FIRST INVESTIGATION

[bathymetric]

To say this week has been intense is, generally, an understatement. Friday dawns like any other day. Some of you may have guessed that something like this would happen. It's not a difficult assumption to make, considering what's at stake. Mayor Fontaine has come forward with clear intent, and maybe expecting twenty-five people to stay strong against it is too much. Or maybe not! You never know!

...For those of you not entirely convinced, however, those visible traces of blood in the elevator might speak differently.

Comments

[bathymetric]

[ It's not very difficult for Forrest to turn over the person in the pond; they're similar sizes, after all. Were there any doubts, the young man here is cold to the touch...and the deep red dying his hair a slight purple doesn't help, either.

Adaman is dead. ]

[visiblepattern]

[God. Were he not so damn cold he'd be trying to revive him immediately, but this is just...

Okay. Okay. Breathe.]

It's Adaman. He's cold, so I don't think trying to resuscitate him will work very well. I could...I could try, but...

[Should he? They're going to need to solve this, that might disturb evidence, and-

God, he's at a total loss.]

[inaclearing]

[Brett, at least in this moment, is not going to be incredibly helpful - he turns white and sort of staggers. Hopefully to lean heavily on Misfire because otherwise there's no guarantee he stays up.]

[dullshooter]

[Misfire makes for good, solid leaning. He kind of holds Brett’s side a little to keep him standing. Seems like the kind of guy who can faint.]

I…don’t think we need to worry about resuscitation.

[inaclearing]

[Faintly:]

I'll be okay.

[Not really, but he's not gonna faint (this time!)]

[dullshooter]

[Yeah well Brett’s getting a squeeze and a straightening up all the same.]

Yeah, you’re gonna be. If you fall apart then there’s no hope for the rest of us.

[He’s like, the most normal guy here.]

[inaclearing]

[Brett lets out a harsh breath, not a laugh but something that gestures vaguely in that direction. Disbelieving, at any rate.]

[dullshooter]

Don’t worry, we’ll have you desensitised to all this in no time.

[Up and at ‘em soldier!]

[inaclearing]

I don't know how to feel about that.

[But yeah, okay, he's rallying]

[hellaethics]

[Jason is putting a good majority of his own focus into not flipping out but he still leans over to put his arm around Brett's shoulder to support him from the other side.]

Deep breaths, bro.

[inaclearing]

Yeah...yeah, sorry.

[hellaethics]

You got nothin' to be sorry about. [He presses his other hand, firm but not hard, to Brett's chest and takes a slow, deep breath himself.

It's the technique a nurse did to him once and, hell, if it worked to calm him down maybe it'll work for Brett.]

[inaclearing]

[Brett sucks in a deep breath, grateful for the sturdy warmth of touch. Distantly, he hates that he's making this kind of display in front of everyone, but that's something to be neatly tucked away later. For now:]

Thanks.

[visiblepattern]

It doesn't feel right to do nothing.

[That's perhaps surprisingly harsh, given his usual demeanor; it takes him a moment, but eventually- ]

Sorry. I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...

[dullshooter]

You just discovered a corpse. Really, don’t worry about it.

[He looks down at Adaman.]

…He probably would’ve liked it if you put a good word in with his Almighty Sinnoh. You know - for the next part.

[That’s…something. To do.]

[visiblepattern]

I intend to. But we need to, ah... Hagakure said we're going to need to look the area over. To figure out who did this.

We should probably do. That. Before anything else.

[...]

Thank you, though.

[hotpaprika]

[Jonathan had slept in. He knew what today meant and did not want to see the result.

But when he heard the announcement the couldn't stop himself from running to the garden in a panic. He knew he would regret it but he had to see.

And then he sees Adaman, lying dead.]

Oh God... oh dear God...

[He looks like he's about to faint, but he can't stop looking at the body of someone he liked lying dead before him.]

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy doesn't say much, but he does run to Jonathan's aide and attempts to catch him.]

Hey!

[hotpaprika]

[Jonathan vaguely feels someone grabbing onto him, but he barely acknowledges Dandy or even seems to recognize that it's him. His eyes are still firmly locked on the body.]

Why... why must this monster torment us like this...

[Despite everything, he can't blame the murderer, whoever it is. This is no one's fault but Fontaine.

And yet, he knew that they'll be forced to pretend he isn't at fault.]

[bootyhunter]

[It's true.

Dandy, if he could read minds, would find himself in vigorous agreement with Jonathan. None of this violence is necessary, and no matter how badly the Mayor wishes for everyone to turn on each other, he is ultimately to blame.

Dandy allows the younger man a few seconds to speak, simply providing Dracula's former prisoner with physical support for the time being.]

Don't look.

[A beat of silence passes between them.]

He's not in there anymore.

[hotpaprika]

I know... I know he's gone.

[He's shaking, trying so hard to hold back tears. Why can't he look away from the body?]

I don't want to play his game...

[bootyhunter]

And you think I do?

[oh yeah, real scary, especially when ur holding him like a Big Gay anyways]

If we wanna stop this Mayor scumbag, we've gotta be here to do it! Take your time bein' bummed or whatever, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna letcha full-on bail this far in!

[At this point, Dandy shakes Jonathan like a ragdoll.]

You hear?

[hotpaprika]

How?!

[Jonathan cries out in despair. He doesn't care if anyone else hears him, he's too upset to care.]

How on Earth are we supposed to stop him?! This man locked me up for half a day because I slept in the wrong place! How are we supposed to do anything against this monster when we are trapped at the bottom of the ocean with no hope of rescue! The only way out is for one of us to murder everyone else!

[Tears stream down his face as he yells.]

[bootyhunter]

I don't know.

[He doesn't let go of Jonathan. His hold, however, does ease up a bit.]

But we can't just give up.

If we do, we're toast for sure.

[bootyhunter]

[When Dandy makes his way to the garden, he stops a good few feet from the hubbub around Adaman's body, simply holding his breath. He is overcome by yet another bizarre wash of sensations, almost as though he is looping a specific memory over and over in his head, each iteration slightly different than the last.

In one, he recalls falling onto the ground, in a similar position to Adaman.

During the second, he is standing in Forrest's place, but the others around him aren't the same as the ones here, their faces all a blur, and lastly...

He and Misfire are playing similar roles, only yet again, Brett isn't the one he's comforting.

The lingering sense of deja vu is enough to send him into an emotional tizzy, but instead of reflecting or standing still, he turns to run in the opposite direction. There's still time to keep the same fate from falling upon the others here. And in a bizarre sense, possessed by yet another strong belief Dandy can't explain on his own, he can't help but think... That somewhere, somehow, in the cosmic collection of timelines and dimensions, that Adaman is just fine.

This version was merely unlucky, although that doesn't make the events that recently transpired any less heartbreaking. This Adaman was theirs, after all.]