Author's Notes: More OOC-ness and absurd deaths. Enjoy. I'm trying my best to not reread this chapter and find a gabillion flaws with it. Accept it as it is.
Chapter Three
"Thank you, again, Red," Stephen said, pulling up the hood of the blue windbreaker he now wore. Professor Oak wore a similar coat. Everyone had gathered around the entrance of the building.
"It's fine," Red said with a wave of his hand. "Oh, yeah. If you need Gyara to stop, just say stop. Be careful where you touch him, too."
It had been decided that, since the phones weren't working and help was desperately needed here, Stephen would leave on the back of Red's Gyarados and head to Vermillion to get help. Professor Oak was accompanying him out to the beach.
"Be careful."
"Good luck!"
There were a couple of encouragements to the two men as they stepped out into the pouring rain. The wind was blowing hard enough to give them both trouble walking. Red, Green, and Sebastian struggled to push the doors shut behind them.
Everyone stood there in silence for what seemed like a long time, but was really only a couple of seconds. Someone, Crystal by the sound of it, mumbled something that Red couldn't understand. Finally, Sebastian broke the uncomfortable silence that surrounded the group.
"I'm well aware that I have failed to prepare breakfast for you all. If you would wait, I shall go prepare it immediately."
"That'd be great," Blue said with a faint smile. "Thank you."
Sebastian bowed slightly and turned to walk down the hall. There was no need to worry anymore. Professor Oak had come to the conclusion that Sharon must have committed suicide after murdering Emerald. Stephen had seemed to be in shock, as he commented that Sharon wasn't that type of person. And yet, Red wasn't relieved. Because something about Sharon's body had bothered him.
Was he the only one who had noticed the injury on Sharon's head? She surely wouldn't have done that to herself. But apparently, there'd been an awful injury to her neck that Red hadn't seen, as he was too busy trying not to vomit again, and a bloody knife lay in her hand.
So, yes, she'd probably killed herself so she wouldn't be caught. But it still seemed all wrong to Red. He couldn't bring up her head injury without getting nauseous and nearly vomiting. He didn't know if Platinum had noticed it, and Sebastian hadn't mentioned it.
But the killer was gone now. Hopefully. Red didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Let's go back to my room and wait," Blue suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and headed together back to Blue and Yellow's room.
"…Ah. Um… Does anyone know where the bathroom is?" Hazuki asked. "Since we can't use the one by the entrance…"
"There's one right down this hall, and to the right," Blue said. She pointed down the hall to show her. Hazuki thanked her and ran down the hall.
"Well," Blue said, stepping back into the room and facing everyone. She placed her hands on her hips. "I say we play some card games!"
"Are there any card games to play with this many people, though?" Pearl asked.
Red couldn't believe Blue was suggesting that they play a card game at a time like this. But, simply because he really wanted to take his mind off things, he said, "I've got a deck of cards in my room. I'll go get it."
He quickly stood up and left the room. Heading up the stairs, down the short hall, and turning left brought him to the hall where the rooms that the guys were staying in. Last night, he remembered seeing an unopened deck of cards in one of the drawers in his room, and took out the small, red and white box before heading back down to Blue's room. Hazuki was just arriving at Blue's room at the same time he was, and nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"Okay!" Blue cheerfully said as soon as the two entered the room. "I say we play an old maid tournament!"
"There's still too many people for that."
"Like I said, a tournament! We'll break into groups to do it." Blue headed over to a dresser in her room and pulled out a deck of cards identical to the one Red held. Wait, so she'd had her own deck this entire time? If that was the case, then every room probably had one, and he could've just gone into the room next to this one to get a deck of cards.
…Actually, why hadn't he himself thought of that in the first place?
They split into two groups then, listening to Blue's every order. Technically, since she wasn't really the oldest, why was she ordering them around? Bill or Daisy should've been in charge or something like that.
In any case, just sitting around and talking made Red feel immensely better. He almost forgot about the awful situation they were in.
"Oh, I jus' remembered somethin'," Bill said. "I oughtta tell Sebastian not to use any milk in whatever he's makin'…"
"Why?" Red asked.
"Ah, well, ya know…"
Red seemed to understand without Bill's telling him. Bill left the room, and Red's group started playing the game. They didn't get very into it before they heard Bill scream. Several people went pale, but Green and Red leaped up from the floor and bolted from the room.
"Let's just hope something scared him," Green said.
Red desperately hoped that that was actually the case. But as they got closer to Bill, who was cowering against the wall, Red's heart sank and his stomach knotted up.
"What happened?" Green shouted.
In response, Bill pointed at the door across from him. The door to the kitchen, which was still swinging back and forth. It wasn't the kind of door that you had to shut closed, but the swinging kind, which Red guessed was so people leaving the kitchen with food didn't have to balance things while they opened the door.
Green grabbed the swinging door and pulled it open.
Sebastian lay there in front of them, on the floor.
It might've been fine, if only that knife weren't almost completely through his neck.
"Who left the room while I was gone?" Professor Oak questioned.
Everyone had gathered in that main room in front of the front doors and stairs. Now, as Professor Oak asked them questions, no one seemed to want to answer. Blue, who was so unnaturally pale that it frightened Red, answered in a shaky voice, "H-Hazuki, and…" She turned to look at Red with wide eyes. "And R-Red."
Professor Oak turned to look at the two of them. "Hazuki and Red, both of you shall stay in sight of everyone. I want both of you to sit here in front of us."
As Red was already sitting in the chair Professor Oak was gesturing to, that left Hazuki to slowly move from where she stood behind one of the chair and sit down next to Red. Her legs shook even as she sat there, staring at the floor with wide eyes.
"Everyone, keep an eye on them both while we wait for Stephen to return with help."
Red couldn't believe it. Now he was being labeled as a suspect and everyone had to keep an eye on him? "B-but, I only left Blue's room to get cards from my room!"
"Yes, that's right!" Hazuki nodded in agreement. "A-and I only went to bathroom for the short bit! Why you suspect us?"
"We have no proof that you did what you said," Professor Oak said. "If everyone was waiting in Blue and Yellow's room, they wouldn't see if either of you had gone elsewhere. It only leaves the two of you as possible culprits for Sebastian's death. And…" He glanced at Red. "As much as it pains me to suspect a trainer I entrusted a Pokédex with, it's possible that one of you may have also been responsible for the deaths of Sharon and Emerald."
Red's mouth hung open. "But… didn't you say that Sharon had killed Emerald and then committed suicide?"
"Yes, but after listening to Stephen, I've come to the conclusion that someone with that personality surely wouldn't have murdered Emerald for no reason. And, according to Miss Berlitz, there was an injury to the back of Sharon's head."
Red turned to Platinum in shock. "You saw that too?"
"Yes…"
"So, what you're trying to say is that someone made it look as though she committed suicide?" Green asked.
Professor Oak nodded. "That is exactly what I was about to say. I just can't believe that I had come to such a hasty solution… and now Sebastian is also dead. To ensure that no one gets hurt, we'll keep a close watch on both Red and Hazuki."
Red couldn't believe that he was be suspected of a crime he was sure he didn't commit. He knew full well that he'd been fast asleep during the night until Daisy's scream woke him up. He'd found Sharon's dead body by accident. He just went to his room to grab cards and left. Which only left…
"I… I do not believe that Red did this," Platinum quietly said. "He seemed genuinely shocked by the discovery of Miss Sharon. He even became sick at the sight of her. And… he wouldn't have had a reason to kill Sebastian as well, I believe."
"Yeah," Gold agreed. "There's no way Red would kill Emerald, either." He stood up from his seat and glared at Hazuki. "Which leaves you."
"M-me?" Hazuki squeaked. "Why would I do that? I do not have the reason for that!"
"Sure you do! You heard that the people who were entrusted with Pokédexes were coming here to this island, so you wanted to come along as well… And you were jealous of us, weren't you?"
Hazuki squeaked again at Gold's accusation. She looked around at everyone who sat there in shock. "I… but…"
"Do you even have an excuse for this?"
"…I… I…"
Red felt like Hazuki really was shocked by this, but… if he knew that he didn't do it, and she was the only other one who'd left the room before Sebastian died, then…
"Did… did you do it?" Red asked. "Did you kill them?"
"N-no," Hazuki said and shook her head. She suddenly burst into tears and hid her face in her hands, speaking something that was completely unintelligible to Red. Red already felt bad about asking her. But really, who else could've been left? Was she crying because she knew she did it?
But Hazuki's tears only seem to anger Gold. The black-haired boy stepped forwards and grabbed Hazuki by the shoulders, shaking her around. "Why'd you do it?" Gold shouted. "Why would you kill them? Why would you kill Emerald? What'd he ever do to you, huh? Huh?"
"Let her go, Gold."
Gold's eyes shot up, and Red turned around in his seat to see Ruby standing there. Red had actually never noticed that he'd left.
"Out of curiosity, I decided to go look in the kitchen," Ruby said calmly, as if this didn't really concern him. "Neither Red nor Hazuki killed the butler."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gold asked, loosening his grip on Hazuki's shoulders.
"Come take a look. Someone set up a trap in the kitchen."
A wave of confusion spread over the room. Red, naturally, was one of the first to leave his seat. He and Gold hurried past Ruby and down to the kitchen. Red wasn't even sure if Professor Oak had protested to him leaving the seat, but he didn't even care right now.
He tried his best to avoid looking at Sebastian's body as he stepped into the kitchen. But as soon as he did, Red felt something press against his leg. The huge knife that was still in Sebastian's neck moved slightly. Red looked at Gold, who was just as surprised as he was.
Professor Oak, Green, Ruby, and Blue weren't far behind them. Gold and Red stepped over whatever had pushed against Red's leg and looked up above the door.
"I see," Professor Oak said as Green bent down and grabbed something close to the floor. The knife moved again as Green tugged on it. "That string must be attached to the knife…"
"And I think it was up above the door," Red added. He pointed above the doorframe, where a small hook had been embedded. The other four stepped into the kitchen to look.
"…So the string was hooked up there, which was probably where the knife was hidden," Green said. "Sebastian wasn't the target. It would've got whoever was going into the kitchen."
Red suddenly thought of something. "You wouldn't have even had to trip over the string," he said. "Just opening the door would've…" He stopped talking and went silent. Blue had gone pale again.
"I… I was going to go in here earlier," she quietly said. "To get something to drink. But when you guys found Sharon, I changed my mind and waited for everyone."
Red gulped. Blue was this close to getting killed herself. Red didn't even know what to feel about that.
"Let's detach these strings," Professor Oak said. "Ruby, get a shower curtain from one of the bathrooms. We'll cover Sebastian's body. But no touching the body itself, does everyone understand me?"
They nodded, and Ruby left the room to go get a shower curtain, apparently.
Red slowly fell back and sat on the ground. A trap in the kitchen. With that, it meant that the culprits weren't necessarily he and Hazuki anymore. It could be anyone now.
Anyone.
Author's Notes: If everyone's actions weren't OOC, I don't know what was. No, wait, yes I do. Never mind, don't listen to me.
The next chapter's weird. I think I'll make everyone suffer a bit before I post it. I mean suffering from my infectious stupidity. I doubt I spelt that right.
Aw, well, I killed Sebastian. I liked the butler. Just because he was a butler. Old man butlers are awesome. And I killed him. Well, better than a main character, I guess.
Oh, and apparently half of the cast are certified detectives. More absurdity. Have fun picking out every moment of out of character characters. Play a drinking game if you want. Take a shot every time someone acts like they should.
