New York: Blackmore University

He knows it's a really silly idea, just like when Dewey Riley did it in Stab 2, but at this moment, while he's on his break, he decided to call up Mindy while he's having his lunch over to one of those tiny coffee/sandwich shops on the campus grounds. With him now out of the case, he's going to have to search for clues with a different type of expert, and it's certainly not going to be Trevor Johnson. While waiting, he taps his fingers on the small table and bites into his sandwich and jelly beans, wondering how he found himself repeating the past.

"Hello, Tim Bradford!" Mindy greets in her quirky manner as she walks over with her own cup of joe in her hands, walking over and sitting down with overly-big smile on her face. "You know, for a second, I thought you forgot I existed except when I'm behind the phone." 

"Work doesn't let me see the 'folks' as much has it did back a few states."  Y/N replies with a small sigh, taking a sip of his coffee while glancing around to make sure no one's taken the tables nearby. "Ironically enough, guess that's why I'm here."

"Oh yeah?" Mindy queries with a raised brow, to which Y/N nods with a sigh.

"The FBI's separating me from the case, because I'm too close to it." Y/N relays to Mindy with a small shrug. He can't lie and say that it isn't true, but that hasn't stopped him from moving in when the time's right, though. "And sadly, they took all the leads they've probably come up with, with them, so now I'm literally stuck sitting on my rear, which I'm sure you know I'm not one to do." 

"Mmm, well, you're in luck." Mindy answers with a big smirk as she taps her fingers excitedly on the table. "I've been waiting to redeem myself ever since I...... may or may not have wrongfully accused your girlfriend of murder." She mentions with an awkward bite of her lip, to which Y/N chuckles.

"She's not my girlfriend anymore..."

"Right, right.... you know what I mean....." Mindy nods as he points to him, before somewhat shifting in her seat. Possibly due to the excitement, but also probably due to some uncomfortable thoughts. Y/N knows that she probably though she wouldn't have to talk about her brother again, and yet here she is, trying to solve Ghostface murders inspired by him. 

"You know we don't have to-"

"Nope, too late, we're doing it." Mindy cuts him off as she claps her hands together, the ready grin back on her face. "So, tell me first, ex-cop, what are we working with so far?" 

"First off, I didn't say I was fired...." Y/N starts with a slightly offended face. "Second, I've seen so far is that masks are being left behind at every crime scene, everyone hates Sam and is way too afraid to get close to me...." He glance over and realizes why every table next to his is empty, and the quick glances he gets before they snap their heads back to anything else the second Y/N catches them. ".... and that for the first time ever, Ghostface isn't going after Sidney. All of which leads me to believe that this is mostly a 'sequel' based on what happened two years ago."

"Yes, yes, that would make sense, if this were just a sequel. But we're not in a sequel, because nobody just makes sequels anymore." Mindy corrects him with a couple raised fingers, prompting Y/N to squint his eyes at her. "We're in a franchise! And there are certain rules to a continuing franchise."

"No shit." Y/N dryly comments but lets her continue on now that he's got her talking. 

"Rule one, everything is bigger than last time." Mindy starts with, holding up one finger.  "Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger body count. Longer chases, shoot-outs, beheadings, you got to top what came before to keep people coming back." 

"You mean to tell me Ghostface has resorted to killing random people on the street because we need things to be 'bigger'?" Y/N questions with a somewhat disgusted face, already mad that random people were caught in the crossfire at the bodega store. "And really? Beheadings?" 

"Beheadings." Mindy confirms with a confident nod, before holding up two fingers. "Rule number two, whatever happened last time, expect the exact opposite. Franchises only survive by subverting expectations. If the killers last time were whiny snowflake film nerds with Letterboxed accounts instead of personalities....."

"Thank you for telling me what I should've said during that one argument with Richie."

"...you can bet the opposite will be true here." Mindy finishes her sentence despite Y/N's remark. During which, he hears his phone ding and pulls it out to see a message from Sam.

Sam: Hey, can you bring some food for later tonight? Some of us have been talking about hunkering down in the same apartment for obvious reasons.

"That means, we're probably dealing with someone who's motives stem from something a little more personal than butt-hurt fans who didn't like Ghostface being put on TV formula." Mindy continues, and Y/N nods, pretending to listen while quickly shooting Sam a reply.

Y/N: Of course, I'll bring whatever I can.

Sam: Thank you! You're the best.

Sam: Just.... don't let the others know I asked you, and not Tara.

"So, like something classic like revenge." Y/N agreeingly adds on to this while pocketing his phone, seeing her point. "Maybe something blood connected to Me, you, Sam, Tara, or one of the people that died back in Woodsboro. But.... that wouldn't make it all that different, wouldn't it?"

"Ah, see? You're catching on." Mindy notes as she points at him with a proud smile on her face, similar to the one she gave Amber a few scenes before her tragic demise. "You have to make something new, but not too new unless you want to put your job as well as your public image at stake." She references before continuing on, holding up a third finger. "And rule number three, no one is safe. Legacy characters? Cannon fodder at this point. Usually brought back, only to be killed off in some cheap bid for nostalgia. It's not looking too good for Kirby..."

"But you said 'no one is safe'. " Y/N points out, his eyes hinting that he took that detail with an uneasy interest. "That means...."

"It means even main characters are expendable too." Mindy confirms as she brings down her hand, making a 'that sucks bro' kind of look. "Sidney Prescott was the Stab franchise. Us? We're just tools of an episodic installment made to boost an IP. Meaning you, Sam, and Tara? One of you might get killed for the sake of a bittersweet ending." She bluntly warns him with no flairs added. 

Y/N glances down at the side, out towards the window that shows him a bit of Blackmore University. His fingers grip the coffee cop tighter as his fingers anxiously tap on the table. Mindy notices this and subtly raises a brow, wondering if one of her rules hit a sensitive spot for him. "So.... what does that mean for us?"

"Well.... let's talk out suspects, one of them has to have a loony-toon side that wants to kill us all." Mindy proposes with a small hum, looking like she was really waiting to get to this part. "There's the obvious Emily, blander than dishwater and has the blankest canvas for villainous brush strokes."

"Who?" 

"Exactly." Mindy snaps and fingers and points to him, knowingly smirking. Y/N gives her a look before glancing down at the table.

"What about Trevor? I mean, a guy who got famous from writing about serial killings? That's a good motivation to create another one and make big bucks." Y/N brings up with an inquisitive glint in his eye. He remembers the reporter mentioning how he needed rent to pay, meaning that he may have spent his royalties a bit too quickly. 

"Yes, but we're assuming that this movie's getting inspiration from Stab 2, then a reporter being the reveal would make it more washed down than Nancy Loomis." Mindy points out, seemingly shooting down that idea, though Y/N isn't going to remove him from the list that quickly. "What about Ethan? Nice guy, quiet, dork? Hello? I'm detecting a possible case of incell."

"Ethan, huh?" Y/N hums as he presses his lips together, before ending up shaking his head. "Nah, he's alright. If he was the killer, he would've let something slip by now. In comparison, it'd be more likely if it was Carl." 

Mindy blinks. "Carl?"

"Yes, Carl." Y/N says before casually pulling out a rainbow caterpillar toy and slithering around the table. "He's a caterpillar, and he's very gay." He introduces Mindy to him as he then holds it up and moves it around perfectly to mimic the real bug's movements. "He's very happy too..... which is also pretty gay."

"O....kay?" Mindy comments with a raised brow, wondering if that's a jab at her. "W-Well, if it's not Ethan, Emily, or maybe even Michael, then what else are we thinking?" She then queries to get back on track as she stares at Y/N curiously for his opinion. "Are we looking for someone closer, or someone hidden in plain sight? Using the big city to blend into the world's environment."

"That's a good question..." Y/N comments with a slow nod as he thinks on it for longer than he probably should, before something interesting pops into his mind. "What if it's neither? Like one of the people who have already gone through this before?"

"Wait, are you saying..... someone like us could be the killer?" Mindy questions as she points back and forth and her and Y/N, who gives her a small shrug.

"You said subverting expectations is what keeps these IPs alive, right? What if maybe..... one of us is unknowingly two-faced." Y/N theorizes. He doesn't really know where this is coming from, but with everything going on, the only person he honestly trusts is Sam, just Sam, not Mindy or even Tara, but he doesn't let the latter know that. "Okay, say, hypothetically, a returning character turned out to be a killer, what would a factor be that could clue you in?"

Mindy hums, having never though of that before, but finding the idea to be somewhat intriguing. It's not like the Dewey theory wasn't a thing before.... before you-know-what. "Well.... going by absolutely nothing here, there would mostly have to be some sort of change, something random that wasn't built off of the previous film. It would make them feel like an unreliable narrator." 

Y/N slowly nods, tapping his fingers on his chin as he takes that into consideration.

Out of everyone that was mentioned....

Which suspect would be the most believable? 

_____________________________________

New York: NYPD Station

Kirby is currently now on her lunch break, while still trying to go through everything the NYPD has that can help nail suspect related to the New York Ghostface killings. She hasn't seen Y/N around, but she helps she can bump into him at some point just so they can catch up, because she was able to sense a really mixed reaction from his when he saw her face. Eventually, Detective Bailey walks up with some news to share.

"Remember Samantha Carpenter's alibi, the therapist?" Wayne brings up to Kirby, getting her attention. The woman looks up at him, nodding. Doctor Christopher Stone. "He was stabbed to death, through the nose." He reports, setting the report down on her desk where the crime scene has been taken through multiple angles. Kirby winces at the sight of Stone's horribly bloodied face, making it unrecognizable from the close-up photo. "Through the nose, how messed up is that?"

"That's pretty messed up..." Kirby agreeingly comments with a scrunch in her nose.

"He turned in a 'Carpenter' last night for making threatening remarks." Wayne then brings up, something he remembered that he feels is worth noticing. "And guess which patient's notes were stolen along with Officer L/N's?" He then adds, causing Kirby to give him a look.

"So, Sam kills her own alibi and steals her own session notes?" Kirby quires with a skeptical squint in her eyes, not really finding the idea of that believable from a realist serial killer's point of view. 

"Maybe, maybe not. There were some others missing, but we're having a hard time tracking the owner's due to a lot of fake names being used." Wayne reports, trying to maintain a natural stance on the matter, though Kirby wonders if he already had a specific person in mind. Well, she doesn't have time to ask as the detective then pulls out another plastic bag. "Another mask was found at the scene. It's a DNA match for Roman Bridger."

"The Ghostface who was directing Stab 3." Kirby recalls as she holds it up for a few seconds in interest. "It's like he's leaving us real-life franchise Easter eggs. Like..... dropping the killers' masks in reverse. Almost like he's counting down to something." She theorizes with an almost haunting tone, which Wayne notes.

"What happens when he gets to one?" Wayne asks, taking the idea somewhat seriously, prompting Kirby to slowly look back up at him.

Good question....

______________________________________

New York: Blackmore University

Back at the collage, everyone that's a student is trying to go through the daily routine like they usually do without making it obvious that they are scared of getting killed. At least.... when it comes to the people who are taking their survival seriously. 

"So, what are you gonna do?" Ethan queries his buddy Michael as they idly play catch with the sports student's football. The girls, excluding Mindy and Tara, are sitting on a nearby bench for the sake of idle chatter, likely discussing the same thing. 

"About what?" Michael asks as he catches the ball and throws it back to him with ease.

"About Ghostface, dude." Ethan specifies, giving the guy a look as if wondering what else the assumed he was thinking about. He has to jog over to catch the ball, and even then, it almost slips out of his fingers. "I think we should go with the plan Sam and the others came up with, safety in numbers, right?" 

"Oh, you mean that 'hunker down' pitch?" Michael somewhat remembers, chuckling as he still easily catches the football. "Didn't realize you were taking that shit so seriously."

"You're not?" 

"I am, it's just...." Michael shrugs, a giddy smirk on his face as he seems to be thinking of something that he could make fun of Ethan for.

"We don't want to ruin any chances of privacy it gives you and Tara!" Emily yells out with a teasing grin, having heard them all the way from where she's at, and Quinn and Anika shrug agreeingly as well.

"Which means you should totally do it." Michael adds with an encouraging look. "We'll just sit back."

"Hey, I'm being serious here!" Ethan states strongly as he shakes his head at the two of them, wondering if he's the only who is. "I don't wanna die a virgin."

"Exactly our point." Anika chimes in, they all giggle while Michael snorts at the embarrassed look on Ethan's face.

"Sorry, sorry...."

____________________________________________

New York: NYPD Station

Kirby re-sets up the murder board based on their current case, Wayne being the only one in the room with her. They both stand there next to each other as they eye the additional evidence that's been added to it, help signaling the deadline to their current countdown. "So, we've had nine Ghostface killers so far." She states the obvious, though Wayne blinks at her.

"Nine? I thought in the movies-"

"Forget about the movies. The movies don't matter." Kirby scoffs with a dismissive wave, knowing that their murderer isn't basing their killings on any of that rubbish. "Look, two years ago, it was Chad Meeks and Richie Kirsch, whose masks we found at the first two crime scenes along with bodies of two film students who kill their professor that same night." She starts listing it off, hoping that going through it again will help them get somewhere. "Then, it was Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker.... theirs at the bodega. Roman Bridger was the only single Ghostface, kudos to him for ambition. His mask was found at the shrink's."

"Which just leaves Mickey Altieri, Nancy Loomis, Stu Macher...."

"And Billy Loomis, number one, and the father of our chief suspect."

"Yeah, well, whoever's doing this is leading us back to Sam. And if the online rumor has anything to do with this, then possibly Officer L/N as well." Wayne deduces, seeing that as the most likely motivation as to why the Ghostface masks are being brough into his specific killing spree. The only question left is why? Is it something personal? Or another Stab fanatic who wants the glory for themselves? Or... is it even related to Stab and Ghostface at all? Is the costume just a necessity to keep them pulling on a fishing line that just leads to nothing but getting eaten?

Before Kirby can add some insight onto that, her phone rings and whatever she sees on the contacts strikes her as something important. "Damn, I gotta go... but I will check in later." She tells Wayne as she politely makes her exit. "And tell your daughter to stay sharp. Proximity to the Carpenters is proximity to Ghostface." She strongly advises before leaving the room.

Detective Bailey watches her go, his brows curling up as a train of thought suddenly enters his might at the mention of it. He leans over and watches Kirby walk down the hallway, taking her words into account. "Hey, Jack?" He calls over a fellow police officer. "Would you call up some old families from Woodsboro?" He requests with a thankful nod.

"Dig up what you can on Billy Loomis."

__________________________________________

New York: Blackmore University

Y/N is currently leaving campus grounds, knowing he has to get back to patrol very soon. While walking back onto the sidewalk of the Big Apple's streets though, he spots a very familiar van on the side of it, and Trevor Johnson speaking with his camera about something while they seemingly talk about what he suspects is the Woodsboro Requel murders book that one of them is holding. 

Once again, he just came up with a really silly idea. 

"Trevor Johnson?" Y/N calls him by his full name as he walks over, prompting the reporter to look up and blink when he sees that it's him of all people. No doubt, he's a little surprised to see him again so soon, but he's surely not disappointed. "We need to talk."

"One of your closest friends, I reckon." Trevor mentions with a big smirk as he extends the book over to Jim who takes it with a look before off-handedly throwing onto the floor of the back of the van before sitting down on it. Y/N blinks, but ignores his weird response as he has things on his mind. 

"Look, don't be cute, I'm only doing this because I have no other choice." Y/N tells Trevor with a serious face, to which the reporter just cackles at him while leaning his body against his van.

"Right..." Trevor skeptically nods, knowing that he does, in fact, have a choice in this matter, but he chose a desperate and risky one. "So, what do you want? A face to punch? An autograph? Or maybe.... a lead to the case you've been removed from?"

Y/N blinks, opening his mouth before instantly closing it. "You know what? At this point, I'm not surprised you learned that." He remarks as he waves whatever he was going to say at the beginning off. "Look, what I want, is to catch this bastard while also keeping Sam and Tara safe."

"And I can most certainly help with that, heroic soul." Trevor assures him in a very playful manner, to which Y/N rolls his eyes. The guy turns to Jim and snaps his finger as a signal to grab something, and interestingly enough, the cameraman knows exactly what he wants. "You just have to do one small thing for me so we can both get what we want." He tells Y/N as he holds up a tiny camera, making the cop wince when he realizes what he's asking.

"That's fucking creepy."

"Relax, I'm a writer, not a stalking porno salesman." Trevor says with a look that promises he's not going to leak anything creepy to the internet. That will get them both in huge trouble, and you can't get hard cash with a record. "This is for you, place on wherever you see fit, and we'll be able to watch every nook and cranny of that apartment, giving you room to through than just your outside window."

"I see...." Y/N note with a hum as he reluctantly takes the cameras, yes, plural, and puts them in a suitable place in his inventory. "So, what's the 'small thing' you want me to do that will be anything but small?"

"I also heard that Jason Carver and Greg Buckner were being investigating by your new Fed pals before they were kills. Agent Reed, I think she introduced herself to the NYPD?" Trevor brings up, to which Y/N nods in confirmation. Yup, it's just facts now, this guy has a connection to everything. "I need to know more about them, what they bought, what they did, who they've fucked with, what they've pissed in, if they're a closeted gay couple, no matter what it is, I want to know about it." He instructs the cop, looking serious even when he brings up the very random things he mentioned at the end there. "You know of a way to get that, right? Even if you're out?"

Y/N lets out a small exhale, before nodding. "I always find a way."

Trevor smiles. "Good, you better get to it." He says before nodding his cameraman over who was just silently listening from inside the van. They both get in their respective seats and drive off, apparently not needing to ask anything from Blackmore's students anymore. They've got a much better source for information.

Y/N looks down at the cameras with a mixed expression.

"When did you get so desperate?"

Hearing that voice, he looks up and sees his brother, Seth Branson staring at him through the window reflection of another car. Y/N just shakes his head, disappointed in himself as well.

"I have no idea...."

_____________________________________________

(A/N) Quick update!

This is one of those quick exposition ones, just like the rules chapter in Scream 5, but next time, we're obviously going to getting back into the intense Ghostface action, so get ready for that. Sorry for a lack of Sam and the others, but I didn't really have a sit to fit them in after replacing the original rules scene with something more realistic.

Also, it'd really make my day if someone notices the nod to the 'gay caterpillar' and where it's from.

Anyway, plz vote and comment, any counts as feedback, and I'll see you in the next one!