NTWF Mafia: The Little Country Town

[Celestial]

Ok, so far it was not as chaotic as Celes thought. Thankfully. The ghost did not feel particularly bad about this whole situation, having nothing to lose, but nevertheless she felt herself sympathising with the crowd. Dying was an experience most people tended to want to avoid and it took some getting used to if they were not prepared for it.

She watched people milling around for a bit, her gaze moving from one to the other. Which ones were the bad guys? There was literally nothing to separate them from ordinary townsfolk. None of them were considerate enough to leave clues, like that serial killer did in Tabloid Town. This made things diffcult.

Nevertheless, Meowington spat it out. There was no going back. Celes decided to take centre stage.

"Now, ideally we're looking for somebody who has put themselves into a position in which we would never suspect them. That's the ideal place to hide for a mafia member. Additionally, our suspects would probably be nice and quiet, never bringing much attention to themselves. They'd keep themselves to themselves. And it is possible, although not definite, that they were close to the victims. We should have courage and not be afraid of them, speak our minds. And if necessary, make shots in the dark," Celes said and cleared her throat. She really had to think about picking better metaphors.

"I may just be a simple ghost, who is obviously falliable, but I'm going to throw out an accusation here. Our three mysterious killers, based on circumstantial (and almost non-existant) evidence are Icon, Drake and Luna. Make of that what you will"

[Luna]

Luna had been getting more punch when she heard Celes making a statement people.

"Now, ideally we're looking for somebody who has put themselves into a position in which we would never suspect them. That's the ideal place to hide for a mafia member. Additionally, our suspects would probably be nice and quiet, never bringing much attention to themselves. They'd keep themselves to themselves. And it is possible, although not definite, that they were close to the victims. We should have courage and not be afraid of them, speak our minds. And if necessary, make shots in the dark, I may just be a simple ghost, who is obviously falliable, but I'm going to throw out an accusation here. Our three mysterious killers, based on circumstatial (and almost non-existant) evidence are Icon, Drake and Luna. Make of that what you will"

Luna was outraged. How could Celes accuse her? Luna would never hurt anyone in this town!

"Celes, well, I never! I have been in this town for year! I would never kill anyone, I've never even participated in a lynching." Luna growled. "And I've been sitting over here drinking punch and eating pie this entire time. And, he got murdered in the men's bathroom, trust me, I wouldn't go in there." Luna couldn't believe Celes was accusing her.

Luna was always surprised that she accused Icon, he was a detective, teamed up with Robyn. Why would he have killed his best friend? And Drake seemed like a calm guy, not someone that would go around killing people, and certainly not the Deli owner, he ate there every day.

"I don't know who has done these crimes, but I know I haven't!" Luna said, starring at Celes.

[Gelquie]

Glenda kept forgetting how much punch was in her cup. But it never seemed to be enough.

Glenda was worried that something would happen with the advent of the ball, but she figured it was worth the risk. Even if she was never really a fan of balls. All that dancing and socializing took away from the precious time she could've used to brew potions. But attendance was mandatory, and she had to go.

She didn't dance very much. She was never very good at it. Though she did take a moment to talk to Madame Ginz and a few other acquaintances. But other than that, she was very bored. She figured the punch was more interesting than the majority of the people. She was glad there was so much of it, especially after the murder of Quintell, and the barricading of the ball. Now she couldn't go home to her potions if she wanted to.

Glenda was used to light-headedness and strange tastes. Maybe that's why she took to the punch so well. It tasted so much like one of her favorite rums. But now it was almost gone, Glenda was disappointed.

She listened intently on Celestial's accusations, wanting something to listen to as she tried to keep her balance.

"Our three mysterious killers, based on circumstantial (and almost non-existent) evidence are Icon, Drake and Luna. Make of that what you will"

"Hey, yeah," Glenda said hazily. "I don't even shee Drake in my shop very often. So whaddyl they be doing? Tea calms people down. An' memberss of the Mafia can't be calm! They'll be busy killin' all those people!"

Glenda put a hand on the table to support herself, as she pointed her other finger at Drake.

((As long as we're having random finger-pointing. ))

[Deleted]

To Ari, the ones who looked the most blameless were Drake, Terra, and...Candy. It was a horrible premise, sure...she would never have dreamed that Candy was a mafia member. Nevertheless, the fact that she had managed to evade suspicion was very suspicious.

But that really didn't matter to her most. What mattered was that she had gotten no explanation whatsoever out of Porpington. So, without further ado, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Hey, you!" she said, glaring. "I told you that it couldn't be Meowington. And you can trust me, since I was never in the mafia. You need to let all the ghosts out, too, since none of them can hurt a living creature. And for God's sake, GET MY CAT OUT OF HERE! You know it wasn't a cat! Let Mimi go!"

[icon]

"Of course, I would never do something like that."

Icon inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Now, I'm really really sorry I've been acting so paranoid, but since Robyn died, I've been trying to do some investigating, trying to see what I could figure out on my own. I was thinking I could try to unearth some information, find something, anything about the Mafia. I haven't had much success so far, but I have had one extra trick up my sleeve..." Robyn's going to kill me for this, he thought to himself as he pulled his typewriter out to show Terra.

"The thing is, Robyn isn't- exactly- completely gone. She's, well, I'm pretty sure, she's possessing my typewriter, she's been guiding me along, in a sense. She's been a huge help in my searching, but I'm still not entirely sure who could be a member of the Mafia. I've got reason to think Drake might be a member, but I'm not quite sure..."

Turning the typewriter around again, he prodded it a couple of times. "Robyn? It's Icon, everything is going fine. I told Terra about our investigation, she knows about everything."

He was going to say more, when a voice rang out through the entire ballroom. It was Lady Celes. Icon sat nervously, listening to her speech about finding the Mafia, about suspicious people. And at the end, she accused Luna, Drake... and himself. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as he spoke under his breath. "Me? Why would she accuse me? I couldn't have murdered Robyn!"

He huddled under the table, waiting to see what would happen.

[Draco]

Drake places his punch cup down and listens to people say things. First he turns to Glenda.

"To be honest, I'm allergic to tea. Which is why I don't go there. I break out with a rash and my throat closes up when I drink it."

Then he turns away.

"And I've been sitting here drinking and eating the whole time because I don't know how to dance. The last time I danced was in Tabloid Town, and some ninja paid me to stop dancing because it was so bad."

He picks up his cup and drinks from it.

"The suspicious one is Icon. Where is he? I saw him here a minute ago looking paranoid then he disappeared."

He kicks lightly at what he thought was the punch table's leg, but it was to soft. He looks down, but then decides it's not important. He started to think someone might have spiked the punch, because things were starting to feel weird and his head was sort of spinning. He turns to Ari and the Mayor.

"And you guys over there. We can't get out. Not unless someone kills the mayor, or he goes to the bathroom. So we're stuck here. No one is going anywhere. So unless you want to flush your ghost body down the toilet to get out of here, I don't think you're getting out."

He falls into a chair and just stares at everyone. He could swear he hears whispering under the table, but he could be hearing things.

[Terra]

Terra listened to Icon speak.

"The thing is, Robyn isn't- exactly- completely gone. She's, well, I'm pretty sure, she's possessing my typewriter, she's been guiding me along, in a sense. She's been a huge help in my searching, but I'm still not entirely sure who could be a member of the Mafia. I've got reason to think Drake might be a member, but I'm not quite sure..."

"I. Wow. That's...wow." She still didn't know what to say. Should she believe him? She was still a bit skeptical, worried that he really wasn't sane...but maybe if she heard more of his reasoning, she could judge better.

"What have you heard about Drake?" she asked.

"So! Who's part of the mafia?"

Terra turned and looked at Meowington. He was just going to ask? What did he expect, that they would just raise their hands and say "I am!" with a smile on their faces? That they would break down crying in front of everyone and admit their guilt and allow themselves to be escorted to jail?

"Now, ideally we're looking for somebody who has put themselves into a position in which we would never suspect them. That's the ideal place to hide for a mafia member...

Was...was that Celes Teal's voice?

Was she hallucinating?

Neither possibility was appealing to her. I shouldn't have had that cup of punch, she thought.

"I may just be a simple ghost, who is obviously falliable, but I'm going to throw out an accusation here. Our three mysterious killers, based on circumstantial (and almost non-existant) evidence are Icon, Drake and Luna. Make of that what you will"

She turned and looked at Icon, who looked nervous.

"Me? Why would she accuse me? I couldn't have murdered Robyn!"

"So you can hear her, too?" said Terra. So, it wasn't a hallucination...probably.

"And yeah...why would you have done it? You seemed so close to her..."

But maybe seemed was the key word...

And what about Luna and Drake? She had known them for years...Drake was a little weird, sometimes, but neither of them seemed like the type to kill. But who knew?

She wasn't sure. It could be anyone, really. Could she really trust anyone?

"Hey, you!

Terra turned again. It was the voice of Ariana, yelling vehemently, demanding to be let out along with Meowington and her cat.

"You hear that?" she said. "Ariana's yelling. I think."

Suddenly, she felt a kick to her upper arm.

"Ow!" she yelped.

Then she realized that she may very well have exposed herself and Icon. She hoped nobody would notice, but if they had...it wasn't a very good hiding place, anyway.

[Gelquie]

"To be honest, I'm allergic to tea. Which is why I don't go there. I break out with a rash and my throat closes up when I drink it."

"All the more reason for you to be sushpicious," Glenda slurred after taking another drink from her cup. "What kind of person can be really unshtressed without tea to calm them down? An' being allergic should only be more reason for him to be stressed. The tea that should calm him hurts him, so... He has to take out his stresshes on the rest of us! In fact... I sink all of those not drinking tea are working for the mafia!"

Glenda put both of her hands on the table now to support her; the revelation was so startling that it made the room spin faster.

"Or are you ratting out Icon? Does he even visit my shop? I should know, but I don't remember. Where is he anyway? We should speak to him ourselves."

"Ow!"

Glenda looked to her left at the sound. Then she looked down.

"Why are you hiding from us?" she spoke in the direction of the floor. "Come out."

[Avery]

True to the Narrator's prediction, not five minutes after she'd rejoined the dancers in the main ballroom, accusations started being flung about. However, unlike with the previous murders, there was a certain factor that made the townspeople even more foolish and easily incited: half of them were drunk.

She slinks into a corner and watches with nervous interest as names start being tossed around. The tea shop owner, Glenda, seems to be the most angry... and the most hammered. The Narrator figures no one will take much stock in her accusations because of this, but then again, drunk people tend to latch onto the logic of other drunk people.

"Why are you hiding from us?" she spoke in the direction of the floor. "Come out."

Great. Just a few moments after she's finished squealing at Drake, and she's already turned her attention towards Icon, who is for some reason hunched up under a table.

"Er," the Narrator interrupts loudly, hoping the drunk woman doesn't start lobbing accusations at her. "Miss Noshus? Do you think maybe um-- you could use a little breather? I mean... not outside obviously, because we're locked in... but really guys, is a stuffy ballroom the best place to plot executions?"

She regrets the words the moment they leave her mouth. No doubt the drunk fools will now find her guilty of something, even though she didn't arrive to town 'till after the murders began, and her only crime is serving people delicious pastries.

[Gelquie]

"Er, Miss Noshus? Do you think maybe um-- you could use a little breather? I mean... not outside obviously, because we're locked in... but really guys, is a stuffy ballroom the best place to plot executions?"

Glenda turned her wobbly head towards the pie shop owner.

"Breathing? I am breathing, can't you see?" She audibly breathes in and out a few times to prove her point. "Why're you suggeshting I can't? Are ye saying I'm going to die too? Well, didn't you jusht disappear into thin air? Who'dya think you are?"

Glenda brought her arms up and crossed them. Then she quickly changed her mind and brought a hand back onto the table.

"You think that with all of us in this room..." she waves a hand across the room, erratically. "That they'll kill all of us first while we're here and innocent? That I'll lose business at my shop? Well, not this time! We have all the mafia in one room with us. I-in fact... I think this is the best place to get rid of those nasty mafia! An' we gotta do it quickly. They'll never know wha hit'em. Isn't that right, Drake?"

[Terra]

"Why are you hiding from us?" she spoke in the direction of the floor. "Come out."

It was Glenda.

Terra crawled out, blushing. Glenda was still rambling drunkenly, having apparently turned her attention elsewhere.

"You're crazy, you know that?" she said. "Who in their right minds would drink your stuff? It's disgusting. Probably poisonous. Heck, for all I know, maybe you're supplying the Mafia with poison."

"You think that with all of us in this room..." she waves a hand across the room, erratically. "That they'll kill all of us first while we're here and innocent? That I'll lose business at my shop? Well, not this time! We have all the mafia in one room with us. I-in fact... I think this is the best place to get rid of those nasty mafia! An' we gotta do it quickly. They'll never know wha hit'em. Isn't that right, Drake?"

"Oh, sure, now that you've announced it right in front of them," said Terra. "And how are we supposed to know who's Mafia, anyway? What if you start slaughtering people and it turns out that they were innocent all along? It's happened twice now, who says it won't happen again?

"Come to think of it," she said, "what are you doing when you disappear for days at a time? Your shop just closes randomly and you don't appear for days. I don't even shop there and I've noticed it. Isn't that weird?"

[icon]

Icon crawled out from under the table, following Terra. He felt like everyone in the room was staring at the two of them.He considered putting his typewriter down next to the punch, but he decided against it- someone could carelessly come by and spill the beverage all over it.

He was about to make a comment when he heard a voice. "The suspicious one is Icon. Where is he? I saw him here a minute ago looking paranoid then he disappeared." That was Drake. "Well, if you'll excuse me, Terra and I were trying to find a safe place to hide in case some member of the Mafia were to attack everyone. Miss Noshus may be drunk right now, but she's got a point, they could come out of the woodwork here and kill all of us." Icon remarked, shuddering at the thought.

"And what makes me suspicious? Just because we were trying to find a place to hide doesn't mean that we've got anything to hide." He was pretty sure Robyn was typing something out to him, but he wasn't paying attention anymore. "What's to say that you yourself aren't part of the Mafia? You got a job at Chane's Deli, didn't you? You could have killed her off so you could a job there!"

[Draco]

Drake watches as Icon crawls out of the woodwork (the table).

"Well trying to hide and be alone right after someone was killed is sort of suspicious. You've also been hugging that typewriter like you're hiding something. Possibly a murder weapon? As for the deli, maybe I just wanted to help out. You know, it could have just been left alone and closed... It's not like I can do anything against Chane's rules. She's watching me when I'm there anyhow."

He looks at the punch bowl, it oddly refilled.... Magic? Who knows.... He's pretty sure it's been spiked though.

"And this punch. It's been spiked. Possibly by some potion Glenda poured in. Maybe she's trying to make us all act weird and out of character to make us look suspicious. And she's drinking so she doesn't stand out."

[Gelquie]

Glenda couldn't believe what she was hearing. Were they not listening to her reasoning? There were just so many things as plain as day. Or at least, they were plain as day to her.

"You're crazy, you know that?" she said. "Who in their right minds would drink your stuff? It's disgusting. Probably poisonous. Heck, for all I know, maybe you're supplying the Mafia with poison."

Glenda couldn't take it. How could she say something as ill-thought as that? It was despicable!

"Come to think of it," she said, "what are you doing when you disappear for days at a time? Your shop just closes randomly and you don't appear for days. I don't even shop there and I've noticed it. Isn't that weird?"

Glenda drained her halfway-full cup and then staggered towards Terra and poked her as she got in her face.

"My brews are not poisonous!" she said vehemently, her breath dispelling all doubts about her alcohol intake. "My potions are here to help, even with the side effecsh. My shop is only closed becaushe I'm trying so hard to make more for you all. Is this the thanks I get? And who are you to dish... dispar... not like my teas? If my teas are so bad, then how do I shtay in business?!"

She staggered back, glad to have some of her anger out now. She was glad to hear Icon back up the stance on Drake as she fumbled for the ladle of the punch bowl from behind, her eyes on the other party guests.

"And this punch. It's been spiked. Possibly by some potion Glenda poured in. Maybe she's trying to make us all act weird and out of character to make us look suspicious. And she's drinking so she doesn't stand out."

"Hey, if I spiked this bowl, I'd be more than just drunk. I'd be crazy too. Why would I drink shomething I spiked myself? That's crazy." She grabs the ladle and sloppily tries to fill her cup again. She didn't know how there was suddenly more in the ladle than there should be. She didn't think too much about it, though.

[Avery]

The accusations are growing more inflammatory by the minute-- and as far as the Narrator's concerned, Glenda oughta be knocked out before she can do anymore damage. She's accusing people left and right, as if the more names she lobs around, the more helpful she is. It doesn't matter to her that her accusations are based on things like tea allergies.

Oh, these foolish townsfolk!

Meanwhile, as the citizens accuse each other, the Narrator's attention is slowly drawn towards the background of the ballroom, where several people have started work on makeshift gallows. Why oh why had Porpington chosen the dang civic center for the dance? No other building in town would have had the ability to support hangings, but with its soaring ceilings, the ballroom made a perfect hanging ground. And judging from the way all the townspeople were acting, a hanging was sure to happen quite soon.

The Narrator just hopes they get it right this time. She knows the town can't afford the lynchings of anymore innocents.

((This should serve a reminder to please have your votes in by the deadline at 10am tomorrow. =3))