THIRD INVESTIGATION

[bathymetric]

This week's promises were a little weird. From a threat, to an opportunity, to... This has been the closest to a full-on bribe Fontaine's gotten. You can't say he doesn't give you taste of what's to come, but is anyone going to take it? Maybe with the group vandalism you all did, feelings are high for sticking it to the man instead of biting at the obvious bait.

Of course, if you try to use the plasmids you'd previously injected, you'll find none of them will work. That's probably not a good sign. Honestly, giving a bunch of people dangerous injectables... What was the Mayor thinking?

Wait. That's the point, isn't it? Better get looking...though you may not have to go far at all.

Comments

[bootyhunter]

[Seeing all of this is horrible, of course! Dandy lets out a series of sharp exhales, and it looks like he's desperately trying to keep himself from fainting. If you think he should be more angry, he will! Don't worry. The trial's going to be a fucking shitshow.

The blood isn't going to bother Dandy, he's going to gently cradle Hakagooby's body before turning him over, but! Other than those stab wounds, would any other signs of struggle be present? Dandy's going to be examining the hands and legs next! Any other bruises, etc? Also, what kind of stabs are we talking? Knife-deep? Sword-deep? Do all seem like they were made by the same weapon?]

[bathymetric]

[ You have a good instinct already, Dandy! While cradling his body, you'll be able to pretty easily see that Hagakure has many small cuts on his arms and face. They appear more like something grazed him than got him dead on. ]

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy handles the corpse with a silent, wildly intimate sort of tenderness. He is touching gently, slowly, pouring over every detail, feeling sad the whole way through. It's almost as though he's treating the body as though it were still alive, just ill.

He was so afraid of dying, too.

Before continuing, Dandy becomes momentarily lost in thought. It's a good thing Hagakure's mother doesn't have to see this.

Grazed you say? Are the small cuts clustered in any areas? Were they made by anything specific, like a weapon or a living thing that moves and breathes? Is there anything that can be said about the shape of whatever made them?]

[bathymetric]

[ well first of all there's another casualty in this investigation and it's my fucking heart what the hell

SECOND of all! The cuts are not clustered! They're sort of spread out haphazardly, you could say. It's a little difficult to tell if they were made by a weapon or a person, mostly because of how small they are.

Here's a related question for YOU, our investigator: How familiar is Dandy with shrapnel injuries? ]

[bootyhunter]

[Familiar! He pilots a spaceship. The Aloha Oe has blown up on many occasions. Dandy is not the crew's tech guy, that's QT, but he's trolled the little guy and helped out with enough repair jobs to know.]

What in the...?!

Did somethin' blow up in front of him? Holy cow!

[bathymetric]

[ It's a safe bet! The small cuts are consistent with shrapnel wounds, though there's nothing stuck in them. He'd be lucky, if not for, well. The five wounds to the abdomen. ]

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy peers over the injuries, comparing the stab wounds and cuts from shrapnel.]

Ah...!

[that was not supposed to sound as sexual as it was typed my bad]

What...? If somethin' blew up in his face, he shoulda been hit by it. Somehow...

Where'd it all go?

[Looking at those stab wounds again! Do they look like they were made... Intentionally, or from a blast? Dandy is starting to believe that Hagakure may have been ambushed and then stabbed, but let's save that for the trial. It's just that those stab wounds are critical hit areas.]

[bathymetric]

[ Another great question. The stab wound are definitely intentional, though they don't appear to be necessarily aimed toward anything vital? It's more like something was going for quantity over quality.

You can get a feel for the angle of the wounds, however! The ones on his chest came in straight on, while the wounds to his stomach are at a slight downward angle. ]

[bootyhunter]

[That earns a snarl from Dandy. He doesn't allow his anger to affect his handling of the evidence. In fact, his hands are still careful and slow. But god, is that rage apparent in the way he's scrunching his face.

He will, however, rub his thumb all over the unpunctured areas of the chest. Boy, does he feel bad about those lightly teasing cheap shots regarding that lack of titties now!!!!]

Whoever did this is goin' straight to hell. And I'm gonna be puntin' their ass all the way there, baby!

[Is there any other evidence on Hagakure's clothes? You know, that isn't blood!]

[bathymetric]

[ Not his clothes! And not that...isn't blood... Sorry, buddy, we're gonna have to get that evidence eventually.

But! You did say you were looking around his hands, so there's something else you can take a look at! It's not an injury, however. Purple energy runs over the fingers of his right hand, not quite dissipated. Even though his body's cold, a plasmid effect lingers on. ]

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy takes that hand and turns it over. By doing so, he may get some residue on his own. It's strange to think that this hand was once used to read palms, to predict futures, and most of all, to prevent fates like this from befalling other people.

He squeezes it.]

I told him not to mess with this shit!

[Dandy is going to still be yaoily holding that dead boyfriend hand, but following that, he whips his head worriedly in either direction, in case there's anything else that's fallen close by.]

What was everybody gettin' up to in here?

[bathymetric]

[ Good(?) news, the energy clings to Hagakure's hand. Even if he tries, Dandy can't pull it off. It might tingle a bit, but that's all.

Though, strangely? It doesn't look like there's anything else around. Just what Rossiu found, and Hagakure's body...which means the last bit of evidence for you to note is something that's impossible for you to ignore, the pool of pink blood that Hagakure was lying in when you found him. Without a trail, it's pretty clear that he bled out here, right in front of the elevator. ]

[bootyhunter]

[The alien hunter's sharp, manicured brows press together. Dandy knows about all the loneliness that the fortune-teller holds behind that goofy as hell grin, and that he hadn't much experience with love, affection, or friendship outside of his relationship with his mother.

What wounds Dandy most, causing him to shiver and shut his eyes, is that he wasn't there to keep him company. To lead him gently into that good night and tell him the truth-

That time is not a line, but a series of squiggles. That there are an infinite number of universes, many of which are fairly similar and clustered in a sector, with only a few small changes. In Dandy's realm, they are separate, unfortunately, but at least there is the comfort of knowing that another version of yourself could be happier than you ended up.]

They left him here.

...Goddamnit! He was probably hurtin' real bad.

[Dandy is going to examine that trail of blood in case there is anything more to note, sort of lifting Hagakure's body up and cradling it into a wretched half-embrace.]

[bathymetric]

[ Oh, that's no blood trail, sorry for any confusion! Just a puddle.

And nothing more to note besides your own heartbreak! Congratulations on the first body touching? ]

[bootyhunter]

[Thanks! I hate it.

He tilts his head back to Forrest- Unfortunately, all these details are going to be burned into the back of his memory as long as he's in New Rapture because guess fucking what!!!! He can remember shit now.

When Dandy makes eye contact, his gaze physically meets the sweet medical fellow's, although it's crystal clear that his soul is somewhere else far, far away.]

Um.

Is there anything else we're supposed to do? For the trial, I mean.

[As for preparing the body to be "sent out," he's got his own plans.]

[visiblepattern]

...I think that should be all right. It was a good job.

[He doesn't sound begrudging at all; it's best to have a good job done, even if not hy him.]

Are you all right?

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy takes this time to affectionately scoop the fortune teller's body up in his arms, doing his best not to damage anything further. Everything about this is very horrible, right down to the look on Dandy's face. He stands upright, blood dripping everywhere, much of the brightly colored liquid staining his own clothes.

He appears as though he doesn't really know where he is. Lost, once more.

Dandy blinks once or twice.]

I dunno where to put him.

[The next words are whispered, in a hushed tone, mostly because he's never stuck around long enough to know the answer to this question:]

Do we just leave him here?

Where do the bodies even go?

[visiblepattern]

...I don't know where the bodies go.

[He doesn't like that answer, but it's honest.]

We do have to leave them behind, though. They're gone by the time we return, like everything else.

[bootyhunter]

[He nods.

That's a fair answer, which is what he wanted.]

Give me a minute.

There's a few things I've gotta do before we figure this shit out.

[A little more aggressively-]

Get the hell outta here, baby, you've seen enough.

[Dandy knows that despites Forrest's competence, watching this kind of thing unfold in real time just breaks him.]

I'll be alright.

I'm still here, right?

[visiblepattern]

[He's quiet for a moment, but he nods eventually.]

Very well. If you aren't at the machines that take us down by the time we need to leave, I'll come find you.

[bootyhunter]

Good thinkin'.

[He waves Forrest off, waiting specifically for him to go out of sight. When the good-natured young man leaves, Dandy's eyes idly dart about the room, but he sees no better place to lie his beloved's body down to rest.

So he kneels, setting Hagakure down with utmost patience and care, bending the fortune teller's now stiff hands so that his arms are relaxed peacefully over his chest. When Hagakure died, his eyes had been half open, so Dandy takes the time to slowly shut them for him with his own thumbs. It occurs to Space Dandy here and now, swiftly and sharply, that this is not the first time he's had to bury a lover, and most certainly will not be the last. Such is the curse of living the kind of life as eternal his own.

Before leaving, Dandy removes the necklace containing his treasured blessing from the Andromeda Galaxy branch of the Naritasan temple from his own person and gingerly loops it over Hagakure's neck. Dandy is intimately familiar with streams of time and their various continuities, knowing full well that... Likely, this is not the only fortune-telling idiot version of Hatsuhiro Hagakure to ever exist. The token is not meant to keep him safe in some morbid, otherworldly prison for souls, but more of a wish.

A hope that somehow in the next life, things will be better.

Dandy closes his eyes in silent prayer, kneeling over the corpse. He leans in to press a tender kiss to the temple of the Hope's Peak survivor, as making contact with such cold lips would render Dandy completely unable to move.]

Hey, Dumbass.

[Dandy snorts.]

I'm gonna miss you.

[Dandy will join Forrest in a bit, but for now, he stares bleakly into nothingness while stream down his face. When he rejoins the group, he will be wearing Hagakure's prayer beads on his own wrist.]