normally this would have been posted earlier but i didnt start working on it till later than usual so erm mb

also i updated the content warning to animal cruelty instead of abandonment (DONT BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS IRL-)

anyways let the chapter begin!!

ALSO IM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH STUDIES FOR SOME IMPORTANT THINGS IN MY LIFE

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[Nobody's POV. . .]

Sprout rushed back towards Dandy's lobby shop, wiping away the endless tears in his eyes. He slammed his hand against the counter, catching the flower's attention

"DANDY! T-THERES.. A MURDERER HERE, YOU HAVE TO DO- SOMETHING!!"

Dandy turned his attention to Sprout, his eyes widening in false shock

"I'll see what I can do.."

Dandy said, walking into the door behind the shop and kicking loose tapes out of his path, careful not to slip on any. He picked up his microphone and moments later his voice boomed through the speakers throughout Gardenview.

"EVERYTOON, PLEASE REPORT TO THE LOBBY, THERE IS A MURDERER ON THE LOOSE, REPORT TO THE LOBBY, IMMEDIATELY."

He spoke firmly, placing down his speaker and walking back outside to his shop stand, watching as all the toons frantically gathered around, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

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Ginger's heart was racing.. could she be getting caught? God she was so stupid doing that!! But.. it would seem unlikely for her to kill her own cousin.. who else was there..

Eventually, Dandy spoke up.

"Sprout, since you were there.. do you have any ideas on who could have done such a horrible crime to our beloved Cosmo.."

Sprout wiped his tears away, staring at Dandy with a look of horror in his eyes at what he witnessed, the memory playing back in his head nonstop

"I-I.. I don't know.."

Dandy frowned, tapping his foot as he looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Ginger specifically for just a few more seconds than it was welcome.. Ginger's anxiety heightened.. eventually subsiding as he looked at a different toon

Ginger slowly backed into the crowd, hiding behind it, it'd probably lessen her chance of being accused if she wasn't standing out that much. Until..

"Borf!"

She looked down onto to see Coal, clearly growing aggressive of her.. crap.. Coal began growling at Ginger.. She had to think quickly.. to shut this stupid dog up

She harshly kicked Coal out of the way, causing her to whimper and scurry off somewhere

"Stupid fucking dog.. just another obstacle to get Bobette.."

She muttered, before turning her attention back to Sprout

"...Wait a minute.."

Sprout said turning towards Vee.

"YOU KILLED HIM YOU BASTARD! DIDN'T YOU?!"

Vee's eyes widened at the sudden accusation

"WHAT?! WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?!"

"YOU WERE THE NEAREST ONE THERE! IT COULDN'T HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN ANYONE ELSE.. IT WAS YOU."

"W-WOAH WOAH- HOLD ON?! IT WASNT ME?! WHY WOULD I POSSIBLY HAVE ANY INTEREST IN MURDERING HIM?!"

Sprout walked forward towards her, Vee quickly punched him in the face, causing a black bruise to form around his eye and his lip to crack slightly and start bleeding from the hit.

The crowd let out a collective gasp, before Shelly spoke up.

"Vee!"

She tried to walk over and stop her but Tisha held her back, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, giving Vee a disapproving glare.

"Don't do it Shelly.. She could hurt you.. She's the murderer after all.."

"...."

"PLEASE! IM NOT THE MURDERER- ID NEVER KILL SOMEONE!!"

Vee said desperately, looking around for someone to believe her.. but she was the only one near Cosmo's dead body, how would she prove her innocence?

"Well Well Well.. Vee Version 1."

Dandy said, raising a gun to the back of Vee's head

"I always knew something was up with you."

"WAI-!"

BANG.

A loud thud hit the floor, black oil seeping out of the large hole in her smashed screen and head, steam rising from the floor as her fans slowly stopped, destroying her internals instantly

"...."

"Well! Now that that's over with! Go on everyone! The murderer's gone! You may resume back to your original tasks."

Dandy said with unnerving delight, a gleeful smile plastered on his face despite the current situation.

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[GINGER'S POV + TIME SKIP. . .]

I sat face to face with Dandy in the diner, and oh boy.. he was PISSED. I fidgeted with my fingers anxiously, expecting the worst

"You cannot be serious. Im so INCREDIBLY lost for words right now.. you know how disappointed I am in you?"

"Dandy-"

I tried to explain myself, allthough it failed as he continued to lecture me about being careful and NOT making murders obvious.

"Ginger, I can't believe you'd do something as STUPID as that... Why didn't you clean it up?! You're lucky Vee was nearby.. Atleast one asshole is dead."

"...."

I sat in silence, feeling ashamed of my stupidity

"I'm sorry Dandy.. it won't happen again.."

".......It better not.. And you better hope nobody seen you leaving here after the murder."

"....."

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[BOBETTE'S POV. . .]

Ginger has been acting weird.. I'm not sure why.. and so has Coal.. I noticed that when I took her for a walk, she started acting aggressive towards a poster of Ginger.. which is incredibly unusual, Coal has never been aggressive towards any of my friends! Especially her...

Not to mention that weird chocolate cake she made for me.. maybe I'm just being paranoid.. especially after Cosmo died.. I'm sure she needs some space.. which is why I haven't asked her about anything yet.. I know it's awful having a family member murdered in cold blood.. but I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was.. off..

No.. Snap out of it Bobette, I'm not accusing my best friend of a horrible act of violence towards her own cousin..

I looked over and seen Coal scurrying towards me, whimpering and shaking, my eyes widened as I picked her up, checking to see if she was okay

"Coal?!"

I quickly picked up my phone and called Ginger.. she was the only person I knew who could help to see if Coal was alright..

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Thats it for this chapter, once again I'm sorry for the delay, but I'll get these chapters out sooner!!!

I'll begin writing the next chapter rn