May 18

Grand Hall Theater

1:05 PM

Deirdre Brigit

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Yuri cried out from beside me. I could see that she was trembling slightly on the spot as we looked down at the unconscious form of Satoki. It was hard to believe that something this terrible had happened so suddenly. Less than an hour beforehand, we had seen him and Shane at the courthouse, and everything had been fine. What the hell could have happened to make everything change so suddenly? It sent a shiver down my spine to think of.

"We have to call for help," Mr. Morix answered. "I'm going to see if I can contact Detective Erikson. He said that he was staying here while Detective Umber came to testify during the trial today, so he must be around here somewhere. I'll tell him about everything. You two stay here."

"I want to come with you!" Yuri exclaimed, taking a step to follow after Mr. Morix.

I held up one arm to keep her from leaving. "We have to stay here and make sure the culprit doesn't come back. If they return, they could move Satoki elsewhere for the sake of whatever twisted plan led them here in the first place. We have to ensure this place is kept the same as we found it," I pointed out. "Mr. Morix will be able to handle himself."

Yuri nodded hesitantly. "Alright... We'll look after Satoki for now," she said softly. "Can you give us his phone again? I want to see that text conversation we saw."

Mr. Morix nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket before pulling out Satoki's phone. He pressed the device into Yuri's hand, and a few seconds later, he quickly turned on his heel and disappeared, leaving me and Yuri in the backstage area.

Yuri held up the phone, and I could see that her hand was shaking. "What could all of this mean?" she questioned. "I don't understand it in the slightest..."

"Let's take it from the very start," I suggested. "Satoki asked if Stayge was feeling alright after not talking all that much to the rest of the cast or crew... And then Stayge asked what he meant by that."

"He said that he hasn't been back here in a few days since he had to go out of town for a funeral, but... That's not possible. We've seen Stayge. We've spoken to him. Just yesterday, we were asking him what he knew about all that was going on. How could that not be him?" Yuri asked.

I hesitated before answering. "I don't know if we've been talking to the real Stayge," I said softly. "What else could this conversation mean? If he hasn't been here in the past few days, then someone must be impersonating him. If that's the case, then who could possibly be fabricating his presence? What reason would they possibly have for doing so?"

Yuri sighed and shook her head. "I don't get it at all, but this has to mean something... I wonder if it fits into why Satoki was attacked," she murmured. "And what was he even hit with? It's clear that he was hit on the head by something, but I don't know what it could have been. There's nothing around here that has any blood on it."

"I must admit that I'm wondering the same thing... If he was attacked by the culprit, what did they use to render him unconscious?" I whispered. "It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that it has something to do with the text conversation, but this again brings us back to the question of who would want to impersonate Stayge. I know that there's a reason for it, but what could it possibly be?"

Yuri shrugged. "I wish I could tell you, but... I can't come up with anything. Where even is Stayge anyways? I know that we haven't spent much time looking around here since coming to the theater, but I haven't seen him anywhere... Well, I say Stayge, but it's clearly not the real person. We have to figure out what's going on with him before we can go any further, but I don't know how we're meant to do that," she rambled.

"I don't think we should bring our concerns directly to him," I pointed out. "After all, that could be what happened to Satoki. If he figured out that the real Stayge wasn't here, then he could have attempted to confront the false version. If the faker was really desperate to keep their identity a secret, then they could have lashed out at him in order to keep the truth hidden."

"Then what are we supposed to do about all of this now?" Yuri questioned. "We have to talk to someone, but I don't know who. Shane and Satoki are pretty close. In fact, I haven't seen them further than a few feet apart at any given moment. Even during the trial, they were sitting in the same area when they weren't testifying."

I nodded. "Yes, I certainly see what you're talking about. There's never been a moment where they were alone, and it's a cause for suspicion to suddenly see only Satoki here with Shane nowhere in sight. Something could have happened to him," I told her.

"I wish Mr. Morix would come back already... I want to go and look around at what else is here, but we can't do that as long as we're standing guard over Satoki. It's not a good idea for either of us to go at it alone either given that the culprit could still be here," Yuri said. "Okay, now I'm starting to get a bit nervous. Mr. Morix has been gone for a while, and he went out there alone. What if something happens to him? We have no way of knowing unless we go to look for him ourselves, right?"

I paused at her words. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Mr. Morix had been gone for a while, and even if he was trying to find Detective Erikson, we should have heard some update by now. If he wasn't able to find Detective Erikson, surely he would have settled for someone else. Ensuring that Satoki was safe and alive was his first priority, and now really wasn't the time to be picky.

My main problem was that Mr. Morix had to know this. Even if he was prone to bouts of paranoia, I knew that he was a sensible, logical person. He knew what to do when things went south, but he still wasn't back. Something couldn't have happened to him... Right?

Yuri let out a frustrated huff and dashed further into the backstage area. I let out a gasp and trailed after her, reaching one arm in her direction. "Yuri! Wait up! We have to be reasonable about this!" I exclaimed, trying to hide the desperate panic that was quickly rising in my body.

Yuri suddenly came to a halt when she was in the backstage area, and I nearly slammed into her. A scream left her lips, and I looked around furiously to figure out what had frightened her so much. However, it didn't take me long to figure out.

A few feet away from us was Shane. He was leaned up against the wall, clearly unconscious. A thin trail of red was dripping down the side of his neck. He was breathing, but it was still obvious that something had happened to him. Much like with Satoki, he had been attacked, no doubt by the culprit.

However, Shane was not the primary target of my shock. Further down the hallway was another person, and I recognized the lanky silhouette even from far away. I felt my hands rising to cover my mouth as I took a step towards Mr. Morix.

Similar to Shane, he was unconscious, though he was fully on the ground rather than simply leaning against the wall. A few inches away from his face was a small bag that appeared to be filled with beans. The bag was drenched in blood, and the crimson liquid had already started to stain the carpet. I couldn't do much aside from stare, shock practically built into my features at this point.

"What the hell happened here?!" Yuri exclaimed, running over to where Mr. Morix was stretched out on the ground. "We have to go and find help somewhere! But we're going to go together so that we aren't attacked, okay?!"

I nodded numbly, glad that Yuri was taking charge. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, but Yuri was far more proactive. She grabbed my wrist in between her fingers and started dragging, taking me out of the backstage area and back into the theater. Before I knew it, we were in the lobby, and I could see a tall figure nearby that I recognized.

Relief hit me like a tidal wave as I spoke. "Detective Erikson!" I exclaimed. "We've found something that you have to see... It's about the witnesses and Mr. Morix...!"

"They were attacked!" Yuri piped in, finishing my thoughts for me. "We don't know who did it, but something happened to them!"

Detective Erikson's eyes went wide as soon as he realized the gravity of the situation. "Show me where they are. I'll have medics on it as soon as possible," he instructed of us.

At his words, Yuri dashed back into the theater. I trailed after her back inside, and I could tell Detective Erikson was hot on my heels. We were backstage before I could fully process what was happening.

Detective Erikson looked to Satoki in concern, and after a few seconds, he followed Yuri into the greater backstage area where Shane and Mr. Morix were located. Once he had looked at them for long enough, Detective Erikson turned his attention to us. "I'll get this under control. For now, go out into the lobby and tell everyone out there to come to the backstage area. I want you to stay away from the crime scene for now. You're witnesses, and we're going to need to hear the full story of what happened, alright?" he instructed.

I nodded, not fully aware of what I was doing. Everything was moving so quickly, and I wasn't quite sure of how to process it. Yuri was the first one to move, and I followed behind her by a few paces. I had a bad feeling about all of this, and my stomach agreed when it tied firmly into a knot.

May 18

Grand Hall Theater

1:45 PM

Deirdre Brigit

Yuri and I sat out in the lobby of the theater for what felt like years. I could barely sit still, constantly bouncing my leg up and down as a way of distracting myself from all that happened. Yuri, on the other hand, was unable to tear her gaze away from Satoki's phone. She read over the conversation between him and Stayge nearly each minute, trying to digest what this new information was going to mean for the case.

Detective Erikson emerged from the theater after ages, and I perked up as Yuri looked away from the phone screen. "I'm glad to report that all three of them will be fine," he told us confidently. "They received minor head injuries, but they will be alright once they wake up."

"Do you know anything else?" Yuri pressed, her gaze practically pleading with Detective Erikson to say something, anything, else.

Detective Erikson nodded. "We believe that the bean bag found near Mr. Morix is the weapon. It is regularly used to keep some of the props made to be wooden stands upright. You place it at the base of the stand to ensure that it doesn't fall over, so it's rather heavy. Unfortunately, the culprit took advantage of this, and that's what led to everything happening like how it did today," he went on.

"Did they receive any further injuries?" I questioned of Detective Erikson with a deep frown.

"Satoki and Shane were only hit on the head, but Mr. Morix was different. He was hit a second time in the stomach, bruising a rib in the process. Our prediction is that the culprit hit him in the stomach to get him to double over before attacking his head. It's clear to see how tall he is in comparison to other people, so anyone who was too much shorter than him would have troubles with knocking him unconscious," Detective Erikson answered.

"That does make sense... Perhaps he walked in on the attack of Shane, and the culprit lashed out as a way of getting rid of witnesses. Even if the blow was far from being fatal, it would have caused a small amount of memory loss, and the truth would have been kept hidden," I remarked to myself. "So far, it's seeming like the order of operations was Satoki, Shane, and finally Mr. Morix, but I guess we have no way of being confident in that until proper medical reports come out."

"I don't understand why any of this happening..." Yuri murmured. "It's all so sudden. It was less than two hours ago that everything was fine, and now... I don't know what we're supposed to do from here."

"You can look around the scene if you wish," Detective Erikson replied. "Now that we've taken the victims away from the area, you can examine what evidence was left behind. Feel free to look for anything that might help your case. For now, I'm going to see what I can learn regarding the attacks."

"Thank you for your help, Detective Erikson," I told him with a bow of my head. He nodded in response before walking away, leaving me and Yuri alone together.

"I don't know how we're supposed to tell Chrysalis all of this," Yuri said with a sigh. "She and Mr. Morix have always been so close. I don't think that she's going to take this news all that well, and it's only going to add to her stress."

"We're going to have to tell her though. Keeping the truth from her grasp will only hurt us more in the long run," I asserted firmly. "I agree that we will have to tread carefully from here on out... At the end of our investigation, we should see if we can talk to any of them. If their head injuries were truly so minor, then maybe we'll be able to hear the truth of what happened from their firsthand accounts."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Yuri nodded. "For now, I want to see that bag Satoki was in. We never got the chance to examine it properly, and I want to hear the truth for myself of what the bag's deal is."

"Let's get to it then," I agreed. I swallowed back my steadily rising nerves and started walking towards the theater once again. This investigation was not going well, but there wasn't much we could do to change that. All we could do was go along with it.

The walk backstage to where the large bag was waiting for us felt like it took years. My feet were growing heavier as the reality of the situation set in fully, but I did my best to shake it off. Eventually, we arrived in the place that we had been in when we discovered that Satoki had been attacked, and I was relieved to see the bag empty.

Yuri let her hand fish around in her pocket before pulling out her phone. She flicked it on and pressed a segment of the screen that turned on the flashlight before illuminating the inside of the bag. White light flooded the area, and I frowned to myself when I looked in the bag over her shoulder.

The bottom of the bag was rather light, I had to say. In fact, the difference in color between the light gray of the bag's bottom segment and the rest of the container was strange. I could see a small area covered in blood on the top area where Satoki's head had been stationed when we found him within the container. However, that wasn't the only splash of crimson that I noticed on the bottom of the bag...

Yuri shifted her phone so that it was pointing light at the other side of the bag. There was another little patch of blood, but it was clearly on the smaller side. In fact, it was so tiny that it was barely noticeable at first. I tilted my head to the side in confusion with a frown forming on my features.

"That blood shouldn't be here," Yuri remarked, cutting me off before I could comment on that very same subject. "It doesn't make sense. Satoki's head was on the other side of the bag, so how did the blood get all the way over there?"

I looked to her, knowing already the grave weight that had formed in my eyes. "There must have been another source of bloodshed to create that patch," I told her. "But there's no way it came from Satoki. Detective Erikson would have told us if he had received a second injury like he did with Mr. Morix, but there was nothing notable..."

"Was somebody else possibly placed in the bag then?" Yuri asked. "I don't know who it could have been though... There's not enough blood for that to be Saya, so what could have happened?"

I let out a gasp. "You're right... There's too little blood for it to be from the victim," I murmured. I realized that the edge of the bag's bottom layer was peeling up slightly. I reached out and took firm hold of it before prying the light gray away from the rest of the bag.

The bottom of the bag was black, and I frowned upon this realization. What was the gray fabric doing at the bottom of the bag? It wasn't as if the bag had sustained any major damage that needed to be covered up. In fact, it looked to be in perfect condition...

Yuri, on the other hand, was distracted by something else. "Deirdre! Look at the other side of the fabric!" she cried, her eyes wide as saucers.

I did as she instructed and rotated the fabric, a frown still on my face. A gasp left my lips as I realized that the other side of the light gray felt was covered in blood. "It looks like we've found our method for moving the body..." I whispered.

"Since that side of the fabric was pressed down against the bottom of the bag, I would guess that the blood was originally on the container. That fabric could have been placed down over the bottom of the bag to cover up the fact that it was soaked in blood," Yuri pointed out. "But why would something like that be done in the first place? It's like the killer was trying to keep blood from getting on something, but what could that possibly mean?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I'm not sure, but this was certainly done the night of the crime. The blood would have dried on the bottom of the bag by now if the fabric was just placed in the area when Satoki was attacked," I pointed out. "I still don't know what the felt was meant to protect from getting stained though... Something else must have been moved using this bag."

"The bag has wheels on the bottom, so it's not all that hard to move if you try hard enough," Yuri remarked. To prove such, she gently nudged the bag, and it rolled a few inches before coming to a stop. "Plus, if it was regularly used to move props from place to place, people wouldn't get suspicious if it saw some usage right before the show. If it was zipped up, you wouldn't even notice that someone was inside of it. That's what happened with Satoki before we opened up the top of the bag, after all. That could have easily been done the night of the murder too."

I nodded. "You're right there... At this point, I just want to know where that other bloodstain came from. It's not from Satoki, but it's likely not from Saya either. Shane was never placed in the bag. We would have noticed it if that was the case. The same applies to Mr. Morix since he was attacked while we were looking after the bag... I don't know what could have happened," I said.

"Maybe we're going about this in the wrong order. We should look around and see if we can find any traces of blood elsewhere around here," Yuri pointed out. "If we could find the weapon, then maybe we could figure out what happened. It's not like we can just turn the bag in to be tested right now with everything that took place earlier..."

"Alright. Where do you think we should start?" I questioned. I already had an idea, but I wanted to give Yuri the chance to offer a suggestion first.

"Why don't we head for the bathroom?" Yuri suggested. "That's where the crime took place, right? If we could find something there, then I think it would make sense..."

"The blood of whoever was attacked would have been wiped up by the time the police arrived. It would have been cleaned up with everything else that was already wiped away by the culprit," I agreed. "Alright. Let's get to it."

I followed Yuri away from the backstage area and towards the bathrooms. We didn't run into anyone on the way there, and much to my relief, the area was empty when we arrived as well. I didn't want to have to deal with talking to people any more than we would already have to. I was still grappling with all that had happened in the past few hours, and I wanted to take things one step at a time until I was fully ready to face the reality of what had taken place.

Yuri began looking around the restroom immediately, a frown on her face. She eventually noticed something that seemed to stick out to her, and she walked over to the counter. Yuri picked up a bottle of soap, and I stared at it for a moment before I realized that it was stuck in a metal container. The metal was on the thinner side, but it was clear to see that it could still do some damage if someone was struck with it.

"I don't see all that much else in here that could have been used to attack someone with," Yuri remarked. "I mean, I guess a person could have been hit against the wall, but I feel like that would be too risky. It's harder to clean blood off a wall than off the floor, so the culprit likely wouldn't want to take that chance. There were enough balls in the air already as far as I can tell."

"If this soap container really was the weapon, then it would leave a blunt injury," I murmured. "A sharp weapon would leave a cut on the victim's head, but that doesn't seem to have been the case... You know, under the assumption that the soap was used to attack our unknown victim."

"I can't help but think who in the world could have been hit though. What would the reason be? It's not as if there are any other people for us to talk to about all of this," Yuri sighed with a shake of her head. "Do you have any ideas? I'm afraid that I'm coming up short at the moment."

"Let's go and check out the hallway for the time being," I suggested. "We can ask Detective Erikson to have the fabric, bag, and soap container tested for blood. If all goes well, he'll be able to tell us conclusively who was attacked thanks to forensics analysis."

"Okay," Yuri nodded. We left the bathroom behind not long afterwards, and soon enough, we were in the deeper backstage area where Shane and Mr. Morix had been attacked. For the most part, the area was empty aside from the smears of blood against the wall and carpet. I cringed upon seeing them and tried to keep my gaze from lingering there for too long.

"I don't see anything here," Yuri said with a sigh once she had given the area an examination as well. "I mean, I guess it makes sense. This space is pretty blank, and all that it should be used for is walking in between the deeper backstage area and the segment right behind the stage. I don't think there's anything here for us to use."

"If there was something in the deeper backstage segment, the police would have found it by now, and Detective Erikson would have brought it up to us already," I pointed out. "I don't think there's much of anything else we can do until we can get things tested for blood with the help of the forensics team."

"I think I know of something we can do," Yuri told me, though it was obvious she was not looking forward to saying whatever was on her mind. The hesitation in her gaze said loud and clear that something was bothering her.

"What is it?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"We could go and tell Chrysalis about all of this," Yuri sighed. "We have to talk to her about it sooner or later, and there's nothing for us to do here. While Detective Erikson is busy, we can concentrate on other things, and we'll figure out a plan for what to do next after we've told her about this."

As much as I hated to say it, Yuri had a point. I was not looking forward to telling Chrysalis about everything that had taken place, but it wasn't as if hiding it would be able to help us. She could be able to help us figure out who had been attacked if we asked the right questions too. That was hypothetical, of course, but I was willing to grasp onto any hope at this point.

A sigh of my own left my lips. "Alright... Let's go and tell Chrysalis about all that's happened," I agreed. I was not going to enjoy her reaction, that was for sure. To put it simply, she was just as protective of her brother as he was of her, even if she hid it a bit better. There was nothing that could keep her from trying to learn more, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for her to wind up that desperate while already feeling sick in the detention center. However, I also knew that hiding it from her was pointless. Chrysalis was too damn perceptive, and she would figure it out one way or another. It would be for the best if we told her upfront rather than leaving her to guess, even if the idea of explaining it all sounded downright dreadful.

May 18

Detention Center

3:15 PM

Deirdre Brigit

When Yuri and I arrived at the detention center, there was an unexpected familiar face waiting for us. Mukuro was rocking back and forth on her feet within the visiting room, and I addressed her as soon as I figured out who she was. "I didn't expect to see you here, Mukuro," I remarked.

Mukuro turned to face us with a bright smile. "Hey, you two! I'm guessing that you're here to see Chrysalis too, right?" she asked.

Yuri nodded. "We are... But what are you doing here? I don't think you're involved with this case at all..." she murmured.

"My dad wanted me to stop by and check on her. He told me that she hasn't been doing all that well since coming to the detention center, and since he can't exactly make sure that she's okay while investigating, he asked me to do it," Mukuro explained. "But there's a bit of a problem... I've been waiting for ages to see her, but nobody has brought her by."

"You're a detective, right? Maybe you can get clearance to go back and see what the holdup is," Yuri pointed out.

Mukuro nodded. "I think I will, as a matter of fact. I'll be back in a jiffy!" she chirped before leaving the room behind.

The visiting area was oddly silent after she left. The quiet tension felt like it was going to suffocate me if I wasn't careful, but I dared not to break it. My brain was left in a haze, and I prayed that Chrysalis got there soon. Judging by the look on Yuri's face, she felt the same way.

A scream ripped me from my thoughts, and I perked up immediately. "That sounded like..." I began.

"Mukuro!" Yuri finished with a yell of surprise. She scrambled away from the room, and I followed after her once I had gathered my bearings.

Even if we weren't meant to be going into the holding cells of the detention center, we were able to get in no problem. I soon realized why security at the front of the wing was so lax when I saw a cluster of guards standing around a specific cell.

My stomach dropped, and I gasped as soon as I was close enough to see what was within the cell.

It was Chrysalis, lying facedown on the gray ground. There was a knife sticking out of her right shoulder, and red had formed a small pool around her upper arm. Her other hand sat next to a clumsy set of letters that read out a single word: 'BLOCKER'.

I couldn't do much more than stare, feeling bile rise in my throat. I didn't think this case could get any worse, and yet, it had somehow managed. How much more twisted could this killer get?

Wow I really love this case

-Digital