Chapter 23: Funeral

10:22 A.M. Day Twelve

Outside

Graveyard

The gray overcast wasn't calming this day. Just depressing.

Already a simple grave stone had been left to signify Elle. Her hat - still adorned with her boyfriend's bandana - was resting on it, hooked upon a corner like a coat rack. For Teresa, there was a far more simple grave marker - just a stone set into the ground. No one cared enough to comment in any meaningful way.

Sabishī, for her part, had just finished digging a place in the graveyard, an enchantment Kinsei had placed on her shovel-head ('good til Halloween', he'd said) keeping her from being 'interrupted' by the cemetery residents while she worked. In less time than a normal person would require, the hole was dug.

It was, admittedly, not as deep as the average grave, but for their purposes it would do the job.

They'd been provided a simple mahogany coffin to rest Kelley in. There hadn't been much else they could do for her past that.

The whole surviving group, sans the staff of course, was in attendance (Shawn was sitting on a gravestone some ways back, thankfully silent). They stood in a semi-circle around the front of the grave.

Sabishī turned to look over the attendants. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to say?" she asked them. Everyone looked between each other, as though unsure of if anyone else intended to speak first.

Eventually, Brooke quietly stepped forward, fists clenched at her sides. "I know we only knew each other for less than two weeks, but even so..."

Tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"s-She was like the little sister I never h-had." Brooke confessed. "i-I'll miss her." Hugging herself, she backed away from the coffin.

Victoria spoke up next. "Kelley, was one of the nicest people here. We'll-" she swallowed, blinking rapidly. "We'll all, miss her."

Alexis stayed respectfully quiet. She'd already said all she intended to say for the departed.

Clarisse kept her eyes down. "She was a good girl, an actual innocent. She didn't deserve this."

"None of us did." Eric agreed, arms folded behind him.

The Markswoman thought over some on the island, and couldn't say she agreed.

Gary stayed silent.

Shawn eye-rolled slightly at everyone's display, but remained where he was.

Seeing no one else was going to speak, Sabishī looked over the coffin. "May you find peace on the other side of the veil, Kelley Devlyn." She intoned, shovel raised as though in salute.

With Eric's help, the sealed coffin and its occupant were lowered gently into the grave.

Everyone felt like something more should be said. No one could think of anything else to say, however.

Slowly, most of the participants turned away and made for the cemetery exit. Eric looked to the Undertaker, silently offering help for the rest, but a quiet shake of the head had him follow the group back to the mansion.

Sabishī got to work filling in the grave. It was her duty as Undertaker, after all.

...

Kinsei stood a distance away, watching. Silently, he turned around and pulled the crystal from his pocket, teleporting away with no one the wiser.

4:37 P.M. Day Twelve

Basement

Laboratory

Later that afternoon, the full staff - sans Sebastian - was gathered in the lab once again.

"Well now, three deaths in one go." Kuuma summarized happily. "Personally speaking, I call that a success."

"I would've preferred if the monster subjects remained alive, honestly." Saino grumbled, before turning to listen to her draconic friends.

Kinsei shrugged, dismissive of the Dragon's troubles. "Eh, any results are a learning experience, I'd say."

Syd, who had been looking like he'd eaten something sour recently (he actually had, but that was unrelated), spoke up. "Sir, I've got to interject." He said to their leader directly. "Can we really ignore your son's actions during the last case? It was bad enough when he sicced that failed Minotaur onto the group in the last game, but this? He deliberately lied to the participants, to the staff, even, about how the events of a murder transpired. We could've seen utter failure if not for the culprit's inability to keep something a secret! Actually, on another point, did we ever intend for the 'first three to find the body' system to be in place for this game? Because I can't recall such a thing ever coming up."

"Everything went well in the end, that's what matters here." Jibo responded, unsympathetic to his protégés distress. In honesty, he didn't personally care about such risks, but allowing this experiment to continue was certainly a desirable outcome. "As to the latter point, it's a trifle matter, hardly a concern for us."

The misanthropic Canadian still seemed put out, but calmed himself down nonetheless; if his mentor would allow these events, he wasn't going to challenge that.

"So," The Alchemist interjected, "since everything went so well, I think we can give the test subject a few days' break; let them recover and build that hope back up, then we can drop the next motive on their heads."

"Agreed." The Biologist agreed. "Best to spread these out, if you can, for the best results."

"What exactly is the next motive, sir?" The Surgeon asked, curious.

"You'll see soon enough, all of you." The Mastermind insisted. "Consider it a surprise for all involved."

Syd grumbled at his mentor keeping him out of the loop, but let it slide. It didn't happen very often, after all.

The elder Momota continued. "All that matters for now is you should all refrain from getting too caught up in the experiments workings. We are observers, not participants."

"I still think it's a waste to not include the staff in a game." Kuuma grumbled, arms behind his head.

"That would muddy things in the test, and as long as I'm in charge that will not happen." Jibo insisted firmly. The Homunculus sighed, but remained quiet.

"Onto other matters, how are the 'sentries' coming along?" The Biologist asked his son.

"Oh, the constructs made from the remnants of what used to be Monaca Towa and her stooges? Yeah, it's coming along just fine!" Kinsei shared enthusiastically. "There didn't seem to be much left in the way of actual souls when we managed to salvage the 'Kumas of Hope' from the theme park - honestly, from what I saw, I'm still not convinced Ms. Towa actually loaded herself into a bear to begin with -, but what is left has proven sufficient for our needs. The guard dogs should be ready for use by the next game, at the very latest."

"Wonderful." Jibo smiled, pleased to hear this. "Added security might prove required considering some of the talents that shall be in play in the subsequent game."

"Indeed." Syd agreed, trying to remain relevant. As much as Syd would hate to admit it, the magical side of things in this experiment was something he was more often than not at a loss over. Ms. Terazawa and (he really hated to admit this) that alchemist were far more knowledgeable in that field, even towering over most of the staff in some regards.

"Well, that seems to be everything, now off with you." With their leader's dismissal, the staff returned to their posts, Syd bowing to his master before leaving (something Kinsei rolled his eyes at).

As everyone left, the son turned to his father.

"Really though?" Kinsei was incredulous. "You made that guy your back-up mastermind and not your own son?!"

"You weren't exactly on the island at the time." Jibo reminded him sternly. "If you'd like to run a killing game on your own, then maybe you should start one yourself."

"Well, maybe I will!" He tuned on his heel and stormed off.

Jibo sighed as he turned back to his computer. That boy. He still remembered when the burgeoning alchemist tracked him down, all energetic and eager to meet and please his father. The focus on a branch of the occult had been a bit of a disappointment to him at the time, but his son's devotion and loyalty to him - a trait the rest of his children seemed to lack before he created Yukiko - had earned him a place in Jibo's confidence. Even so, he felt the boy might be becoming more unstable. All this exposure to the supernatural might not be very good for him.

He shook his head. There was no use in worrying over his son or the past now. Not when the future was so close at hand.

Looking over the finalized version of the formula on his screen, he grinned.

Yes. Things seemed to be coming along rather nicely.

[8 participants remaining]