The clock strikes twelve. The gong of the grandfather clock in the foyer tolls out the time in slightly unnecessarily obnoxious loud noises. The ambiance of this old mansion demands respect, care, awe --
Okay, no, wait, why are you even in this stupid dusty house?
No reasons are forthcoming, because everyone knows that people just end up in places like this sometimes. That's just how the narrative device works. The hows and the whys don't matter -- all that matters is that you're all here, so you'd better get cracking and start exploring, because it's not like you can leave yet.
Or ever, maybe.
 Good day, sirs and madams. Might I interest you in a nice glass of blood...y mary?
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PHASE I [ 02 15 ] All you see is white. The crash of thunder hits your ears next, punctuated by the piercing pitch of white noise in the background. After a few blinks, your vision comes back to you. Oh good, glad that you’ve joined us in the land of the living. Unlike the nondescript corpse at your feet – it looks like… a butler? Oh dear. You’ve already killed Murder Suspect Number One in most situations. How terribly ironic.
After all, who could’ve killed him but you? You might not remember, but there is definitely a murder weapon in your hand. It’s probably a knife or a poisoned glass of wine or-
Wait, is that a toaster? A full on toaster? Or maybe it’s a taser. Maybe you bludgeoned this poor guy with an entire encyclopedia. Either way, it looks like your murder weapon is a little unconventional, whether it’s a stranger’s pair of underwear or a hair curler. Are you really supposed to believe you committed a murder with these? (Yes.)
That said in the next second the double doors will be opening up. It’s pretty clear you’re not alone. Think quick!
PHASE II [ 0600 ] Exploring more around the compound, you’ll find plenty of those tall, oil portraits of people hung around the walls. When you start walking, they’re all strangers. However by the time that you feel like you’re wandering around for an hour, two hours, they might start looking a little bit more… familiar? Mom? Is that you?
You don’t have time to think about that, though. You were clearly framed! You don't’ have a motive for killing some random NPC –
“Or do you?” a portrait will ask.
Oh. Holy shit. Well it’d just be rude to leave, right? Whether you stick around for conversation or not, you’ll find that was just the beginning. The portraits are going to start grilling you. Welcome to CERES Central’s Roast of You. What was your motive? Don’t you know you should respect the servants? How would you feel if you were caught like that? Careful turning your back on them though, because if you ignore them for too long, the subjects in the portraits may just reach out and snatch you to join them in their portrait world.
At that point, the only way to get out is to swap places with some other poor, unsuspecting soul wandering around.
PHASE III [ 1045 ] You know what makes me hungry? Murder.
What’s the point of making a mansion this big anyway? Who’s even here? Either way, whether you’re looking for the kitchen to make a fine post-homicide sandwich or just trying to escape, you’ll eventually make it to a stairwell. The most finicky stairwell ever. Is that a trail of bloody footprints leading up the steps? What? No. Stop it, just climb.
Or well – don’t climb too quickly now. The staircases apparently have a mind of their own, swapping from one doorway to another. You definitely haven’t seen this before. It would seem that these stairs might even be interested in keeping you in a circle forever, no concern for whether or not you’re hungry or, god forbid, need to use the restroom.
However the portraits in the stairwell will provide a little tip: “The stairs are gossips, you know. Why don’t you tell us a little something about yourself? Make it good!”
Weirdly enough, sound advice – that is, if you’re interested in shouting out your most embarrassing secrets into the void so a mansion can keep talking shit about you. Oh well. Your alternative is just being a stair golem. There are worse fates.
PHASE IV [ 1430 ] This hall is oddly quiet.
Well, until you hear it – the soft sniffles coming from down the hall, the broken sobs. It sounds like someone’s crying. For one reason or another, your footsteps take you forward – there’s really no point in going back now after all, right? Yet as you continue to walk… walk… walk… the crying becomes louder and louder. More desperate, more despaired. In time, it’s clear that this person is wailing, screaming, “How could this happen?!”
Within the span of a breath, all the lights in the hallway go out, leaving you in pitch black.
It occurs to you then that you hear a second set of steps. When did you stop walking? A cold chill runs down your spine and you find yourself running then, despite the fact that it feels like this pitch black hallway goes on forever. The other footsteps pick up, remind you that you’re not alone. No, certainly not.
Best hope that you find some assistance soon – otherwise it looks like the Butler Association is going to ignite some righteous vigilante justice on your ass.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] You’re in the grand ballroom now, ready to present your case. Armed with a cob pipe (don’t smoke inside, it’s rude), a detective hat, and a single spotlight aimed right at you, you now have to explain how you came to the conclusion about the True Killer that is Obviously Not You. Rather, it’ll just be the character of whoever tags into this prompt – yes, you are suddenly so very sure that they’re the ones who are the ultimate mastermind of this entire game and… you’re just going to have to bullshit the reason why even if you know virtually nothing about them. It’s a dog eat dog world out there, you know?
Sorry about that.
Should you actually provide enough of a compelling case or they take pity on you, having a villainous breakdown for the sake of the plot, you’ll be awarded with a coupon that’ll give you three free scoops at your local ice cream parlor! (Note: you must buy the first two scoops in order to qualify.) Of course, if you’re not able to nail them down as the killer, you are obviously the killer yourself (citation needed).
From there, you’ll be dragged off to face your punishment: for six grueling hours you will be tickled mercilessly.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Should he tell him or not? After a few seconds had passed by, he simply gave a sigh]
...Going back home after Tailmon, Patamon, and I rescued Hikari-chan from the Dark Ocean. [It was clear that he really really didn't want to talk about it]
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[ Ken hadn't known Takeru had visited, just Hikari. But if they'd gone on the same trip, that implies, chronologically....
...no wonder Takeru suspects him. And here they'd been acting like friends. How thoughtless of him. How forward. Ken bows his head. ] I'm sorry.
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I-It's okay, I'm just glad that you're not the Digimon Kaiser anymore and you realize what you've done.
...And eventually everything will be okay. [Despite his words, he wasn't too sure just how to feel about this new Ken. While he did want to say that he was his friend, he just couldn't.
At least, not yet anyway]
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So they're back to the beginning. Ken almost gets depressed about that, but then remembers he has to help Takeru believe things will get better. He has to show how much he's grown. ] Let's solve this mystery together.
[ The Digimon Kaiser grows up to be able to produce quite the dippily sappy smile, it seems. ]
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[Because that's how the ViViD usually works. As scary and dangerous as they look, there was always a designated villian around the game somewhere. Although, the problem now is to figure out where this enemy might be!
Looking back at the spray bottle, he simply looked back at Ken]
How about we go back to the toaster? I'm sure we can find out who it might be if we look for their fingerprints!
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[ Okay, spraying the toaster (after carefully removing the prongs from the wall: don't want to apply liquid to electronics otherwise, and he trusts that won't count as disturbing the crime scene). ] Well?
[ Smudges are appearing....Ken decides to spray some other common areas of the kitchen. If it wasn't the hired help, then....whoever's fingerprints are in here should be the culprit, because they don't belong. The butler was killed by poison, after all! ]
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Although, as hard as he tried, the only thing he could do was give a sigh]
They don't look like anyone I know. Maybe it might be somebody else who happened to be in the house before the both of us arrive so it would be anybody.
Perhaps it could even be one of the maids or the butlers so did it.
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[ Since if the help did it, their fingerprints would have every right to be everywhere. Ken lowers the canister to stop spraying things. ]
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Maybe not. At least we know that whoever was in the kitchen must know where everything belongs if there's so many fingerprints. We could always ask the cook if he knows anything.
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[ Ken looks around the kitchen. The poison had been ingested in food... ]
This is the true scene of the crime.
[ Focus, then. What's out of place here? What doesn't belong?
Ken begins opening cupboards to double-check. ]
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Although...]
What about that? What do you think could be inside? [He said as one of the containers nearby was on its side]
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[Now that wasn't something Takeru was expecting] You don't think he tried to use almonds to poison that person do you?
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[ He frowns at the memory. ] It was on the body...
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I'm impressed, I didn't know that! But...then wouldn't it mean it had to be someone who knows a lot about food?
[It couldn't be the cook, could it...?]
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[ A thought occurs to him. ] And who knew his habits.
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[But then a thought came up!]
We need to find where he is, he might attempt to murder someone else again! [...Takeru, you know you're in a video game...right?]
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[ ....on the bright side, confronting the culprit is probably the way to end this game? ]
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Hiding behind a wall, he looked back at Ken]
If I had to guess, he must be hiding right now. He could probably be looking for the toaster so no one else can figure out it was him.
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Ken heads for the side doors, figuring that would be how somebody'd sneak in here. ]
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We gotta be quiet, I think he's coming for us.
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You think there's something we can use to catch him? Or knock him unconscious?
[Not...that he wants to but if he has to, he just might]
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[ Ken will handle stopping the gentleman. That should try and buy Takeru time to find something to use for restraints, shouldn't it?
He's not bad at thinking on his feet when they have a concrete goal. ]
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[While Takeru has no problem looking for rope, that only made him all the more concerned for Ken. Despite his slight animosity toward him, he won't leave a comrade behind]