Another chapter so soon?! Wow, I'm on fire today!

Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one

A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Section 32: The Ways of Death

*Planeptune Guild, The Bullpen*

"So, Dr. Francis Victor, 47 at time of death," IF brought up a picture of a balding man with brown eyes, black eyebrows and a small mustache. "His co-workers at HeartCare said that he had a morbid fascination with life and death... sometimes he would talk about creating new life from previously deceased persons..."

"L-like zombies?!" Nero jumped in.

"No, zombies are undead, feral creatures," Saber Alter shut her down. "I think he was literally trying to create a new human, given what he was caught doing."

"Who the hell gave this bastard the right to try and play God?!" Rider said angrily.

"Well, apparently God didn't approve, seeing as he and his house were burned to the ground by a lightning strike," IF half-snarked. "We talked to the detectives who worked that case, they recovered a body that was burned beyond recognition, but the dental records matched Dr. Victor's..."

"Well, according to the employees at the auto rental place we talked to, the 'Frank Stein' that rented our head-carrying car had on a red baseball cap, sunglasses, and big thick beard," Rider spoke next. "Doesn't really look like the guy on screen..."

"It could have been a disguise though," Archer pointed out. "Not necessarily Dr. Victor, mind you..."

"Wait just a moment!" Nero interrupted. "I remember watching this one crime-solving TV show where a man faked his death by having his teeth extracted and placed in a burned dead body!"

"He pulled his own teeth out?! That's gross, mikon!" Tamamo said in disgust.

"W-well, actually, it was his mother that did that... but anyway! Is it not possible that Dr. Victor faked his own death in such a manner?!" Nero asserted.

"If he could withstand the pain of having all his teeth extracted," Saber Alter deadpanned. "He would have had to have help, though. There's no way he could have done it by himself... He's a doctor, not a dentist."

"Okay, let's try looking at this from a different angle," Archer suggested. "What about Lt. Colonel Dan Ratcliff? He was supposed to be cremated, remember? So why did his head end up in the trunk of that car instead? We need to talk to the people who prepared his body and ashes for scattering at sea..."

"I'll see if those other agents got the name of the funeral home," IF nodded, pulling out a mobile device...

*True Ending Funeral Home*

"Yes, we handled the cremation procedure for Lt. Colonel Ratcliff," the funeral worker nodded as he walked along with IF and Tamamo. "We have a specialized furnace in the back for just such occasions..."

"Furnace?!" Tamamo growled.

"You'll have to excuse her, her father did cremations with fire magic back at her old home in Lastation," IF explained.

"It was a sacred ritual, mikon!" the kitsune added, her tail wagging in frustration.

"Oh, make no mistake, Agent Caster, we take the matter of cremation very seriously," the NPC assured her. "And the deceased's ashes are always treated with the utmost respect..."

Taking out her mobile device, IF tapped on the screen a few times... "Then explain why the Lt. Colonel's head wound up in the trunk of a rental car we impounded from an auto chop shop?" She showed the photo of the head in question to the man, who visibly recoiled at the sight.

"My word... I have no idea how that happened..." the funeral worker shook his head.

"This might sound weird, but is there anyone working here who's a dentist, or trying to be one?" Tamamo inquired.

"Dentist? ...Actually, now that you mention it," the man mused, "there is a young man working here part-time, who's studying to become an orthodontist... Sherman's his name. He should be working here today..." He changed direction, gesturing to the agents to follow him... Entering through the 'Employees Only' door, he walked down a narrow hallway to the incinerator mentioned earlier... "Ah, there you are, Sherman."

"Y-yes, sir? What's up?" Sherman asked, a young NPC male with short, slightly mussed hair.

"These ladies are from the Guild, they wanted to talk to you," the older worker said.

"We wanted to ask you about Lt. Colonel Dan Ratcliff," Tamamo began. "Were you the one that handled his cremation?"

"Ah, I dunno... I've done a lot of bodies in this furnace, so..." Sherman shrugged.

"Maybe this will jog your memory?" IF held up her phone, the image of Ratcliff's head visible on the screen.

Sherman's eyes went wide, before suddenly breaking and running off! "HEY! Stop!" Tamamo yelled after him, as she and IF gave chase!

Sherman managed to get outside through an emergency exit, running into the parking lot, IF and Tamamo hot on his heels! The latter suddenly halted, focusing magical energy in her hands, before firing it in an arc over the NPC's head! Impacting on the asphalt, the magical energy formed into a patch of ice, Sherman losing his footing and crashing into the front of a parked car, flipping head over heels! Avoiding the ice patch, IF quickly caught up and pinned him to the ground! "Did I mention I hold the current 200-meter dash record in my high school?!" Iffy grunted as she cuffed him.

"I-it's not what you think!" Sherman cried in protest as he was pulled back to his feet.

"Save it for interrogation, mikon!" Tamamo said as she caught up. "You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law..."

*Interrogation Room*

Sherman quaked with fear as he stared into the golden eyes of Saber Alter... "So," she began, "your fruitless escape attempt all but proves that you were the one who severed Lt. Colonel Ratcliff's head. The obvious question being, what did you do with the rest of the body? Did you sell the rest of his parts off as well?"

"No- only the head!" Sherman insisted. "I incinerated the rest of the body, I swear! It was his ashes in that jar!"

"Fine then. Let's try another question- are there any other cadavers you desecrated in such a manner? And if so, who bought the parts?"

"J-just this one guy! He said he was a doctor, said he needed them for research!" the young man replied.

In response, Alter pulled up an image to Francis Victor on a holo-screen. "Is this the man...?"

"Y...yeah, that's him!" Sherman nodded. "I mean, he wore a cap and glasses, but I remember that nose!"

"Strange... according to police records, this man died in a house fire a month ago," Alter deadpanned. "Of course, the only reason the police identified the body was due to dental records... I'm sure you see where I'm going with this."

"Ugh..." Sherman looked down, clenching his hands in midair... "A-alright, yes, I pulled his teeth out for him. He paid me for the operation. It was an opportunity to practice on a live subject!"

"How much?" Saber pressed.

"...500,000 credits."

"And did he pay for the other body parts as well?"

"Yeah, he did... you gotta understand, I needed the money! Tuition for dental school's expensive, and the funeral job wasn't cutting it!" Sherman insisted. "I mean it's not like he was telling me to kill anyone, they were already dead!"

"Really? I wonder what the families of those bodies you desecrated would think about that," Alter deadpanned, standing up. "And your parents will be hearing about this as well..."

"No, please! Don't do this to me!" Sherman pleaded as Saber shut the door behind her...

"You could have been a little softer on him," Archer commented in the hallway.

"He should have known better," Saber Alter said with no sympathy, walking alongside him. "But now we know for certain that Dr. Victor faked his death."

"Right, now we just have to find him, and see what he's been doing with these body parts," Archer nodded...

*To be continued...*

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