Mafia The Third: The Seaside Town of Aifam Cove

[Diana]

Winston jolted as a powerful bass riff suddenly appeared from nowhere. Jolted into action, that was – because sudden soundtracks interrupting the normal exploring ambience track could only mean one thing.

Combat!

He whirled around, raising the controller defensively. It was the ghost from before – but now it was armed and armored! Winston wasn’t sure what kind of warrior it had been in life, with such blocky armor and that blunt, flat instrument, but that didn’t matter. From the way it was posturing, he had a feeling… no, an intuition…

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

“BOSS BATTLE!" Winston shouted. The ghost shouted it too, but he was louder. Besides, he couldn’t trust the enemy to get it right. The line sounded a little too much like a poorly-translated Japanese port.

He lifted the Controller of Holy Smiting and posed; one arm up, one arm forward, legs spread apart in a battle stance. At last! At last! Two long days of the plot moving in endless circles, of confusing sidequests and traps and a thoroughly unlikable cast of NPCs. He needed something powerful. Something straightforward. Something righteous.

And nothing was more pure than an epic smackdown of evil. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, filling his energy meter past to one hundred percent and unlocking his hidden ability: Battle Rush.

“You will never defeat me! Taste silver, undead scum!” he shouted, and swung his controller through the ghost. There was less resistance than he expected, and he nearly pitched forward; only his high Reflex skill prevented him from falling over and being engulfed by the malevolent specter. As it was, he quickly recovered his balance and slashed at the enemy again, ducking under its lethal blunt instrument and swinging his controller through the spectral mist as fast as he could.

“Hyaaaaah! Yaaaah!”

He couldn’t see a life bar anywhere, but surely he was doing massive damage!

SPOILER: Click to show

A boss battle begins! Winston engages a hostile ghost for great justice!

[RielCZ]

"My name is Miko," the florist said. She almost appeared calm -- he could no longer discern any trace of her previous timidness -- and he eased.

Miko. The florist's name was Miko. He'd have to remember that.

"But I'm sure you already knew that."

Rilen's smile waned. He had not known that, and her assumption he did bothered him slightly though he couldn't say why or how.

"Sometimes I wish I had a plain name - like Rose or Lily."

Or a plant name, Rilen thought, his smile returning. "I like Miko -- and you sure do love your flowers," he added with a semi-sarcastic smile. The boarder was absolutely fine with Miko's explanation of everything and he realized he liked talking to her. 

The two paused and Rilen stared at his human counterpart. She seemed to be reflecting on something -- probably something he'd said. He frowned. 

Figuring it had to do with his previous comment on relocating, he attempted to rectify it. "Yeah... the warmth is only one perk of living down south -- there's some pretty neat things there." Rilen and Miko just looked at each other, and he thought the latter looked bored... or else deep in thought. He inwardly sighed. What was he, a travel agent? He supposed he could tell her about sand-boarding, but thought it wiser to change the subject. 

The plant, however, seemed to have things to say, some of which he softly replied to. He managed to understand quite a lot of her speech -- broken phrases became actual sentences -- and he figured it was due to the progress he made bonding with the remarkable plant.

Rilen glanced back over at Miko. Her face was neutral, and he remembered he still had to choose a topic and thus continue the conversation. Luckily, it -- no, the plant was a she, he had to get that down -- gave him an idea; "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..."

The boarder smiled. He could ask that.

But then Miko interjected, her voice sounding just a tinge desperate, "And this is Barbra T. Manna."

Rilen nodded his head. Though at first surprised the plant had a name, he supposed it was only fitting for such a special flower. He grinned as he looked down at Barbra. Indeed, the plant was a she.

Looking back up, next he knew, Miko held the door of the morgue open for him and the one he carried. He walked through. "Thank you," he started emphatically, "and Barbra is a wonderful name for a wonderful plant."

Miko flashed a faint smile. It was then he realized something was the matter with her -- she was upset, or jealous, or even angry. Something emotional.

He frowned, and realized he'd still not changed the subject. He thought back to Barbra's comment. "Considering I can only practice snowboarding during the day -- and, even then, I don't do it all the time -- perhaps, when I'm not busy, I could come to your store and help you with the flowers? I used to garden quite a bit, and maybe you can tell me how to better raise plants." He smiled...

And instantly regretted even making that proposition. What if the matter with her was him? What if she was upset he was talking to her?

Though maybe more time together would lessen whatever animosity she felt towards him, if that was indeed the case.

Meh. He supposed Miko could always just back out, but...

And then the body of the antique shop's proprietor was wheeled through the front door of the morgue.

"That'll teach her for getting too close to dead bodies," someone from outside hollered.

Rilen almost gaped. Another person dead? Dead at the hands of the townspeople, no doubt, especially considering the comment he just heard. He figured it must have had something to do with her snooping around the debris site... and she must have been killed in the belief she was tampering with evidence.

Regardless if she was innocent or not... if this served as a principle for death, everyone in the morgue should be next. With the majority of the townspeople in the facility holding the dead -- arguably, the evidence -- who knows what could have been tampered with on the bodies and by whom?

The boarder gulped. The town was getting scarier.

He stared back down at the plant, resting peacefully against him. At least Barbra allowed him a faint smile.

SPOILER: Click to show

Rilen learns the names of Miko and Barbra. As the three enter the morgue, Rilen volunteers to help Miko with flowers when he's not busy, but regrets making the offer as he realizes Miko is upset and fears it's because of him.

Then the body of Anna is wheeled into the morgue, and he becomes very uncomfortable. 

[Sporty]

Melanie started when she heard the scream. Rushing outside with Evan, she was just in time to see somebody go over the cliff.

It was... It was the woman who had been helping with Trixie! The townspeople had already gotten that riled up again, and 'Woo knew what that girl could have done to attract their fury.

Melanie swallowed. I never even got her name. That woman was just attacked -- killed -- in front of me and I didn't even know her name!

This... This had to stop. The Mafia were killing innocents, and driving the people to kill innocents too, and they had corrupted Lindsey and demolished the power and turned her home into a bloodbath and --

Melanie growled, soft and low yet still an actual growl, in spite of herself. She was sick of worrying and hiding and running, and this sense of fear and death had plagued her home -- her territory -- for too long.

She was done running. She was going to find these mafias, and she was going to stop them once and for all.

SPOILER: Click to show

Melanie witnesses Anna's death and snaps, silently vowing to stop hiding and drive the Mafias out of her "territory" once and for all.

[Kristykimmy]

Travis shrieked like a little girl in a haunted house and took off running.

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

“I doubt you've ever actually had a lover in your life, you miserable waste of a creature!” Anna shrieked.

“Anna! What happened? ” a voice called out.

Anna halted to look. Travis was headed for the Inn, she could easily catch up to him when he stopped to address his fictional audience later. It was the blue-haired Lillian Parker, she was an accountant Anna believed.

“I'm dead!” Anna shouted. “The townspeople murdered me for apparently being too helpful and nice. I'm not Mafia, I never was. And you know what, I don't care anymore. You can all kill each other and be killed by the Mafia. I'm sure it'll be really funny. Nice Anna's had it up to here! Now, I've got a date with Travis, and it's gonna be the most fun one he's ever had!”

Anna ran off towards the Inn. She immediately heard Travis loudly addressing his fictional audience, telling them about someone named Claire. Considering it was coming from the stables, Anna guessed he was inventing stories about Kylie, Ms. Devon's horse obsessed daughter.

Anna crept up behind Travis just in time to hear him say, “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... then I'd like to use my tongue.”

If Anna had had a stomach she knew it would be heaving up her tea from that morning. Maybe being a ghost had some perks. She put her now icy fingers on the back of Travis' neck.

“Oh, Travis, did you forget about me already? You're so unfaithful. I don't have tears anymore, but I would enjoy watching you cry. Now, run, my little chicken.”

SPOILER: Click to show

Anna lets loose her fury on a poor concerned Lillian Parker and then takes back off after Travis, who she finds harassing Kylie in a most disgusting manner.

[Avery]

(Narrator Note: The next round will begin tomorrow in the late morning/early afternoon Eastern. There will probably be a time skip into late afternoon or early evening (I haven't yet decided for sure), so if you have any pressing business to take care of with your character, make sure to do it before then!)

[Ian Wolf-Park]

Evan stood up as he wiped the last of the tears away, pondering what to do next. It was at that point that he decided that he would stay. He had a suspicion that he wouldn't be able to stop the innocents from being killed or the mafia from striking again, but he had to do something, even if it meant sitting on the sidelines and observing the action.

"Melanie, even though I haven't finished my inspections on the pets, I don't believe they're in imminent danger at this point thanks to the generator. If that changes, let me know as soon as possible," he said as he walked back to his home and office.

As soon as he returned to his office, he went to his desk and began feeling around it for a hidden panel. When he did, he took a dagger shaped like a fang and tied it around his leg. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to using Wolf Fang, but drastic times called for drastic measures, and this was one of those times.

SPOILER: Click to show

Evan ponders what his next steps were before giving Melanie the clean bill of health despite the inspections being unfinished. He then goes back to his office and retrieves a uniquely shaped dagger, due to the extreme circumstances given.

[Gelquie]

For some time, Kylie cried into Prue's mane, oblivious to whatever was going on around her. That was, until a sudden voice came up behind her.

"Beautiful. The horse isn't bad either." the voice said before laughing. Kylie quickly spun around and stepped back. Mafia?! ...No, it was Travis, with no one with him. ...Still plenty of reason to be careful. She inwardly scolded herself; this was how people died nowadays. She watched Travis carefully, trying and failing to put a stop to her tears.

Travis continued. “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.”

Kylie glared. This wasn't the first time he brought up eating horses to her. She never understood what his obsession was with bringing up that topic to her. She was about to speak with a comeback, but the words got choked in her throat again, and it came out as a sob. By Woo, why did Travis have to bother her now?

“But Claire, you look so upset. What could possibly be the matter?”

"I-I'm n-not Claire," Kylie managed to sputter out. Goodness, didn't she just go over this? Was her name really so hard to remember? If not even her own mother could call her by the right name... In any case, she wasn't about to say her problems to someone who can't even get her name right. Especially not to Travis.

“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..." Travis paused. "... then I'd like to use my tongue.”

Kylie grimaced and recoiled. What? Just... what? For a moment, she was too shocked to even react, besides fervently shaking her head 'no'. Then she let out a gasp, as she saw a ghost appear behind him. Was that... Anna? She... She had come back too? Kylie watched as Anna put her fingers down Travis' neck.

“Oh, Travis, did you forget about me already? You're so unfaithful. I don't have tears anymore, but I would enjoy watching you cry. Now, run, my little chicken.”

In spite of her tears, Kylie's mouth twitched into a smile, but only for a moment. Still, knowing Travis, Kylie wasn't sure whether this would be enough. Just then, Prue whinnied, and something fell to the ground. Was that... a sandwich? How did that even... Nevermind. She didn't care right now. She picked up the sandwich and proceeded to slam it into Travis' face, dirty side first.

"L-leave me a-alone, Travis!" Kylie sputtered out. "L-listen to her a-and get out!"

As much as Kylie wanted to say more, she found that her throat was not cooperating with her. So to make her point as clear as she could, she grabbed her riding crop and slapped it across his face as hard as she could. She made a mental note to thoroughly wash her riding crop later.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kylie's cry session was interrupted by the, er, famous Travis. He tries to make light conversation with her before putting forth a modest proposal. Kylie recoiled before witnessing Anna try to scare Travis, for which she was grateful. Then she takes her own action. She slams the ham sandwich into his face, tells him to get out, and slaps him with a riding crop. However, she's too choked up with tears to really give Travis any verbal beatdowns.

[Celestial]

They did not listen. At least, Morty did not listen. He seemed to be the ringleader in these things often. But one way or another, even before the evidence was reviewed, Anna had gone over the cliff. Lucille turned to glare daggers at Morty but she knew better than to argue with him. He did not know of her own illegal activities and right now, he was seeing monsters everywhere. It was quite possible that he would quite happily throw Lucille over the cliff with Anna. There was enough evidence that could potentially tie her to the mafia to the uninformed.

With that, Lucille and Kylie had left for the morgue, along with most of the townspeople. She curled her arms around Kylie for comfort. At least she had her. Sweet, innocent, lovely Kylie, who she could feel safe with and in turn protect. She hugged the girl into her shoulder as she saw that Kylie's eyes were settling on the bodies around them.

"...alright," Lucille's arms fell off Kylie as she left her protective grip. She watched as the girl left. In her pockets, she still had some of the papers she had gathered. Evidence of who the mafia might be. But what could it do with vigilante justice running amock?

This town...it had always been a nice place. Was a mafia killing people all it took to turn people into monsters? The mafia were awful but the townspeople killing other townspeople, her neighbours taking the law into their own hands...that scared her. All good criminals feared vigilante justice and Lucille was no exception. At least the police had rules they had to obey which made them easy to circumvent. Vigilate justice was swift and brutal.

"Here, you dry there and look over them. I might come back later," she said, handing the papers to Leo and Professor Bardsley, who were busy trying to get the others to dry, before she stepped out into the cold and headed towards the inn. Lucille wanted to be with Kylie, at least not wanting to let her out of her sight. The townspeople could not get them if they were together. They could protect each other, somehow. At least, if they had to die, they could spend their time together. It was better than dying alone.

There was a shout from the stables and as she got closer, she heard voices. Anna's and...Kylie's. Lucille was not sure which one was more disturbing but nevertheless, she ran into the stables, fearing the worst. Her blood ran cold. The mafia? Or somebody else?

However, as she entered, she saw Travis uncomfortably close to Kylie. Clearly bothering her. Suddenly, Lucille saw red. She strode over to Travis and grabbed him by the shirt collars, dragging him away from Kylie.

"Don't you lay a finger on her!" she cried. Mafia or not, nobody harassed Kylie. She threw Travis against the stable wall and whipped out her pistol from her garters, aiming it for a moment at Travis. However, she stopped. Travis, scumbag that he was, did not deserve to die and goodness knows they had enough death here already. Plus she did not want to waste a bullet. So instead, Lucille twisted the pistol around in her hand and slammed it into Travis's nose before bringing it around again and hitting him in the neck.

"Now, you will leave Kylie out of your delusions," she spat and gave him a final kick in the stomach. Beating Travis up did make her feel a bit better, admittedly.

"Are you okay?" she turned and put her arm around Kylie, hugging her. She looked over the girl, making sure that she was unhurt. "At least it was not mafia, just some [bleep]bag."

SPOILER: Click to show

Lucille is angry at Morty for lynching Anna despite appeals not to but knows better than to argue with the lynch-happy guy. She heads to the morgue with Kylie and cuddles with her for a while until Kylie leaves. Lucille broods about what happened to the neighbourhood before giving her papers to Bardsley and Leo to dry. She heads after Kylie towards the inn, only to find Travis hitting on her beloved. So she pistol-whips him, which makes her feel a bit better.

[Tiger]

They reached the morgue somehow having managed a conversation, but Cheryl Roxanne Lewis was determined now to find a way to get sound from her camera as it was recording. Guessing when someone was done speaking was harder than it looked, and if she mistimed it, there was an irritating delay. Editing was for after the recording, not during. That was what differentiated the news from film.

I need to talk to Piper – if anyone knows a way to hook something like that up and isn’t Pratchett, it’d be her.

Cheryl had kept the camera on while getting out of the car; while waiting Coena, Albert, and possibly Christopher to get out with her and Ris, Chery quickly rewatched the footage. "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…detective. We can help you!"

“I would appreciate your help. But please, you three – be careful. I don’t know if anything can harm a ghost,” she added in Christopher’s direction, “but if the mafias think you’re causing trouble, they might find a way. These mafias…if they’re anything like the ones I’ve been reading about, they’re not just money-grubbing intimidators.” Suddenly Cheryl wondered if she should be involving the kids at all – this was dangerous. Moronically so, even.

But they’ve put themselves in plenty of danger on their own already. At least if we’re all together, I and Siddhi and maybe even Khiran can help protect them. Pratchett and Albert will help, too, as much as they can. They’ll be all right.”

She looked around for Siddhi or Khiran as the group made their way to the morgue. She remembered she was supposed to be looking for Piper, too, and thinking about the photographer reminded Cheryl that the battery in her camera wasn’t unlimited. With no guarantee about when the power would return to charge it again…She sighed and turned it off. “Christopher – if you have anything you need to tell me, have Ris or Coena relay the message, all right?”

SPOILER: Click to show

Cheryl accepts the kids' help but worries that she might be putting them in danger. ...That's it. Seriously. Don't even bother copying this summary, Carrie. It's not worth it. It's not worth it!

[♥ Azzie]

Calla was not at the morgue.

If anybody had been attentive to anything but the gruesome murders, they might have noticed that the quiet tourist was nowhere to be seen for the last several days. But nobody had been. In fact, that "nobody" included Calla herself, which was why she had been absent.

A thin dark man stood silhouetted in the silver light coming in through the window. "There's too much ice, Callaina. There's no way to get you home until next month!"
Calla stood shaking beside him, pleading. "But you've seen the way this town is crumbling apart. People are being killed every day now!"
The man crossed his arms. "I have not. We keep to ourselves, Callaina, you know that very well. Why do you not stay inside for a while?"
Calla ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "I can't, sir. You know that. I'm not used to it like you are."
The man sat down. "I do know. But what else is there to do?"
"Take me home," Calla pleaded. "You and Elesa could come too. It is not safe for anyone here."
"I told you, it's impossible! You've studied, you know that!"
"I know, but I cannot accept it!" She turned for her room and shut the door, leaving the man looking quite wearily at where she had gone.

Calla was not at the morgue.
If anyone had been about, they would have found her walking along the beach, glancing nervously behind her and forming small sculptures out of the snow.

SPOILER: Click to show

Calla's been gone a while. Now she's back, terrified, and playing in the snow for some reason.

[TJ Wagner]

"Considering I can only practice snowboarding during the day -- and, even then, I don't do it all the time -- perhaps, when I'm not busy, I could come to your store and help you with the flowers? I used to garden quite a bit, and maybe you can tell me how to better raise plants."

Even though most of Miko's attention was directed to the growing commotion outside, she heard Rilen's words and her heart leapt up in her chest and locked itself squarely in her throat. That comment was definitely directed towards her and not Barbra. Besides, even he had made the proposition to get closer to Barbra, it would also mean he would be with her as well. Would it be so bad to share his attention? Having half of someone was more than she had now anyway. She wanted to answer him, but that was when another dead body was wheeled through the door.

Anna!

Miko felt sadness and uncharacteristic anger swell inside her. Although she didn't talk to that many people, she had liked Anna. She had been the first one in her shop when this whole mess had begun and the first to talk to her. Most just order their flowers and leave, but Anna had been nice and Miko sensed that they could have been friend.

Key words were 'could have been.'

With new resolve, she turned towards Rilen. "You talked about moving to a warmer climate," she began, "Why don't we go now?" She was shaking as she spoke, but she plowed ahead anyway. "We could take Barbra and just get out of here. We could find some place where we can live instead of just waiting around here to die." She leaned forward and dropped her voice so that it was barely audible. "I have money saved up. It's in my shop."

Here the acid voice inside her head whispered that she was being a fool. Announcing that she had money that wasn't safely stored away in a bank was just asking for trouble, and she had no way of knowing if she could truly trust Rilen.

But she did trust him. After all, Barbra certainly seemed to like him.

SPOILER: Click to show

Miko suggests that her, Rilen, and Barbra get out of Aifam Cove.

[Draco]

Afe laughs to himself softly, then loudly, then softly again. He didn't fight back yet against Winston, sort of enjoying the attack.

"Hehe, that tickles."

A life bar suddenly appears above the two, but it doesn't go down.

After a few minutes of this he attacks back, swinging the flyswatter at Winston with the grace of a guy swinging a flyswatter at something... After a few quick attacks he stops and begins to take hits again.

"Pitiful people prepare, plead plentifully plentiful platitude phenomenal patriot pounds, poundingly perverse puppets pulping, pleasantly, putrid pasties."

The bar drops a little, somehow.

----

The children at the Morgue decide it's time to explore. Getting up at different times, they slowly disappear from the main room and begin to scatter around the Morgue.

SPOILER: Click to show

The Boss Battle continues.
The children are loose.

[Birdy]

At first, Professor Bardsley didn't say anything. Finally, though, he spoke.

"...All of these deaths lately have been rather... rattling," he said. "Hearing a dead man's voice at a time like this could be a coping mechanism conjured up by the mind."

Hermia frowned. She was about to ask the man if he was calling her crazy, when he continued.

"Mr. Smith would always take charge of situations like this; he likely would have been here present were he still alive. And his death was quite sudden. It only makes sense."

Hermia sighed. The Professor did have a point. And besides; she'd dealt with people like him enough to know he was the type who would not believe something they didn't want to, even if the facts were staring them straight in the face.

...Or tapping them on the shoulder...

Being so close, Hermia couldn't help but overhear what the spectre was saying.

"Excuse me, anthropologist teacher, your services are needed. Being one of the only people with some sort of specialty and authority here, I ask that you investigate the area. Perhaps you can find some clues. If you find anything, please come visit Town Hall with your findings."

She saw him freeze, rooted to the spot as the ghostly figure left.

"Are you okay?" Hermia asked, concerned the Professor was going to pass out. But the Professor did not respond.

"...Er, well then," he finally said, somewhat awkwardly. (Obviously, he had not heard her earlier question. ) "Perhaps there are some clues to be found here. I may as well take a look, hm?"

"Sounds like a plan," Hermia replied, relieved that the Professor did not appear to be in danger of keeling over any longer.

The paper-gathering was soon disrupted, however, by the arrival - and subsequent execution - of miss Anna Dywight. All she had done was offered to take the body to the morgue, for a proper burial, and they'd killed her for it.

Hermia's stomach dropped as the townsfolk formed a mob and dragged the antiques owner kicking and screaming to the top of the cliffs... then threw her over.

Hermia turned, unable to watch any longer. Suddenly, she didn't feel like going to the morgue any more...

She looked at the papers in her hands, rustling in the breeze, then over to the Professor, who was still gathering papers. After a moment's hesitation, she approached him again.

"Um... w- would you mind taking these to the morgue, when you go?" she asked, holding the papers out to him. "I'd take them myself, but... after what just happened, I- I don't know if I'm up for- for being around any more bodies..."

The Professor smiled benevolently. "Of course," he said, taking the papers.

Hermia whispered a "thanks", and turned to walk back towards the Inn. The day had barely started, and already she felt like crawling back in bed.

Having now reached the Inn, Hermia opened the front door and entered, shutting it behind her. She then began to trek to her room, only to pause and frown. She could have sworn she'd heard something in the dining room. Sure enough, she heard it again - the unmistakable sound of clanking glasses.

Mafia, Hermia thought, mouth drying.

She looked around for anything she could use to defend herself with. She found nothing. Then she thought that maybe - just maybe - if she could sneak into the dining room quietly enough, she would have just enough time to grab a chair and bash them over the head with it. It was a long shot, but... it was all she had.

Taking a deep breath, Hermia crept into the dining room, taking hold of the first chair she saw. Then, steeling herself, she lunged around to face her foe, chair held high.

She was greeted by the malamute Beatrix Devon had adopted, happily eating all the bagels from the display, having knocked them to the floor from where they had sat on the counter, next to the glasses.

"No!" Hermia gasped, setting the chair down and rushing forwards. "Bad dog!" she scolded, pulling her away from the bagels. The malamute whined in protest.

Hermia continued to hold the dog back, and checked her tags.

Merry read the name.

"Merry," Hermia said, giving the dog a reproachful look. "You should know better."

Still trying to keep Merry at bay, Hermia picked up the spilled bagels. Unsure what else to do with them, she headed towards the kitchen.

Her hand was on the doorknob hen she heard it - the sound of glass clinking together, from the other side of the door.

Not again, Hermia thought with a grimace.

Well, she might as well see who was there. And if it were one of the mafia, well. She could always pelt them with slobber-coated bagels...

A wet nose in her hand reminded her she was not alone, and she smiled. Or, she could sic a 90-pound malamute on them. Comforted by that thought, Hermia took a deep breath and opened the door.

It was not a diabolical mafia she found, but Beatrix Devon.

"Ms. Devon," Hermia said, relived. "I was afraid it was-" Hermia shook her head. "Nevermind."

Then thumping of a tail against her legs reminded Hermia of why she had come to the kitchen in the first place.

"Ms. Devon," Hermia started, placing the bagels on the counter. "I--"

She had been going to tell Ms. Devon that Merry had gotten into the breakfast food; that she'd eaten most of the bagels. But upon noting the woman's subdued mannerisms, she thought better of it. Somehow, Hermia didn't think Beatrix needed something else to worry about.

"Ms. Devon," Hermia asked, "are you alright?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Hermia accepts that Professor Bardsley is going to remain in denial about ghosts, despite hearing one, and feeling it tap him on the shoulder.

She gathers a few more papers, but is disturbed by the lynching of Anna Dywight, and so hands the papers she gathered over to the Professor, asking if he'd mind taking them to the morgue when he goes. He agrees to, and Hermia goes back to the Inn.

Upon entering, she hears strange sounds coming from the dining room. Worrying it's the Mafia, she sneaks in, grabs the first chair she sees, and prepares for battle. Instead of a diabolical mafia, she finds Merry, happily eating all the bagels. Shooing Merry away, Hermia gathers the bagels and goes to the kitchen, where she finds Beatrix Devon. Hermia nearly tells her that Merry got into the breakfast display, but decides not to upon noticing that Bea seems upset, and so instead asks if she's okay.

[Diana]

Winston flailed. The health bar did not drop.

"Hehe, that tickles."

"Gah!" Winston cried. "You will not mock me, undead scum!"

Why wasn't it working? He had his enchanted weapon - that would have double effectiveness against everything the cultists could summon up, including ghosts! Even if this was a boss battle -

Oh. There was his problem.

Some bosses - usually minibosses, but not always - were meant to be fought by conventional methods; duck, slash, shoot, dodge, healing potions, and the like. Most, however, were untouchable by normal means – they were invincible until either a certain attack (his or theirs) forced them to rest momentarily and reveal their weak point, or there was something in the environment around them that he could use to damage them. By treating this like a conventional fight, he was only wasting his ammo. Well... the Silver Controller of All That Was Good and Pure did not take ammunition, but he was wasting energy. Already, his arms ached; he calculated his energy meter to be at about 50%, and his bonus stats from Battle Rush were fading.

He needed to look at this objectively. This enemy seemed to have very low Speed, only managing a few attacks within a number of turns in which he’d been able to launch a flurry. Its Strength stat was also questionable, as its flat mace had not managed to inflict any physical damage on him. Of course, he couldn’t rule out poison or decay spells - he'd brought a pack of pretzels for emergency HP if needed. However, it either had near-impenetrable Weapon Resistance or incredibly high hit points – both of which were preventing his holy weapon from dealing noticeable damage.

There had to be something here. A weak spot – maybe a glowing vortex, maybe an obvious crack in its ghostly armor. The only thing out of the ordinary Winston could spot was an odd sort of thick, flat, floppy crown on the ghost’s head. It was decorated with… pears? Perhaps this revenant had reigned over produce and pyrus-related endeavors in its life. But those times were long past, and now it was nothing more than a malevolent shell of its fruit-based self.

He briefly shifted his attention from his foe and panned the camera around Chet Street. They weren’t in a cave, so he could rule out stalactites or ancient thwompy statues as a means of hurting this foe. There wasn't really anything that promising here, though - it certainly wasn't the scenery he'd have picked for a bossfight. Maybe he had to collapse a house on it?

The ghost opened its mouth wide. Winston tensed, preparing for anything – who knew what kind of special attack it was charging up? Oh man, it was about to fire its laser-

"Pitiful people prepare, plead plentifully plentiful platitude phenomenal patriot pounds, poundingly perverse puppets pulping, pleasantly, putrid pasties."

Winston stopped.

“What? I mean, just… what?” He puzzled it over, but no matter which way he looked at it, he could not wring meaning out of that sentence. “Is this some kind of Japanese port? Omg, you people should hire somebody instead of using Google Translate.”

But – the life bar had dropped! What had he just done? Was not attacking the key? A lack of righteous retaliation from the hero was unexpected, but what would that do? Was it attacking itself in its confusion? This fight didn’t make any sense.

“I need a Let’s Play,” he muttered, and immediately hated himself for it. The great Winston Teakes did not rely upon others for guidance!

SPOILER: Click to show

Winston's attacks prove ineffectual, and he sets about devising a new strategy to defeat his foe. He is then distracted by its complete failure to deliver legible battle taunts.

[Gelquie]

It wasn't long after Kylie had brandished her riding crop that she suddenly saw Lucille come in and grab Travis. Lucile... How long had she been listening? She watched with bated breath as Lucille leveled a gun on Travis... Before changing her mind and proceeding to beat him up. Though Kylie wasn't too disappointed to see this happen, she was too shocked and overwhelmed by emotion to do anything else.

When Lucille finished, and Travis was left writhing wordlessly on the floor, Kylie found herself frozen in place. That was, until she felt Lucille's gentle hug around her body. Kylie fell into the hug without question, and reciprocated the hug with her own.

"Are you okay?" Lucille asked. "At least it was not mafia, just some [bleep]bag."

Kylie tried to stifle a sob. "H-he didn't hurt me," she said. "I-I'm glad... And g-glad that you came... B-but my mom, she..."

Kylie then remembered that there were others in the room, even if not all of them were alive. And for a moment, Kylie felt self-concious; she wasn't sure if she could really talk about her mother's problems in front of them. It was already overwhelming having them see Kylie like this.

But... she felt like she had to say something. And so, Kylie lowered her voice, hoping that only Lucille would hear. "She... I d-don't know what to do with her anymore. E-every time I need a break, she... she just..."

She sobbed again and her words died in the air, incomplete.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kylie watches Lucille beat the heck out of Travis, and then she falls into Lucille's hug. She confirms that she wasn't hurt and expresses gratitude that Lucille came. Realizing that there are other people in the room, she starts to whisper to Lucille the reservations she has about her mother, but she's too upset to say much.