Vesti and Lauren's Interdimensional Investigations (A CYOA)

kun.boards.net/post/10213


Option 4

“The answer is actually surprisingly obvious,” Vesti explains, “But to make it even more clear, let’s consider where the fire flower was shortly before the murder. Remember, Mario tried to use it to kill Luigi... but where did it go after that? Well, Mario was accidentally pushed out of the castle by Luigi, but we know the fire flower wasn’t left behind in the room. So, there’s only one place the fire flower could have gone. And that’s out of the window, along with Mario!” Toadette replies, “So... you’re saying I just stole it from Mario and killed him with it?” “Why not?” Vesti replies, “Mario was extremely injured anyway. It wouldn’t have been difficult to pull it from his hands. Besides, if you took your weapon from Mario, it would be more difficult to trace the murder back to you.” Wario interjects, “So a dangerous weapon was just lying right there next to the body? Why didn’t Toadeo do anything about it? The royal guard isn’t THAT incompetent!” Vesti explains, “He may not have even seen it. It sounded like Toadeo didn’t examine the body closely before he ran off to notify the rest of the police. Not only that, but Mario probably landed face-first with the flower in his hand, blocking it from his view. And even if Toadeo had noticed it, he could have easily assumed it was just a random flower from the field!” Vesti slams his fists on the defense bench, glares at Toadette, and shouts, “So, that’s means, motive, and opportunity! Is that enough for you, Toadette!”

Unfortunately, Vesti’s argument doesn’t have quite the effect he was hoping for. Instead, Toadette calmly picks the petals off one of the flowers in her basket, tossing them down to the floor. Eventually, she replies, “...Don’t get too ahead of yourself, now. You still haven’t proven anything.” Vesti shouts, “Wh- What are you talking about?!” Toadette replies, “Honestly, I don’t think I can make it any clearer than that. But, alright... I will.”

Testimony: Toadette’s Final Argument
Toadette: Motive, means, opportunity... Sorry that’s not good enough
Toadette: You may have explained how I COULD have committed this crime...
Toadette: ...but you haven’t proved I actually did.
Toadette: Just because I don’t have an alibi doesn’t mean I actually killed the victim!
Toadette: I could have just as easily been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Toadette: As it stands, there’s more evidence implicating Luigi than me.
Toadette: If you want this accusation to stand...
Toadette: Then you’ll need decisive proof that I’m the killer.

(This testimony is really quite simple. She’s just saying I don’t have decisive evidence. ...To be honest, I’m not sure if I have anything like that...

But there has to be SOMETHING proving Toadette killed Mario... And it doesn’t matter if I don’t have it on hand, if I can find it!)

Prestige: 80%

Evidence: kun.boards.net/post/10213

2 Updates 4 The Price of 1


Present: Burn Marks: Statement 3 or Statement 8 who cares which.



Vesti explains, “There is one interesting fact about fire flowers that has been brought up repeatedly over the course of this investigation. Apparently, they sometimes leave behind burn marks and ash on the hands of anyone who uses them. That’s why Mario had a burn mark on his right hand. It was left behind when he used the fire flower.” Toadette shouts, “Are you implying I have a burn mark on my hand? Because I most certainly don’t! See?!” Toadette holds up both of her hands, and, sure enough, they are both completely free of burn scars. “Of course you are,” Vesti replies, “But I wasn’t saying there would be any marks on your hands. Besides, if you had, someone would have noticed by now. On the other hand, if you were wearing thick enough gloves, you could use the murder weapon and remain completely unscathed! Toadette shouts, “But you said this murder was unplanned! Why would I bother to bring gloves?!” Vesti responds, “You had come to the field to pick flowers, right? It isn’t too unreasonable to assume that you brought gardening gloves with you. Some of the flower could have had thorns, or you could have had to dig through the dirt some.” He slams his fists on the desk, and continues, “Besides, you didn’t have to use gloves. You could have used a handkerchief, or any kind of fabric, really. But whatever it was, it would have had to be something that you would have had with you often. Something that could have easily been connected to you!” Wario objects, “Toadette was in the castle lobby for a long time immediately after the murder, and I interrogated her in person. I certainly didn’t notice any gloves or handkerchiefs, and she couldn’t have disposed of the evidence anywhere where we couldn’t find it! Your evidence is useless if you can’t tell us where it is.” Vesti continues, “Don’t worry, I know exactly where the evidence is... It’s in the same location as another item that the police have failed to find... The fire flower that was used to kill Mario!” Toadsworth replies, “That fire flower has been unaccounted for during the entire investigation... Are you saying you know where it is?” “Of course I do. In fact,” Vesti points dramatically, and continues, “The fire flower can be found within this very courtroom!” Wario mumbles, “...You can’t be serious...” Toadsworth remarks, “This had better not be some kind of bluff, Vesti.” Vesti continues, “Of course it isn’t. I’m completely serious.”

“This is where the fire flower is hidden!”

{{Originally, this was going to be one of those multiple-choice questions, but people have said the answer in both threads so many times before this trial even began, that I’m just gonna move on to the next part and pretend everyone picked the right answer.

Toadette’s Flower Basket

Vesti explains, “Why don’t we all just take a look around this courthouse, and think about where the best place to hide a fire flower would be... I’m sure it won’t take us very long to figure it out.” Wario, Toadsworth, and everyone in the Gallery start scanning the courtroom, trying to find this hiding place. Only a few moments later, everyone's eyes finally land on Toadette’s flower basket, conveniently sitting right on the witness bench in front of her. Wario mumbles, “...I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” “Bailiff,” Toadsworth shouts, “Please perform a search of the witness’s flower basket immediately.” Toadette’s eyes widen in fear, as she clutches the basket against her chest. She shouts, “NO! There’s no reason to search the basket! There’s nothing in there!” Lauren calmly replies, “If there’s nothing in there, you shouldn’t have any problem proving it, right?” Toadsworth continues, “Indeed. Toadette, you’re already looking very suspicious right now. I suggest you hand over your basket immediately.” Wordlessly, Toadette puts the basket down onto the witness stand. Toadeo suddenly arrives, and retrieves the basket. He then moves to the center of the room and exclaims, “Now it’s my chance to perform the most honorable evidence search even seen!” Toadsworth replies, “...You’re not the bailiff. We must follow proce-” Wario interrupts, “Oh, just let him search it. We might as well get things over with.” Toadsworth continues, “...Fine. Toadeo, please search the basket for the fire flower.” As soon as he receives the order, Toadeo turns the basket upside-down, spilling its contents all over the floor.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Vesti mumbles. Toadsworth’s eye twitches, as he exclaims, “I may soon regret this decision.” The Gallery begins softly discussing this development, and it’s clear that most of the court is focused on Toadeo’s unique search methods whether than the contents of the basket that are now displayed on the floor. For this reason, it comes as a surprise to everyone when Toadeo loudly shouts, “Um... Sir... I only see flowers in here!” Wario snaps, “Of course there are only flowers in there! The murder weapon was a fire flower! Weren’t you listening!” Toadeo replies, “No, you don’t understand! Just look! There’s not a single fire flower in this basket!” “WHAT!” Vesti shouts, his voice filling the entire courtroom. Vesti runs to the center of the room himself, Wario doing the same. The toads in the gallery stand up as well, trying to get a good look at the center of the room. Sure enough, the only flowers there are completely normal ones, the kinds found in the castle’s field. There’s nothing even resembling the fire flower’s distinctive red and yellow coloration. Wario notices the basket lying sideways by the prosecutor’s bench. Picking it up, he sees that there isn’t anything inside the basket either. And there certainly isn’t a glove or handkerchief with a burn mark on it. Turning to Vesti, he shouts, “Was this all just a huge bluff?!” Vesti replies, “O- Of course not! There must be something wrong here! There must be some kind of mistake!” Toadsworth remarks, “Sorry, Vesti, but these are clearly just regular flowers. Without decisive evidence, I’m not sure that Luigi can truly be considered innocent... nor can we declare Toadette guilty.” Vesti turns to look at Toadette, who looks just as surprised as everyone else is. She mumbles, “...There’s nothing there? ............Heh... HA HA HA HA!” Laughing, she continues, “See, Vesti, you were wrong this whole time! I’m just an innocent charity worker! I’m still surprised you even accused me, but at least it didn’t make a difference. The right person will get imprisoned in the end!” The gallery begins loudly discussing the events that just took place, causing Toadsworth to begin banging his gavel loudly. In the commotion, Vesti hears Lauren behind him, explaining, “Vesti, this isn’t over. Don’t give up. There’s another explanation. Just think everything over, and figure it out!”

(Yeah... Lauren’s right. Let’s just reflect on the case for a minute, and figure out where the decisive evidence really lies!)

Revisualization: The Missing Fire Flower

(Okay, let’s start by thinking about what Toadette did after the murder. For now, let’s ignore everything I just learned. Toadette must have known that the toad guards would return soon, and they’d be suspicious if she suddenly left. So, she had to put the flower somewhere nearby. What would have been the best place for Toadette to put the fire flower after killing Mario?)

Choose an answer:
The Moat

The Flower Basket

Inside the Castle

Prestige: 80%

Evidence: kun.boards.net/post/10213

No?

It... vanished?

We rapidly approach the conclusion...


Vesti something something I’m running out of these intro lines...

TOADETTE LOST THE FLOWER IN THE VILLAGE SQUARE!

(Exactly. In the village square, just a few minutes after me and Lauren were taken to this world, Toadette crashed into us after she left the detention center, and the flowers in her basket were sent flying everywhere! Almost the entire basket was emptied, and I bet the fire flower flew out along with it!
Toadette picked up a lot of those flowers, but she obviously didn’t retrieve the fire flower. That means it landed somewhere where she couldn’t find it. So, where in the village square must it have landed?

Choose an answer:
On the ground.

In the fountain’s lowest tier.

In the fountain’s highest tier.

Evidence: kun.boards.net/post/10213

I hope I can make this update not terrible.


Everything comes together...

THE FIRE FLOWER IS ON THE FOUNTAIN’S HIGHEST TIER!

(Exactly. That’s the only place where Toadette could never find the flower, and I bet it’s still there. And the evidence I need will be there too!)

Vesti opens his eyes, and looks out on the courtroom. Everyone is back in their positions as Toadsworth finally gets the gallery to quiet down. Meanwhile, Toadeo is returning the now refilled flower basket to Toadette, who is standing at the witness bench confidently. Vesti quickly shouts, “I’ve figured it out! I know where the fire flower is!” Wario, who seems to have had enough of everyone’s shenanigans, replies, “Alright, where is it? And for your sake, I hope this isn’t another complete waste of time.” Vesti responds, “Don’t worry about time anymore, because I’m about to end this trial!” Toadette replies, “Really? That seems like quite the boast coming from someone who’s fumbled their way through this whole accusation!” “The only person who fumbled here is you!” Vesti explains, “Especially when you dropped the murder weapon into the fountain at the town square!” An expression of dread briefly passes over Toadette’s face, as she replies, “...Th- The fountain?” “Exactly! The fountain in the town square,” Vesti continues, “Where you accidentally collided with me, sending the flowers in that basket flying all over the place! ...Or did you forget about that already, Toadette?” Toadette shouts, “B- But I picked up all the flowers that spilled! I even got the ones that fell in the fountain, even though they were dripping wet! Why would I fail to get the most important one?!” “Because you didn’t see it,” Vesti explains, “That fountain had several separate pools in the center, each one smaller than the one below it. One flower flew all the way up to the highest tier. I only know because I saw it up there, but even I could barely see it. Toadette, on the other hand, is short!” Toadette replies, “Was that whole speech just the set-up for a joke about my height?!” Vesti continues, “Uh... Of course not... I was saying that you couldn’t see the top of the fountain, so you had no way of knowing that the flower was there! Which means that if we send someone to check the fountain, then they’ll find that decisive evidence, and we can finally conclude this case!” Before Toadette can reply, Toadsworth slams down his gavel, and says, “Toadeo, take two other guards and investigate the top of that fountain, and return with your findings!” Toadeo replies, “Yes, sir! I will conduct a most honorable search of the area post-haste!” Toadeo turns in an instant and dashes out of the room. Vesti shouts after him, “You should probably bring a ladder too... Since you’re just as short as our witness...” Lauren Tehra replies, “Technically, he should bring a stepladder, because leaning a ladder against the center of the fountain would be dangerous.” Vesti mumbles, “I know we’re in court, but can we just skip the technical semantics for now?” Smiling, Lauren replies, “If you insist on using incorrect terminology, then fine.”

Several minutes later, Toadeo rushes back into the courtroom, two other guards trailing behind him. Once he reaches the center of the room, he shouts, “I have completed my honorable search of the town square, and returned victorious!” He thrusts a red and yellow flower into the air. Judging by the reactions of the gallery, Vesti is certain that it is the fire flower. Toadsworth asks, “That most certainly is the murder weapon... Could you explain exactly where you found it? Do try to be specific.” Toadeo replies, “It was on the highest tier of the fountain, right where the defense said it would be! We forgot to get the stepladder, so we had to stand on each other’s heads to reach up there. I fell and hurt myself a few times, but that isn’t enough to stop an honorable guard! ...Anyway, the fire flower was just sort of floating in the pool there, which had turned brown because of all the ash floating in it... We should probably get someone to clean that up...” Wario replies, “Ash? Where did that come from? In my experience, most of the ash that comes from shooting a fire flower goes back to the attacker.” “Exactly,” Toadeo continues, “I think all that ash actually came from this!” One of the guards gives Toadeo what appears to be a pink and white polka-dot handkerchief, which he proceeds to hold up for the court to see. The fabric itself is marred by a hole burned through the center, the edges of which is charred black and covered in soot. Though the design and coloration made it obvious enough who the item belongs to, the word “Toadette” is sewn into the lower-right corner. Toadeo continues, “We found this item wrapped tightly around the stem of the flower!” Vesti explains, “That must be the object the killer used to shoot the fire flower without getting burned... Well, Toadette, do you have anything to say about that?” Toadette doesn’t seem to be taking this news well. She stands at the defense bench, quickly tearing petals off of one of her flowers, a look of fear in her eyes. Eventually, she replies, “Th- That’s not possible! I’ve been framed! S- Someone used my handkerchief to kill the victim and then left the flower in the fountain! Y- Yeah, that’s it!” Vesti slams his fists on the defense bench, and replies, “You can’t expect us to believe that! Even if Luigi had stolen your handkerchief, there was no way for him to get your fire flower to the fountain. He’s been in the detention center ever since he was arrested in the castle!” Suddenly, Lauren calmly explains, “Besides, if someone wanted to frame you, they would have left the murder weapon in your home, or perhaps in your charity office, not in the town square. Only three people were present when your basket spilled. They consisted of you, Vesti, and I. Obviously, we did not commit this crime, so how could anyone even know to place the flower in that fountain? And why would they, when there were much better ways to frame you?” Vesti continues, “Besides, that collision was the only way the flower could have gotten up there! Most of the people involved in this case were toads, who couldn’t have reached the top of the fountain. They could have thrown the flower up there, but it would have been nearly impossible to do in one try, and would look very suspicious. Besides, what kind of criminal would try to hide evidence in such an obvious way right in front of a police station?” Lauren explains, “Finally, why would the criminal go out of their way to frame you, who wasn’t anywhere near where the crime took place? No matter how you look at, Luigi is the only person in this case who could easily be framed. After all, he IS who you tried to frame, though it may have been unintentional at first.” Finally, Vesti and Lauren emphasize their argument by pointing straight at Toadette at the same time, while shouting, “It’s over, Toadette! You can’t hide behind your lies anymore!”

Toadette stands silently at the witness stand, sweating nervously as she fiddles with a flower in her basket. Suddenly, she let’s out a scream of rage, pulling several handfuls of flowers out of the basket. She tears them to shreds, throws them into the air, slams a few back into the basket, and then repeats the cycle. By the time she stops tearing up the flowers, the floor around her is covered in petals and broken stems. She stands behind the witness bench, raises her fists into the air, and let’s out another scream. However, the sound slowly goes from an enraged scream to an anguished cry, and soon she slams her fists onto the witness bench before slamming her head into the flower basket. This throws a few more petals into the air, and by the time they fall around Toadette, the only sound the court can here is quiet sobbing, muffled by the flowers in the basket.

“That man... That princess... They never thought about us... From up in that castle, we all just looked like ants! When the princess came up with her stupid vacation plan, she didn’t think about the toads she was leaving behind. When that plumber helped her get into Bowser’s vehicle, he didn’t consider how many toads would suffer without a leader!” Toadette pushes herself up from the witness stand, the glare she gave the courtroom lessened significantly by the tears in her eyes. She continued, “I worked tirelessly to help the toads, but I was scared. I thought of the two of them sitting up in that castle, enjoying huge cakes while we struggled to survive, and I knew they would try again. Princess Toadstool didn’t want to be in power, but she was too self-centered to step down. Do you have any idea how much that tortured me? Knowing that everything I worked for could disappear in an instant?” Toadsworth shakes his head, and explains, “We would have been prepared. We had already decided who would have taken power if the princess ran off again.” “...I figured as much... But how could I not be afraid...” Toadette laughs, and continues, “When I saw Mario crawling through the field that day, something else came over me... The situation was perfect... I could make sure he never did anything to the toads again, and I could get revenge for their suffering. Not only that, but one of the royals in the castle would surely be blamed for it... If I had known Luigi was up there, maybe I wouldn’t have done it...” The rage disappears from Toadette’s face, leaving her leaning on the witness stand, tears streaming from her face. “But look at me now... I tried to get him declared guilty to save my own skin... What kind of charity director am I? I’m not fit to help these toads, Luigi is!” Toadette collapses into the flower basket again, before continuing, “Please, just get Luigi out of that cell, and put me in instead. I don’t want to see myself get any more horrible...” Toadsworth merely bangs his gavel, and the toad guards come to take Toadette away. Vesti simply sighs as she is taken away. In response, Lauren turns to him and mumbles, “...Honestly, I’m glad we don’t have to make the arrest this time.”

After a short recess, Toadsworth slams down his gavel to mark that court is back in session. Luigi has now taken his place at the witness bench, with everyone else in their normal spots. Toadsworth explains, “I suppose it is time we bring this trial to a close.” Luigi mumbles, “...I can’t believe this. I never expected that Toadette would have been able to do something like this!” Lauren replies, “We all were surprised, I’m sure... But at the heart of it, Toadette always wanted to do the right thing. Unfortunately, she went too far in trying to do the right thing. This isn’t the first case I’ve seen of that, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.” Vesti continues, “The best thing you all can do for her is try to make things better for the toads, through more, well, legal methods.” Luigi shouts, “E- Exactly! That’s why... That’s why I’m going to become king of the Mushroom Kingdom, and then I’m gonna fix things!” Toadsworth calmly replies, “Err... Sorry, but we’ve already chosen who will succeed Princess Peach, and it isn’t going to be you, I’m afraid.” Wario responds, “I think I speak for everyone here when I say that it should be me.” Toadsworth continues, “Wario, please refrain from frightening the courtroom... Anyway, our kingdom’s political state is not the subject of this trial. The subject of this state is the matter of Luigi’s guilt. So, for the charge of first degree murder, I find the defendant, Luigi...”

NOT GUILTY

The courtroom is filled with cheers from the gallery. Luigi, who appears to be tearing up, removes his green hat and uses it to wipe his eyes. Vesti turns to Lauren and holds his hand up, and she eventually smiles and returns the high-five. Wario simply stands at the prosecutor’s bench and picks his nose, apparently not caring for the mood of the event. Finally, Toadworth silences the gallery by swinging his gavel a few times, and then shouts, “Court is adjourned.”

Date: ??? Time: ??? Location: Courtroom Lobby No. 2

As Vesti and Lauren exit the courtroom, they are interrupted by the voice of Captain Toad, who shouts, “Good job, you two! I knew you could help Luigi!” The two of them turn to see Captain Toad walking over from the other side of the lobby. Lauren asks, “Sorry for asking, Captain Toad, but... aren’t you upset about Toadette?” The detective looks to the ground sadly, and replies, “Yeah... But I figured you would feel worse about it than I would... I figured you could use some kind of compliment!” Vesti replied, “Well, thanks anyway, Captain Toad. It honestly does mean a lot to me.” Suddenly, Luigi emerged from the doors behind Vesti and Lauren. When he sees the two of them, he runs up to them and exclaims, “I can’t thank you two enough for what you’ve done! Not only did you help me have confidence during the trial, but you saved me from getting the guilty verdict!” Vesti smiles, and replies, “You’re welcome, Luigi! But don’t worry about it! I was just doing my job - finding the truth!” Luigi continues, “And now... I’m going to set out to finish what Toadette started... My new charity is going to more money for the toads than ever before! ...In fact, excuse me for asking, but would you mind donating some money...” Lauren replies, “Unfortunately, I don’t think any of the money we have will be worth anything in this kingdom... In fact, it probably isn’t worth anything anywhere in this whole dimension.” Captain Toad exclaims, “Don’t worry, Luigi! I have some spare money I can give you! And I’ll do whatever I can for the toads as well. ...Once I’ve finished dealing with the paperwork for this case, that is...” Without another word, Captain Toad hands Luigi some coins, before bidding the group goodbye and running out of the courthouse. Luigi puts the coins in a small pouch, and looks like he’s about to say something, but then he unexpectedly vanishes.

Or, more accurately, the entire courthouse vanishes, and Vesti and Lauren find themselves standing on the grassy knoll they found themselves in when they first arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom. Vesti asks, “...What just happened?” Lauren calmly answers, “I’d wager our time in this world is up, now that we got Luigi his verdict...” Suddenly, the bespectacled man with the ridiculous Saturn-like hair appears before the two detectives, clapping. He shouts, “Congratulations, everyone! Wasn’t that just a whole lot of fun? Maybe it was for you guys, but I’ve been staring at this nonsense for about five hours now and my eyes are getting tired. So, the case is over, get out of here.” Chronos Krate pulls out his weird orange portal gun thing and shoots between the detectives. A swirling, orange portal appears behind them, and Lauren is immediately pulled into it. Vesti is pulled halfway into it before he pauses in mid-air. This gives Chronos Krate time to walk over, glare straight into Vesti eyes, and say, “Also, give me my cane back, you jerk.” He somehow pulls the cane out from wherever Vesti was storing it, and then uses it to push Vesti back through the portal.

Eventually, the two finally re-emerge in the car parking tower they were in after solving the murder at the police station. Vesti and Lauren briefly look around, noticing that it is the exact same time it was when they first went through the portal. Vesti sighs, and exclaims, “Well, that was completely ridiculous.” Lauren laughs, and replies, “Let’s just go home and pretend that this never happened.” Vesti responds, “Sounds good to me.” Then, they both walk off to their cars, so they can finally leave the parking lot.

The Super Turnabout: END

{{Well, that’s all for Vesti’s second case. I’m not sure when I will begin Case Three, but the wait will probably be a little longer than the one between Case One and Case Two. I’ve still got to do some planning for that case, and I’m also going to try and rewrite the first post soon, since it’s pretty outdated. I’m also hoping to make sure a few people on the other forum are caught up, so they can join for the next one. Finally, I have stuff to work on for the next case. Until then, feel free to ask questions or express your thoughts on the case or something I don’t know. At least try to post something, however dumb it may be, so I don’t have to double post because double posting is secretly my biggest fear or something okay bye}}

*becomes anti-double-post cushion and waits*

Alright, it’s time for this case to finally begin. To be honest, I’m not quite finished with planning, but I’ve done enough that I can at least get things started. Besides, I just want to finally get an update out there, to make it clear that I haven’t exploded or anything. So, without further ado, let’s begin!

Case 3: Turnabout Flatline - Case File


Also some guy I know named Dimitri drew this image of Chronos Krate. I thought it was pretty cool and deserved a place in the CYOA somewhere, so here it is.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Daddy? Can you tell me more about your job? For school?”

“I’m a doctor, remember? When people are sick or hurt, they come to me, and I help them get better.”

An old man walks down a hallway, pushing a small cart in front of him. The loud squeaking noise coming from the cart’s wheels annoys him quite a bit, but he merely tries to ignore it until he has time to fix it later. None of the people in the rooms connected to this hallway can hear the noise anyway, and even if they could, there was nothing they could do about it.

“Yeah, I know that. But the teacher told me to write about what your job MEANS to you... Whatever, that means...”

“Oh, I see... That sounds like a tough question. Just let me think about it, and we’ll try to figure out something, okay?

The old man stops the cart, finally quieting the noise, at least for a moment. He quickly retrieves his mop from the cart, and starts using it to clean the hallway, as he has done quite often before. Unfortunately, with the squeaking of the wheel gone, the man is finally able to hear another faint sound. This new sound is one the man recognizes all too well, and it fills him with dread.

“Okay... I think being a doctor is about protecting people. Do you know what ‘protect’ means? It’s when you take care of someone, and keep them safe. It’s like how I take care of you, y’know? So, I guess you could say I’m like a parent for everyone... When people need help, I take care of them, and once they feel better I send them on their way.”

The man quickly determines that the noise is coming from the room right next to him. He wastes no time in opening the door and walking inside, taking his cart with him. Thanks to the long piercing sound coming from inside, he knows that there’s a heart monitor inside that’s reached zero. However, the scene inside is still even more gruesome than he expected.

“But what if they don’t get better... L- Like, Mommy?”

“W- Well... Sometimes things like that happen... But what’s important is that we do our best... I can’t save everyone, but at least I can care for them and make them feel better... Yeah, that’s what my job means to me. It means doing everything I can to protect people, even complete strangers. ...No matter what happens, I can be content knowing I did everything I could.”

The white, clean walls of the hospital room look kind and welcoming, but the same can’t be said for the single hospital bed in the corner. The stand holding the patient’s IV fluid has fallen against the wall, and a few other items have seemingly been taken down along with it. The bed sheets, usually placed on the bed in an orderly fashion, now appear to be lying in a heap on the floor. But the old man doesn’t notice that. All he sees is the patient lying in her bed, in a deeper sleep than usual. Her long black hair spreads out in all directions across the bed, and the sheets are soaked red with blood.

This horrific scene in front of him, the man merely sighs and mumbles, “Not again...”

Case 3: Turnabout Flatline

Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Time: 12:40 PM. Location: Gold Clinic, Lobby.

“Goodbye, Mr. Gates! Thanks for all your help! Be sure to drop by the stadium again!”

“You can be sure of that! Good luck, and farewell!”

The bespectacled man smiles and waves one last time, before turning and walking triumphantly through the automatic doors of the hospital and towards a cheap, silvery-gray car near the front of the parking lot. This leaves Vesti Gates standing in the hospital lobby, not entirely sure what to do next. But, before he can decide, he is interrupted by a female voice from behind him.

“Hello! Are you going to be a patient here?”

Vesti turns, and sees a young woman behind him, probably in her thirties, and wearing a white lab coat. It’s clear to Vesti that she’s some kind of doctor, especially considering the blue gloves she’s wearing and the ridiculously colorful stethoscope around her neck. The rest of her outfit matches her silver hair, which has been hastily formed into a long, curly ponytail using a gauze bandage. Talking quickly, the woman continues, “Well? Are you sick? Do you have any broken bones? Do you need any shots?!”

“Wh- what? No! I’m perfectly fine, thank you!” Vesti replies, “I’m Vesti Gates, a homicide detective! I was just here visiting a patient! Well... ex-patient, I guess.” The girl replies, “Oh, that’s a shame... WAIT, I mean that’s good! C- Cause that means there’s nothing wrong wi- Okay, let me start over! My name’s Argenta Gold. I work here, at the clinic.” She crosses her arms, looks down in thought, and continues, “...In fact, I think I helped treat that guy who just left... I can’t remember his name, but wasn’t he involved in some kind of car accident?” Vesti replies, “Yeah... He was involved in one of my cases, so I visited him occasionally. He asked me to drive his car to the clinic on the day he recovered, which I did earlier today... Unfortunately, I didn’t really think it through, so now MY car is back at the car park, and I’m all the way across town... Basically, I’m not really sure what I’m doing here...” Argenta laughs, prompting Vesti to ask, “Wait, I thought you were a doctor. Shouldn’t you be, y’know, doing doctor things right now?” Argenta smiles, and responds, “Oh, I’m on my lunch break right now, so I’m not supposed to do any more “doctor things” until about 1:00. I like to finish my lunch quickly and then go talk to potential patients in the lobby... Of course, the lobby is looking pretty barren right now, so I guess you’ll have to do!”

(Well, I guess I might as well talk to her for now, at least until 1:00. It’d be pretty rude to just leave. Maybe then I can ask Lauren to pick me up, or something.)

Hospital Lobby
Examine:
I don’t need to investigate anything...
Talk:
Argenta Gold
Gold Clinic
Move:
There’s really no reason to leave right now...
Present:
To Argenta Gold
What will you do?

Prestige: 100%

Also show her your police badge and ask her what her favorite color is.

Ask Argenta what conditions are treated at the clinic.

Present your police badge to Cammy Tose, and ask her what her favorite color is.

...

...........

Okay, okay. Ask Lauren how her day was today.