Mafia The Third: The Seaside Town of Aifam Cove

[Tiger]

Okay – wow – Christopher had a lot to say.

“Hold on just one second,” Cheryl said, hitting the stop button on the camera when it looked like he had finished. “I can only see and hear ghosts through a camera, so I need to rewatch this real quickly. It’s a pain, I’ll try to find some way to fix it.”

As Cheryl waited for the camera to finish recording and navigated through the menu, Ris said, "We're trying to figure out what's going on. We've got clues. Well, sorta. They're probably clues, at least, on account of the fact that they seemed cluelike; the thing about finding clues is that you don't actually know whether they really, y'know, are clues yet. Yeah."

“Excellent, Miss Monaco,” Cheryl said. “That’s more than anyone else seems to have right now.”

Despite the dire situation, Cheryl had to smile a little at the young ghost’s flustered words. How sweet! Cheryl set the camera to record again. “Thank you, Mister Dylans. I’d very much like to hear your experiences, though. As soon as the transformer’s fixed and the power’s back, you can hear me talking any old time.”

She glanced toward the transformer, where Jack’s ghost was probably still hovering – invisible and silent to her. People were starting to filter out of the area, except those chasing the papers and some carrying lingering discussions. “Speaking of – we probably ought to get somewhere warm. They’re saying the morgue has a generator. I wish the studio had one, but that went with the radio station...”

Looking around yet-again, Cheryl realized Siddhi wasn’t among the crowd. “Hmm. Hopefully we can find Siddhi and Khiran there, too. I’ll give you two a ride – looks like Albert’s already started the car, so it ought to be warm. The drive should be long enough to share what we’ve found already.”

((Icon and Maddy, feel free to time and/or location-jump as much as possible, and assume Cheryl’s told them as much as she’s figured out so far on the ride over if you jump them to the morgue ^^ Let me know if you need any other info.))

SPOILER: Click to show

Cheryl suggests she, Christopher, and Ris take the news van to the morgue and compare notes

[Kristykimmy]

Anna opened her eyes reluctantly, afraid to do so. She heard the rushing of waves around here. In the dark, she was safe, safe with her beloved ocean. In the light...

Finally she opened her eyes. She was standing on the beach, out in the surf. The surf had no feeling for her, it was not cold and biting like it should be this time of year.

“Oh, Woo. They killed me. They actually killed me. Those miserable townspeople killed me!” she screamed, trying to shut out the memories of dying. “I stayed in this town. I didn't have to, I could have left, but I stayed. I thought the town was worth saving. What a moron I was. I saw the monsters they were, outwardly and inwardly, what made me think they were worth staying with?”

Anna dropped to her knees, wishing she could cry, but no tears came. She was dead, she didn't actually have tears left. The water rushed over her head, but she no longer needed to breathe either. Could a ghost still surf the waters?

Her mind flashed back to the vial she'd left for the someone she hoped she could trust. She remembered getting it all those years ago. It was when she was twenty-two, almost out of college and telling everyone of her plans to one day own her own antique shop. Her mother had been a chemist, running a little shop on the cliffs above the ocean where her dad taught surfing and worked part time as a life guard. Her mother would come down to the beach on her lunch hour and they would eat together and then mother would surf with her. They had been a family of surfers.

Her mother had given her the address of the man who she had worked her first job under. He was a bit of a hoarder, collecting interesting curio. Anna had gone to see him. He had collected many items Anna would eventually buy, furniture dating back to the founding of the country, hundred-year-old puzzle boxes from other countries, dolls, it was a treasure trove.

But the real treasure had been that vial. It had two portions in it that time. Anna had withheld a snigger as he told her it could revive the dead if used within a few minutes of death. This man was a chemist, if such a thing existed, he would have capitalized on it by now. He seemed to read her thoughts.

“Your mother had the exact same face on when I told her about this. It's an antique, Anna. I bought it and realized what it was a long time ago. I used most of it up, analyzing it, but I've never been able to replicate it. I didn't press the issue when your mother didn't believe me, I didn't really need to pass it on then. I was a much younger man,” he told her. “I'll prove it to you, sometime. Maybe next time you come back to buy one of the things you set aside.”

Anna had just smiled, a nice but a silly old man. Next time she saw him, he revived a dead neighbor with it. A child who had been bicycling without a helmet and had crashed, landing on his head and snapping his neck. Anna knew what a broken neck looked like, she had seen a stupid friend dive onto the rocks before she could get her dad to stop him, she knew he was dead. But, the vial had brought him back to life.

After that, she bought the remaining portion and kept it secret, waiting for the day when she would need it. The only person she had ever had a chance to save would have been Enna, but she had slept through that, something she would never really forgive herself for.

And, now she was dead. All her dreams were dead. Even her antiques, what good were they now? What would happen to them. Of course, her parents would come and deal with it, but the dream was over. She got up out of the surf and looked around.

Travis was at the top of the hill screaming about someone having an affair with Aaron, Anna only realized that he was talking about Aaron since he mentioned sawing someone in half. Anna realized it was her he was talking about. She'd never been married, and as far as she knew Aaron wasn't either. Where did Travis pull this rubbish out of? Usually, Anna's level of care for Travis' nonsense was simple disgust, but it had been a bad day, and Anna was really mad.

She got up and started running up the slope leading to the cliffs, screaming at the top of her lungs, “Travis, I'm going to kill you! And then, when you're dead, I'm going to spend time making your afterlife miserable!”

SPOILER: Click to show

Anna finds herself dead, laments this, curses the town, and reminisces about acquiring the vial that could save a life.

She is snapped out of her thoughts by Travis shouting nonsense about her and Aaron above her. It's been a really bad few days for Anna, and she's had it. She decides it's time for Travis to get a comeuppance.

[PFA]

Professor Bardsley was still collecting papers when it happened. The owner of that antique shop—Ms. Dywight, was it?—appeared on the scene, offering to take the body to the morgue. Many of the townspeople found this suspicious, calling her out for her "interest" with corpses. The situation escalated before Professor Bardsley could fully process what was going on. He didn't even get the chance to stop them, and just watched wordlessly as the townspeople once again dragged an innocent person kicking and screaming to the cliff, throwing her unceremoniously over the guard rail.

It was, quite honestly, a little distressing, watching the townspeople take the law into their own hands like this. It was not all that surprising that they would, considering the circumstances and the apparent lack of police, but it was rather disconcerting how much innocent blood was being shed due to this.

He let out a sigh, continuing to search the scene for papers and clues. He didn't have time to dwell on the town's obsession with vigilante justice. He was tasked with collecting the information left behind by the true investigator, and hopefully determining who was really behind all these recent murders.

After he had collected everything he could find, he decided he would catch up with the others at the morgue. They said they would be attempting to salvage the soggy evidence there, so he might as well do his part to help. And if any of it was deemed to be of use, he could report to town hall about it.

---

Cassidy and her friends had been waiting at the morgue, more than happy to obey the pink-haired morgue worker's request to stay in the atrium. (They really did not want to look at a bunch of dead bodies.) They'd just been talking amongst themselves, discussing recent events, when other people started to flood into the morgue. Cassidy was surprised, wondering what was going on. She heard something about a car transporting bodies, and some papers, and... hairdryers? Was that what that person had said?

She scanned the crowd for familiar faces, eventually spotting Professor Bardsley, who himself was carrying a small stack of papers. He should know what's going on, she thought to herself, beckoning her friends to accompany her as she walked up to him. "Hey, uh, professor? What's...?"

"Oh, hello, Miss Jackson," Professor Bardsley replied. "I'm afraid there's been quite a tragic accident. The magician, Aaron Greenhand, was found dead on the beach."

"Oh no, the magician?" cried Shantelle, the one with the stylish coat. "I loved his shows. That bunny was so cute..."

"Yes, it's quite a shame," Professor Bardsley agreed, sounding contemplative. "Apparently he had been investigating the recent murders, which is why he was killed by the mafia."

The mafia. Of course it was the mafia. Cassidy groaned inwardly. Would the madness ever stop? "So is that what those papers are for?"

"Indeed." Professor Bardsley showed her the papers in question. "These appear to have been his notes, but as you can see, they're quite... damaged. We're hoping to be able to salvage what we can."

"Ah. Makes sense." Cassidy nodded. She then frowned, noticing the thoughtful look on her professor's face. "...Was there something else, though?"

"Mm... yes. Anna Dywight, the antique shop owner," Professor Bardsley told her. "They thought she was mafia and threw her over the cliff."

"What?" Cassidy yelped. At first she was surprised, but then she thought on it. That was the same way the assistant mayor was killed, wasn't it? And then there was Lindsey... "But she was mafia, right? ...Right?"

When the professor didn't respond, a knot formed in Cassidy's stomach. Her mind filled with doubt as she thought on what had happened yesterday with Lindsey. She remembered being so angry, learning that Lindsey was mafia. So satisfied, when they killed her. But what if she was... wrong? Not with Lindsey, perhaps; they had proof of Lindsey's guilt. But what if it were to happen again? What if she ended up participating in the death of an innocent person?

No. She had to believe she wouldn't do that. The town wouldn't do that. They would never execute anyone without proper proof... right?

"I... I-I'm sure she must have been," she said, in a vain attempt to reassure herself. Turning to her friends, she added, "Come on, guys, maybe we can help with the notes."

"The help would be appreciated." Professor Bardsley nodded, before attempting to find Mr. Endicott. He said he would bring hairdryers for the papers, and they needed to get to work as soon as possible... preferably before there were any more deaths.

SPOILER: Click to show

Professor Bardsley, blindsided by the sudden execution, just watches silently, contemplating what the town has descended to. He decides not to dwell on it, continuing to collect as much evidence as he can find. When finished, he accompanies the others to the morgue.

At the morgue, Cassidy and her friends are surprised when a flood of people enter, talking about bodies, papers, and hairdryers. She asks Professor Bardsley what's going on, and he explains what's happened so far this morning. Upon hearing of Anna's execution, Cassidy tries to convince herself that it was justified. They must have had evidence, right? Speaking of evidence, Bardsley starts looking for Leopold so they can start blowdrying the papers they found.

[Rosalie Dylas (Maddy)]

Ris was definitely not exempted from curiosity killing the cat. She had pinkie swore not to go on that place. You can't break a pinkie swear! It was one of the most sacred things and she broke it! And she called herself a detective... or private investigator... or superhero he wasn't exactly sure what she called herself to be honest he just knew she should be very respectful of the law and she had just ignored it. Like an overworked wa-
No
He was not doing the simile thing. No way, no how.

Then she told Cheryl they had clues! They couldn't tell Miss Lewis about the website, they couldn't tell anyone about it, they shouldn't even be thinking about it!
The camera thing was new. He realized there were tons of things he didn't know about ghosts. Like how he could stop being one. Or that whole feeling like he was dying over and over again. What if that was some sort of payment for sticking around as a ghost? He never agreed to that. That was unfair. But most things were unfair, it was unfair the magician's car was ran off the road, it was unfair they threw Jack Ryan Smith over the cliff, it was even unfair they cut Lindsey's throat open for everyone to see. Unfair. Unfair. Unfair. What was the definition of fair anymore? Maybe him dying. He had deserved that. That was fair. He'd already skipped out on death for 15 years, that was fair. But it wasn't fair for Enna to have to die. It wasn't fair anyone had to die.

“Hmm. Hopefully we can find Siddhi and Khiran there, too. I’ll give you two a ride – looks like Albert’s already started the car, so it ought to be warm. The drive should be long enough to share what we’ve found already.”

He nodded. He suddenly wanted to see Dakota and Dakota was at the morgue. He wanted to see them. Not just hear them, not just feel them, see them. He wasn't afraid this time. They wouldn't have to help him open his eyes. He hadn't closed them once yet. Khiran was a ghost then, not unexpected, and he wasn't sure who Siddhi was, that was just another name he didn't learn.
He looked at Ris since it would be easier for Ris to say yes than for him to say yes and Cheryl have to listen to it on the camera.

"Ris." Christopher whispered to Ris as they were going to the news van. Cheryl's camera was pointed away from him so it was safe for him to talk.
"The curious eagle is probably going to JAIL because they broke the pinkie promise and looked up that thing on the webnest." He told her, nodding his head very seriously.
"And the eagle shouldn't tell the news reporter eagle about the nest because that would be bad. And the eagle should just leave the website alone because it's... EVIL."
Code was really confusing.

Albert drove the news van. Cheryl and the kids sat in the back so Cheryl could operate her camera and hear what Christopher was saying. The back wasn't exactly roomy so Ris and Christopher got in a fight over how to sit.
("I'm not sharing a seat with you, it's weird I like pass through you! And its cold!"
"Then sit in the front seat."
"I have to be where the action is and the action is here."
"Then sit here."
"But you're cold"
"I'm sorry I'm trying not to touch you.")
It was going to be a long ride for the news team.

"I'm sorry Miss Lewis... I don't know anything. I just know I left Enna's funeral and I was in a room and four people came in and..."
He stopped. There wasn't any need to go on. He wished he was more useful. If only he had remembered something. If only they had talked, he'd never forget a voice. But they didn't. And everything was so fast and there was nothing to identify the mafia. If he knew, he'd tell Miss Lewis. She wouldn't start a lynching mob. He trusted her. She was trying to find the mafia for a peaceful resolution too, he knew she was.
He didn't tell her about before. It wasn't relevant. That island was gone and pieces of him were still buried in the blood soaked sand, but it wasn't necessary to tell her. There was no relation. And he didn't want to have to talk about it. It was over.


In the middle of talking about what they've found Ris spotted Coena out the window. Christopher had been confused as to why Ris was pointing frantically at someone in lots of layers of coats. That was not what he thought Coena would look like at all.
"Pull over!"
After much begging and poking Albert pulled over and Ris jumped out of the van very dramatically.
Coena joined them (they put them up to speed) and made the backseat even tighter. They squabbled to get settled, Ris getting angry every time she was pushed into Christopher. They finally got situated and went back to talking.

Miss Lewis' voice was even better in person. And she was such a good reporter. And he wasn't sure what the definition of pretty was but maybe she was pretty? She was Cheryl Roxanne Lewis, that was what she looked like. He wasn't sure how to gauge pretty so he just decided she looked like herself and that was the best.

The car stopped and the kids piled out. Ris pushed out first, rather aggressively.

"Thank you for the ride Miss Lewis. I-I w-w-wish I knew m-more. But I want to help you find the mafia! And Ris is a" he paused deciding if it was accurate to go on, but went ahead anyway "detective. We can help you!"

(note: icon and tiger if you want me to change anything/add anything/i made a mistake tell me right away!!)

SPOILER: Click to show

Ris and Christopher ride with Cheryl to the morgue. They tell each other what they've discovered (sans the website the kids found). They see Coena on the way and Coena joins them. They arrive at the moruge and Christopher asks to team up with Cheryl to defeat the mafia.

[Liou]

Leopold had been hunting for the last papers when he vaguely heard someone's car arrive. Moments later, an unnatural silence made him look up and feel for something inside his coat.

There was that meddlesome kid from the Hurrgerr Butt, an awful, unhealthy grease palace - exactly the opposite of his fab, glam salon - and some other guys who were always hanging around him, like that other time near the church - oh no. Leo recognised the tones of their voices, their attitudes. One person couldn't go against mob mentality. He tried to motion for the other sensible people to gather, but Anna was already gone.

He stared at the cliff for a while, mouth slightly open. He'd forgotten how fast those things happened.
They needed to be fast, too. The papers. Before anyone else got tossed.

Leo looked at something pleasant, instead. The Professor. Right. He stared at Bardsley's pretty hair. Once he felt better, he made his way to the morgue, checking that the other paper hunters were taking the same direction. He dropped his suitcases in the Atrium, removed his fuzzy hat and shades with a great "Ah!" of relief and a hair flip.

"You lookin' fantastic, girls!" he told Cassidy's friends, with a wink at Shantelle in particular.
He immediately plugged his cordless, chargeable hair dryer to charge, just in case, and plugged two more cord-ful dryers for the papers. (He might have unplugged a few things that people had put to charge, to make room.)

"Get drying, Professor! We can settle down, freshen up and make food later, this is important."

[Pixie]

Lili hadn’t slept very well. She spent the few hours of the restless night she managed to sleep in nightmare. Awake, and in her dreams, all the faces of the dead swam through her vision. Every small encounter, every time she passed someone by with only a trite greeting. They didn’t have happiness, there was no release or peace in the screaming ghosts. They had death forced upon them far before their time. In her dreams, she and everyone around her died a million brutal ways. She was so tired of death, and so weary. Aifam Cove wasn’t safe anymore, and there would be so many troubles to deal with come morning.

She didn’t think anything would happen right away, though she knew the possibility was there. It was a temporary relief for the dream to end. When she heard the shattering boom, she sat up her bed. Her house was still standing, and there were no intruders. She wanted to see what was happening that caused the noise, but her body betrayed her. Sleep claimed her again.

When Lili awoke again, she was ice cold. She bundled a quilt around her and forced herself out of bed. When she flipped the light switch, the lights failed to come on. She then recalled the boom, and she began to connect what had happened. There must have been a power outage caused by whatever caused the boom. She decided it would be important to figure out what happened, to find Bardsley to investigate, and tell everyone Jack had an insane ghost, none of which she could do shut up in her freezing house. She pulled her curly hair into an quick updo with teddy bear earmuffs and bundled up in heavy layers of blue and lace.

When she exited the building, she heard shouting by Sirensong Beach, and the morgue. She was filled with alarm when she approached the beach and saw two cars, one demolished and the other being driven away. More notably, she saw water-logged papers, a gory mess inside of the car destroyed car, and the angry ghost of Anna Dwight in pursuit of Travis Richem.

Travis, I'm going to kill you! And then, when you're dead, I'm going to spend time making your afterlife miserable!”

It was a lot to take in. There were a few things she could be certain of. Anna Dwight had died. It could have been a Mafia murder, vigilante killing, or something else entirely. The admirable magic Aaron Greenhand had met his death in a car crash. It was brutal, whether intentional or accidental. By the people collecting the papers, they were important. The last thing, which she was 100% certain of, was that Travis Richem had said or done something stupidly offensive.

She called out “Anna! What happened? ”, as she wondered how much damage Anna would be able to inflict on that insufferable man.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Professor Bardsley leaving towards the direction of the morgue. When the ghost was pacified or satisfied, she would be able to catch up with him.

SPOILER: Click to show

Lili has troubled sleep. When the cold wakes her up, she heads to the beach late to the scene, and observes and makes inferences of what happens. She then shouts to Anna's ghost when she sees her going after Travis.

[Diana]

Winston burst through the door of his east Chet Street home and slammed the door shut behind him, panting heavily. His energy meter was somewhere in the negatives, but he couldn’t let up for a moment – the malicious ghost was surely hot in his heels, attempting to re-engage him in battle.

But he would be ready this time! He marched up the stairs, still breathing heavily, and pushed open the door to his room. He took a moment to set down his portable gaming system – as loathe as he was to part from his ailing ally, it wouldn’t do to have it damaged beyond repair in the upcoming battle, not before he finally got the golden watering can on Wild World – and headed for his clothes drawer.

Standing on his toes, he reached up and rummaged around in the receptacle atop it. It was one of the cleanest pizza boxes he’d ever encountered, which was why he’d selected it for this honorable duty. Amidst the old grease stains and a string of hardened mozzarella gleamed a proud instrument of righteousness – the Silver Controller.

Silver plated, but still. It should have been gold, and he grimaced a bit as an old wound was torn open. A Halo tournament, sweat and concentration and filthy cheaters, coming in second best… but perhaps that was providence. Gold was not an enchanted metal, unsuitable for the slaying of supernatural enemies. But silver would be his instrument of divine strength.

Now that the adrenaline from his run was wearing off… he shivered. His house was nearly as cold as it was outside, now. He cast a longing look to his vast arrangement of currently-defunct consoles before trudging back down the stairs, controller in hand.

He had been unprepared before. But now he was armed. It was time to take a stroll in the tall grass, so to speak. Not that this was a capture run, oh no. It was time to gain experience.

And with that thought, Winston Teakes, ghost slayer extraordinaire, trekked off into the Aifam cold.

SPOILER: Click to show

Winston Teakes retrieves a sacred artifact from his holy pizza box and sets off on a ghost hunt.

[Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff)]

(SPECIAL THANKS TO Jayeee WHO GAVE ME PERMISSION TO DO THIS <3 assume Alma has gone through the horrors of seeing Aaron's body from afar and is already disturbed)

Alma had watched numbly as Anna was tossed off of the cliff like fish flakes too tiny to be consumed by anything. And then her ghost had risen from the cliff side like it was out for revenge or something...Alma did NOT want to be caught in the midst of things. She scurried down an alternate route. Luckily, there was hardly anyone else on Main Street. She'd be safe for now, and hopefully her fish would be, too.

Turning around, Alma noticed that the Angelfish she'd raised from an egg was on its side and gasping in the bag. Mrs. Fitzgibbon gasped and tried to keep it warm by placing it in the center of the fish. Get to the morgue. Hurry. The one place of safety. The place before the sea. Thoughts like these whirled inside her head, and she almost didn't hear the voice of one of the few other people on Main Street.

“I need to find out what's going on here.”

Alma turned around and saw...that guy who thought he was a movie star. What was his name again...? Travis something? Could be. Right now, though, she couldn't talk to anyone. She pulled the wagon forward after briefly nodding to him.

That didn't stop him from walking right up to her and speaking to her when she clearly didn't want to be spoken to. “Janice, darling, I'm so glad to see you,” he announced, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her on both cheeks. “You always have an ear for what's going on, so why don't you let me know?”

Alma was speechless for several different reasons. "My name is Alma." "I don't know what you're talking about." "You realize I'm married, don't you?" "You have some nerve!" and other thoughts flurried in her head. After witnessing the aftermath of the magician's death and the death of Anna, Alma was in no condition to discuss it . She swallowed. What was going on, he asked?!

Her daughter was missing in the cold with no power, her husband wouldn't return from his business trip, her fish were in danger and continued to be for every second longer they stayed in the cold, she felt sick with nausea and perhaps, PERHAPS with child, and on top of that there were two mafias running around. All the poor girl could do was stare at him helplessly. "People are dying," she croaked out at last.

This news seemed to strike Travis harder than she expected. For several moments, all he did was gasp like a fish separated from its cozy water home. Alma almost felt sorry for the man. "Oh, dear," she murmured. "You didn't know...? How could you not kn--"

And then he'd slapped her clean across the face.

Alma staggered--she hadn't expected it--but what surprised her most was not the fact that he'd slapped her. It was her first thought: to turn so that she fell on her rear instead of on her stomach. Just in case. "What'd you do that for?!" she cried out, putting a hand to her stinging cheek.

He seemed equally vehement in his response. “People are dying all over the world, Janice, how could you be so selfish about all of this?”

"Selfish?!" she spluttered, her face darkening to a shade nearly that of her hair color.

Travis grabbed Janice's hand and pulled her to her feet. “Be specific, Janice!”

Still clutching her face and clearly in shock, she managed to add, “the magician, and just now – the antiques seller off the cliff.” Alma rubbed her cheek, not quite grasping what he was getting at. But man, did she want to go at him like one betta and another. This betta certainly didn't do well with others.

“I know exactly who she means,” he announced to his audience. “And this can only mean one thing.” Alma forgot about what had happened for a moment and stepped closer. "You know who the mafia is?!" she gasped, hopeful. Could the deluded man really have the key? She stared at him, hope burning bright as her face.

“They were having an affair!”

Alma's face contorted in rage as he went on with his nonsensical babblings. He couldn't be serious! After all she had been through...she felt a fist clench involuntarily. The other hand let go of the wagon, where it rested against a tree after rolling for a few yards. “I feel faint,” He said. After swaying back and forth a little more, Travis flung himself at her. She fell to the ground beneath his weight.

Before she could open her mouth to kindly tell him to puddle off, Travis looked down at her in horror as if it were the first time he'd seen her. “People are dying, Janice, does this really look like the time to pull me to the ground in some kind of seduction attempt?!”

"Ex-CUSE ME?!" Alma felt something inside of her snap as the fist she'd made before clenched, and heaved and thrust itself into Travis's stomach. "My family is in danger of falling apart right now, and I don't mean dysfunctionally!" She hissed, bringing Travis upright again by the collar. "I don't give a FLYING FISH about what kind of fantasy world you're living in, but this one's in trouble. And I intend to weather the storm, if not with my husband, then by myself. How DARE you..." The last few words were so coated in rage they were a mere whisper. Her face darkened once more, deeper than her hair this time. "How DARE you?!" she shrieked in a voice shrill enough to terrify seagulls. "For your information, Endre is the most faithful man I could ever ask for, and you have to have some reckless nerve to even suggest I'm cheating on him. Yes, there are two mafias running around, but that doesn't mean you get to be a bully and "be cool" like you're on some TV program, young man!" Alma jabbed a finger with a sharp nail into his chest to prove her point. This time, she left, with her wagon, before he could say anything.

Alma's heart twisted. She hadn't mean to hit him or say anything like that. But he'd gone after her family--no, that wasn't right. His crazy side had gone after her family, and even verbally, that was nowhere near acceptable. Still, did it justify her hurting him even after he'd hurt her? What was this town turning her into?! Oh, Endre, please come back soon.... she sighed.

At last, Alma reached the morgue, drained of color and resolve. The Angelfish was still laying on its side, but its breathing was slowed, as if it was asleep. Biting her lip, Alma pushed the wagon inside the morgue, where already she could feel a change in warmth that would only benefit her poor tropical fish.

By a news van, she noticed Ris, a lump of clothing--no, wait, the lump moved, it had to be Coena--and Christopher! He didn't seem nearly as troubled as she'd seen him before. And still...she could tell something was wrong. She saw it in how he moved, how he was nervous around Ris and Cheryl...

Something inside her snapped, but it didn't force her to throw her fist into anything. A pang filled her heart and throat as she realized she couldn't embrace him. Before, when she'd comforted him, she'd felt a strange connection with the crying child, an ache to do nothing but soothe, an action that fulfilled her as well as him--

No. She couldn't really accept him as her son....she had enough things to worry about. Alma glanced over at him again.

Could she?


Several Feet Away...



I was humming contentedly, leaning against him. This felt right. I purred, saying whatever came to mind, my head simply beaming with the sunniness right next to me. "You know this isn't so bad, after all," I began. "Both of you are here, and it's freezing cold, but honestly I don't feel much of it. I wonder if it has something to do with you. You know, I'd had several visions of what seeing you again would be like. Would I flash my petals (ooh! Nope, too much, I'd say!), bend, extend a leaf towards you, and say "you may kiss the leaf?" Inwardly, a part of me was begging me to stop, but I was too flushed and excited to hear that faint scent. "I mean I'm not sure if you'd take as good care of me as Miko does but perhaps she can tell you about how to raise plants NOT that I'm downplaying your abilities or anything..." I coughed, realizing my mistake. "Ah, but..." I had it now.

"But I'm lovely to look at, aren't I?" I truly was feeling warmer, and loosened the scarf even more so that it draped around my roots. "I started out that way, of course, because you never can tell when you're going to need formal wear; I say, you're never truly overdressed--"


"Shush," he whispered to me. "You're in good hands. I won't let anything bad happen to you." He smiled softly at me. At ME!

Oh, if I could melt I would have right there. And--wait, where were his eyes going? He was looking at me up and down now that I took off the scarf. I blushed more, but didn't think I'd look as good covered up. Wait--did he just realize I had thorns? I looked over to Miko. She didn't react the way she would have if he was doing something wrong. No harm there, I supposed. "And might I say," I breathed, leaning closer and growing bolder. "That is one magnificent petal you have there." I pointed with a leaf to the petal he had in one arm. It was big enough that he could stand on it and didn't seem attached to him. The poor thing was insecure enough that he had to carry a petal with him, but, in all honesty, it was grand nonetheless.

"Thank you, plant." He paused. "You really are remarkable," he whispered.

I truly think Miko knew what she was doing. I grinned at her with my innermost petals and practically fell asleep against Rilen's chest, too happy to move...

SPOILER: Click to show

Travis learns an important lesson: Do not screw with Alma's family. Also, cuteness between Alma and Christopher in which she sees what an innocent child he is, and instantly, her maternal instinct kicks in. But since he's surrounded by people, she can't do anything but stare.

Thankfully, her Angelfish is saved by the warmth, in case anyone wants to know.

Barbra once again bungles speech and gets tongue-tied when she tries to talk to Rilen, but she acknowledges this wouldn't have happened without Miko, so she silently thanks her for handing her over to him.

[Avery]

It all happened so fast. One moment everyone was collecting papers, dipping them out from the surf and the sand, and the next that antique shop owner, Anna, arrived and attempted to get in help in moving Aaron's body. And then-- blink, snap-- Bea's fellow townspeople went and lobbed her over the cliff! Bea stared with wide eyes, a terrible sense of dread and deja vu washing over her. She wanted to scream, but couldn't find her voice.

As Anna's body landed on the beach below with a terrible thwack, all of Bea's determined thoughts about collecting papers evaporated like smoke. She couldn't... she couldn't deal with this right now! She knew it was Anna down on the beach, but in her mind's eye she saw someone else-- a sweet little girl, fair and blonde and screaming and--

She swallowed hard and squeezed the image out of her mind. "I need a drink," she whispered to herself. She glanced down at the papers she'd found, and even though it felt slightly wrong, pressed them into the hands of the person nearest to her with a vague murmur of making sure they were treated properly. Then, she practically ran towards the inn.

She tore through the lobby and dining area, into the abutting kitchen. Merry at first chased after her, as if it were a grand game, but then grew distracted by a bagel a guest had left on the dining table, and decided to eat it instead of following her new master. This was fine with Bea. She didn't necessarily want her precious bottles around the lumbering Malamute.

Breathing hard and her hands shaking, Bea took out a glass and set it down, before she began searching her special cabinet for that perfect something to sate her nerves.

SPOILER: Click to show

Bea is so disturbed by Anna's execution that she immediately gives up on collecting papers and heads back to the inn for a drink.

[Gelquie]

((This was a collaboration with Avery!))

Kylie had gone with Lucille to the morgue, and she had stayed there for quite some time. Even though she thoroughly enjoyed Lucille's company, she couldn't help but occasionally wonder about the horses. She wasn't just worried about the cold, but she wondered if it was time to let them roam, or time to give Chamomile their medication. In Lucille's presence, however, she could at least push it to the back of her mind, even if the atrium of the morgue gave her the chills. Well, at least there weren't any dead people nearby.

Just as she had thought that, the doors opened, and the bodies of Aaron and Anna were brought inside. No... She had heard of Aaron's death since earlier that morning, but Anna too? Why...?

Kylie turned away, bringing herself as close to Lucille as possible, for a moment forgetting everyone around her. Even when she did remember, she still didn't want to see the bodies. Seeing them like this felt... wrong, somehow.

Even when the bodies were finally taken down deeper into the morgue, Kylie still found herself growing uncomfortable. The bodies may not have been in the room anymore, but she knew they were still there, in the building. And that there were probably more bodies... She didn't want to see them. She didn't even want to think about it It was easier to just see the urn full of ash, decorated and beautiful, with all the respects paid in the church, and then to watch the ashes dance on the winds above the sea, knowing that their soul would be in a better place.

Not like this.

Anything but this.

Perhaps the morgue had a generator. But right now, she needed a break. Even with Lucille... She didn't think she could stand to be in the same building as the bodies. And it was about time to check on her horses anyway.

Kylie stared into Lucille's eyes. "I think I'm going to go to the inn. I... I need to check on the horses. I'll meet with you later."

For a moment, Kylie didn't want to leave her side. But she couldn't be here all the time, Kylie knew that. Besides, all she really needed was some air, and some time with her horses. Kylie gave Lucille a smile before she forced herself away.

Not long later, Kylie was walking back towards the inn allowing the wind to batter her face. Another thing she needed was a change of clothes; she still was in her pajamas underneath her coat. But her horses had to come first. If more had died since this morning... They might need her.

...Oh, she should probably check on the inn too, shouldn't she? Kylie walked through the front doors of the inn to find it pretty much empty. It was also incredibly quiet; there were no more noises from the lights or the pipes... Actually, it was a bit peaceful. The only sound she could hear was some rustling in the kitchen. Kylie figured it was either her mother, or someone who wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen. Either way, she didn't feel it would hurt to check. She walked towards the swinging doors of the kitchen and gently pushed them open. And there her mother was...

Raiding a previously blocked off cabinet, looking through the assorted bottles of what looked like alcohol, a large glass on the table in front of her. Kylie could only stare for a moment before she let out a sigh.

"Again, mother?" Kylie asked, unable to mask her disappointment.

The bottles rattled as Bea flinched. Like a child caught with its hand in the cookie jar, Bea slowly turned towards her daughter, lips pursed. "I've had a very long day, Kylie," she said thinly. "I just-- there's no shame in a nice glass of sherry or wine to soothe your nerves after a long and terrible day."

Kylie frowned. "But... I just... The day's barely begun. There's too much going on and I just... I can't keep... We're all having long days, mom!" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Yes, well." Bea swallowed hard, her eyes darting rapidly between her daughter and the cabinet-- the gleaming bottles of vodka and gin, rum and liqueurs. "Some of us just-- have different ways of coping, Kylie. You have your horses. I have... I have..." Her voice trailed off.

"You have me, mother!" Kylie cried out. "It's always been me! Why can't you see that?!"

Bea froze, her fingers lingering millimeters above a bottle of brandy. "Lenore--"

"I'm not Lenore! Why do you keep calling me that?!"

Bea looked as if she'd been struck. Quietly, she withdrew her hand from the cabinet and eased shut the door. "I..." Her voice hitched. "It's just-- a name. Only a name, Kylie."

Kylie paused, relieved to see the cabinet shut, but frozen from the anger that had suddenly built up in her. "It..." she choked out, trying to calm down. "It can't be just that."

"Sometimes things are just that, Kylie," Bea said softly. "Sometimes there is nothing beneath the surface at all." Tears pricked at her eyes, though she wanted more than anything to keep a level face. When she looked at Kylie-- her curly, slightly frizzy red locks; her thin face and desperate eyes-- it still sometimes shocked Bea to be looking into the face of a woman, not a little child who'd adored her mother unquestioningly, had wanted for nothing and was happy so long as Bea let her tend to her precious horses. "Please, Kylie," she murmured. "Please know I love you so much. So much. And... I know I'm not perfect. I know I've made mistakes, and I don't blame you f-for being upset with me. But just remember that no matter what, I love you more than anything in the world, Kylie."

Kylie bit her lip and moved her eyes towards the ground, tears pricking her own eyes as she absorbed her mother's words. Then Kylie saw her mother's hand drift back towards the cabinet door. Kylie gritted her teeth.

"Th-then you should SHOW ME ALREADY!" she shouted. Without another word, she darted back out the kitchen doors and ran straight for the stables. She heard her mother's weak and shaky voice calling after her, but she didn't give chase. Kylie wasn't sure how to feel about it, but she figured it was for the best; she couldn't even look at her mother right now. She ran out and slammed the doors behind her with a big BANG.

The moment she felt she was safe in the stables, she ran towards Prue's stall, opened her door, and buried her face in the horse's mane as she sobbed. She tried speaking, but any words that came up got caught in her throat, or came out unintelligibly. So eventually, she stopped trying to make sense of her thoughts, of what was going on around her. She just focused on her anger... and her fatigue. Her fatigue of the situation, her mother's addiction, the murders, everything bad compounded. Things were hard enough as they were...

And Kylie felt utterly helpless to it all.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kylie gets massively uncomfortable with the arrival of the bodies at the morgue. Deciding she needs some air and horse-time, she informs Lucille where she's going before she travels back to the inn. Once there, she walks into the room to find her mother raiding her liquor stash. Stressed and irritated, they get into an argument. Bea says she loves Kylie... But the words are betrayed by her hand heading towards the stash again. Furious, Kylie storms out and goes to the stables, where she proceeds to cry into Prue's mane.

[TJ Wagner]

"I'm Rilen."

His own awkwardness made Miko feel calm, almost as calm as Barbra looked right now leaning against his chest. "My name is Miko," she said, "but I'm sure you already knew that. It means mystic believe it or not, but it gets mispronounced or misspelled all of the time. People call me Mike-o or want to spell it Meeko. Sometimes I wish I had a plain name - like Rose or Lily." Babble. Babble. Babble. If she wasn't standing by idly watching as the world passed, she was babbling. At least Rilen didn't seem to mind too much, or he didn't seem to as the morgue rose morbidly into view.

They paused for a moment, and Miko thought about what else Rilen had said. The talk about moving to a warmer climate was typical enough. It seems like everyone said something like that when it was cold, but there was the other part of his statement. Did he really say she could go with him or was he just talking to Barbra? He certainly seem to be almost as taken by the plant as Barbra was of him, but she had to wonder why he would make such an offer to a plant? Even though Barbra came to her, she was still the florist. Shouldn't that make her the owner and Barbra the property? By that logic, Rilen made the offer to her with the idea that Barbra would come along.

Just great. She was jealous of a plant now. What was next? Would she envious of a salad?

She rubbed her temples trying to ward off the coming headache, but she heard Barbra's soft words loud and clear.

"But I'm lovely to look at, aren't I? I started out that way, of course, because you never can tell when you're going to need formal wear; I say, you're never truly overdressed--" She was actually removing her scarf as she spoke. Her lovely, magnificent plant appeared to be a bit of an exhibitionist.

"And might I say, that is one magnificent petal you have there." She was talking about his arms of course.

"Thank you, plant." [/I] He paused. "You really are remarkable."

She saw the plant glance her way, but she did her best to keep her face neutral. To the casual observer, it would look like Miko approved of the behavior or at least didn't find anything wrong with it, but inside emotions were raging. She would have trouble putting her feelings into words, but those feelings were there all the same. "And this is Barbra T. Manna," she quickly said, a little desperate to get into the conversation.

Suddenly she froze. Had she already told him the plant's name? She couldn't remember, and that was bad. Her head throbbed and ached mercilessly as he heart pounded. Trying to hide all of this, she stepped forward and opened the door for Rilen as his hands were still full of Barbra. She even managed a faint smile.

As they stepped into the warm building, Miko heard shouting from outside. Had something happened? Standing half in and half out the doorway, she looked and listened as she tried to figure out what this new disturbance was all about. At least it was a distraction for her feelings about Barbra...and Rilen.

SPOILER: Click to show

Miko talks to Rilen as they walk to the morgue. She notices how interested he seems in Barbra, and is becoming jealous. They walk inside the morgue, but Miko notices there is some commotion outside.

[Draco]

Afe flew through the air towards the Morgue. Upon arriving he watches Kylie leave. He decides to follow. He watches from afar. When he sees her run to the stables he gets a idea. He rushes off to town again. A few minutes later he returns, entering the stables as quietly as possible (which is pretty easy when you don't make footsteps). He hides behind Prue, slowly something appears over Prue and laid on top of Prue. He silently leaves, leaving the object on Prue for Kylie to find. Sitting on Prue is a ham sandwich.

---

Afe leaves the area and begins to explore again. That's when he spots his next target, forgetting about checking on the Morgue. With a grin he appears behind the boy. Epic music begins to play out of nowhere as he leaps in front of Winston Teakes.

"Look at me when I scream at your soul! Welcome to die! WELCOME TO THE BOSS BATTLE!!!!"

He points a fly swatter at Winston, and is wearing what looks to be very bad cardboard armor.

---

Elsewhere the children sit in a corner of the room together, watching, not speaking.

SPOILER: Click to show

Afe decides to help out Kylie, with a ham sandwich...

He then decides to engage Winston in a boss battle.

Kids are still creepy

[Jayeee]

Travis thought about what Janice had said to him as he made his way to find the crowd of people that were always forming somewhere, waiting to applaud his entrance.

She'd mentioned something about her family falling apart and needing to weather the storm with a husband. Wait... had she just proposed to him?!

He stopped in his tracks. “If i'd have known she wanted to marry me i'd have given her another slap. Nobody ties this tiger down, not even Tiffany slash Rachel.” He shook his head and looked to his right. “She's probably going to run around town and tell everybody how the precious Travis Richem just gave her marriage proposal an ambiguous response. I'll let her enjoy that feeling for a little while.”

He continued walking for some time, pointing out the various extras and explaining what little importance they had in his life. It may have amazed his audience to know just how many extras had used some kind of illness as an explanation for their insane antics, but Travis supposed that they were only sub-par actors after all – one couldn't expect too much from that calibre of folk.

And then he heard it. He'd been so busy thinking about himself (he now understood how his adoring fans must feel every day), that he hadn't even noticed he'd neared the cliffs. He saw some kind of mangled car down by the beach, and quite a few people there too. Great, now he'd have to walk all the way down. Had they forgotten that he was hungover?!

“Travis, I'm going to kill you! And then, when you're dead, I'm going to spend time making your afterlife miserable!”

Travis didn't actually recognise her, but she did look distinctly dead. So that proved it then – the production company were definitely faking all these deaths. That was a relief. He had to hand it to them, they'd staged quite the elaborate plan in Aifam Cove. It was impressive, although if they were going to go through all the trouble of making supernatural creatures, the least they could have done was mix things up a little. A zombie wouldn't have gone amiss – then he could really have turned into the action hero that was just burning inside of him. He just hoped that his audience could go along with all this – he didn't want them to think that this wasn't realistic.

Oh, who was he kidding – his viewers would believe anything he told them. He was amazing.

Of course, he had to react somehow. The fake ghost was approaching him at an alarming rate, he had to act accordingly.

Travis screamed at the top of his voice. And then he ran away.

“I AM BEING HAUNTED BY THE GHOSTS OF LOVERS PAST,” he cried out as he ran.

He quickly found The Stallion Inn. It wasn't a place he visited particularly often, and he was about to dash inside for cover when his acute drama senses caught hold of tears. Usually that was from him, but this time somebody else was having a dramatic moment. The nerve!

He sped around to the back of the building to the stables, where the crying became louder. It sounded desperate, Travis was insulted that whomever had decided to have such a crisis hadn't at least invited him there first. Unless this was their plan all along, to lure him away.

Tiptoeing into the stables, he peeked into each of the stalls until he found one with a young girl sobbing into a horse's mane. “How unhygienic,” he muttered to himself, before turning his back on the stall. He brushed his hair with his hands and tested his breath. All perfect – nothing unusual there.

“I've just found dearest Claire weeping alone,” he whispered to his audience, “She was most definitely calling out for me, I could feel it. Claire and I go way back. We've had an on-again-off-again relationship that's made history already. It started at school, I was top of my class and she was an unfortunate delinquent. I took pity of course, and it was like The Prince and the Pauper. But in REAL LIFE, which is so much better!”

Travis slipped into the stall.

“Beautiful,” he said and licked his lips. “The horse isn't bad either.” He laughed at this – Claire always fell for his charm. And not just her either, nobody could resist.

“You know, a past friend of mine once introduced me to the delights of eating animal flesh. Horses are quite the vibrant aroma in your mouth, you know.”

It was always best to introduce a topic that they could both dig right into. Literally if she was feeling hungry. He eyed the horse with a grin. It had a ham sandwich on top of it – he assumed that was just a garnish to the main meal.

Travis tried his best to sound enthusiastic when he added, “But Claire, you look so upset. What could possibly be the matter?”

In truth, he was just waiting for her to ask him if he was okay, because that was the important part. But he wasn't adverse to giving some screen time to the extras. Who knew, maybe one of them could get upped to supporting actress is she was loving enough.

“Claire, if it's at all possible in any way for me to wipe away those tears that are just horridly running down your face...” he paused, pretending to tear up from the emotionality of it. “... then i'd like to use my tongue.”

SPOILER: Click to show

Travis realises that Janice proposed to him and laments not giving her a definite refusal. He ends up standing on the cliff where the fake ghost of Jessica screams at him. He pretends to believe that it's real and runs to the local inn, picking up on somebody crying nearby.
Following the sound to the stables around the back, Travis finds Claire, who was luring him to her in the hopes of rekindling their on-off love affair. He approaches her by talking about her favourite thing – the taste of horses – and offers to wipe away her tears in a way that nobody could possibly resist.

[PFA]

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Professor Bardsley to find Mr. Endicott—or, rather, for Mr. Endicott to find them.

"You lookin' fantastic, girls!" he told Cassidy's friends, with a wink at Shantelle in particular.

"Oh, thanks!" Shantelle replied cheerfully, or as cheerfully as she could under the circumstances, at any rate. "This is a new coat. Do you like it?"

Cassidy raised an eyebrow, watching as the hairdresser plugged in some hairdryers. So they weren't kidding about the hairdryers. Once they were plugged in, Leopold turned to the professor.

"Get drying, Professor!" he said. "We can settle down, freshen up and make food later, this is important."

"Of course, of course," Professor Bardsley agreed, taking one of the hairdryers. "Miss Jackson, if you and your friends would like to help, it would be most appreciated."

"Oh, uh, sure, I guess," Cassidy replied.

Professor Bardsley handed her some of the papers, which she glanced through curiously. They were... definitely very soggy, and difficult to read. She was honestly not sure if blowdrying them would help at all, but that didn't stop the professor from trying, as the familiar whrrrrrrr sound rang through the air. She just watched this for a moment, before shrugging and picking up the other hairdryer. It didn't hurt to try, at least.

SPOILER: Click to show

Professor Bardsley and Cassidy start blowdrying the soggy papers from Aaron's briefcase.

[Killix]

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