Chapter 17: Ultimate Despair
"What the hell..." Zack mumbled, as he stared up at the screen above. The fuzz slowly began to disappear, showing exactly who was their mystery assailant. It seemed to be a man, one that almost looked as if it were made of two halves of two different people stitched together. One side was white, his clothes dapper and well-kept, while the other was a dark black, with clothes that were worn out and blood-soaked. His skin was a hellish purple, his eyes pure black, along with his long, flowing hair, as if he were a soulless doll. Needless to say, he looked absolutely ridiculous.
Glaring at the tv, he stepped closer, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Something tells me you're the one who brought us here. Who are you?"
"Oh, my apologies, it is about time I introduce myself. My name is Monokrona. It's nice to finally meet you all." The mystery man, now known as Monokrona, greeted. He bowed his head, as of showing respect, before looking back up, "Now then, I believe you're all wondering why I've gathered you here, riiiight?"
Husker growled, his clawed finger tapping his crossed arm, "I don't give a shit why we're here! I want out of here, now!"
"Hold your horses, Putty Tat, don't you wanna know why you all are here?" Monokrona teased, wagging a stitched finger.
"No, no we don't! Let us out you Jigsaw reject!" Loona screamed, her claws extending. Before she could say anymore, Zack held her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She glanced at him, noticing the serious look in his eyes. It instantly made her back down, though with an exasperated huff. He stepped forward, his hands in his pockets. The situation was dire, and shouting at the man wasn't at all a good idea. As much as he hated it, the only thing they could do was wait, listen, and obey.
"Your name is Monokrona, right? Well, let me return the greeting. My name is-"
"Zack Trevle." the assailant interrupted. Zack's eyes widened, shocked that he was able to know exactly who he was. Monokrona slowly smirked, his eyes holding a look of malice and challenge. "Oh, I know all about you. Zack Trevle, I.M.P investigator, the human that was separated from his home, by the very people he works for. Hehehe, isn't it ironic?"
Zack glared at him, his mind grabbing all the pieces and placing them together, "He's good, already has dirt on me. That could only mean one thing; he has to be a part of the Akuma-Ningen."
He chuckled, holding a poker face, "So you heard of me. Good, then what do you want from us?"
Monokrona leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together. His face held a look of authority, the look you'd give when you know you have a winning hand. It irked him to his core, but at this point, he had to stay calm.
"Oh, I don't need these vacuous-headed cretins,"
"Hey, I may not know what one of those words means, but back at ya, jackass!" Blitzo blurted out, giving him the finger. Zack rolled his eyes, before continuing his questioning.
"Then explain it to me. Who do you need?"
"Isn't it obvious? I want you, my rival." the mastermind growled, his legs kicked up on his desk. Zack was stunned. His rival? What did he mean by rival?
"What? Are you also trying to be a detective? Because, if you are, you're doing a shit job." he jabbed, raising his eyebrow.
Monokroma smirked, his right eye glowing a dark red, "You know Sherlock Holmes, right? Oh, Sherlock Holmes, what a wonderful rival to Professor Moriarty, had a mental prowess that pushed Holmes's mind past his limits, ending with the two's death from a drop down Reichenbach Falls," he leaned closer to the screen, staring deep into Zack's eyes, "That's what I want. You're getting close to my employer, closer than you've ever gotten in all of his afterlife. Strangely enough, he's rather excited. Says he's never gotten a rush like this at all since being in hell. However, he still has a job to do, and when you're on the job, you have to make sure nothing gets in your way. Thus, I'm here, to challenge you and your mind."
Zack frowned, while the demons in the room all looked towards them, their faces holding a mix of intrigue, worry, and shock. He huffed; this wasn't something he could say no to, but he could maybe get some information out of this despair junky. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked up at the screen.
"Alright, fine. Challenge me all you want, but leave me friends out of this. They have nothing to do with this at all."
Monokrona merely chuckled, shaking his head, "Oh no no no no, they do, in fact, have something to do with this," he rubbed his chin, his fangs exposing through his lips, "here is why. Just ahead of you all, you will see a pair of double doors. Past those doors, is a crime scene. All you have to do is solve the murder within 1 hour. Merely who and how, no need for a why. After all, it's hell, people die constantly. Afterward, if you're correct, you'll all go free, and the culprit will die. However, pick the wrong person, and I will kill everyone here. Plain and simple, no strings attached."
Zack merely stared at him. Something didn't smell right, like it seemed too easy. No, there had to be something that was gonna make this difficult.
"It would appear that you underestimate him. Zack is much smarter than you think. He's solved and found out much in his time here. You won't win," Alastor said, his radio-like filter altering his voice. That made everyone, including Zack, surprised by what he stated. Was he also watching him? Zack huffed, feeling slightly annoyed.
"I should charge people to watch me. Stupid..."
"Oh, this will be much, much harder than you think." the monochrome-dressed demon snickered, "You see, there's one little hint that I must give you, in order to keep you on the right path."
"A hint, and what would that be, puta?" Vaggie questioned, her arms crossed in front of her chest. The room went silent for a bit, as if to hold the suspense. With a glare, he flashed them a sinister grin, before answering, "The killer, is one of you in this room."
Silence filled the room, their eyes widened and their hearts fell down to their stomachs. This was nonsense, an outrage. There was no way, he had to be lying.
"Okay, just a moment! You're wrong, you have to be! How could any of us have done this, it's completely impossible! Incoriggable even!" Octavia blurted, her hands clenched in anger. Monokroma merely shrugged.
"As I've already said, it's hell. Any little thing can set off a demon. After all, our dear investigator here was almost killed by his very own employers, all for money," he chuckled, shaking his head, "and here he is, protecting them. Foolish, foolish, foolish."
Zack only stayed silent. There was nothing that he could do, and what he said was technically true. After all, demons are very violent creatures. Hell, he knew first hand. He had almost been killed multiple times, even by the same people he called his friends. He shook his head; this was no time to be getting in his feelings. He had to figure out what was going on, and if playing this killing game was the only way to do it, then that's what he'd do.
"I don't need your opinion on what I do. If you want me to figure this out, then I'll do it."
The group all looked towards him, eyes widened. Was he actually implying that he was going to find the killer, even with the culprit very well being one of them?
"Z-Zack, you can't be serious! You're basically saying you're gonna-"
"I'm going to do my job. I'm the investigator here, and I'm not gonna let this jackass get away with anything," he looked up towards the screen, growling in anger, "now open the doors, Monokroma."
The mastermind chuckled lowly, before snapping his fingers. The doors unlocked, a clicking sound making that easily apparent.
"Now, I trust the rest of you will stay a good distance from the crime scene. Wouldn't want any of you to tamper with it. Good luck, Zack Trevle. May you finally show your true mental prowess."
And with that last tidbit, the screen shut off, leaving the group of demons to their own thoughts. The situation was dire, and the atmosphere was heavy. If what he said was true, then one of them was going to die, without question. It instantly sent shivers down their spines, well except for Alastor, who didn't seem too bothered by this. If anything, he seemed a bit into the whole situation. Zack ignored it, as he stepped towards the door.
"Wait, you're not actually gonna go in there, right?" Charlie asked, her face holding a worried grin. He didn't even look back. He couldn't look any of them in the eye, at least not now. He couldn't show him just how afraid he was, how completely anxious he felt. In a way, he would be the one to kill one of his own friends, a loved one. It was something that he didn't want to feel again.
"...I want every one of you close behind me. Don't touch anything, don't say anything unless asked, and when I ask you a question, I expect a straight answer. Is that clear?"
"But, Big bro-"
He looked back at all of them, his right eye strained and redder. His face held such anger and malice, almost as if he had nothing but hatred from all of them. That instantly kept them quiet. They knew that, in a way, he had the power to kill either one of them, or all of them. The last thing they wanted was to set him off.
"You will all do what I say. Now is not the time for jokes, puns, or snarky comments. Last but not least, stay out of my way."
He looked back towards the door, taking a deep breath. Whatever was there, he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be good. Crime scenes were never good, but it was like the dial was going to be brought up to eleven. With a gentle hand, he slowly pulled open the doors, allowing the light to feed into the room. Inside, was possibly one of the worst things that they could ever see. There was indeed a murder alright, a gruesome one at that. In the middle of the room, a large pool of blood laid under the body of what looked to be a young girl. Her skin was pale and her hair was a pinkish-red, her single-eyed face holding a look of agony and pain. She wore a red and white poodle skirt, a black neckerchief scarf adorning her neck. In her chest was a large knife, possibly the cause of death. Zack grimaced, feeling as if he was the one who got stabbed. It must have been a horrible way to die, agonizing even.
He huffed, "Okay, first order of business is to-"
"Oh no! OH NO!!" Charlie screamed, her hands covering her mouth in terror. Zack looked back at her quickly.
"What's wrong?!"
She didn't answer; all she could do was sob into her hands, whilst the rest of her companions merely stared, eyes widened and mouths hung open. Even Alastor, who wasn't fazed by anything, looked to be completely stunned.
"Is anyone gonna say anything?! If somebody knows something, then hurry up and-"
"We know her..." Vaggie mumbled, her face twisting into a look filled with pain. Zack only stared, his expression softening.
"You know her? Wait, is she...?"
Angel rubbed the back of his neck, as he looked down at the ground, "That girl there... Her name is Niffty... She's a friend of ours..."
Zack couldn't say anything. He was just in complete disbelief, astonished that it came to this. Was this all a coincidence? He wanted to believe that, but he knew for a fact that it wasn't. This was premeditated murder; one that he was gonna solve at all cost. He looked towards Loona, who could only watch, and waved her over to him. She stepped towards him, a serious look adorning her.
"Tell Millie and Octavia to help comfort Charlie. She definitely taking this one hard." he mumbled to her, to which she nodded in response.
"Alright, just be careful. We don't know what this guy has in store..." She looked at him, her face falling to a look of worried, "You okay, though? You're tenser than you usually are..."
Zack glanced up at her, his serious eyes softening to a look of need. This was his element; a crime scene was almost like his playground, but this was way worse. This was a matter of life and death, and to make matters worse, it could be that his own friends were the murder. It still didn't make sense to him. Why would any of them kill someone who was their friend? Even Blitzo and his crew don't kill unless provoked or paid to. Too many pieces didn't seem to fit. He shook his head; there were a lot of things to consider, all of them important to this case.
"...If anything, I'm just scared... If I mess up, we're all gonna die here... and to make matters worse, even if I'm right, someone here may die..."
Loona, who was feeling just as worried as he was, gently placed her hand on his shoulder, a soft and assuring smile on her face, "Hey, you're not gonna mess up. You're a badass motherfucker who's gonna solve this case, beat the shit outta Mr. Salt and Pepper, then kick the ass of the mastermind behind all of this. You're a part of I.M.P, we're your friends. So, trust in us; we can help you if you want us to."
He stayed silent for a moment, contemplating on his next move. In a way, he knew that she was right. If he didn't trust in his own friends, then who could he trust? Was it really a good idea for him to just kick them all to the curb and do things all on his own. Even if he was the Investigator, he still had help from Loona, Moxxie, Millie, Blitzo, and even Stolas and Octavia. They were all helping him in some way, and for him to just turn his back on them when things seemed this dire, and to lose faith in all of them, it'd be a slap in the face. With a sigh, he nodded his head, his smile reappearing on his face.
"Yeah...you're right, Loona. Thanks a bunch..." he looked back towards the body, his face twisting into a sorrowful and remorseful look, "I just wish that she didn't have...to..."
Loona glanced at him, her left eyebrow raised in question, "Yeah? Wish she didn't have to what, die?"
"The color of the blood is funky..." he mumbled, as he crouched down next to the young woman's dead body. He dipped his middle and index fingers into the pool of blood and brought it closer to his face, "It's a light magenta. That's not normal, even demons bleed red, doesn't matter what kind they are."
Wiping the blood off on his slacks, her stared at the knife wound, as he gently touched the knife. It was cold as if it hadn't been used. The knife had the same magenta blood on it as well. He looked towards the dead body's face, scanning over any detail that he could find. Her hair had light orange spots on it; perhaps it was dandruff? No, it was embedded into the strands of hair, meaning it had to be hair dye. He thought for a second, before looking up at Loona.
"Hey, I'm gonna need Alastor to come in here. Mind grabbing him for-"
"You called for me?"
Zack jumped in his spot, his head whipping to see the very demon he was speaking of. He huffed, before looking back at Loona and giving her a nod. She nodded back and headed towards the group, who was still standing outside of the room.
Looking back at Alastor, he asked, "You know Niffty fairly well, right? If so, do you think you could answer a few questions?"
Alastor, with his usual grin, nodded his head, "Of course I do, and of course I will! Now then, what seems to be on your mind?"
"Something about this body seems off to me, mostly her hair and the blood on the ground. Do all demons bleed the same color?"
"But of course! We're not aliens, we're demons, creatures that take on human traits. We all bleed red, the same color humans do."
Zack nodded, before asking his next question, "Okay, and lastly, did she ever use hair dye? She seems to have an orange patch where her bangs hang. Is that natural?"
Alastor slowly leaned closer to the body, his eyes staring at the orange patch on her hair. He seemed to really be in thought.
"How peculiar. Niffty is not one to use hair dye. In fact, this entire body is all wrong," he raised his cane and tapped the end of it against the bottom of the victim's shirt, "This outfit is filthy. It wasn't like this today when we last saw her. You see, Niffty is most likely the most diligent person I've ever met when it comes to cleaning. She would rather walk about naked than go around wearing this..."
Zack's eyes squinted in thought, as he pulled his knife from his sheath. If his hunch was correct, then this may have been much more than they thought it was. He pressed the tip against the collar of her dress and slit it down the middle, tearing it.
"Now now, isn't it the wrong time and place to go doing something like that?" Alastor asked, the sound of static appearing around him. Zack didn't answer. Without looking towards the corpse's chest, he pulled the sleeve of the dress down slightly, his eyes catching something fairly interesting. The more he saw, the more it became clear, as if a cloud of fog had just been lifted. He smirked; he had to hand it to Monokroma, he was a crafty one.
"Looks like the fog is clear..." he mumbled, causing Alastor to tilt his head in curiosity. Zack looked up towards him, as he stood to his feet, "Alastor, gather everyone in here! We don't have much time, so we need to get to work, all of us!"
--
Within a few seconds, everyone had been gathered into the room, a look of worry and anxiety present on their faces, except for Alastor, who still had a grin on his face. Zack, who was standing beside the body, merely looked throughout all of them, his face holding a look of authority and intelligence.
"Alrighty, I think it's about time we put an end to this farce. For starters, you all have nothing to worry about. None of you, are the culprit to the case, though I'm sure you all already knew that."
"Of course we weren't, why would we kill our own friend?!" Charlie screamed, her eyes puffy from her sobbing. Zack merely chuckled, as he crouched next to the body.
"This isn't your friend. In fact, this isn't even Niffty!" he exclaimed, as he pulled the dress down slightly to expose her shoulders and upper chest. The room was silent and shock filled their hearts, as they stared at the sight before them. Her body wasn't even her body. It was completely stitched together with multiple other pieces of demon corpses. Even with them only being able to see a fragment of her person, they knew that there were more pieces and stitches thrown together to create the gruesome art piece of a body.
"Hold on, why is she all stitched up?! She didn't have those before, so why now?" Husker growled out.
"Elementary, my dear Husker! Take a look at the blood on the floor, if you will, or should I say, the fake blood!?"
He pointed towards the floor at the pool of magenta liquid, directing everyone's attention to it. Confusion was all present on their faces.
"The blood is...a bit lighter than I thought. Why?" Octavia asked. Zack stood up and walked closer to the group.
"Because it's fake. The blood, the body, this entire challenge, it's all a rouse! In fact, we're not solving a murder, we have to solve a kidnapping!"
Millie gasped, her tail swaying quickly in intrigue, "So you mean that she-"
Zack nodded, "That's right, she's still alive," he pointed towards the exit back to the main hall, "and if my hunch is correct, she's somewhere in this building!"
They all looked out into the main hall, a wave of relief and newfound determination washing throughout all of their bodies. If they were gonna find her, then they needed to act fast and efficiently. If there was one thing Zack wasn't gonna let happen, it was to let despair win. Hope was gonna overcome despair, he'd make sure of that!
To Be Continued...