Eternal Dream Murder Mystery

"It felt... strange... like it was simple trap... the entire thing could crumble easily with a few broken locks or windows...I thought I'd try something else..."I spoke easily.

I noticed something off about her, like she had done something horribly horribly wrong. I had seen this before, but it was just acting for a community play. But when you jumpped into a part, you really got a feel for it. She had just killed someone, I could tell it.

"Xeno, I... I know... and... I wanna help..."

"No..."

I said the words clear and simple. I was tired of this, just because I was young, I was always told to leave it to someone else. I hated being the protected, the helpless, the one guy who was supposed to be the 'Damsel in Distress'. I wanted to fight, I was tired of being scared.

"I'm going with you. No changing that."

I took out the letter opener, and raised my hand. I slowly cut my hand in a pact of blood, I was going to finish this.

"I'm through with all of this... I swear, I'm not going to be protected all my life, I finishing this, whether you want me to or not"

I nodded quietly, whiping the blood with my sleeve. I cut a peice of the sleeve and quickly tied it around the wound. I then slowly handed her the knife.

"It's better you hold onto that...So... who do we go for..."

I returned the knife, nodding at the kithen Idea. I really hadn't eaten much or done anything since I arrived. I followed her closely, remembering short conversations we had shared in a more populated area. Marriland, but it was like a sea of people, nothing like here. It was beautiful, Marriland was just one huge line.

We reached the kitchen and I felt so off beat with everything.

"Could you make me something too...I don't really care what..."

I gripped the knife tight and watched the door.

"Anything but Lettuce and Tomatoes should be fine..."

I lost some of my nerve, but still felt like if I didn't keep it up we'd be attacked. I looked nervously at the entrance then slowly looked back towards Xeno. I loosened and moved closer to her.

I nodded without making a sound, putting the knife away. It felt strange, everything, especially in the situation we were in. But it felt somewhat right, like it was supposed to be like that. I made my way to the pantry, grabbing the bread and setting it on the counter. I went back for paper plates, but found none. I moved around a little more quickly, searching for the plates. It wasn't long however before they were set down on the counter next to the bread. I smiled, knowing how unreal this was for everything. Sandwhiches at night with a Killer in our midst...

Four knives whiz through air, piercing Silver in both legs and both arms. With amazingly quick reflexes, the killer leaps from the killer's hiding place and tackles Xenosaga to the ground. Silver lies helplessly on the floor; the knives had hit the mark. Silver's limbs were paralyzed and the points where the knives struck were leaking blood which spilled out over the floor. Pulling some rope from the killer's pocket, the killer begins to tie Xenosaga's arms together. The killer sits on her back with a smile on the killer's face. "So, you thought you could do my job, eh? I don't think so. That makes me rather...angry." The killer beins laughing maniacally, the killer's head tilted with insanity and the killer's eyes radiating malice. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" the killer asks as the killer finishes tying Xenosaga's arms and starts on her legs.

When Silver says nothing and the killer finishes tying Xenosaga's limbs together, the killer stands up. "So, you wanna see me hurt her?" the killer asks as the killer viciously kicks Xenosaga in the ribs. The kick's force is so incredible that the sound of cracking bone can be heard throughout the kitchen. Xenosaga is about to cry out in pain when the killer covers her mouth. "Oops, I almost forgot this," the killer says as the killer crams a gag into Xenosaga's mouth. "Now we can have lots of fun." An innocent smile graces the killer's face making the killer appear even more insane than the killer already was. "I've been working out lately," the killer adds, stroking Xenosaga's head. "You heard those cracking ribs right? But I'm a lot stronger than that. Wanna see?" The killer stomps down on Xenosaga's neck causing her to cringe slightly. Carefully, the killer takes ahold of the rope keeping Xenosaga's arms binded and begins to pull. Xenosaga's body starts to convulse in pain. The killer grunts in strain as the killer pulls harder and harder. Eventually, the killer's efforts come to fruition as the sickening sound of tendons and muscles being ripped apart fill the room along with the cracking of bone. Blood leaks through Xenosaga's clothes and her streams of tears puddle on the floor.

Silver is forced to watch as, with a final pull, the killer rips Xenosaga's arms off, blood gushing profusely from the wounds. The killer tosses the arms through the air and they land right in front of Silver. The inner workings of Xenosaga's arms are laid bare for him to see: veins, muscle, bone, flesh, tendons, cartilage. Blood pools around the limbs that were torn off. Xenosaga kicks the floor in pain as her life begins to fade away. "No, no. We can't have you dying until these damn legs come off." The killer takes ahold of the rope tying her legs together and violently pulls on it. The killer moves the killer's foot from Xenosaga's neck to her butt and begins pushing with the killer's foot so the body and legs go in opposite directions. By the time the sickening sounds of tearing tissue and muscle fill the room, Xenosaga is dead. Her lifeless, and now limbless, body lies bleeding on the floor. More cartilage and flesh splatter on the floor with disgusting squishing sounds from her open wounds. The killer stands with Xenosaga's dismembered legs in the killer's arms. The killer lets them drop to the floor and turns the killer's attention to Silver.

"That wasn't enough fun," the killer says suddenly, the killer's voice full of disappointment. "I need more. Luckily, I have you." The killer walks slowly over to Silver, flips him onto his back, and sits on his stomach. "Ahh, the Prince of Eternal Dream. Whatever did Masquerade see in you? He must have liked you and trusted you quite a bit. Too bad he's dead now. But you'll be joining him soon, right?" The killer takes Silver's paralyzed hand into the killer's own. The killer gently touches Silver's right thumbnail and smiles. Silver is unsure of what the psycho is thinking about, but he awaits in horror for his fate. With a quick pluck, the killer rips Silver's thumbnail off. Silver attempts to scream as many others have done before, but the killer's hand covered his mouth. The killer produces another gag from the killer's pocket and crams it into Silver's mouth. "I really need to remember to use these things; we can't have anyone finding out what's going on. Now, where were we? Ah yes." The killer moves over to Silver's right index finger and slowly begins pulling the nail out. A wide and malicious grin spreads over the killer's face as the killer sees the terror and pain in Silver's eyes; it fuels him. After that nail is gone, the killer frowns, but the grin reappears with each nail that is slowly and painfully pulled out. Silver bears the pain as, one after another, all of his nails are pulled out. The feeling of the side of the nail being detached from the skin makes him squirm and writhe. All of his fingers are bleeding now. The killer is full of glee as Silver sheds a few tears. "No need to play tough anymore. It's all over." The killer produces a gun from the killer's pocket, forcefully opens Silver's mouth, shoves the gun in, and pulls the trigger. The gun fires, and Silver is finally gifted with death. Blood leaks out from behind Silver's head. The killer sticks the killer's finger in the resulting puddle and brings the killer's finger up to the killer's nose. It smells metallic.

The killer wanted to have some more fun with the killer's work, but there would be no carvings or paintings this time. The killer gets up quickly, goes to get cleaned up, and then heads off to only God knows where.

I had a bad feeling... a very bad feeling that something bad was happeneing. I was still inside the room with Kuori when Silver foolishly decided to leave. I knew he would regret it, but I decided not to stop him, but I made sure the door was locked behind him.

"Kuori, this isn't good, did you hear that? It sounded like... well, I can't explain it." I scrached the back of my head, resisting to go outside and look to see what the hell it was.

I looked over at the ever-so-calm Kuori, and frowned. "What is wrong with you?! You act like nothing is going on!" I gritted my teath and looked at the boarded-off window off the room and sighed. I needed to do something, fast.

I look at the vast emptiness of the Wasteland of Destruction, with nothing else to do. I wait for something I can't explain myself, but it is important somehow. Maybe here I could be same from the killer or whoever else: They were beginning to kill each other.
"Heh..." I mutter as I look back at the Dream Headquarters. They seem so distant, yet full of dead, flesh and blood.
I carry my sword this time, it seems my subconscious warns me something is up...

I ponder Cerani's question and debate on responding with the usual "I dunno, what do you wanna do?" but I stop myself. Now is not the time to babbling. I open a bag of something on the bed and begin devouring it, not even tasting its contents. When I am finished I glance over at Cerani who is peacefully eating her pop tarts, and I smile... the first in weeks.

Instead I open the door just for a second to peep out, and the stench of death greets me like a icy cold wave crashing against the the sandy shore.
Gagging, I close the door. "Yep, more people have died, but there really isn't anything we can do. Since we don't know who died we can't directly point out the killer... what do you think Masquerade would do right now? Or even better, where does he hide the roll for the Headquarters. You're one of his closest friends in here, you have to know!"

I sighed and stood up, stretching and looking at Aka-cha~. Silver had left, so he was probably already dead by now, his plan was now a lost cause, but I didn't care. I shouldn't care about that plan anymore, there was no use thinking about it now. When I heard Aka-cha's outburst about how calm I am and how I didn't care about really anything, I sighed again.
"Nothing's wrong...most of the things that you're thinking about right now aren't worth pondering anymore...they probably can't be changed by us...we cannot turn back the hands of time, we can only hope to find the killer before more lives are taken..." I said in a calm, semi-depressed tone.

I shake my head. "I don't think he ever had one. It was all up here with him." I tap my temple to demonstrate my meaning.

"In this place, we never had a need for such things, things like this were never supposed to happen, we're all peaceful here. At least, I thought so. Sure, we played around and joked, but we never meant any of it." I sigh and try to continue eating, even though the Pop-Tart seems to have lost some quality.

"So we just wait for everyone to die then?" I ask.
This is all so confusing. Why doesn't anyone understand that all we have to do to is decide who the killer is?
I grab a small scrap of paper and start to think. Who has been in this murder the whole time, but only at the beginning? ...
I turn to Cerani and start to scribble down a name:

O...B...

However, my tangent is interuppted by the shattering of glass. Smoke surrounded the two of us, and it choked at my lungs as I tried to find the source before I passed out. THERE!
"It's a smoke bomb." I say weakly, and chuck it back out the window as I finish my decent to the awaiting floor.

I stand up, looking at Kuori. "We need to end this thing. Who could be the killer? We need to do this before any other innocents get hurt!" Kuori's blank face had driven me insane, and I looked down at him with anger, before walking over to the door. "We need to do something, now. C'mon."

I'd ducked under the bed, somehow, I don't really remember exactly how, when the glass pane in the window shattered. So, I came out spluttering when Nic said it was a smoke bomb, knowing it would spread across the the floor--the lowest point in the room.

We let the room air out for a while, I didn't really keep track of the time anymore. I rummage through my closet and come out with a couple wooden boards, a hammer, and a some nails. Why these are in my closet, I don't know. I didn't question it and boarded up the empty pane. It blocked some of the light outside, but it was better than nothing.

After I'm done, I look at Nic and say, "While the smoke bomb is confusing, that's slightly beside the point. We can't simply pick someone and call him the killer. We'd just be giving in to the killer's games, and I won't be doing that."

The image of an arrow tail poking out from a human forehead passes slowly, almost painfully through my mind. I shake my head slightly, trying to shake it away. "I won't be doing that again."

I put away my tools then sit down beside the bed again, and resume eating my half-eaten Pop-Tart, it's a little bit stale now I think.

The door to Kuori's room bursts open knocking Akamu to the ground instantly. Not a second later did a fairly large hammer comes slamming down on Akamu's left leg, the sound of crunching bone filling the room. Akamu wails in agony, but the killer cares not. The killer brings down the hammer on Akamu's other leg, the sections where it had connected were flattened. Akamu tries to scramble back a bit, but the killer kneels down and takes two sets of handcuffs out of the killer's pocket. With unmerciful force, the killer handcuffs Akamu to the leg of the bed. His flattened legs are useless and he screams each time he tries to kick in frustration. The previously indifferent Kuori now trembles in his corner.

"What's wrong, Kuori?" the killer asks menacingly with a tint of malicious innoncence. The killer grabs Kuori roughly by the hair and slams him into the floor. Kuori notices a pouch on the killer is carrying. "Oh, are you wondering what's in here?" the killer acknowledges Kuori's curiosity as the killer sits on Kuori's chest. The killer rattles the pouch and opens it. "They are my instruments of pain for you." With awful anxiety, the killer pulls from the pouch a long needle. Kuori's eyes widen in fear and Akamu looks away from the horrible sight. The killer raises the killer's hand and plunges the needle into Kuori's left hand. The killer twists it and pushes it in so it becomes stuck in the floor. Blood leaks slowly from the wound turning part of the needle crimson. Kuori screams and beats on the killer using his other hand, but the killer grabs his wrist firmly and plunges another needle in to it. "I suggest you not do that again unless you want your arms to end up like your friend's legs," the killer whispers in Kuori's ear, glancing over at Akamu. Kuori shudders as an image of his arms being flattened by the killer's hammer enters his mind. "That's what I thought." The killer takes some smaller needles from the pouch and strokes Kuori's left arm. With precision, the killer slowly sticks a needle into Kuori's forearm. Kuori draws in a sharp breath as the killer moved the needle around inside of his arm. Akamu is crying by now; there is nothing he can do for his friend but look away and still be tormented by the sounds of his pain.

Tears are pouring from Kuori's eyes as well, and through the salty manifestations of misery, he sees his left arm completely punctured by myriad needles, little streams of blood beginning to form a small puddle beneath the limb. The killer laughs and smiles at Kuori. "This is fun, right? Aren't you having fun?" The killer takes Kuori's shirt and pulls it up revealing his bare torso. The killer places a hand over Kuori's stomach. "Most of your organs are located here," the killer says calmly. Taking another needle, the killer slowly penetrates Kuori's chest right where the liver ought to be. Kuori can feel the needle inside of him and his breathing becomes shallow in fear of the pain. The killer inserts several needles at once right where Kuori's intestines are. The grin widens on the killer's face as the killer pulls Kuori's shirt up higher. The killer places a single hand over Kuori's heart. "Oooh, it's beating so quickly," the killer says. However, instead of puncturing that area, the killer sticks a needle into the spots where Kuori's lungs were supposed to be, though the killer didn't stick them in too far. "No deep breaths now, unless you want a punctured lung." Kuori became extremely frightened and tried to stop breathing completely, but that only makes him want to breath harder.

Akamu is trying to pull away from the bed, but the handcuffs hold strong. The killer turns and looks at him. "Don't worry; your turn is next," the killer says and points to a bookbag on the killer's back. The killer becomes impatient at this point and begins violently jamming needles into Kuori's chest, though he can't cry out for the needles might puncture his organs. The number of little rivers of blood increases and they all contribute to a prominent proliferation of the crimson mess that is now forming underneath Kuori. The killer rubs a thumb across Kuori's cheek and looks into his eyes that are now showing extraordinary fright. The killer forcefully covers Kuori's mouth and begins to stick a needle into his cheek. Followed by another. And another. All of the needles protrude inside of Kuori's mouth and when the killer removes the killer's hand, the killer can see the points of the needles. With a quick movement, the killer jabs a couple of needles into Kuori's tongue. At that moment, Kuori's body convulses slightly in pain, and one of the needles does in fact puncture one of his lungs. He wails out in pain and convulses again causing even more needles to puncture more organs. His skin becomes pinkish in a way due to the internal bleeding. The killer wants to hear the screams of pain a bit longer, but figures it would be best to end it. Raising both hands into the air, a needle in both hand, the killer thrusts the needles into Kuori's eyes. The victim's body falls still. Blood is leaking from his abused mouth and even more blood spills from his eyes.

The killer releases a sigh of relief which is instantly replaced by a snarl of rage. The killer becomes upset for the killer wished to torture Kuori for a bit longer. Luckily, the killer had someone to take out the frustration upon. The killer takes off the bookbag and pulls out two staplers. Walking over to the restrained Akamu, a frown besets the killer's face. Akamu yelps in pain as a stapler slams into his head. Another yelp echoes as another stapler smashes against Akamu's skull. Again and again, the killer slams the staplers against Akamu's head which eventually leads to the killer grasping Akamu's neck fiercely and stapling his face repeatedly. Akamu's face is bleeding profusely and tingling with pain. His senses are rattled from the multiple beating, but he's still alive, though he wishes that he wasn't. The killer throws the staplers at a wall and dumps the rest of the contents of the bookbag on the floor: pencils, pens, scissors, and rulers that are broken in half with jagged edges where they are broken. Taking the broken rulers, the killer plunges them into Akamu's chest, one after another until his chest is bleeding just as much as his stapled and beaten face and is riddled with broken rulers. Akamu barely clings onto life and he doesn't know why he just doesn't let it go. The killer sees this and takes a pair of scissors from the supplies. Roughly, the killer takes ahold of Akamu's hair and glares at him in the eyes. With a sudden smile, the killer jams the scissors into the underside of his skull. The killer pushes and crams until the point of the scissors can be seen in Akamu's mouth.

The killer takes a deep breath and looks at the killer's work. "Very good as usual, if I do say so myself." The killer then checks the window; it is locked. Taking Kuori's room key, the killer departs locking the door to the room behind the killer. The killer then makes off down the hall, as usual, and returns to the place where the schemes are created.

I drop the pastry in surprise as I hear screaming. My god, they sound like screams of pain. I stare at my door, hoping--no, willing the door to remain stationary and locked.

Suddenly, I am ashamed of myself for only caring about myself, and my look of surprise changes to one of rage. I stand quickly and begin to pace the room.

"This isn't right. Whoever the killer is, he needs to die--NOW." I clench my jaw as I bite back some words I know I can't follow through. "I can't kill him, we're all hiding like scared children, and he's playing games with us. But what the hell can we do? He's played on our minds so much, that most of us think he's invincible, un-killable, faceless even I think. He remains faceless."

I grab my head and groan for a second. "Oh no, now I've gone and lost it. Why can't this just be over now? No more, I don't want to die." I look up at Nic, as out of the blue as it was when I grabbed my head and groaned. "If he comes in here, he's gonna regret it. I might not kill him, but he's not getting away without a fight from me, my payback."

"I agree." I stated, gripping my sword at its hilt. "We need a plan if we are going to fight back, but we should keep it secret, lest someone should be listening at our door."
I stare at a knothole on the hardwood floor. Hmmm...
Life is starting to get boring...