

You could probably use some rest. Do you want me to walk you home?

[Maybe Akane can make some hot milk for her to help her relax and sleep better.]

I wanna be clear that "monster" means nothin' to the lot of us. Yer talkin' to people from all over the dang multiverse. Plenty 'a folks here look different than the rest.

And what I want now is an alibi. Because we got no proof of where ya were when Jade and the civilians were killed. No official word, anyway.

[When the door's knocked on, Sparks gets up to answer it. He's surprised to see Akane, but he shouldn't be. She did say she wanted to help.]

...Yeah?

What if he does it again?

[Akane squeezes his hand tightly.]

It's not just going to be bad for you, it'll be bad for him too. I think... I think people might have been brainwashed into being sleeper agents. I don't know if they're being directly controlled, or if there's a certain trigger that causes them to act, but I don't believe he wanted to hurt you. I've seen him. There's no possible believable motive.

[She blinks down at the ground, then closes her eyes as pain starts to overtake her expression.]

I didn't want to bring Junpei into the Nonary Game either. But if we hadn't done it, you know he would have suffered consequences that were far worse. It's the same here. Someone is using your friend as a weapon, and as long as they can get to him, they'll keep using him. So we have to discover the truth. We have to find the one who needs to be punished, or it's just going to get worse for us, for those who are being used, and for the people who can't come back to life when they're killed.

"Yeah. Footprints with an odd pace. Like with a limp, maybe."

Sparks sighed, running a hand down his face. He can believe Duster when he say he didn't do it willingly, or remembered it. But if mind control is at work here, they have no proof and no leads of who was behind it. That sort of thing wasn't something you could easily trace, if at all.

"Y'realize that if this is case of mind control, we got no way of proving that, right. Not unless we catch someone in the act. It's not the sorta thing that leaves evidence behind."

There's another pause as he thinks.

"What where ya doin' that night? What's the last thing you remember before and after the time of the incident?"

I ain't sayin' she did. But she's been around for several of these incidents now, so she's gotta know something.

[He hoped. He really did, so that at least someone could give him a real lead.]

Just keep it in mind, okay. We don't want this to keep happenin' to all the Heroes. Whoever's doing this probably wants us to all turn on each other and look like a bunch of weak 'n incompetent idiots. Let's not give 'em that satisfaction.

"Kidd's had to have seen something though. He was talkin' with that Santa kid right as you were killed. Santa was killed only moments later."

Sparks isn't so trusting of Kidd, but until he's brought in for questioning, he was as innocent as everyone else.

"Manipulated how. Magic? Is that sorta thing traceable? How can we know for sure?"

It sounded far too iffy to the marshal.

Okay....

[She still feels bad. She's a hero! She should have been braver. But Ib will stay out of his way and wait for the other officers.

Actually, she'd rather not look at the scene anyway, and finds the ground terribly interesting.]

He hasn't, even if he looked like he had come close at first. Now Johnny resorted to pacing in a small radius as an alternative to throttling a cop.

"Hear what. People ain't openly talkin' about killing people in front of me. And I live alone-- I was practically livin' with Reno at this point, really, but--"

The answer to that was obvious.

"Just go home and lock the doors and play nice. That's it, huh."

Less tough than you think. I've died this exact way before, I know what happened.

If it helps, I know it was a person. That also was no horse kick.

For a moment, Jack's face matches Sparks' because this is ridiculous. But. Maybe there is a way that there can be a trace.

"What do we got? Illusionists and psychics? Manipulation can be as simple as making you see something you don't. It could be full-blown mind control, sure. But an even easier way to make me dead would be to make somebody think I look like a monster, something that a Hero would kill without asking questions."

"But can we trace it?" Jack stands up from the seat. "I can gather some people with those jobs, run some tests in the Crystal Laboratory. I can probably get you an answer to that question, if nothing else."

""I am truly sorry that's the only legal advice I can give. Well...eavesdropping isn't exactly a crime, you know." Saori, by any means, was far from being a model cop. She can't put up the front any longer and sighs.

"Look I get it, it's clear you don't trust cops and at the rate things are going, you won't be the only one. If you want to take your anger out on me physically fine, but at least wait until the uniform's off because I don't want charges pressed against you. If I can handle getting my soul ripped out, a little beating should be nothing. We are doing whatever we can to figure things out. We're just at our wits' end as much as everyone else."

[He's not going to clarify why he keeps repeating that. Partially, it's because he wants everyone to distance themselves from this whole thing, but there's another reason for it, too.]

I work nights because I'm nocturnal, not because of the Vampire thing. I catch fish and I sell them to restaurants. It's hard work, but if you ask around you'll find out I haven't missed a day of sales since I started.

[He'll let Sparks usher Akane in. Dylas won't even look at her, suddenly feeling like...maybe he should be ashamed for this, but he hasn't done anything wrong. He knows he hasn't, but...]

A letter sent to all of the Heroes of Light:

"In order to help with the ongoing investigation, I've offered to run some tests at the Crystal Laboratory, but I need the assistance of anyone with the Illusionist Job, and especially anyone with an advanced job that uses Illusionist.

You are not under suspicion of any wrongdoing. I can't stress that enough. I'm asking for help, not pointing fingers. And if we're going to solve this, we need to work together now more than ever. But we realize that there is a significant knowledge gap in what we know and don't know the Illusionist Job can do, and whether or not it leaves any sort of magical trace. So I ask for your help, and the help of anyone else who has a lot of experience with Crystal Research."

An extra letter is sent to Jade Curtis:

"You're one of the experts here, I'd really appreciate your help on this, cover bases that I wouldn't think to. Also, I do have a question for you that I'd rather ask in person."

Jack won't reply over letters, instead, he is waiting at the Crystal Research Laboratory to see who will take him up on his offer.

"I know. But I want to be sure if this is mind control or if I've been framed. Someone might have disguised themselves and faked those footprints."

He didn't look at all convinced of the latter. He had been framed for theft in Tazmily, but he was miles away and didn't even know about Butch's accusations. But if he were there, he would have defended himself to the extent that his overly obedient old self was. With this theory in mind and the experience of fighting a Claus stripped of his own free will, he was afraid.

"That night..." Duster drew his a deep breath and stared at his hands as he spoke. "I came home after giving lessons in the training facility. I normally go to bed late and take walks at night, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

He closed his eyes and focused on that night. What happened? Where did things go wrong?

"I can't remember. I took a walk, went home, and slept until the next morning. Did I make a wrong turn at some point? I went down Sparrow Street, took some smaller streets to Creek Road..." And he forgot what happened next.

Sparks might know. Duster looked up at him, hoping for an answer. "Where did you find the bodies?"

"That is correct. It was early in the morning, so there weren't many people around."

It was possible they had been walking far enough behind Jade that he simply hadn't noticed. He'd had no reason to be looking over his shoulder, nor to pay close attention to random passersby. Still, it was best not to add speculation to his testimony.

At Ellie's request, Jade nodded and started walking towards the bloodstain.

"I was on my way to work. Nothing unusual happened until I got here-" He reached the bloodstain and halted, "Then, I heard the sound of a Limit Break being activated behind me and the air around me grew cold. Naturally, I turned around."

He turned on his heels. Almost 180 degrees, but not quite.

"And then I died. I couldn't say what it was that killed me, I'm afraid -- it all happened in hardly a second."

Event || Cluedo

Re: Various days, the crime scenes

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June 26th and onward - Crystal Laboratory

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