I stood there with Bellamy in my arms, his tears staining my shoulder as we hugged each other for a few minutes. I felt my body shift momentarily at the thought of someone trying to hurt someone like Bellamy, and it made me mad. But as soon as my form shifted, it returned to normal just as quick as it happened.

We then parted as Bellamy wiped away his tears, smiling at me the best he could which resulted in one from me.

Me: "Go relax, Blue. I'll make sure we find the killer, alright?"

Bellamy: "O-okay..." *sniffs* "I'm g-gonna go to m-my room..."

I nod and watch the Twin Radio, as Hell's residents call him, and I wipe away my own tears that threatened to spill. I can't show weakness... not when Bellamy expects me to be strong.

"Henchman! Get over here, now!"

I turned to see Black Hat looking at me and motioning for me to follow him. I do as he says and walk up to him.

Black Hat: "Hurry up! You’re not gonna believe this, I can barely believe this. The body. It’s gone. It’s just fucking disappeared."

Me: "What?"

I ask as he leads me inside where Alastor's corpse should've been...

Black Hat: "Look."

... but when I look to the ground, all I saw was an empty space where the body should've been.

Me: "What? Who did this?"

Black Hat: "It certainly wasn’t me. No, no. Somebody, not me, must have moved it between the time I was the last person alone with the body in the room and then stepped out for a few minutes to take care of some personal business--that you don’t need to know about. Could have been anybody… except me."

Me: "I think I got it."

I say and Niffty enters the room, seeing what was going on.

Niffty: "What happened?"

Black Hat: "The body moved."

Niffty: "On its own?"

Seriously? I'm sorry, but are you dumb?

Black Hat: "No, of course not. Unless it did, in which case we've got worse problems that a simple murder."

A crack of thunder goes off outside and Husk enters.

Husk: "The fuck happened here?"

He asked with a drunk slur.

Niffty: "The body's moved."

Husk: "On it's own?"

I'm gonna let Husk slide on that because he's most likely drunk.

Black Hat: "We haven't quite ruled that out yet, but we still have a murderer in our mitts."

A clap of thunder resonates through the house.

"Well, well, well!"

I jump, startled as I turn to see Rowan right behind me. I didn't hear his footsteps. How did he get behind me?

Rowan: "Heheh. Quite a storm, eh?"

Me: "How did you--?"

Rowan: "Now, what are you all huddled in her in fear?"

Me: "Al's body has been moved."

Husk: "We think he's become a Hell Zombie."

Rowan: "Ah, Homonecrosis! The most dangerous game. Well, if someone needs to put him down again, I'm up for the privileged task."

Black Hat: "The hell you mean "again" and "privileged task"?"

Rowan: "I-I'm just saying that I have some experience in this... type of matter."

Husk: "So do I."

Niffty takes a step back in fear, dashing over to my side and holding on to my leg in worry.

Black Hat: "Yeah, that just raises more questions."

Me: "Well, he is a Fallen Angel, after all. He could've been an Exterminator before he Fell."

Rowan: "Thank you, Y/n. Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to see if I can get a whiff of the old bag of bones."

Rowan walls off with a maniacal laughter... which ends in a cough. Niffty grips my leg tighter which results in me ruffling her hair to ease her worries. She smiles at me and dashes off to Husk. Black Hat then steps up to me.

Black Hat: "Okay, I don't him. Then again, this is Hell. Don't trust anyone."

Husk and Niffty look at me with confusion written on their faces.

Black Hat: "Okay, lock this place down. Secure the front gate. I don't want anyone in or out until this is all solved."

Niffty: "Locks won't keep people from getting out, though."

Husk: "No, but I will."

Husk walks off to do... whatever he does, leaving us in the room as Black Hat speaks to Niffty.

Black Hat: "Look, you're a real smart bitch. Pretty, even. But, we don't have time for this!"

I'm sorry... what?

Black Hat: "I think we forgot the most important question in or little murder mystery game. Why? Why?"

Thunder goes off outside at the mention of murder once more.

Black Hat: "Come, walk with me."

Black Hat tells me, the both of us walking off as we leave Niffty behind in thought. When he passed me, however, we were suddenly in a new location of the manor. I was baffled. What just happened?

Me: "What the hell...?"

However, Black Hat didn't seem affected by this as he begins to question things as he walked in front of me.

Black Hat: "Why did he invite us all here? Why tonight? He said we were celebrating something, but never really told us what."

I decided to ignore the strange shift in scenery and spoke.

Me: "Well, he is Alastor. He does this all the time."

Black Hat: "While that may be true, it's almost as if this whole party was just a ruse for... something more."

Me: "Something more?"

Black Hat: "Look, Al was my friend. Been like that for years. But then he went quiet. I knew something was wrong, but never knew what. Now I guess I never will."

Me: "I'm... sorry to hear that. But... it was almost the same with me. He just shut me out."

Black Hat looks at me for a moment before he stops walking and lets out a breathe, making me stop next to him.

Black Hat: "I'm gonna level with you. You're my new henchman. I've been working with him for years." *we starts walking again* "Now, I've done multiple murders in my time--" *thunderclap* "--, so I know something is wrong. There is a murderer..."

A clap of thunder and lightning goes off, making Top Hat stop momentarily before continuing.

Black Hat: "... among us. And we need to find him."

Black Hat and I walked up a set of stairs, making our way upstairs to further continue our investigation.

Black Hat: "Now, you look like a trustworthy... demon. I know we just met, but I am an excellent judge of character. Excellent like our king."

Okay, weird way of putting it, but that's okay. I'm just gonna ignore it. Especially that weird wink.

Black Hat: "I smiled and fed them a line of bullshit. The truth was, I couldn't trust them any more than the other shitstains around here."

Does he realize he's thinking aloud?

Black Hat: "But like my late henchman once said right before I killed him, best to keep your enemies close. Wink wink."

Dear God, he's having a detective monolog out loud.

Black Hat: *turns to me* "You don't look like you have a reason to kill him. And if you do... heheheh. Best to keep your enemies close, eh? Wink wink."

Me: "Did you just say "wink wink" at me instead of just winking?"

He ignores me as he goes down another set of stairs, making me roll my eyes as I let him speak.

Black Hat: "So, the real question is: Who would gain the most out of Al's death? Now, in my thorough analysis of the corpse's anal cavity, I discovered in addition that he had been stabbed thirty-seven times, poisoned, beaten, strangled, drowned, and shot... in that order."

How could someone know that from looking through their ass?

Black Hat: "Now, if you ask me, that's a lot of trouble to kill one guy, even an Overlord. Hell, it's a lot for even me. But this means that this shit is sure now accident."

Me: "He was murdered. Of course it wasn't an accident."

I state as the two of us walk up another set of stairs.

Black Hat: "Indeed. There's not gonna be a simple candlestick-in-the-library solution to everything."

We then pass through an area I'm familiar with. We're nearing Alastor's room.

Black Hat: "Now, we're gonna be more detective-ly and go through the victim's personal possessions."

Me: "If you say so."

I say and walk in front of Top Hat to push open Alastor's room door, entering his room which we both look at from the doorway. It was a mess, a sign of either struggle or maybe rage. Though, Alastor wasn't one to express his rage in a matter like this. Everything was turned upside down and items were scattered across his bed, drawers, and the floor.

Me: "The hell happened here?"

Black Hat: "It looks rough, but not sure if he was killed here. Take a look around. See if you can find something. And be careful for boobytraps. Hell knows what Alastor is capable of."

Me: "Aye aye, Cap'n."

I saw with a playful salute, the two of us parting ways as we look around the room separately.

Near a window, I found a table with chairs around it. There were also pictures of Alastor and his friends. I recognized some, such as one with me and Alastor and Blue. Another was of just me and him and another of me and Bellamy. There was also one of me messing with Husk with Alastor laughing in the background.

However, there were more. There was one of Alastor, Blue, and Rowan. Another was of Al, Blue, and Rowan together. They were all happy and smiling, which was usual for Alastor. The next was of those three again, but Rowan looked angry for some reason as Al seemed to be staring at a girl with dark blonde hair and deer horns on her head and red cheeks. She was smiling back at the Radio Demon, but I had no idea who she was.

The next one was of Alastor and Blue together, both giving off their best smiles as they posed for the picture. Finally, the last picture was flipped upside down on its face. I picked it up and saw that it was an image of Rowan, his arms crossed and a grumpy expression on his face. The glass frame was cracked as well, damaged while the others were just fine.

Me: "Uh, I found something!"

Black Hat: "You did?"

Me: "Yeah. Come here! Take a look!"

I said and showed Black Hat the cracked image, lowering my arm after only to see Rowan suddenly in front of me, giving me a spook.

Rowan: "You're quite on the case, aren't you?"

Me: "Jesus Christ, Rowan! You scared the Hell outta me! Where did youeven come from?!"

Rowan: "Apologies. But I must steal you for a moment. Black, you won't mind, will you?"

Rowan asked Black Hat.

Black Hat: "Whatever." *to me* "Don't worry. I'll handle it from here."

Me: "Okay..."

I say, still unsure on how Rowan appeared so suddenly. I figured he must've teleported, but wouldn't he have made a sound signaling his arrival? Like a spark or something?

Rowan: "Take a walk with me. I thought it'd be time we got to... know each other better."

The Fallen Angel stated as me and him walked out of Alastor's room.

Rowan: "It would be better if we were someplace away from the prying eyes of, uh... anyone else."

He turned to me with a smile, though shadows covered his face somehow which gave him a menacing look. He even spoke the last part darkly... foreboding, even.

Me: "Riiiiggghht...."

He motions me to follow him.

Rowan: "Come with me."

He leads me outside, the nearby Hell Birds cawing nearby as the wind blew gently through my hair. I didn't notice it earlier, but the large red pentagram that showed that you were in Pentagram City was high in the sky. You could even see Heaven from here. It looked like what the Moon would look like from the Living World: a small round ball far in the sky. At least, that's what I imagine it to be. I've never seen the Moon... or been to the Living World, for that matter.

Rowan: "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but... you and Bellamy know each other, yes?"

Me: "Of course. He's my best friend."

Rowan: "Best friend? I thought of you two to be... more, based on how he spoke oh-so-fondly of you."

Me: "What's that supposed to mean?"

I asked the Angel, wondering what he meant by "more".

Rowan: "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Anyway, he's a good man. We were fast friends, even if I scared him when we first met. Now, there came a time when I said the same about Alastor, but..."

He trails off, not being able to finish his thoughts as he almost immediately changed the subject.

Rowan: "Oh! The pool hasn't aged a day!"

Me: "Pool?"

I question, turning to look beside me to see the pool Rowan spoke of. I had no idea Alastor had a pool and went to ask how long he's had it, but when I turned back to Rowan he was already in white and gold swim shorts.

Rowan: "CANNONBALL!"

He exclaimed, jumping into the pool and splashing into it as he loses his monocle in the water.

"Y-Y/n? H-have you s-seen Rowan?"

I turn to see Blue appearing around the corner, the blue-themed Deer Demon looking around for any sign of Rowan.

Me: "He was just... Didn't you hear.... Nevermind. Why do you want to find him?"

Bellamy: "I n-need to talk w-with h-him. I-I may hav-ve been a lit-ttle short with-th at our la-last talk. If you d-do see him, l-let me kn-know, will y-you?"

Me: "Sure, Blue."

Bellamy: "Thank you."

He smiles at me and turns around the corner, walking off as I turn back to the pool to see Rowan emerging from the water.

Rowan: "WOOO!"

I turned back to where I last saw Blue, expecting him to come running. However, I was only turned back around by Rowan as he was once again back in his usual attire. How did he change so fast?

Rowan: "Ah, life needs a bit of madness, huh? Now, what were we talking about?"

Me: "Uh... Alastor's death?"

Rowan: "Ah, yes! The terrible business inside. Well, I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you that our "deer" friend in red had a great deal of enemies. But, I assume you already know this. Maybe encountering a few, such as maybe Vox."

Me: "Oh, yeah. Terrible guy to hang with. Hate him."

Rowan: "As do I. Anyways, my prying eye suspects that one of them may have hired someone to kill Alastor. Or maybe they've done it themselves. God knows he's an easy man to hate."

What was that supposed to mean? Is he implying something?

Rowan: "Ooh! The golf course! I'll go get some clubs!"

Rowan exclaimed, noticing Alastor's golf course and running off to go play. Then I hear Blue walking up to me.

Bellamy: "Rowan?"

Me: "Sorry. Just missed him."

Bellamy: "B-blast. Thought I-I heard h-him. No matter. W-would you ac-ccompany me? Th-there is someth-thing that I would... very m-much like to disc-cuss with you."

Me: "Sure, Blue. What's up?"

Bellamy: "Now, I kn-know you've been assit-ting our... "intrepid det-tective" with his i-investig-gation, but... I need t-to get some c-concerns of mine o-off my chest."

Me: "Well, then, speak. I'm all ears."

He smiles at me, and I swear I could've seen a hint of blushing on his face. But it was gone as soon as I saw it.

Bellamy: "I-if we look-k at this logic-cally, we can only as-ssume that our killer w-was with us l-last night. A-and while I would st-stake my life on the innocence of y-yourself, c-can we really s-say the same for an-anyone else? Or worse... m-mayhaps our counting is-isn't as good as we th-thought. And mayb-be... in the sh-shadows lay hid-dden an Overlord murderer."

A crack of lightning and thunder goes off and a blast sounds right after, gaining our attention before we run over to where it came from. We run inside the house to find Rowan holding an Exterminator's spear at Black Hat as said demon Overlord aimed a hand full of demonic energy at the Fallen Angel.

Black Hat: "I don't know what you're playing at but you better lower that spear, murderer!"

Thunder.

Rowan: "Like Hell I will! You're the one who assaulted me! You could be the murderer for we know!"

Another crack of thunder goes off as I run up to the two, trying to find some answers.

Me: "The Heavens going on here?!"

Black Hat: "He nearly pierced me with a spear!"

Husk: "What the fu--"

Husk runs in in confusion, only to back off as Rowan and Black Hat aim their weapons at him. Then they go back to face each other.

Black Hat: "Last chance, White-Boy! Drop the spear!"

Niifty: "Alastor's prized vase..."

Niffty said as she entered the room, dashing over to mourne over the broken vase on the ground. Blue goes to diffuse the situation.

Bellamy: "E-everyone, p-please! I know w-we're all o-on edge, b-but can't w-we resolve th-this peacefully?"

Me: "Everyone, just calm down!"

Black Hat: "Calm down"?! "On edge"?! This psycho tried to stab me with a spear!"

Rowan: "LIER! I was merely doing some light target practice!"

Me: "Inside?"

Rowan: "Of course! I couldn't go on the ground now with that cat in the way, now could I?"

Husk: "Damn right! And you ain't the boss of no one here!"

Rowan: "Shut it, Pussy Cat."

Husk: "Only Y/n gets to call me that!"

The Heavens going on?

Black Hat: "Enough of this horseshit! You knew I was onto you and you were trying to kill me off before I could finger you!"

We all looked at him, confused and cringing at his choice of words. He himself paused before correcting himself.

"As the murderer!"

A crack of thunder goes off, and Rowan gets even more pissed off.

Rowan: "I will not be called a murderer in the only home I've ever known down in this insufferable pit of fire!"

Thunder goes off once more before...

"STOP!"

We all turn towards the door, seeing the woman that I saw from one of the pictures in Alastor's room.