02's Dorm
Stranger: He gets to the door to his room and, as he's about to open the door and flop on his bed, he notices something...
(...A note?)
Stranger: Sitting right in front of his door is, in fact, a small little piece of paper. Curiously, he picks it up...
"Hey Stranger,
I think I might need help with my dare after all. Can you meet me in the pool room as soon as possible! I don't want to waste any time!
-From Jasper"
Stranger: "...Huh."
He shoves the note in one of the pockets of his jacket, and shrugs. "I guess I can step up a little bit longer to help the poor kid." He mumbles, turning around.
Red Hallway
Stranger: (...This was the door, I think.)
He stands in front of one of the many red doors, reading the small label on the door...Pool Room. Yup.
He reaches his hand out to turn the doorknob...and his hand stops.
(...Huh? Why does something feel...off to me?)
He brings his hand down a bit, but the shakes his head.
(Don't let the drowsiness get to you now. You have someone who needs you...)
He knocks on the door twice, and...
Red Pool
Stranger: ...Gently opens the door.
Stranger: "...The lights are off? Hold on a second- Where's the-"
He stumbles a bit, moving around before finally finding that pesky switch.
Stranger: . . .
He regrets.
He regrets turning on the light. He regrets opening the door. He regrets everything that has brought him to this point.
But what he regrets most of all...
Stranger: ...Is bearing witness to the sight of Jasper's lifeless, floating body.
Stranger: He stood there for what seemed like forever. His body couldn't process it. It was like every nerve in his body had gone numb, refusing to take in what they had just witnessed.
And then, in a moment of realization, he let out a cry of agony, his deep voice breaking.
"S-SOMEONE!! HELP!!"
Arsenic: Coming just from the living room, Arsenic bursts in, seeming hot with anger already, until--
"...!"
And just like that, her wrath deteriorates...and is replaced with an obvious, almost suffocating aura of despair.
"...How!? I was...I was just..."
Ivan: Next to burst in is Ivan from the theatre...
Lotus: ...The usual partner in tow...
Ivan: And he instantly lets out a terrified screech. He's just as speechless as everyone else...frozen in place, trying to deny the sight.
Lotus: Lotus doesn't even make a sound. He's too busy fighting the tears now streaming down his face, already making small sobs and huffs as it all dawns on the group...
Someone killed Jasper.
Arsenic: "...Who?"
Her voice starts up quiet...but then, a roar is unleashed. Her tail thumps on the floor, cracking the hard tiling, and she stares daggers at everyone else there.
"WHO!? WHO DID THIS!?"
The Destroyer: "Yiiikes! I'm thinking the same thing, baby-face!"
Arsenic: "DO NOT CALL ME-...wait, who said that?"
The Destroyer: "Meeeeee! :3c" He says, somehow speaking an emoticon. "Seems like you've all found a dead body! And I'm here to help!"
Stranger: "...What could you help us with..." He finally speaks again, his voice sounding...weaker. Slower. "...You bastard...?"
MX-Z0: ...In between passing conversation, MX-Z0 squeezes in....and makes a beep of shock at the unfolding scene.
The Destroyer: "Figuring out the killer, duhhh! It'd be super unfair and super boring to watch you all flop around like fishies, so I updated your tablets with a shiny new app...
✨ The Evidence Bank! ✨"
Lotus: "E-...E-E-Evvvidence...Bank....?!"
The Destroyer: "Correct, that's what I'm calling it! If you want to find out who-dunnit, you best be using that thang...the rest is up to you! See you tomorrow, for the first-ever-trial!"
...The prawn leaves. Instantly, everyone looks to their tablets in a slight panic.
Stranger: "...10:45 pm!? That was...that was only 20 minutes or so before I found the body...!"
Ivan: "That means...while we were all talking, having fun...someone was murdering Jasper!?"
Lotus: "I-It's...hiik, so...cruel..."
MX-Z0: "All of you, we need to focus."
Lotus: "H...Huh?"
MX-Z0: All eyes shot to the robot, who wore a pang of gloom in her eyes. "I know how you all feel...but if we sit here and mope endlessly, we won't be able to figure out who did this. We can grieve afterwards, I promise...but if the murder took place that little while ago, we need to act fast. The killer could still be trying to hide evidence, perhaps...or at least we can get some clean alibis."
Arsenic: "Oh, sure! Leave it to you to police emotions! If I wasn't better restrained then I was a few months ago, I would--"
Stranger: "...No."
Arsenic: "!?"
Stranger: "She's right, Arsenic. Jasper wouldn't...he wouldn't want us standing around and sobbing. We need to find evidence, quickly."
His voice seems to almost have regained composure...almost. He stands up straight, though tears still well at the back of his eyes. "Mixzo, do you think anyone's asleep at this time? If you could check the dorms to see who's awake and who isn't, it can help us narrow things down."
MX-Z0: ...Somehow, the robot's face seems tender. "Understood, Stranger. I trust you to investigate this room."
She heads off to count heads.
Stranger: "...Ivan, Lotus, Arsenic." Stranger calls their names, watching them perk up a bit. "When did you last see Jasper? Any ideas?"
Arsenic: "...Half past 10. We just...finished painting...he said he wanted to go take a nap."
Ivan: "Y-Yeah," He speaks frantically, "I saw him heading to the dorms too when I was coming over to you and Lotus...he said he was going to take a nap, but...!"
Stranger: "...Then why was he here?"
Instantly, the case became that much more confusing...but there was no time to dwell. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure. Arsenic, can you stay here and help me investigate this room? Ivan and Lotus can go search any of the other rooms, and see if anyone else is lying around."
Ivan: "Got it, boss! Come on, Lolo!"
Lotus: "I-Is now the time to be calling me that still...!?"
Ivan: "Your silly nickname is what's keeping me together right now! We got to MOVE!"
Taking Lotus by the arm, the two scramble off.
Stranger: ...And all that was left was those two and the body.
Instantly, Stranger was drawn to something floating in the water...was that a towel?
...Sigh. Here he goes.
Throwing his jacket to the wayside, he dives into the pool to fetch it...and to inspect the body.
Arsenic: Meanwhile, Arsenic kept her matters to the land.
(...Bloodstains!?) She sees some odd markings on the floor...traces of blood, creating some odd blotches in the tiling. One blotch was almost circular, stout and spread-out...while the other was very small, and looked wispy like fire.
"...There's traces of blood on the ground over here," she says, looking over at Stranger's pool-affairs. "Find anything in the water?"
Stranger: ...He throws a towel onto the pool floor. While the tip of it is green, the rest of it seems entirely red.
Arsenic: She walks over to inspect it, feeling around...It's hard to tell if its just some strong red dye, or blood.
Arsenic: "...This pool is dyed red. Oh, great. It's perfect for hiding blood spills, isn't it!?"
Stranger: "Exactly...it was like this room was planned to be a murder spot this entire time."
Next he...begrudgingly moves on to looking at the body. Seeing those lifeless, pale eyes from the poor kid. . .
No. He had to stay strong...at least, for now. And as he stares into those lifeless eyes...he notices some ruffling of Jasper's fine, soft fur on the back of his head.
Swimming over to take a look, he pulls through the scruffed strands of fur to see...
A big wound on the back of his head. Like some sort of giant head-pimple burst, skin torn away and blood still fresh from the giant wound.
(Dear God!) He yells in his head, recoiling at the sight. (Did he have a weak spot on the back of his head or something!? He did seem to complaing about his head hurting more than normally, I guess...)
Arsenic: Meanwhile, something else had caught Arsenic's eye...the closet. The 16 swimsuits were all still there-- actually, hasn't this closet been closed the whole time!? And one of the pool noodles got knocked over...
...And- wait.
In the corner of the room...there was a tiny trash can.
It would be stupid to put something in there, wouldn't it? ...But she knows better. In a time like this, you need every nook and cranny searched.
So she begins rummaging through the trash.
Stranger: He finally pours himself out of the water, shaking his head. "...Nothing else in here. Arsenic, how about-"
He pauses...yup. That's a girl looking through the trash can.
"...Is something in there?"
Arsenic: "...! Yes!"
She pulls out...a small note.
"...What the hell!? It's a note...to Jasper."
Stranger: "To Jasper!?"
He walks over, only half putting on his jacket...this guy is soaked. He haphazardly snatches the note, reading its words...
"To Jasper,
I need help with a dare I've been having trouble on. Can you come see me when you get the chance, in the pool room?"
Stranger: He pulls out the note he received earlier.
"...Same handwriting as the note I got that lead me here...that's some shady shit, Arsenic."
Arsenic: "Classic tricks...but we'll probably sort it out in the trial."
Stranger: He nods. "Keep looking. There still might be something here..."