The Dining Room
The dining room is fancy and blue, that's for sure. Plants and small props litter the room, as well as an odd painting on the right wall.
Stranger: "...Hey, guys. Hope I'm not too late..."
The man himself waddles into the dining room, seeing that a lot of people have already shown up.
MX-Z0: "You're not late. Rue and Tarnish are still making a racket in the kitchen."
Lotus: "Y-Yeah...something about 'burning the cake'?"
Seven Stones: "Didn't they have trouble with the cake earlier? I tell you, the cakes here gotta be cursed..."
Stranger: He sat next to MX-Z0 and Lotus, stretching a bit. "Not a big fan of cake anyways...what else is coming?"
Hitori: "I heard something about a roast chicken! Mac and cheese, too! Green beans, a steak....mmm..."
Hitori is thumping their tail on the ground in excitement.
Ivan: After a few moments of discussion, Ivan came skipping into the room. "Hey guys!! How's the food going?"
Stranger: Wave wave. "Still not ready yet, apparently. Shouldn't be too long, though..."
Tarnish: "Correct! Correct!"
Tarnish waltzed out of the kitchen, Rue following him. "I am pleased to announce, my dear followers, that the cake has been saved!"
Rue: "About 3/4s of it. The rest was burnt to a crisp."
Tarnish: "Better than nothing, I always say! And now, we can-
CRASH.
Tarnish jumped in surprise as a noise from the blue hallway interrupted his speech. "H-Huh!?"
Lotus: "Gh- W-What was that!?"
Rue: "Hm.."
Rue sighs. "Everyone, one small second-- let's go make sure everything's alright."
Rue: And with everyone following behind him, the group sprints into the hallway to see...
Blue Hallway
Firestarter: "MOTHERFUCKER!"
Arsenic: "SON OF A BITCH!"
Firestarter was literally on fire, and Arsenic was snarling, covered in some bruises. Small dents were now in the walls as they wrestled, both of them seething with rage.
Hitori: "W-Whuh!? Again!?"
Tarnish: "What do you mean again? This is an outrage! During my party!?"
Paradi: Quietly, and trailing behind the pack, Paradi also entered the hallway. "Oh- What's going on here? Did something happen while I was taking my sweet time to come over?"
Firestarter: She snaps her head toward everyone else. "This motherfucker keeps saying I'M the mastermind! Can you BELIEVE it!?"
Arsenic: She growls. "No, you said I was! I'm tired of your stupid games, you flaming hot son of a dick!"
Stranger: "Arsenic, Firestarter! There's no need to get violent about this!"
Stranger's words seemed to ring on deaf ears as the two began wrestling again...
Tarnish: "I'm...I'm DONE with this!"
Tarnish proceeds to leap into the action, and starts ALSO WRESTLING the other two. And from the looks of it-- he is actually kicking their ass.
Clober: And late as can be, Clober shows up from the dining room, huffing. "W-What's going on? Why are those three fighting?"
MX-Z0: "I believe Tarnish is trying to split it up...by winning."
Tarnish: And eventually, he does end up winning, both Arsenic and Firestarter lying on the ground exhausted.
"Hahah! See now, you two, as I ascend to the throne of victory! Gaze at-"
Arsenic: "Ghhk...yeah, yeah...just shut up, and maybe I'll stop beating her up for now..."
Firestarter: "You know what...? Agreed. I'm just tired now..."
Hey, at least she's not on fire anymore.
Seven Stones: Sigh. "All right, you two, can we just get back to the party? We can solve whatever dispute you have after."
Arsenic: "Ghhmnnc....fine."
Slowly getting up, Arsenic and Firestarter accompany everyone back to their seats.
The Dining Room
Arsenic: ...And of course, Arsenic and Firestarter sit as far away from each other as possible, staring daggers at each other.
Firestarter: ...But then Firestarter winks, and Arsenic blushes. All tension is diffused as Arsenic looks away nervously.
Tarnish: "Anyways," Tarnish starts again. "Now it is time to bring out our lovely dishes! I hope you enjoy this feast, and the music we have provided!"
Stranger: ...Oh, yeah. There's been loud, bizarre music playing this entire time. At first it was just background noise, but now that he's mentioned it...hard rock? Really? For a feast? Where did they even find the radio sitting in this room???
Seven Stones: "...Wait, hold on, Tarnish. Gust and Dax aren't here yet--"
Rue: "I'm sure they'll be here soon. I do not think Tarnish wants to wait any longer."
Tarnish: "Correct, correct! And we have made more than enough for them, I'm sure! Come with me, Rue. We shall bring the dishes out!"
The two of them scurry back into the kitchen, and slowly, food begins literring the table...
...Trays of mac and cheese. Bowls of gravy and mashed potatoes, the whole lot of it...
Tarnish: ...And last, the two come out with giant plates, each one with a metal covering, obscuring the dish beneath. They are set down at the center of the table.
"Here we have, the steak!"
Tarnish reveals one of the giant plates, uncovering it to show a gorgeous seared steak, just oozing with juices.
Ivan: ...Sniff. Sniff.
"...Hey, uh, does anyone smell something funny about somethin' in there?"
Stranger: "...Now that you say it, there is a weird smell coming from that other big plate...Tarnish?"
Tarnish: "Nonsense! It's only our wonderful chicken, for the burnt cake is still in waiting for dessert! Now, if you would, Rue?"
Rue: He nods, and, without thinking, takes the top off the final big plate...
Rue: ...
Rue: "Wwwhhh...WHAT!?"
Rue: Rue steps back in complete shock, the metal top falling to the ground and clanging against the wooden floor. In an instant, sheer panic spreads across the entire room, erupting into screams of terror.
Tarnish: ...He was frozen. Speechless. He watched as all of the people he brought here ran around like rats in the chaos, most of them running out of the dining room entirely.
And, like a commander to an army, he suddenly gave a giant roar.
"WHO DID THIS!?"
It was booming. Violently loud. Deafening, even. Nobody had seen Tarnish with this much pure anger in his eyes before, looking like he was bout to explode in anger. He gave everyone a horrific, piercing glance.
And in the moment of chaos, silence surfaced again.
Lotus: The only sound now heard was Lotus quietly sobbing, wiping off small trails of vomit from his mouth...even the floor had become ruined.
Stranger: Stranger, too, had been breathing heavily this whole time. And even as Tarnish spoke, Stranger couldn't take his eyes off the decapitated head of Gust, lying lifelessly on the plate...
"...How did...the head get there...?"
Rue: "I-I don't know-- last time we saw that plate, there was a chicken on it...cooked, and all-"
Tarnish: "Shut up."
Rue: "..."
He seemed mildly offended...but also surprised.
Tarnish: "Whoever....did this...will pay, for destroying our friend...and the event we had made to help us PREVENT things like this." He growls. Then, he glances at Paradi.
"You shall help me investigate, apprentice. You alone."
Paradi: Although they seemed to be as shocked as everyone else, they recovered remarkably fast. "Will do~."
Tarnish: Tarnish left with a quick pace, not bothering to talk to anyone else, as Paradi followed behind him.
Seven Stones: ...And Seven Stones, who had already screeched his lungs out, was holding back tears in his eyes...
He was the last one to see her alive. The one who told her it would all be alright, that everything would be okay...
...He was a failure. Like always.
The realization made him want to replace her head with his own.
Lotus: "Gg...gghkk-!"
Lotus suddenly realizes something. "Dax!! Dax isn't here either!!"
Stranger: (Shit-- Could it be--!?)
The realization also hit Stranger in a flash.
"Lotus, quickly! Let's go find him!"
The two raced out into the blue hallway. If there was one place Dax could be...
MX-Z0: ...MX-Z0 stared at the body. Quiet. Thinking.
And then, she turned to Rue. "...Can we look in the kitchen, for a moment? If we can find the chicken you were talking about, it would help in figuring out how the head got into your food."
Rue: "...Right, right," Rue still seemed to be catching his breath. "...Let's go check back in there. Now that the food is all in here, it should be easier to find any oddities."