Part 11: Questions. Weird Questions.

You guys having nice holidays? Well too bad, this game is so terrible that it's canceled Christmas.

So here's the first question, where Endymion pulls a Professor Oak on us. We'll say Rabies is male because all the backer OCs are.



And Konrad hits on us like a fucking creep.





Does Rabies want a six-digit salary and stock options, or "experience"? Hmmmmmm.

I did take you for a leader, after all. A "savior" shouldn't be anything but.

Was Jesus subjected to really bad questionnaires too?

But leadership is so restricting...You don't have true freedom as a leader!

Konrad now's not (nor ever will be) the time to tell me about your sub fantasies.

Anyway, moving on. Let's see here. Do you consider yourself skeptical? Or are you an easily trusting person?



You're seriously going to ask a question about trust to the person you just kidnapped? I'm skeptical you two are even assassins. I haven't seen you stab one person yet.

Wait, I was wrong...?

It wouldn't be the first time, Konrad.

Hey, that's not nice! I thought I got a pretty good read o him.

Right...You're about to go to war. Would you prefer to attack -- or defend?

Oh, now we're digging a little deeper.

Remember there are no wrong answers. We are simply defining you on paper.



I kinda wanna punch both of you right now, so let's say Rabies prefers attacking.

In other words, you'd rather be hostile. I like you more and more. Starting to think you'd make a fine protege.

Now, allowing us to move on. Would you take one life -- to save many?



Kill 'em all!

That's what I thought. Can't be the savior without getting dirty. Maybe we need a third Assassin, Endy.

I won't even humor the thought. They're destined for much greater things.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Alright. We're almost done, I promise.

You're running late to your destination. The paths before you are as follows: There is a short but dangerous route...And a long but much safer route. If you take the long route, you may be late. But the short route may lead to your death.



I yearn for sweet release.

That's what I'm talking about. A lot more interesting than this...Nothing is fun without a little risk.

Konrad winks at me.

Yes, but we have The Savior with us. We can't risk their lives for expedience.

Yeah, but if they are this "savior"...You'd think they could handle some trouble.

They both stare at me. Are they expecting me to say something here? I shrug it off.



As demonstrated by the background remaining the same with static character images.

About time.

...

C'mon Endymion, stab Konrad. You know you need it.



The fuck kind of questions are these?

I let them know that I like being alone.

Present company excluded, I hope! You're wounding me.

Present company absolutely included!

Konrad! I apologize for his words. Etiquette was not in his curriculum. However, fortunately -- we have concluded. And not a moment too soon, either. The town is just a few moments ahead.

I know we can't make many detours. But we need to hand in these papers. We'll make a quick stop -- and that's it.

Okay, this bothers me. Why are they bothering with normal bureaucratic procedures? Velasquez made it pretty damn clear that he wanted to see Rabies as soon as possible.



Why would assassins use the postal service?

That's true. Caylen may have written.

Endymion looks at me and sighs loudly.

I guess you're in luck, savior. You'll get to see The Wayfarer's Tavern. It's the hottest place to be on Terra.

He's joking of course. We just stay there sometimes. And we own one of the postal boxes.

WHY WOULD ASSASSINS HAVE THEIR MAIL DELIVERED IN A PUBLIC PLACE



Yeah nothing I love more than slamming down a few margaritas at the DMV.

True. Nobody likes mail and immigration. But everyone and their mum loves drinking! If you look ahead, you can see it!

He points ahead, and I see he's right. A small town is coming into view. A bar that doubles as an immigration office? It sounds weird -- but so does everything as of late.

What kind of shit government installs an office in a bar?

At least we can take care of two matters at once. Handing in my papers, and checking their mail. Then maybe -- just maybe, I can meet their King. He would definitely have the answers I seek...



So what's going on at FURRYWORLD PRIME?



I seem to have a talent for asking questions I immediately regret.

But, these "Midnight Deaths"? I never believed in them to begin with. Or rather, that they were "supernatural". The media loves to romanticize things. I'm sure many people die at midnight daily.

There's something concerning about how he didn't believe the murders were caused by stupid quantum mechanics shit, as if that's an accomplishment.

But to affect one of my own idols. Mere days before the debut of their tour? No, it has to be a coincidence. I'm sure.



Why does Singe, a guy I think is a dragon, have fur?

Singe is fine. We're closer than that, Rocker.

Alright. Social media exploded at Klace's death. Good luck playing it off as a hoax. The body bag was even on national TV. I'm not sure how we'll spin this, exactly. But fans are starting to fill in the cracks. There's talk of it being a crazed fan. The work of a stalker, they say.

It can't be. I've seen stalkers before. They're much more erratic. Not calculated. This has the workings of a serial killer. If it was a murder at all. A stalker wants to possess, not destroy.

I think Klace gives himself too much credit to think that he's popular enough to warrant stalkers.

So their end goal was Klace's murder...?

Absolutely not. That's self-centered. We must presume the killer will still act. A serial killer doesn't just "stop".

Uh, yeah they do. Serial killers have pretty well-documented periods of "cooling off".

I had hoped this was an isolated incident. But the M.O matches these "Midnight Deaths". Right down to the method of murder.

It seems their goals become more grandiose. If they aren't done -- then who's next?

Me, I hope.

That's what chills me the most. A larger target than a pop idol?

Two pop idols?

Hmm...

What's wrong?

I talked to Jade earlier about these deaths. She mentioned they were all like suicides. At least, half of them looked that way. There was another half that was murder. No confusion there -- gunshots and all.

I was told that Klace died of asphyxiation. But there was no sign of a struggle.





Does nobody in Tokyo even do the most basic police work?





Wait a minute, one of these victims died at 12:01 AM! FAKE NEWS!

I guess that's true. But it's not just that. It's time of death -and- method of death. A suicide with no evidence isn't suicide...So there are two groups then...? The mysterious suicides, and the murders. But I'm willing to bet they're both murders.

You seem to have figured out a lot...I thought they'd keep Klace under wraps.

I had to pull a lot of strings. But I'm glad you figured it out, Rocker. There aren't two groups. There's only one.

So what, Endymion and Konrad are summoning people over who just happened to be murdered by the serial killer at the exact same time?



You just spend about five paragraphs establishing that you're pretty damn sure the murders aren't isolated.

So a murder covered up as a suicide, huh?

Not very well either, it would seem. If they wanted it to look like a suicide...Why would they take the "weapon" with them?

If Klace was found with a rope around him...None of us would be doubting this at all. But this is the same throughout all cases. I believe the police are jumping the gun. There's nothing that labels these suicides.

Especially in light of one major fact. All of the victims were "mentally fit".

Oh fuck you. What kind of head-in-ass logic is that?

"These can't be suicides! The victims didn't seem suicidal!"

If were dealing with a killer here...There's no way they're trying to trick us. They want us to know these aren't suicides.

It's the police that are in the wrong. Or perhaps they are being manipulated.

"I, a band manager, know more about detective work than the actual detectives."





You guys are awfully calm considering the main star of your big tour just got strangle-summon-murdered.

It's not a problem. Jade and Dazz are outside as well. I'll stay as long as you need.

Would you mind letting Jade in? We need to discuss press matters. We'll need to make a statement tomorrow.

Absolutely.

And Dazz is here, you said? Please stay with her in the limo. And tell her what I plan to do with her.

Something weird, I bet.

Roger.





Aren't you two Klace's main managers? Wouldn't you see each other constantly?

Too long, I'm afraid. And not under the circumstances I'd prefer.

Indeed. I always felt bad for Klace...How people were blaming him for the murders.

Hey, people needed a scapefurry. vv

Just because the deaths started when we--Sorry, I shouldn't get into superstition. I just never would've guessed...Klace's death would be what absolved him? The people can't blame a victim, I mean.

Who talks like this.

Indeed. And how do you think I feel. I didn't buy into these "Midnight Deaths". I left him vulnerable. Open, even.

Should I start a running counter for every time someone says 'Indeed'?

I'm used to the media making up "trends". Even in completely unrelated things. I should've been more cautious of this. I should have assigned more guards to him. Perhaps this could have been avoided...

I don't think guards would've helped, sir. Besides -- have you worked on your alibi?

Alibi?

I demand an alibi for why he refuses to button up his shirt.

You were the last person to see him alive. And you two had a heated argument, as well.

You should drop that line of thought, Jade. Veiled accusations only hurt you in the end.

The media will want to know. It's not me. That is what you asked me here for, right? So we can decide what to tell the press?

I suppose you're right. That, and the changes we'll need to make. The tour must go on as planned. The amount of refunds people will want...It makes me scared just thinking about it.

That's a separate beast entirely. But first, about how we address the death. I think you need to be blunt. You shouldn't be anything less than honest. Tell them you don't know what happened. We're on the same page as everyone else. Let them know we're cooperating with police.

It's important they feel in sync with us. We must not appear to hide facts from them. We'll make things public as the police does.

You're right. There isn't much else to do. But we still need to talk about the tour.

These two seriously sound like goddamn robots reacting to Klace's death.

THE KLACE LIFEFORM IS DEAD. THIS IS NON-OPTIMAL.

AFFIRMATIVE. THE TOUR MUST PROCEED.



3.

We shouldn't change topic just yet, though.

Hmm?

Remember the two groups of deaths? The group of murders, and of suicides? I figured out something shocking tonight...The culprit for the group of murders? They were found. A week ago, Singe.

And the police didn't fucking announce this?

What?

And here's where it gets more bizarre. They have a watertight alibi. It excuses them fully from the "suicides".

They were a copycat killer. And they've admitted this openly. The true culprit is still at large.

How does 'copycat' become a word when cats in this universe are anthro and fully sapient?

I see...

But the police are still in the wrong. The suicides are not suicides at all. At least conflicting M.O's aren't an issue. We only have to focus on the "suicides" now.

Does this make it easier on us?

Unfortunately not. There's just too much missing, here. No suicide note...No evidence...Along with the victims being mentally fit. If it was a suicide...There would be evidence at the crime scene. Instead, we have almost nothing at all. There was someone on the news last week. They said they survived The Midnight Deaths. Unfortunately, this was all a ruse.



So what was the good goddamn point of Jade dragging Rabies up to their office to spout her quantum mechanics theory?

Actually, I know the answer to this. Klace wrote this game chapter-by-chapter, and did not plan any aspect of the story ahead of time.





Just say it, Jade. You think a ghost is doing this.

It's likely a cop...Someone who's been trained in these things.

It's possible. I have a theory, though. Something a little more bizarre than most.

Please, Jade, tell us about how you think quantum mechanics works.

I don't have time for quantum mechanics. There has to be a logical reason for this.

Also, didn't her whole theory rest on that one guy getting choked out and surviving? And since he lied, the whole thing kind of falls apart?

The murders started as our tour arrived. The killer must have a police background...

...

Jade...

Yes?

Bring me Klace's security guard. I'll need to speak with him immediately.

You mean...?



Something tells me Singe has poor hiring skills.