The end of the day…or is it? What'll happen during the night? Please, read on!

Don't own anything except the made up characters

CHAPTER SEVEN: AN UNEXPECTED GUEST

It was very late at night and everyone was sleeping. The guards, guarding the front gates, were still standing, straight and firm. Also, there were guards patrolling the grounds. The reason why they were doing all of this is because Charles asked them to. He thought that the perpetrator would return to the scene of the crime. Charles was lying on his bed, thinking about what he missed.

In his mind, he was going through the following things:

"Let's see," he thought to himself. "The weapon used to kill Kate Ashford was a stiletto, a trademark weapon of the Chosen. The kid says that the perpetrator also had red hair, just like the Chosen. He also has an exsphere so he could have killed Kate quickly, up close and stealthily. The footprint…"

Charles got up and said, "I need to examine that footprint more." Charles got dressed, took the file containing information about Zelos and moved downstairs and out the backdoor. There, he saw someone. It was the caterer. He was still wearing his chef's outfit, but he took off his hat, revealing his wild red hair. He was looking over the footprint. Charles approached him.

"Inspector!" He exclaimed. "I didn't expect you to be up."

"I couldn't sleep," Charles replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Examining the evidence of course. I just wanted to see if you caught the murderer, that's all."

"Rest assured, we're coming down to a suspect as we speak."

"Whew! That's a relief. I live in the mansion so I didn't want a murderer coming to kill me."

"Don't worry. Why don't you get some rest? I'm sure you had a long day."

"Thanks, inspector," the caterer said, going back inside.

Charles examined the footprint and pulled out the file. "Yep, the footprint matches the Chosen's shoe size."

"Inspector?"

Charles spun around and found Jean standing behind him.

"You scared me half to death," Charles said, relieved it wasn't a murderer behind him.

"I just came down for a midnight snack. Would you like something to eat as well?"

Charles smiled. "Sure, why not?"

The two went to the kitchen. It was dark but they saw someone raiding the fridge. Charles turned on the light. He saw a man, dressed in purple clothing, having red hair and brown eyes. He also carried a sword.

"How did you get in here?" Charles asked.

"Door was open," the man replied, eating an apple, pointing at the open door.

"You mean you pried it open, don't you?" Jean replied.

"Say what you will, I stand by my story."

"Why are you here?" Charles asked.

"I'm here to visit my son."

"To visit your son?" Jean mocked. "That's got to be the lamest excuse I've ever heard of."

"Neither the less, it's the truth."

"What's your son's name?" Charles asked.

"Lloyd Irving."

"Alright, let's have a talk with him."

The three walked upstairs. Charles knocked on Lloyd's door.

"Mr. Irving?" He called out. "Mr. Irving? Are you in there?"

"Inspector?" A voice asked from behind the door. "Is that you? Hold on, I'll let you in."

The door swung open. Lloyd was standing while Colette was sitting on the nearby bed. Lloyd took a look at Kratos.

"Da—I mean, Kratos, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see all of you," Kratos replied.

"So your name is Kratos, correct?" Jean asked.

"That is correct, I am a mercenary."

"He has red hair, sir," Jean replied.

"Is he your father Lloyd?" Charles asked.

"Uh…yeah, he is. I thought you were on Derris-Kharlan."

"Well, I was," Kratos replied, "but the core system takes a while to restart under new controls. I can't do anything until I can control it with voice recognition. I decided to see you all one last time but that's until I heard all of you were having a party outside of Meltokio…"

"I see," Lloyd said.

"Alright, Kratos," Charles replied. "I'm going to ask you to wait for me in the interrogation room. Jean, would you kindly lead him there?"

"Yes, sir," Jean replied. "Mr. Kratos, sir, please come with me." The two made their way to the interrogation room. Charles turned to Colette.

"Uh…Ms. Brunel?" Charles asked.

"Yes, inspector?" Colette asked.

"You do know that the ladies dormitory is down the hall don't you?"

"Uh…yes, I guess it is."

"So why are you in here then?"

"We're just talking," Lloyd replied. "Why?"

"……well, you know…I just figured…"

"It's not what it looks like!" They both exclaimed together.

"It's exactly what it looks like," Genis grumbled under his cover. "You guys are talking too loud."

Colette threw a pillow at his head.

"Ow…"

"Do you wish for an escort back to your room?" Charles asked Colette.

"No," Colette replied, "I'll go back myself."

"Alright, just holler if you need anything." On his way out, Charles looked at Lloyd, Colette and Genis (he was peaking his head out of his covers). He made it that only Colette and Genis could hear him. He told Colette, "You guys do make a really cute couple." He turned and walk down the hall. Meanwhile, back in the room, Colette was blushing, and Genis was laughing hysterically. Lloyd was in the dark.

"What happened?" he asked.

Colette turned around, still blushing.

"Did he say anything to you?"

Genis was rolling on the floor. "Hahahahaha! He said that…"

Colette threw another pillow at Genis' head.

"Ow…" was the reply.

Meanwhile, back in the interrogation room, Kratos was awaiting Charles as Jean was figuring out ways to coax out the answers that lay within Kratos. When he saw Charles, he suggested a good cop, bad cop routine.

"Maybe not," Charles answered.

"And why not?" Jean asked.

"Because it is stupid."

"You're just jealous because you didn't think of it before I did."

"No, I think it's stupid because it is stupid! Now go back to bed. I'll handle Kratos."

"Alright, alright, don't have to yell. I see where I'm not needed." Jean walked out the door.

"Alright, Mr. Kratos, let's get started."

"About what?" he asked.

"About what? Are you not aware of the murder of Kate Ashford, Meltokio's newest emissary of the peace?"

"You mean it was her that was in the body bag?"

"……how long have you been here?"

"Since last night. I arrived late. Flying here takes a lot out of you so I decided to go inside the nearest pub for a drink."

"You flew here? How?"

"I used my wings…"

"……I don't want to get into that. Just tell me what happened in the pub."

"Well, as I recall…"

Begin Flashback

Kratos narrating: "I walked into the pub and there was a woman there. She wore an elegant red dress and had a figure of a goddess. Her black hair flowed with radiance and her brown eyes flashed like a thousand suns. I'm guessing that was Kate Ashford. Anyway, I had a little talk with her."

"You look like a player," Kate said, smiling.

"I'm presuming you're talking to me," Kratos replied.

"Yes, I am. You look like a strong man; can you help me with something?"

"Humph. If it'll get you off my back."

Kratos narrating: "She led me to the stage, and told me to lift some boxes. There was a bucket of water on top of them. The pail was knocked over and I was soaked. Everyone started to laugh and I was made a fool of."

"Guess I underestimated you," Kratos said.

"Hahahaha! Nothing like a practical joke! You look so serious so I decided to clean up your act!"

"Augh! Terrible."

"Oh, hush up. Besides, I have no time for this. I'm late for an important date."

Kratos narrating: "For once in my life, I've been made a fool of. I decided to get her back. After buying some kettle chips and the necessary supplies, I followed her. Soon found out that she was heading for the outskirts of Meltokio for the celebration. She made her way inside so I planted a remote home-made landmine in front of the door so I could blow her up to smithereens…

Charles interjecting: "So you wanted to kill Kate Ashford?"

Kratos' response: "The blast was made to be minimal. It would be strong enough to tear most of her clothes off."

Charles questioning: "……how do you make a landmine, anyway?"

Kratos' response: "It's a miracle of what you can do with some twigs, mana, rocks, sap, wire and dynamite. Anyway, I perched myself on a long branch, observing both the back door and front door. I spoke to myself, waiting for Kate Ashford.

"Ah, the lone tree branch. The perfect vantage point…for revenge."

Kratos opens the bag of kettle chips.

"Ah, kettle chips. The perfect side dish…for revenge."

It was almost midnight when people were beginning to leave.

"Well, Kate, this is your waterloo. Soon you'll be Napoleon Blownapart."

"Augh, terrible," a random person passing said.

"Oh, hush up."

Kratos narrating: "The lights turned off, someone screamed; lights turn back on, utter chaos. There were people panicking and someone yelled Kate Ashford was dead."

"God dammit! There goes my revenge plan..."

Kratos narrating: "I saw someone dashing out the back door and heading towards the gate. The guards were blocking the gate and he was too small to scale the fence. He ditched his clothing and went back inside. Due to this panic, I had pushed the button, activating the remote land mine."

"Uh…crap…"

A puppy crawls on the land mine. Colette rushes over a few feet away from the mine.

"Look Lloyd!" Colette exclaimed. "A cute puppy!"

"Colette, be careful!" Lloyd called after her.

"Come here, puppy! Come here! Come on!"

The land mine explodes, killing the little puppy

"Puppy!" Colette exclaimed.

End Flashback

"And that's my story," Kratos concluded. "The only murder that I have committed is against that puppy…"

"……can you describe the person who dashed out the back door?"

"I'm a mercenary, not an owl. I couldn't see him."

"So the killer sits among us…"

"I guess so."

"Well, Mr. Kratos, thank you for your time. You can stay in one of the rooms that we have available. I only ask that you don't leave the grounds until I finish my investigation."

"Very well, then. I'll turn for the night."

"Good night," Charles said. Kratos turned and left.

"This could be trouble," Charles thought to himself. "The killer is among us. I must proceed with caution…"

Could Kratos be the killer that Charles is looking for? Please R&R this chapter and tell me what you think.