Awards Killing Game 2x2: Moon of Hope (Game Thread) - Grand Finale: Shoot The Moon

[GBA]

Reflect on my previous interactions with "Lee Chaolan" to determine if he was ever real

I think I might have figured out the key to this case

You ponder this deeply.

What is Lee Chaolan, but a famiscile of the human experience projected onto our minds? Was he there to remind us of the inevitability of death, how what remains is but a lingering shadow of ones achievements after we vanish beyond the veil, never to return, or was he there to punish some distant, divine overseer with his paint-based antics in the construction of the timeline which binds your extradimensional form to this plane?

...

You then consider the can of orange paint that hit you on the head on an earlier night, and conclude it might be responsible for this train of thought.

 

[TPG]

Use a darklight torch to search for the potentially invisible body of Lee. Check his room, the rafters, the clock tower heights, and the garage for now.

Perhaps his body is stuck in the Paranormal Dimension.

 

[TPG]

Examine the bottom of the beanstalk in the Hollow Tree. Look for a globe

 

[Superchao]

"Just gonna help you by sayin' that Lee's body is gone for good. You ain't finding his corpse!

As for those darklight scans, gimme a little bit. Gotta confirm what you find there."

 

[Super Jack Sunshine]

"My friends and not friends, I must burden you all with some sad, sad news. You see, my previous testimonies have had wonderful works of art attached to them, made by my employee. However, as the Studio is all but void of paint, this can no longer be done, unfortunately. I am sorry to say, but... art is dead."

"But! Do not fret!"

"For I, Jackson B. Humorus, am prepared as always! I shall fill the gaps left by those pieces with some reusable promotional renders that I keep on my person at all times in case something like this would ever happen to a perfect specimen such as I! This will enrich my testimony in the same way that the art did, I have zero doubts! Now, without further ado, let me discuss my night. Much of it was preparing for the dangers to come!"

"I started by... waking up, duh. I exited my dorm to find the bespectacled fraud and the fire rat duking it out! Fire rat was winning, by the looks of it, and he was flooding the dorms with tea from his very expensive-looking teapot made of gold. Unfortunately, I did not care. I left to the Workshop after to seek out motor oil, which I quickly found and bottled up. My next destination was the Hollow Tree. I clambered up to the second floor and rushed into the Armory for my next items. Unfortunately, I wasn't alone in there. Lee Chaolan was inside, spray-painting a sword to a false golden hue. After narrowly avoiding a golden paint trap above the door, I entered to grab a polearm, which he apparently did not like, prompting the obligatory chase sequence. I cut this short by blowtorching the bridge behind me with my pepper spray — turns out its packs more of a punch than I planned! I went back downstairs after, and saw the old man jump through the hole in the East Hallways."

"My next destination was the Garage. I arrived to see the fire rat leave through the garage door with Th- Tha- the purple guy. Took me a bit of searching after to find a wrench among the room's contents; I think the lot of you took most of them already! I had a much easier time grabbing a taser from the Metal Lab right next door, though. I left for the Clock Tower after, seeing the purple guy once more in the halls, as well as a... pumpkin? Under the hole that Ghoul jumped through earlier? Odd. Anyway, I headed downstairs, seeing the tan fraud with the cubical menace up in the heights as I descended. Ran to the Cinder Mines after to get myself some heatproof gear and saw Tanner floating in the hallway. Once I suited up, it was time to finish my quest for gear! Oh, but before that, I saw someone leave the Cargo Lift with a wheelbarrow of... pumpkins. A little odd I saw so many!"

"Went to the Crystal Mine to reach the Dark Labs. The large flower in the mines was SCARY. It turned to face me! The horrors! As I searched in the labs, I saw ghost lady put something under a white sheet in that portrait machine thingy; she left after turning it on. And then I saw it. The brand-new room. I was honestly a little curious about it, and who wouldn't be? Naturally, I looked inside briefly and saw that the portrait from within was nowhere to be found. I grabbed myself a darklight flashlight from the Dark Lab for my Ghouligrab cosplay and left to the Quarry Pit's edge, where I waited a small bit. You see, I consider myself a good guy. I don't want to have to try and kill someone! But I care about myself a lot more! Luckily, nobody passed by. All that was there was... a pumpkin. Oh my god. They're multiplying. Distressed by this, I ran away to the Cellar, where I was instantly blinded by a flash from below. I stumbled through the Cellar and found a cracked barrel on the floor, leaking its barrel juice. Afraid, I ran to the Clockworks and headed up before returning to my bed, seeing the crazy scientist lady leave the Plant Nursery."​

 

[GBA]

Use a darklight torch to search for the potentially invisible body of Lee. Check his room, the rafters, the clock tower heights, and the garage for now.

Perhaps his body is stuck in the Paranormal Dimension.

You scan these areas with darklight. You find nothing that could be considered a body in any way, though you note an invisible spirit ball floating aimlessly around the Clock Tower Heights, which only appears under darklight. The spherical entity vanishes when you touch it.

Examine the bottom of the beanstalk in the Hollow Tree. Look for a globe

You find a mess of library books and a large globe wedged into the dirt a ways away from the cannon in the tree roots.

 

[Turboo]

The Cellar - is there any Darklight residue in there?
Do the barrel chips have a certain shape to them? And, is there any evidence of movement in the spilled alcohol?

On a semi-related thread, does the Crypt Pixilator appear to have been moved?

 

[GBA]

The Cellar - is there any Darklight residue in there?
Do the barrel chips have a certain shape to them? And, is there any evidence of movement in the spilled alcohol?

On a semi-related thread, does the Crypt Pixilator appear to have been moved?

You scan the Cellar with darklight. Another glowing spirit ball is in the air, floating aimlessly.

You note it appears something has slid through the alcohol. The damaged barrels appear to be near this mess, and are low on the shelves nearby. You cant discern anything extra from the shape of the barrels' chip damage, but closer examination reveals the barrels have been pushed further in slightly than the others.

The Crypt Pixilator has not been moved, but it does appear to be active.

 

[Lash]

Smell that? Yup, I'm thinkin' The Lash™ is back, baby.

Don't all line up for an autograph at once now. I understand some of you may still have some hard feelings about that dragon guy I totally murdered, but I did my time in ghost jail. I'm a changed man n' all that. Besides, most of these shard doodads went to killers in the end, didn't they? Gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

The sugar cube confirmed I can't be the killer for this one, so I've got no real dog in this fight, but I'm gonna throw you losers a bone since you've been fucking up pretty much every case except, uh...mine.

Haha...anyway. I started my night by asking the Tan-Man to do me a solid. I already had a piece of the Ceremonial Chamber puzzle on me when my soul was shoved into that picture frame, but I couldn't get to my own lifeless (yet impossibly dashing) body in the Graveyard from the paranormal dimension. Kinda ironic but maybe that would've felt weird anyway. I asked him to grab that for me while I collected the other pieces. I saw Purple Guy (Thanos) scrapping with Orange Guy ("Luke Atmey") in the Nautical Exhibit, but I didn't wanna interrupt a fair bout - I just grabbed what I came for and got out. Headed for the Space Exhibit next, or whatever's left of it. The other wraith, Victor, joined me in searching the place. We found a space suit and he took the helmet while I grabbed the kicks. Then Swirls (Lyra) emerged from some water in the room and headed south, with Vic following her. The last item I needed was in the very room I killed in...the Train Exhibit.

After I had everything, I headed down to the Ceremonial Chamber. Cuz of the layout of the ghost world, I didn't really pass by anyone in any of the rooms down there along the way, so I can't be much help timelining all that jazz. Tanner came through with the last piece I needed - big ups, little guy - and prep was complete. I equipped the Pirate Captain's Hat, Aviator's Scarf, Conductor's Jumpsuit, and Astronaut's Shoes, then took my rightful place on the throne...I had that same dream again that I had on the first night here, but more vivid this time. When I woke up, the shard was in my lap. Boosh.

Spirit Halloween (Lulu) was there too, and she said her job was done or something. Sure, thanks for watching me take my beauty sleep. I smelled smoke coming from the next room over, but I didn't have time to care about that; I needed to make sure nobody yoinked this macguffin from me before the sun came up. Decided the best place to hide would be a room no one would have any good reason to visit - the Haunted Catacombs. Got lost in there until I heard the body announcement - or lack-of-body announcement, I guess.

And that's the story of how The Lash conquered even death itself! I even got a free ride to the finale. See ya there if you don't suck.

 

[Lash]

Now, I could just lounge here for the rest of the case, but that'd be a Bebop move, so lemme lend a hand.

Investigate the Prospector's Crossing and the Guard Tunnel.

Also check how many bottles of wine are missing from the Cellar. Seemed like that Lee guy was hitting the bottle every night, so maybe we can figure out if he came through here or not.

 

[Lulu Azhal]

Good morning. I will begin by apologizing for what I've done, Dr. Ghouligrab. I do believe I can make better use of this shard, in stopping our mutual enemy, so I hope you can forgive me when we escape this situation.

Anyway, with that out of the way...

I began my night going to the Bathroom so I could meet up with Lyra. I waited for a bit in there for her to appear, and instead I saw Victor... getting in the bathtub I had filled. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but thankfully I was saved by Lyra's emergence soon after. We left and quite quickly found our target. He was near the hole in the East Hallways, and there was a pumpkin nearby. Huh. Anyway, we ran after him.

Unfortunately, his newfound strength allowed him to jump through the hole to the second floor, and we chased after him. When we got to the Cargo Lift, Lee Chaolan was in it, going to the basement, and he was wearing a half-painted suit of armor and using a golden katana. He also smelled vaguely like he'd been burnt.

After he took the Lift down, and it returned back up, we got in and saw there was a wheelbarrow of pumpkins inside. Again, strange, but unrelated to anything we were doing. We arrived at the second floor to see Dr. Ghouligrab waiting over the hole in the hallway, with a shovel in hand. Lyra used her shard's power while I approached him to distract him, but he hit me over the head with the shovel.

It hurt, but I guess it was fair of him to do, as his attack gave Lyra the opportunity to inject him with fluid to knock him out. Lyra acquired a knife and a bar of soup off his body, while I obtained the Shard of Old Strength. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, alliance complete, and frankly, I didn't wanna risk a repeat of the previous night, even if her help this night was instrumental. She entered the Clock Tower while I made my way to the Restrooms and then the Horology Studio, intending to have a "conversation" with our "magnanimous" host.

I will admit. It did not go well... Mr. Atmey was there, attempting to request something of the King, but it seems his attention was on me. He was correct to focus on me, since I just attempted to shoot him with the anti-ghost gun I had acquired on the first night, and he quite easily erased my vision. I simply ran, with my metaphorical tail between my legs.

While I was blinded, I heard a splash coming from the Restroom as I ran in that direction. My vision returned and I used the Cargo Lift to descend to the basement. There, I saw Mr. Jackson donned the heatproof outfit of the Cinder Mine before leaving somewhere else. I entered the Roundhouse, seeing a mummy carrying a boomerang leave for the Amethyst Wing as soon as I entered. While racking my brain on how to deal with the guards of the Guard Tunnel, Lee Chaolan appeared again, and he began fighting them all singlehandedly, and it seems Mona was in one of them, as she ran away after the suits of armor were incapacitated. I passed him by as Lee started spray painting them.

In the Ceremonial Chamber, I saw the one I wanted to help, The Lash, already on the throne, he was wearing an outfit that seems to come from all four exhibits, and after a long while of waiting (I spent the time looking around seeing if there's anything else I can help him with. Also, during the wait, I smell smoke coming from nearby), a shard manifested on his lap. Thankful that he could be revived and I didn't need to help, I decided I was done for the night and left for bed.

In the Prospector's Crossing, a bonfire had been lit, melting the icy floor. I saw Lyra, looking for wear, and I informed her that Lash had obtained his own shard. She enters the puddle and leaves elsewhere. I exited to the Hallways (spying another pumpkin as I pass the Roundhouse), not running into Lee Chaolan where I saw him last, and headed towards the Shaft on the west side, and as I was walking, a sudden flash of bright light erupted from under the doors of the rooms on the Emerald Wing. The elevator did not arrive after waiting, and I didn't want to wait any longer, so I went to the Cargo Lift instead.

Upstairs, I saw Lyra emerge from the Studio, and I waved as we both headed to our respective dorms.

 

[Evil Power Flotzo]

...

I have been summoned from beyond the grave for one final night... and of course, I had to deal with the usual chaos.

I first headed from the Dark Lab to the Drafting Office, where I looked at the papers. After that, I headed through the Study to toss some papers around with my ghostly energy, and into the Bathroom.

In there, Lulu was overflowing the bathtub, so I figured it was a good time to sit back and relax, after I turned on the sink and stopped the drain. As I relaxed, Lulu seemed irked by my presence, but it was cut short after the water suddenly erupted and Lyra climbed out of the tub. The two of them left, and I decided to flood the bathroom some more before going to the Space Exhibit.

The floor was still wet there, so the best thing to do was admire the carnage. Lash entered wearing a pirate hat I'm definitely not jealous of, and it seemed like he was looking for something. How could I say no? We teamed up to search for a spare spacesuit amidst the wreckage. At some point, Lyra came out of the water on her way to the Kitchen. Lash put on the boots and gave me the helmet, and so I left for the Kitchen, where I heard a gunshot close by. Ah well, not my problem!

In the Clock Tower Heights, KBB was guarding the entrance to the Roof. Thanos was in the Clockworks, and I went to my old room, where I moved everything from the Toolshed to the Kiln Room.

After that, I spent time in the Library, admiring the large globe, smashed Piano, and several books. There I heard a loud, amplified yell, some muffled birds, and another gunshot. When I poked my head out the window, Vigil was perched on top of the Mausoleum with a sniper rifle, and a helicopter was flying overhead.

At some point, MCD came down and asked me to wheel the large globe to the Hollow Tree, so I pushed it through the walls as he picked up several books of slightly increasing sizes and followed. It turns out he was setting up a domino chain to trigger the large globe to drop on someone. I next headed to the chamber and the Prospector's Crossing, where there was a dwindling fire and a large puddle freezing over. Lyra emerged from the puddle and ducked into the Ceremonial Chamber, then jumped back into the puddle, annoyed.

Since I didn't really care anymore, I ended my night there, and nobody else entered.

 

[Jacquelyn]

Let it be known, I have a newfound hatred for several of you! It seems the undead aren't the only treacherous ones around this place. Couldn't even have the guts to face an old man head on? You- you had to take the coward's way out and abuse the ghostly tricks holding this whole shindig together? Well, look which one of us is still standing and who's- who's somehow left behind all traces of existence. Don't expect me to shed a tear for the fool.

Still, there- there are a select few of you who I'd prefer didn't hang without cause. Otherwise, I'd be willing to let whoever's responsible get off scott-free.

---

Night 5 of the Grand Experiment
Tonight, as I understand it, Coral Glasses and Furio Tigre (previous alias "Luke Atmey") were to make their escape as part of an insurance racket or some other. While I remain suspicious of the latter for his role in allegedly "killing" a ghost, much like self-proclaimed double agent Dr. Orpheus, I had no interest in interfering seeing as their sole purpose was to knock Gadd down a few pegs, which I'm always happy to see. Though at this point I question if there are any lower pegs. Rather, my attention was regrettably focused on complying with our host's little game, seeing as he resorted to such pathetically shallow methods as "comply or die". Really running out of ideas there, aren't you?

[NOTE: Should anyone find this documentation, please redact any information surrounding my cooperation and replace it with some grand heroic gesture in future recounting of these events.]

But two birds with one stone, as they say. I suspect that the final face-off with the "king" is drawing near, so I took it upon myself to prepare for the inevitable by spreading my previously prepared jack-o-lanterns in key locations throughout the complex to thwart the movements of our ghostly adversaries. My first stop was the Foyer, the site of our original duel. I passed a strange moai head in the East Gallery on the way, and spotted the zombie Lulu entering the Bathrooms.

I then went upstairs to prevent the "king" from leaving his precious studio by putting another jack-o-lantern in the hallway. Nearby, Lee Chaolan entered the Parlor and the newly resurrected and armored Thanos came from the Armory and went into the Rafters. Entering the Horology Studio proper, I saw subject "King" Blocky Boo himself and sought to give him a taste of what was coming by using the powers of my Dark Moon shard to destroy the wall separating it from the Restroom. With renovations completed, I went back downstairs and saw Tigre running into the Parlor, followed by Thanos.

My intention at this time was to leave my wheelbarrow of pumpkins in the lift, tricking anyone nearby into thinking I had gone into the basement, while I used the shard's remaining power to jump up to the second floor through the hole in the hallway. I would then knock someone down the hole and into a pumpkin I had already placed on the floor below, hopefully making for an easy obfuscation of the scene that would otherwise be inconspicuous thanks to my actions elsewhere. For better or worse, this fell through horribly. I wasn't thrilled going through with the plan from the start.

As I was setting up, Lulu and Orpheus exited the Bathrooms with clearly hostile intent, forcing an early escape upward. Lee Chaolan was upstairs at the time and took the elevator downward, then those two assailants arrived from the elevator again, and I was terribly assaulted! Not only was I knocked out cold by some sort of needle, they saw it fit to steal my shard and darklight equipment! Barbarians!

When I woke up, someone I could not identify was running up from the Clock Tower Heights to the Roof, and the "king" was nearby. Undeterred by the savage beating and robbery, I took the lift downstairs, spotting Albina dragging something heavy over to the Shaft in the meantime. As the basement seems to be subject Tanner's favorite spot, I figured this place could use pumpkins in several locations.

Thanos stopped me after exiting the Quarry Pit, still interested in fighting zombie hordes later which I was agreeable to. He then left up the Clock Tower. I saw Lulu again while I was in the Round House, entering the Guard Tunnel, then Albina with a strange flower in the Crystal Quarry. I noted a mess of whiskey in the Cellar while passing through over to the Sewer, where there was water splashed about and I finished the pumpkin operation. I then retired upstairs, passing through the East Gallery on the way and finding that the moai had disappeared. When I returned to the bedrooms, I found someone had spilled tea on the floor. What's with all the liquid spills tonight?

 

[Dr. Lyra Orpheus]

Barbarians? Kyahaha, speak for yourself, old man! You're a walking example of how skill beats strength any day of the week! You can open your big mouth when you get your hands on the Shard of Ghostly Intellect. Until then, well...

...Kyeh, I'm not one to talk. Talk about a failure. The fact that you're not six feet under by now is a complete miscalculation on my part - especially considering my accomplice is the dead guy. Not exactly according to plan. But it was a good plan, I uh... swear. Here, let me explain.

First thing, I got woken up by some fight out in the hall. MCD and that Coral Glasses lady were going at it, and I think Albina and Jackson were involved too, somehow. They ran away, at least. Not much of a fight though, one of them elected to bring a teapot to a gunfight, which is just... wow. Talk about a lapse in judgement. Anyway, part one of the plan was a little deceptive, but it's the closest I'm going to come to a legitimate apology here - namely to Lulu for the whole Thanos shard deal.

I used the Plant Nursery to warp down to the Hydro Generators and grab some sedatives from Under the Ice. I met her up in the Bathroom, where that creep Victor was totally just hanging dong in the tub. Don't you know we're trying to scheme here? Beat it!

Of course, Part 1 was easy. With our powers combined, we hunted that dork down to the Cargo Lift, and that's where we saw Lee. Alive, of course. The old coot was awfully slippery with that shard of his, and he managed to jump away - but not for long. We pursued to the 2F Hallway, near that hole, where we managed to down him with our combined abilities. For all the hype, this "Shard of Strength" is useless. I nabbed his Darklight too - it was part of his Forbidden Action, after all.

I used the nearby water to meet Lee in the basement. He was being chased around by some Mummy, even though I thought that guy was already toast. He managed to force it off a cliff though, and I handed off the light. Why?

Breaking that light is the old turtle's Forbidden Action. The plan was to hand it off to Lee, who would break it later on when I gave the signal. Kyahahaha, it was foolproof! Well, it would've been if he'd managed to stay alive. Such a tragedy, isn't it? This is why you pick your interns wisely! Of course, that was just one part of many - it'd be obvious if Ghouligrab bit it in the same place I'd KO'd him, so I had a different scheme in mind. I warped back to the Kitchen with the aim of grabbing a knife from the Smokehouse. I was gonna wake him up with a little non-lethal stab to the shoulder, then have him chase me away!

The idea was, once he was in a different spot and awake, I'd tell Lee to smash it, and the old coot would've died in a totally different spot from his last KO - ergo, it couldn't have been me post-Lulu. Brilliant, right?

Or... it would've been... if I didn't get knocked out and dumped in the elevator. My would-be killer tossed me in, cut the cable, and... well, the basement was flooded, so it didn't really do anything. I just warped back to the Space Exhibit. So much for that idea. I figured it didn't eat up too much time, so I went to execute my original idea - only to get chased away by some chain-rattling axe thrower. I couldn't see them though, just a buncha slime and one of those Easter Island Heads.

What is the obsession with those things around here?

Anyway, whatever. Ghouligrab was gone, so I figured I'd just tell Lee to kill him anyway. I warped down to the Prospector's Crossing, but he wasn't in the Ceremonial Chamber, where we were supposed to meet. Only Lulu, who I mean, wasn't really who I needed. I left and warped over to the Fountain this time. I had the whole night ahead of me, and so far everything was, for lack of a more scientific term, completely tits-up.

...Talk about a waste of time... I went to the Graveyard to check any lingering threads but... nada. Only Vigil, who was trying to shoot down a helicopter with a gun filled with money. Personally, I couldn't care less if the thieves got away - good on them for raiding this moron Zooks, if you ask me.

I was pretty peeved at Lee though, and I figured I'd give it one more look. Headed back to the basement and looked around, but no sign of him. Who do I see though? None other than Ghouligrab! You gotta be kidding me! Well, that just about ruined my night so I....

I...

[//:ENGAGING PROTOCOL - INCREASING LITURGIC RESONANCE 75%://]
>//:SYNCHRONIZING://<
>//:SYNCHRONIZING://<
[//:ESTABLISHING LITURGIC CONTROL LINK - CODE: APOSTLE://]
[//:ESTABLISHING LEVEL-2 DIRECT CONTROL://]
[//:LINK ESTABLISHED://]

//:This again? Yes, yes - imagine our disappointment when rather than simply perish at the hands of what we at the Bureau believed to be an excellently laid-out elevator trap, she instead survived long enough to continue plotting against a rather worthless and doddering old man. Really, if there's anything this girl excels at, it is wasting valuable time. Were it not for the obvious roadblocks in doing so, we would also consider extending an offer of employment to Albina instead - she's far better at catering to our demands.

In any case, what happened next is simple. We engaged direct control of Dr. Orpheus, and attempted to have her kill herself. Regrettable, she was unable to even perform that properly. Do us a favor and execute her, why don't you?

Please forward any further questions about the nature of this suicide attempt to our disclosure department. Thank you.://​

 

[MCD]

Well, where to start?

I firstly made my way up to the Restroom and used the Z-Gate to enter the Paranormal Dimension. I won't go into too many specifics but that axe Thanos saw passing through the wall while he was picking out his armour? That was me.

I made my way back to the realm of the living and returned to the Olde Bedroomes, where who should I spot but the traitor, Coral Glasses... or "Coral Grass-es", because she was grassing on Gadd Zooks? Okay, to be honest, I came up with "Fluke Atmey" and then spent ages workshopping a similarly hurtful nickname for his co-conspirator and that's all I could come up with. Anyway, she tries to shoot me but I dodge out of the way like the Matrix. I then take out a very interesting teapot I found yesterday near the Fountain, and use it to flood the room with tea. Coral Glasses, wherever you are now, a word of advice - never bring a gun to a tea fight.

During the commotion, Dr. Lyra Morpheus and Jackson B. Generous emerge from their rooms, and Albina flees in terror towards the Hollow Tree. Satisfied, I carry the unconscious Coral Glasses up to the Parlor and put her down in the podcast chair to find out the secrets of the RePossessors and what a RePossessor's perfect Sunday looks like. Unfortunately she is not responsive. The figment of my imagination I now know to be Lee Chaolan is here and tries to spray me in the face with something, though thankfully I had my Coral Glasses equipped. He then leaves in search of better alcohol with a bucket of gold paint.

Huh... that was kinda weird. Anyone else feel that?

Where was I? "Fluke Flatmey" and Thanos enter, the latter trying desperately to reason with the villain. He is hurt immensely by my nickname and gathers some Fire Elementals in a bottle I recognise from the Nautical Exhibit. He attacks Thanos with one, which sets fire to my podcast table! Atmey revives Coral Glasses and the two abscond in different directions. Seeing that Thanos is upset, I invite him for a one-to-one man-to-man boys chat in the burnt out remains of his car, which he obliges. I give him one of the podcast microphones I salvaged and we make our way down, noticing Vigil is absent from the grounds. It's a deeply raw, emotional conversation that could only be sponsored by the good people at BetterShave - use promo code "MCDPODCAST" to shave 10% off your next order and rid your mental wellbeing of that five o'clock shadow!

Once we're done, we return to the Garage - Thanos heads off towards the Clock Tower, I decide to root around the Study for more evidence though it's a total mess, paper scattered everywhere. I instead turn my attention to the Archives, making sure not to disturb a meeting of pumpkins in the Foyer, and find something about a wrestler who invested in the Complex and died mysteriously. And I don't mean The Lash. Poking my head outside, I spot Albina with a golden key-shaped object.

I did have a target tonight, though - having heard about her meeting with King Blocky Boo, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to ambush Lyra, steal her shard and hear out whatever offer he's putting on the table. So I decide to slip out when the coast is clear and head up to the Clock Tower Heights, spotting Thanos and King Blocky Boo heading up the roof. I block the south door with a pumpkin and lie in wait near the Restroom, which someone has kindly smashed a hole into. While waiting, I hear the sounds of a helicopter from the roof, and someone loudly shouts "FALCON KILL!". Not loud enough for anyone else to hear, apparently.

Not long after, Lyra finally arrives from the north, looking fairly disheveled, so I take my chance and throw the axe at her. And it misses. And she jumps straight into a toilet? As for the other stuff Lyra saw, I noticed the head and heard the chains but I didn't see any slime monster?

With that over with, I decide to try and save face by stopping the RePossessors from escaping even though it sounds very much like they already have by this point. I find Victor in the Library just standing about doing nothing so I tell him to make the most of his after life and carry a massive globe up a beanstalk. I grab some differently sized books and follow him to the Hollow Tree Heights and set up a trap using the books as a domino effect to disloge the globe so it'll roll into whoever's unfortunate enough to climb up next. Again, I think the RePossessors are long gone, but I needed a bit of fun after a emotionally-heavy and largely disappointing night, so I have no regrets.

To continue winding down, I head all the way down to the Basement, spotting Dr. Ghouligrab leaving the Amethyst Wing and heading for the Cargo Lift. I head to the cellar to grab a glass of bourbon and to snack on a Bourbon. When I enter, I notice a small keg of whiskey overturned, with some smeared in a line towards the wall barrels. I then head to bed, noting Fascia emerge from the Basement towards her room not long after me. Which one of you is "Fascia" again?

 

[GBA]

Now, I could just lounge here for the rest of the case, but that'd be a Bebop move, so lemme lend a hand.

Investigate the Prospector's Crossing and the Guard Tunnel.

Also check how many bottles of wine are missing from the Cellar. Seemed like that Lee guy was hitting the bottle every night, so maybe we can figure out if he came through here or not.

You examine the Prospector's Crossing. The ashy remains of a small bonfire sit within this room, as well as some coal and a lighter. A circle of snow around it has melted, producing a small puddle of water. It's been splashed around the area.

You note that, in addition to the small barrel of whiskey, there are missing bottles of wine and spirits from the racks, and some of the food crates have been opened. It seems someone's been raiding this area almost every night, though it's hard to tell exactly how much was taken.

 

[Lulu Azhal]

Let me check the top of the beanstalk. I don't know if this is a good lead but I want to try

 

[GBA]

Let me check the top of the beanstalk. I don't know if this is a good lead but I want to try

You climb the beanstalk. Theres a small divet here where a round object may go, and a few more library books caught in its leaves. At the very top of the beanstalk, the Tree Tops, you note the treehouse hasn't been disturbed since you checked it yesterday.

 

[Dr. Lyra Orpheus]

Is it possible to search under the Cellar floorboards?

 

[GBA]

Is it possible to search under the Cellar floorboards?

When you try to rip up one of the floorboards in the Cellar, a small rat jumps out and scurries away. There's nothing else here.

 

[Lulu Azhal]

Let me take a look at all four camera locations, have they been moved, or even moveable?

 

[GBA]

Let me take a look at all four camera locations, have they been moved, or even moveable?

No cameras have been relocated, and it doesn't appear like they can be moved without significant technological knowledge, and a blueprint.

 

[Super Jack Sunshine]

Let's take a look at the Roundhouse.

 

[Dr. Lyra Orpheus]

Let's check that Pit Mine, and any of the surrounding rooms with minecart. If my hunch is correct... maybe there's something fishy about those carts. Which one did I push down into the Pressure Chamber the other day? Are there any around it? Kyeheheh, for that matter, let's throw Ratigan in a cart and push him in too! What happens?

 

[GBA]

Let's take a look at the Roundhouse.

You examine the Round House. It's still not very round, but there is a round pumpkin sitting here. The minecart has been wheeled away from this room, as well as a pickaxe.

Let's check that Pit Mine, and any of the surrounding rooms with minecart. If my hunch is correct... maybe there's something fishy about those carts. Which one did I push down into the Pressure Chamber the other day? Are there any around it? Kyeheheh, for that matter, let's throw Ratigan in a cart and push him in too! What happens?

Your evil scientist brain kicks into gear, and you start replicating your experiments with the meteorite on a previous night. You note theres a minecart parked right near the east Cellar door, and within is a pickaxe, and black and gold paint stains. It seems it stops just shy of the door to the Cellar. You grab another minecart, the very same one you used previously, and shove Ratigan onto it. The minecart vanishes into the abyss, and when it eventually returns from its high pressure hijinx, the body is... gone. However, there remains a good amount of ash and splintered bones in the base of the cart. You note none of the other carts carry this residue.

You didn't think it was possible, but you have gone beyond Crisp Rat. Your testing has produced the Crispiest Rat.