The following morning, that question still lingered in Jason’s mind. As the number of survivors dwindled, the possibility of one of them being the killer increased. Many still suspected Mikad… Mikad! He didn't know about Vicki and Lola, did he? Jason therefore headed to the recreation room to try and talk to Mikad. Sure enough, it was empty. No one felt like playing a board game after yesterday’s events. Lola’s letter was also on Jason’s mind. For one letter, he had seen Lola’s true character. She wasn't some airhead blonde or a damsel in distress - she had been someone who just wanted to be accepted. Where was the letter now? Jason glanced over at the end table near the two sofas in the corner. The envelope sat on top of a pile of books. Jason picked it up and placed it in his shirt pocket, feeling it would be safer there than just lying around. He then reached for the book to flip the bookcase to Mikad’s room, hanging onto the bookcase as it spun. Glancing around the room, it became immediately obvious that Mikad wasn't there. Jason searched around the room, but there weren't many places Mikad could be hiding. He noticed a vent on the ceiling, but even dragging the trunk beneath him and opening it, he found it empty. Curious, Jason looked around the room. Suddenly, the bookshelf spun, and Mikad appeared in the room. When he noticed Jason, all color flushed from his face.

“Oh! Jason! Um, this is unexpected… What brings you to my humble abode?” Mikad tried to play it off casually, but Jason’s stern stare quickly broke him. “Alright, I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't leave, I just…” Mikad did not finish his sentence.

“You just..?” Jason pressed, trying to get the truth out of Mikad. Mikad remained silent. “Oh forget it. I just came here to tell you something.”

“Is this about Vicki and Lola?” Mikad inquired. Jason looked at him incredulously. “Well, she alre- I mean, I overheard you talking about the letter and… Made an educated guess! Yeah, that sounds right,” Mikad added the last part aloud, although he probably hadn't meant to.

“Uh-huh,” Jason said, unconvinced. “Well, yeah, they're both dead. No use in trying to look for them, might I add,” Jason added, seeing Mikad eyeing the bookshelf. “Vicki’s body has already vanished, and while I haven't confirmed, I'm pretty sure Lola’s has as well. So you don't have any reason to leave the room. Are you good on food?” Jason asked.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I already ate,” Mikad replied absentmindedly. “I mean, yeah, I'm good, I've still got a few days left before I need to replenish, thanks. Um… Is there anything else?” Mikad asked, clearly eager for Jason to leave. Jason, sensing what Mikad wanted, shook his head no and grabbed onto the bookshelf before it spun again. Mikad having acted curiously was an understatement. Hadn't Mikad been the one to ask Jason to visit him more often? And now he had wanted Jason to leave as soon as possible! Jason hopped off the bookshelf and turned around to face the doorframe. No sooner had he done so that Navini walked into the recreation room, clearly flustered about something.

“Jason! What are you doing here?” Navini asked.

“Just getting a book,” Jason lied. “I could ask you the same question. What are you doing here?” Navini struggled to come up with an answer. She adjusted her ridiculous outfit nervously as she thought, and Jason could have sworn he heard crinkling, but whether that was her outfit or the fire he couldn't have known.

“Same here,” Navini said finally. “I've been meaning to find Vicki’s biography, actually,” Navini added.

“If that's the case, it's actually in the library downstairs,” Jason informed her.

“Really? Um, well, thank you, I guess,” Navini replied frustratedly.

“Navini, Jason.” Selena greeted them as she walked in. “How are you doing? Not that I care,” Selena said before either of them had a chance to reply. “By any chance, would either of you know where a secret room might be hidden in here? Lavender, shall we say, let slip that there was one in the recreation room, and I insist you tell me what you know.”

“A secret room? Here? I don't know anything about it!” Navini replied quickly. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the library,” Navini added before rushing out of the recreation room.

“Well, that was telling,” Selena remarked. “You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you, Jason?” Selena added, her voice taking a syrupy tone. Jason shook his head ‘no’. Selena allowed a bit of frustration to cloud her face before she sighed. “Oh well. I suppose I have to find it myself.”

“Hey, where is Lavender, anyhow?” Jason asked. “I've been meaning to ask her about something…”

“I'll tell you if you tell me where the room is,” Selena said. “Only joking, of course. A simpleton such as yourself wouldn't even dream of knowing such a secret,” Selena added snidely. Jason knew what she was trying to do, and yet he almost told her about Mikad to prove her wrong. He held his tongue, however. “Hm.” Selena muttered, sensing her plan had failed. “If you insist, she’s in Lola’s room, probably investigating. She’s been in there for an awfully long time, you know.” Jason thanked Selena and headed to Lola’s room.

When he entered Lola’s room, the first thing he was hit with was a faint yet powerful stench. It was as if something was decomposing, almost, or as if the room had not been cleaned for a while. Jason couldn't quite place a particular smell onto the stench, but it was present nonetheless. He immediately saw why - Lola’s body, and all the blood that came with it, was still lying in the open, Brian apparently not having taken care of it. Lavender sat at the foot of the bed, her eyes bloodshot, bags forming under them. How long it had been since she had slept, Jason could only guess.

“Lavender?” Jason asked. Lavender’s head shot up, as if she had almost been asleep. She looked around frantically before she saw Jason.

“Oh, hi, Jason,” Lavender said, then yawned. “What’s up?”

“Nevermind that, what are you doing?” Jason asked. “Why haven't you slept at all in a few days?”

“Well, technically I slept before we found Vicki’s body, so only two days,” Lavender specified. “And I wanted to see what Brian does with the bodies, so I'm guarding Lola.”

“If you say so,” Jason answered, worried. “You sure you're good? You probably haven't eaten in days too…”

“Funny you should mention that,” Lavender exclaimed. “Selena actually came by just a minute ago and gave me breakfast.” She pointed to a half-eaten bowl of cereal in the corner of the room.

“Funny indeed,” Jason mumbled. Selena did not seem like the kind of person who would give someone breakfast out of the kindness of her heart. “Did she ask for anything in return? Like, perhaps, where Mikad was hiding?”

“Actually, yeah, she did ask that,” Lavender acknowledged. “I didn't tell her anything, though. I told her she had no chance to find the secret room in the recreation room! Ha!” Lavender laughed a little. “Oh wait,” she added, realizing what she had said.

“Go to bed, Lavender,” Jason demanded. “I'll take over the guard watch here until you've rested up.”

“Really?” Lavender asked. “Well, alright then. I'm off to bed. Good, uh, morning, I guess.” Lavender got up and left, leaving Jason alone with Lola’s corpse. To say it was unnerving was an understatement. Lola’s blood tears had now hardened on her cheeks, but her eyes remained wide open. For his sanity’s sake, Jason closed her eyes, making her a little less disturbing. Jason took a look at the arrows piercing out of her chest. Two of them had gone straight through her heart, while another had gone through her head. The others had been spread out across her chest and arms. There were seven in all. They looked like perfectly normal arrows, and yet Jason had no idea where Brian (or anyone else for that matter) could even find arrows here. Curious, Jason pulled one out of Lola’s arm. It came out with an unpleasant squelching, making Jason shiver. He examined the arrow closely, and while it was sharp and covered in blood, there was nothing in particular that stood out about this arrow. Jason dropped it on the floor.

“Hey, hey! She's gone! It's about freaking time-oh, hi, Jason.” Brian announced his entrance and fizzled into the room. “You don't think you would mind leaving, do you? I don't want her to start rotting before I can…” Brian stopped himself. “Whoops! Spoilers! Wouldn't want to let something slip, now would we? Bottom line being, I need the body. And so, please leave,” Brian asked. Jason looked at him incredulously. “Pretty please?” He asked again, widening his eyes and clasping his hands together. He actually looked like an adorable child for once. Jason didn't budge. Seeing he was getting nowhere, Brian stopped making a pleading face and instead made an angry one. “What is it with you smart people that makes you so uncompliant?! First Lavender, now you… Look, I don't want to hurt her! I mean, I already killed her, what else could I do?” Brian pleaded. Jason looked at him incredulously. “You know, you really are extremely annoying, Jason. Always snooping around - not that you're going to find anything, I made sure of that, but it's still annoying! You weren't even supposed to be here to begin with! Ugh. Well, if you're not meant to be the best, then I'm really glad I had the other one killed. Would have been a disaster to-”

“You did what?!” Jason screamed. Brian, seeing he had struck a nerve, smiled.

“Interested, are we? Well, how about we make a deal. You leave the room for, oh, half an hour, and then come back, and I'll tell you all about it! Sounds like a good deal, right? And besides, I want you to leave for her benefit! So, do we have a deal?” Brian’s smile widened. Jason considered it. The reason he had come to this party to begin with was to find out more about Ariana’s death. And here Brian was, practically gift-wrapping the mystery to him! However, if he left, Lavender would be unbelievably mad at him, and he had no idea what Brian intended to do with Lola’s body. Resigned, Jason shook Brian’s outstreched hand. “So we have a deal! Alright, come back half an hour later and I'll tell you everything I know. I'm a baby of my word! I've got the honesty gene, through and through! Alright, bye-bye!” And with that, Brian fizzled out. Ashamed, Jason walked out of the room to almost bump into Lavender, who had been listening in. Lavender looked at him sternly, only increasing the guilt he felt.

“I would have done the same thing,” she said simply and walked away, going to her room. Jason reluctantly waited outside of Lola’s room for the half hour Brian had requested. When that time was up, Jason walked into Lola’s room. Now, nothing remained of her except bloodied bedsheets. Jason sat at the edge of the bed, careful not to touch any of the blood. Brian fizzled in next to him, the bottom half going straight through the bedsheets.

“I was hoping I had fixed that,” he mentioned, seeing the bottom half of his projection merge with the sheets. “Not that it matters!”

“So you're actually going to tell me about Ariana?” Jason asked.

“Yessiree! I'm a baby of my word, you know. Something inside of me just hates to lie, so here I am!” Brian triumphantly announced. Jason looked at him questioningly before Brian continued. “Of course, I won't be able to give you all of the fine details since, you know, I wasn't actually there, but hey! Better than nothing. So,” Brian leaned over as though he was about to share juicy gossip, “here's what happened…

“So here’s the list! Everyone on it has to be dead before the party, got it? I only planned for twenty five of them…” Brian told them. They stared at the blank sheet of paper, reading through the names.

“There are a lot of famous people on this list,” they commented. “Like Vincent Alfonzo, the painter. How am I supposed to get to these people in time? You've only given me a month and, with this many people, I'd have to do more than two a day!”

“I'm confident in your abilities! Of course, a few are more crucial than others. Like, say, Sir Francis Helmsburg? He should be the first one of these guys. Oh, and they're particularly smart,” Brian added, circling names on the paper.

“Thomason Ueler and Cordelia Recorde… The scientists, right?” They asked. Brian nodded. “They shouldn't be a problem,” they added. Their eyes scanned the circled names, nodding along to the ones they recognized. Finally, their eyes found a name they didn't know.

“Ariana Beverly… The name rings a bell, but I have no idea who…” They didn't finish their sentence, lost in their thoughts.

“She’s not going to be that hard to find, and trust me, once you find out what her talent is, you'll want to have her killed,” Brian.

“What about this one?” They said, pointing to a name circled with emphasis.

“Oh, yeah, almost forgot! I'm not going to be presenting you as, you know, you. So I picked someone that at least sort of looked like you. You'll be pretending to be them during the party!” Brian explained. They nodded.

“Right. Naturally,” they said. Then, the world’s best killer looked at the list once more. “Better get started then. See you in a month,” they said, and then promptly left the room.

“...and that’s the story! Pretty riveting, wasn't it?” Brian concluded. During the killer’s dialogue, he had put on a horrible impersonation of their voice, which only served to tick Jason off more. So the talent killer was now confirmed to have killed Ariana. And, perhaps even more strangely, upon Brian’s request. Jason was left with several questions. How powerful was Brian, if he could get the world’s best killer to do as he said? Did this mean Sir Francis Helmsburg wasn’t involved in this? But he had to be, right? And, most importantly at the moment, who was the killer? Jason’s questions were met with more questions. Although he should have felt satisfied about finding out more about Ariana’s death, he felt more confused than anything else. “You look confused! Well, that's all I can say for now. Wouldn't want to have to put a spoiler warning, now would we? Stay tuned for more info! That is, if you live that long! Bwahahahahaha!” Still cackling, Brian fizzled out. Jason, now in a sour mood, slammed the door to Lola’s room open. It didn’t open fully, having collided with something along the way. Jason looked behind the door to find Lavender collapsed in the hallway. She shook her head and got up.

“You know, you could be a little more careful opening doors,” Lavender remarked.

“You were eavesdropping?” Jason asked, outraged. Lavender shrugged.

“Naturally. I knew Brian wasn't just going to talk about Ariana, and I had to hear the details for myself,” Lavender explained. “It seems I was right about the hit list - there are way more people on it than anticipated. Those two scientists, Cordelia and Thomason… I wonder if they're still alive?” Lavender rambled on, completely ignoring an extremely frustrated Jason. “And Brian was really careful when he was talking… He didn't divulge even the slightest hint towards the killer’s appearance or gender. This doesn't answer anything, and only brings more questions…”

“Well, there's something we can agree on,” Jason mumbled, irritated. “Also, shouldn't you be in bed? You haven't slept in days…”

“I'll be fine. I slept the half hour or so Brian was taking care of Lola’s body. Did you talk to Mikad?” Lavender asked.

“Yeah, but come to think of it, that also just brought up more questions,” Jason replied. “He seemed really eager for me to leave, and he wasn't in the secret room when I found him. Plus, I bumped into Navini just after, and she seemed really suspicious too,” Jason concluded. Lavender thought for a moment. “Do you think Navini knows about..?”

“Unlikely. I don't think Navini could find the secret room, and even if she did, I'm not sure how she'd react to seeing Mikad. And if it's the other way around, what reason did Mikad have to leave the room? I'm pretty sure Navini is just a coincidence. But Mikad leaving the room is somewhat troubling. I'll have to go talk to him. Hang on…” Lavender’s nose twitched. “Do you smell… Burnt?” Jason sniffed the air. It did have a faint smell of burnt. Which meant…

“O-oh! Um, hi, Mr. Harlon! And, uh, hello, Ms. Greenwood! Uh… I'm sorry! I-I-I did it again!”

Upon having entered the kitchen, Jason immediately saw what had happened. Cole had, once again, burnt something to an unrecognizable crisp.

“Cole, do me a favor and make meals that don't require the use of flames from now on,” Jason asked. Cole, through tears and sniffles, nodded. Lavender chuckled a little.

“This isn't the first time you’ve burnt something, is it, Cole?” Lavender remarked. “If you want, I can show you how to make some great salads that don't require the use of any flame.” Lavender had genuinely offered this without being mean, but Cole still burst into tears.

“Waaaaaaahhh! Uh, I-sniff-I don't, um, like salads, at all, but I-hic!-would love to, Ms. Greenwood!” Cole managed to say.

“Please. Call me Lavender,” Lavender asked, but Jason shook his head as if to say there's no point in asking.

“No one’s-hic!-ever offered t-t-to teach me something! Th-Thank you!” Cole wailed. Lavender shrugged and Jason laughed a little.

“Well then, shall we get started? I believe it is around time to eat, so…” Lavender asked. Cole nodded enthusiastically, so much so that Jason thought his head would roll off. “Jason, why don't you leave us be?” Lavender suggested. Jason nodded and left the kitchen.

With nothing better to do, Jason headed to the recreation room, to try and find a book or something of that nature to entertain him. In terms of entertainment, he didn't have to look very far. Skyler and Dahinko were currently playing a board game, and their comments proved to be entertaining enough.

“So, do you wanna hear about why I can't go to Paris anymore?” Dahinko asked Skyler. Skyler raised an eyebrow at this question. The two completely ignored Jason, and he sat down with a book that he was only half reading, paying more attention to their conversation than anything else.

“Not in particular,” Skyler answered. “How many cities have you been banned from?”

“That's for me to know and you to find out,” Dahinko replied with a wink. Skyler laughed his hearty laugh, which made Dahinko smile. As he was observing them, Jason noticed the staggering differences between the two. Skyler was tall, built and manly while Dahinko was small, lightweight and bubbly, and yet the two got along very well. Jason had to once again wonder if they had known each other before all of this. “It's your turn,” Dahinko mentioned, and Skyler started studying the board. He moved a piece and nodded to Dahinko. Jason leaned over and noticed they were playing chess. “And… Checkmate! Beat you again!” Dahinko cheered.

“You know, you're actually really good at this stuff,” Skyler pointed out. “Considering your, uh, playfulness, you wouldn't expect it.”

“I'm just full of surprises!” Dahinko exclaimed, which made Skyler laugh. Dahinko started packing away the board game. “Which one should we play next?”

“How about this one?” Skyler said, pointing to a box Jason couldn't make out the title of.

“Again? We played that one yesterday and before yesterday! I know you're good at it, but jeez,” Dahinko complained.

“Alright, alright, fine then, let's see…” Skyler looked at all of the games on the shelf. “Then… How about this one?” Skyler pointed to another box.

“I don't like that one,” Dahinko noted. “Too many rules. Hey, I won the last one, why don't I get to pick?”

“Because with that logic, I would never pick a game,” Skyler explained. “Besides, if you always picked, we'd never play the ones that are higher up,” Skyler tease. Dahinko looked at him, annoyed, and Skyler laughed.

“Well if I don't pick, we’ll never play the fun ones, so there!” Dahinko replied, sticking his tongue out, which only got Skyler to laugh even more. “So I say we play this one!” Dahinko jumped up to point at one of the games on the top shelf.

“Hey, I actually kind of like that one!” Skyler approved. “Then it's settled. We play this one,” he added before grabbing the game. The two then put the game down and started playing.

“So why are you banned from Paris again?” Skyler asked.

“I knew you were curious! So, technically I'm banned from all of France - except Corsica, for some reason, guess they don't care about that one - because on one of my skydiving trips, I miscalculated my trajectory and I mayyyyy have taken off a solid chunk off of the top of the Eiffel Tower,” Dahinko recounted. Skyler looked at him with his mouth open.

“That was you?” Skyler asked in horror. Jason remembered seeing an article about someone having crashed into the Eiffel Tower about a year back, but the culprit was never caught. “How did you get away?”

“There's a reason I don't go to France anymore, ya know!” Dahinko laughed. Skyler kept looking at him in horror. “I'm technically a wanted outlaw in… Thirteen countries, is it? No, twelve, I haven't been banned from the U.S. yet. Laws are loose there, ya know? Part of the reason I love being in Canada so much - there’s so much wilderness, no one cares if I crash into a tree or ten,” Dahinko stated. Skyler’s mouth was open in horror.

“You…sure have done some interesting things, Cole, haven't you?” Skyler mentioned. Dahinko smiled at the compliment. “It's your turn, by the way,” he added.

“Oh! Sorry about that,” Dahinko apologized. “Where do you live, Skyler? I mean, I've told you where I do, and I'm curious!”

“You never told me where you live!” Skyler pointed out.

“Yeah I did! I live in Canada, duh,” Dahinko said. “In Yukon, specifically,” Dahinko added.

“Yukon, huh,” Skyler said. “I could never live there - it's way too cold for me. Well, I live in the good old U S of A, in Florida, actually,” Skyler revealed.

“You live in Florida?” Dahinko asked, surprised. “Shouldn't you be a little less pale than you actually are?”

“I fly planes for a living, Dahinko,” Skyler reminded him. “I'm pretty much never home anyways, so of course I don't have a tan.”

“Of course, of course,” Dahinko repeated before going back to studying the board. “Your move,” Dahinko mentioned. Skyler studied the board for a moment. For a while, Jason stopped paying attention to the two, instead focusing on his book. Eventually, they finished their board game and left the recreation room. Jason stayed for a while, finishing the chapter. He put the book back and headed to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.

Lunch having been said and done, Jason didn't quite know what to do. Then, he thought about the locked library, and decided to head there. When he got there, he found that the doors in the three-door hallway had been labeled, all with regular paper and yellow crayon. The library had been labeled LIBRARBY, the center room INVSTIGATIN, and the room to the right had been labeled HARMRY. The crude writing as well as all the misspelt work indicated that this was Brian’s handiwork.

“You'd think with all these books around, Brian would have been able to pick up a dictionary,” Jason joked aloud. He chuckled to himself. The door to the right was what interested Jason the most. HARMRY? The left one was clearly ‘Library’, the center was either ‘investigating’ or ‘investigation’, but the right door didn't have a sense to it. How many letter were missing? Heck, were the letters there even the correct ones? The door could have been ‘Army’, but what would lie beyond a door like that? Then could it be ‘Harry’? But what would that even mean? Jason stood in front of the door for a while, contemplating.

“Oh, hello, Jason.”

Jason turned around and was face-to-face with Gary, who was holding up some sort of cloth. In all the time he had been here, Jason had almost completely forgotten about Gary even being the house. Gary had completely isolated himself from everyone ever since the murdering began. The only time he was out of his room was when he was forced to by a body. Jason was immediately hit by the stench of someone not having showered for several days on end.

“So sorry, darling, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave here,” Gary spoke snobbishly, almost like a male Selena.

“Why?” Jason asked. Gary looked taken aback, almost as if he couldn't believe Jason was asking him such a question.

“Why? Clearly you're thicker than I first thought,” Gary exclaimed. Jason couldn't help but look somewhat offended at this remark. “And that proves it. The dumb ones always look dumbfounded when you call them dumb. I suppose I'll have to explain it. I'm going to be working in the library on this dress I'm making. I'm afraid that no one can even be near me while I'm working, so as to not disturb the creative flow, you see. Did your simple little mind understand that, or will I have to repeat myself?” Gary explained snidely.

“Only once will do, thanks,” Jason replied bitterly. So much for forgetting about Gary. Right now, he wished he hadn't remembered Gary at all.

“Then what are you standing around for? Leave at once! I simply cannot have any interference! It's part of the reason I've been staying in my room, you see. Enough about that, why haven't you left yet?” Gary looked extremely annoyed. Jason was getting more and more irritated as Gary spoke.

“Because,” Jason said with an extreme effort not to yell at Gary, “I need to investigate the library, and I think that's a little more important than a dress.” Almost immediately after adding the commentary about the dress, Jason regretted it, because Gary looked furious.

“Well, with that outfit, what do you know about fashion anyways?” Gary retorted. “I'm afraid that fashion always has priority! Just because I'm locked up in here with the rest of you simpletons does not mean that I can't still make the latest trends! Now, away with you!” Gary yelled and ran into the library, slamming the door behind him. Jason almost thought of going in there just to spite Gary, but he thought better of it. Everyone’s nerves were already on edge, so a conflict between Gary and himself seemed like a bad idea. Calming himself, he left the hallway.

“What a colossal prick,” Jason mumbled to himself as he left the hallway.

“I know, right?” Jason jumped when someone answered. Navini had been standing right outside the hallway when he had exited. “The other day, he told me my room was too close to his, so I had to change rooms. There's an entire section of hallway between us!” she complained.

“You know, I had almost forgotten he was here,” Jason admitted.

“I wish I could forget,” Navini sighed. “Every single night he's at my door, telling me to move! Does he think I'm here because I want to be?”

“I don't know what his deal is, but it's getting irritating,” Jason agreed. He looked around him, at the entrance hall. People were gathering for no apparent reason. “What's going on?” Jason asked Navini.

“Haven't you heard? Arthur and Dexter said they would be training again, and they invited us all to watch. No idea why they'd invite us, but here we are,” Navini explained. Jason looked at her with a curious glance. Navini shrugged, apparently just as confused as he was. The two waited around, not saying anything in particular. Almost everyone has gathered to see Arthur and Dexter - well, everyone except Gary, of course. Jason looked around at the other guests. At the top of the staircase, peeking down at the entrance hall, was Mikad. Jason’s eyes widened when he saw him.

“Um, Navini, do you mind if I-”

“I'm sorry, Jason, but I've just remembered something important - no, vital even - that I have to do. Gotta go!” And Navini darted off in the direction of Mikad. Mikad, seeing her, immediately ran off. Jason went after Navini, but by the time he turned the hallway, she was already gone. He noticed that the two had gone into the girls hallway, rather than toward the recreation room where Mikad was currently hidden. Curious, Jason went to open Navini’s room, but found it locked. Instead of waiting for it to miraculously unlock, Jason tried to open the other two doors in the hallway. The door labeled ‘third floor’ still wouldn't budge, no matter how Jason pushed or pulled. He turned around and tried to push the door labeled ‘Study’.

It opened.

Jason looked at the door for a little while before entering the room. Why it had been unlocked was anyone’s guess, but it was definitely unlocked. Usually, there was a reason Brian would unlock a door, but not this time. Jason wondered if he should ask for someone’s help, but that would only draw attention to him. Cautiously, Jason penetrated into the room. It was very dark. There was no way to tell what was in the room. Jason felt the wall with his hands to try and find a light switch, and after a while, he succeeded in finding one. A single overhead lamp flickered on, illuminating the room. The room was exactly what you would expect from a study. In the center of the room, there was a mahogany bureau, with piles of paper and a wax seal on it. Behind it sat an enormous leather chair, and in the wall behind that, a huge granite fireplace lay, waiting to be lit. Surrounding it and basically dominating the walls were bookshelves, which Jason noticed were full of photo albums and written documents as opposed to books. At the very far corner of the room, there was another door, the ornate red carpet covering the floor abruptly ending right before it. Another large painting hung above the fireplace, this one a recreation of Madonna on the Rocks. Again, it was signed Vincent Alfonzo. What interested Jason the most was the door at the very far back of the room. He could swear he heard someone humming behind the door. Cautiously, Jason pressed his ear against the door. Someone was definitely humming a tune behind the door. Jason slowly turned the doorknob, but the door was locked. This time, there was a distinct keyhole in the doorknob. Jason only needed to find where the key was. In the distance, he could hear the sound of sword clanging against sword, but that seemed of very little interest to him right now. Even Navini and Mikad seemed uninteresting right now. Jason needed to get his hands on that key. He looked around for something resembling a key. His eyes scanned the many bookshelves, but no key was to be found. He’d have to search them later. He practically threw open the drawers to the bureau open, but all they contained were pens, stacks of blank papers ad sticky notes, quills and ink refills, wax, envelopes and, most importantly, nothing resembling a key. He looked on top of the bureau. His eyes found the stack of papers, the first of which had writing on it. It was written Erick Orbrison, Actor on it, and a picture of Erick with a big red X on it was next to it. Jason decided to investigate that later. He picked up the stack of papers and – a key! It was a small, silver key with a tag labelled ‘Disapointment’. The misspelling indicated that this key belonged to Brian. Jason slotted it into the keyhole and turned it. The key slid in easily, and the humming abruptly stopped. Jason cautiously entered the room, pushing the door ever so slightly. Eventually, the door was open. The room was extremely dark, the only light coming from behind Jason.

“Brother? Is it time again? Hang on, I’ll get the list… Wait, you’re not my brother!” A feminine voice squeaked. Jason recognized the voice as being the one who said the names during the investigation. It was a lot less grainy and whimsical in person. She sounded like an abused child, almost. “Who… Who are you?”

“I’m not here to hurt you, okay?” Jason tried his best not to sound intimidating. “Is there a light switch in here? I can’t see anything.”

“Yeah, you’re near one. My brother and I aren’t tall enough to reach it, but you should be fine,” the voice answered. Jason felt his way around the wall and his hand eventually felt a light switch. He flicked it on.

Jason didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this. He was in some sort of storage room, the walls either made of steel or painted a similar color. A giant, fluorescent light hung as the only light source. Filing cabinets lined the walls, except for one little spot where a black blanket and a water bottle lay. The bottle, having long since been emptied, was completely dry, and the blanket was dirty and torn. The voice had come from that corner, and Jason got a proper look at its owner. The girl was the same height as Brian, with the same piercing black eyes as him. She was dressed in a frilly, light pink, woolen dress, with a patchwork daisy clumsily stitched onto it. She wore a pale pink bonnet, similar to Brian’s, and was clutching a pink comb, also having a daisy printed onto it. She was shivering from head to toe, which only showed off how alarmingly skinny she was, and her eyes seemed to pierce right through Jason, scrutinizing him. She was brushing the blanket she held with her – wait… That wasn’t a blanket! The long, black sheet that Jason had initially assumed to be a blanket was actually her ridiculously long hair. It was longer than her entire body, and a third of it was on the floor when she stood up. She had a hairclip in her hair, and keeping with the daisy motif, it also had one printed on it. She looked at Jason, her eyes asking many questions.

“Who are you?” Jason asked.

“He didn’t tell you about me? Oh… That’s fine, he always likes to pretend I don’t exist. Well, I’m my brother’s twin sister. I know you’ve been talking to him a lot,” she answered. “Um… Judging by the inquisitive look and overall aura of mystery, you must be Jason Harlon, correct?” she asked. Jason was taken aback. How did she know this? “I’m not stupid, that’s how,” she said, almost as if she had been reading Jason’s mind.

“Hello? Is anyone in here?” Jason heard a voice call from inside the study. The voice was then followed by Lavender walking into the room. Lavender’s eyes immediately fell on the baby. “There’s another one?” she asked.

“Lavender Greenwood, the Hawaiian dancer, right? Um… It’s nice to-” the baby never got a chance to finish her sentence. Lavender rushed up to her and slapped her across the cheek, the sound echoing in the room. “Ow! What was that for?” she asked, understandably shocked.

“Sorry, I had to check,” Lavender apologized. “I had to make sure we weren’t dealing with another hologram baby. Speaking of which, there doesn’t seem to be a camera in this room… I noticed one in the study, but not here,” Lavender remarked. Jason looked around for a camera, but in the one place in the house where it would make the most sense for there to be one, there was none. “So, what’s your name? I can’t just call you female Brian, can I?”

“Who’s Brian?” The baby asked. Lavender looked at her, dumbfounded. As if on cue, Brian fizzled into the study and looked into the room, clearly pissed.

“Gaaaaaaaaah!” Brian yelled, frustrated. “I left the door to the study unlocked, didn’t I? Well, I guess it was good of me to move… Whoops!” Brian caught himself. “Can’t go and tell you guys too much, now can I?” Brian paused for a moment, observing Jason and then Lavender in turn. “I should have known it would be you two. Well, either you two or Selena, anyways,” Brian sighed. “I suppose I should explain. This thing in front of you is my eternal disappointment of a sister. She doesn’t have a name, so call her whatever you like. I think disappointment is a very fitting name,” he suggested.

“What would you like to be called?” Lavender asked her. The baby thought for a moment.

“Well… I’ve always thought the name Anne-Marie would suit me,” she answered. “What do you think, brother?”

“Fine, fine, but it doesn’t have the same ring to it as disappointment incarnate, in my not so humble opinion,” Brian answered. “And you might as well start calling me Brian. Everyone else in this house does,” Brian added. Anne-Marie looked very happy. “By the way… I heard there was going to be a swordfight… Would you two know where it is? Never mind, I’ll find it myself,” he said without letting either of them answer, and he vanished.

“That was… interesting,” Lavender remarked. Jason nodded in agreement.

“Um… Do you mind if I, uh, don’t live in here anymore?” Anne-Marie asked. “I’ve been in here for about two weeks now, and brother- I mean, Brian, barely feeds me… Plus, some company would be nice.”

“Sure, why not?” Lavender answered. Jason shot her a glance, but she ignored it. “Go introduce yourself to everyone. Should be fun,” Lavender added under her breath. Anne-Marie walked out of the room, her hair dragging behind her and on the floor. Jason waited until she was out of the study to turn to Lavender.

“Don’t tell me you trust her,” Jason said. “She and Brian are twins; how could they be anything but in cahoots with each other?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my ally,” Lavender recited. “She and Brian clearly aren’t on the best of terms, and even if they are working together, I think we can use her,” Lavender replied.

“But what if it was just an act put on for us?”

“You heard Brian when he found out we entered the study. We clearly weren’t meant to be here,” Lavender answered. “And judging by your conversation with him earlier, I think we can safely say Brian is brutally honest. So, for now, I propose we believe Anne-Marie. Besides, tell me you’re not interested in seeing how Michael handles another baby?” Lavender smirked. Jason shrugged with a smile on his face. The two left the metallic and re-entered the much warmer study.

Jason’s attention was once again brought back to the stack of papers on the desk. He picked up the one labeled Erick Orbrison – Actor and started reading. It read:

Erick Orbrison – Actor

Born: August 27th

Age: 23

Special Talent: Best Actor in the World

Notes: Not skilled with socializing. Not particularly intelligent – not a threat.

Next to the notes, a picture of Erick was printed onto it. A red X was drawn on his picture. Jason flipped through the other papers. Lola and Vicki were immediately underneath Erick’s, also having a big X drawn on them. Lola’s read:

Lola Jouvence – Model

Born: February 14th

Age: 24

Special Talent: Best Female Model in the World

Notes: Known nymphomaniac. Highly emotional – Not a threat.

Jason read Lola’s over again. Known nymphomaniac... He had guessed it, but this seemed to confirm it. Beneath hers, Vicki’s read:

Vicki Ingrid – Writer

Born: June 30th

Age: 21

Special Talent: Best Author in the World

Notes: Somewhat intelligent, but highly antisocial. Possibly a threat.

Below theirs, a piece of paper contained handwritten notes about Henry Suntor, a big X covering his name (since no one had drawn a picture of him). Jason read the note:

Henry Suntor – Eater

Born: December 2nd

Age: 25

Talent (I guess): Stuffing his fat face

Notes: Legitimately questioning if he has a brain - not a threat.

This note contained a lot more spite than the other three had. It was also the only one that was handwritten as opposed to typed. Jason felt as if a different person had written this one. After Henry, Jason noticed that all the files were arranged in alphabetical order – and none of the pictures were crossed out. Jason quickly scanned everyone’s files. The people labeled as threats were A (that was what he was listed as), Lavender, Selena, Lelina, Dexter and Cole, along with Jessica and Alexandra being labeled as potential threats. At the very bottom of the list and completely breaking the alphabetical order, Jason found his own file, also having been handwritten. It read:

Jason Harlon – Detective

Born: Not sure

Age: 22

Talent: Being infuriatingly curious

Notes: Knows more than he probably should. Definitely a threat.

Jason’s had also contained the same amount of spite that Henry’s had. He had also been labeled as a threat, which caused a chill to crawl down his back – could this indicate that he was a potential target?

“These definitely shouldn’t be left out in the open,” Lavender concluded. She had also been reading the files. “But where to hide them...?” Lavender thought for a moment. “Hang on – that’s it!” she exclaimed. “But…”

“What’s it? But what?” Jason had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

“I know where to hide them so he can’t find them,” Lavender said. Jason knew immediately who she was referring to when she had said he – Brian. “But I need you to distract him. He can’t see me going in there – could you do that?” Jason nodded, although he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Suddenly, a large commotion occurred outside the study, giving Jason the distraction he needed.

Jason ran out of the study, leaving Lavender behind. He immediately saw the cause of the commotion – Anne-Marie had just interrupted Arthur and Dexter’s sword duel to introduce herself. Everyone besides Lavender and Mikad was there.

“What the hell is this?” Michael exclaimed. “There’s another one of these toddlers?” His face had become bright red. Jason wondered just how much of the conversation he had missed.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Anne-Marie replied, apparently not bothered by how angry Michael was getting. “My name is Anne-Marie, and I am Brian’s twin sister. Pleased to meet you all,” she said, followed by a curtsy.

“Your voice sounds highly familiar...,” Dexter mumbled. “Wait… That’s right… You’re the one reading our names during the investigation, aren’t you?”

“That is also correct,” Anne-Marie answered regretfully, “but only because my brother forces me to.”

“He forces you to. Uh-huh,” Michael leered at Anne-Marie. “Yeah, I believe that. I also believe that Bigfoot is hiding in the forest right outside here, and that I could jump to the moon just by believing in myself hard enough! What, do you think I’m a freaking idiot?” Michael yelled sarcastically.

“The probability of Bigfoot even existing is very slim, so the likelihood of him being here is almost non-existent, and it is impossible for you to jump to the moon,” Anne-Marie answered, oblivious to Michael’s sarcasm. “But I am telling the truth – I’m nothing like my brother.”

“Give us one reason we should believe you,” Michael asked. “One. That’s not much to ask for, is it?”

“Why, no, it isn’t much,” Anne-Marie answered. “Well, let’s see… No, that could be countered… No, that wouldn’t work either… No, they wouldn’t understand a word…” Anne-Marie struggled to think of a valid reason.

“I could probably get us a reason to trust her or not,” Jason mentioned. All eyes were now on him.

“Oh yeah?” Michael answered incredulously. “Well then, let’s hear it!”

“Alright, but you probably won’t like it,” Jason warned them. Then, he took a deep breath. “Brian! Come out here!” he yelled. For a few seconds that felt like an eternity, nothing happened. Then, Brian fizzled in right next to Jason, his arm going through Jason’s thigh.

“Yes? You called?” Brian asked innocently.

“Could you give us a reason to prove that Anne-Marie isn’t working with you?” Jason asked, already sure of the answer.

“Why, yes, I can!” Brian answered enthusiastically. “The reason I’m not working with disappointment incarnate over there is because I could never trust her to do anything right! She’s too nice and innocent to do anything I want her to! So, if you want to try it, be my guest. Have her instead of me having to deal with it!” Brian cackled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to. Toodles!” And with that, Brian fizzled out. Jason prayed that that was enough time for Lavender to move the files.

“Wow,” Michael said, “guess I was wrong. Yeah, right! That’s a nice little show you put on there, Jason! Tell me, how long have you been working with Brian?”

“What?” Jason asked, bewildered. “Michael, what are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? Well, this baby over here, we barely knew who she was, and now you come all like ‘I can explain it’ and you’ve got Brian too?! Did you expect us all to believe you without any doubts?”

“You’ve got more brains than I initially thought, ape,” Selena added snidely. “Regardless, he does bring up a good point. Really, all that little charade did was make us doubt you,” she remarked. Jason now noticed the error of what he had done. Somebody must believe me!

“U-uh… I believe you, Mr. Harlon,” Cole stammered nervously. Everyone turned to look at him. “W-w-what? If he were th-the traitor, why would he even do that? He could and sh-should have just pretended to not know anything about Anne-Marie, and I don’t think Mr. Harlon is that stupid,” Cole justified.

“I believe you too, Jason!” Navini exclaimed. “With all you’ve done for us, I don’t think you could ever be the killer!” Everyone slowly began to agree with Jason. Selena just shrugged and headed to her room, disappointed in everyone’s willingness to trust each other. Michael remained there, outraged.

“Well, thank you for believing in me, everyone,” Anne-Marie said.

“Oh yeah, that. Well, uh, guess we trust you too, I think,” Navini mumbled.

“How the hell are you all so frickin’ retarded!” Michael exploded. Everyone turned to look at him. His entire body was now completely red in anger. He looked just about ready to blow up. “How can you trust that thing?! Forget Jason, that I get, but that baby is just as demonic and ruthless as the other one! You’re all retarded if you think you can trust it for even a second!”

“I am neither demonic nor ruthless,” Anne-Marie said calmly. “My brother acquired all of those traits, and I did not. We are complete opposites in every way – aside from the color of our eyes, that is,” Anne-Marie explained.

“Yeah, like I’m gonna believe that!” Michael yelled. “You’re all morons! Stupid! Retarded, even! Gaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!” Michael screeched and ran off to his room. Everyone watched him return to his room.

“I was afraid someone would react like this,” Anne-Marie sighed. “It was to be expected. Still, I’m glad the rest of you are open to accepting me,” she said, relieved. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, still unsure of what to make of the baby. Anne-Marie didn’t seem to notice. “I’m hungry. Where is the kitchen?” she asked.

“Th…this way…” Lelina mentioned, pointing towards the dining room. Anne-Marie started making her way to the kitchen, Lelina following her. Everyone else started rapidly discussing this new development. Jason barely paid attention to them – he ran upstairs, worried about Lavender.

It took Jason quite a while to find Lavender. The study, as well as the storage room behind it, were empty, the stack of papers on the bureau having vanished. At least Lavender had moved them to a safer spot. Jason looked around, trying to find where she possibly could have taken them. Jason tried knocking on her room door, to no avail. She wasn’t in the library, nor was she in the dining room or the kitchen. No other door had miraculously opened, either. There was only one other place she could be hiding – the recreation room. However, upon entering it, Jason discovered that it was also empty. At that moment, the bookshelf leading to Mikad’s hideout swung open, and Lavender walked out, looking out of breath.

“There you are!” Jason exclaimed quietly. Lavender looked at him for a moment, as if unsure. Then, she looked behind her.

“No time for catching up. Have you seen Mikad at all?” Lavender asked, panting. Jason shook his head. “He wasn’t in there,” she explained. Jason’s eyes widened. Mikad had vanished again? Not believing Lavender, Jason went into the secret room. Sure enough, no sign of Mikad anywhere. He noticed, however, that the trunk in the room was slightly bulging upwards, as if something had been haphazardly stuffed into it and the lid no longer closed properly. Now, Jason realized where Lavender had hidden the files concerning the house guests. Mikad’s sudden disappearance was more pressing, however, so the two set out immediately to find him.

Jason headed to the kitchen first, leaving Lavender to cover the library. He glanced around the kitchen. Unless Mikad was hidden underneath the sink, he wasn’t here. Jason would have gone to look under the sink, but Selena was in the kitchen and she was observing him. She definitely would have asked questions if Jason had looked, so he grabbed an apple as an alibi and left. He headed to the study, thinking maybe Mikad had gotten curious and headed to the study to look. However, the study and storage room proved to be empty, no other guest in the house having noticed their opening. Then, Jason had a thought. The whole reason he had even opened the study was because Navini was acting suspiciously, right? Taking a chance, he headed towards Navini’s door and pressed his ear against it. He could swear he heard someone mumbling to themselves. Normally, this shouldn’t have been strange, but Navini was in the center hall, and should not have been in her room. Jason knocked on the door. He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side. Jason looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then, quietly but loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear, he said:

“Can you hear me? It’s Jason. Can you come out now?” Jason made sure not to say Mikad’s name, in case he was wrong or someone was eavesdropping. For a few seconds, the door didn’t move. Then, the lock clicked. Jason swung open the door open and ended up face-to-face with Mikad, a look of profound shame on his face.

“Jason, I-” Mikad started to apologize, but Jason cut him off.

“I don’t even want to know. Let’s just get you back to your room, and make sure nobody sees you,” Jason said sternly. Jason looked towards the center hall to make sure no one was looking, then motioned to Mikad to move. Mikad sprinted to the recreation room, Jason on his heels. Silently, the two opened the door to the recreation room. There was no one, so Mikad hurriedly grabbed onto the bookshelf as it spun around. Once Jason was alone in the recreation room, he looked for a few moments at Mikad’s bookshelf. “I don’t know why you were out, but if you care about your life at all, don’t leave again. I’ll bring you food soon, okay?” Jason talked to the bookshelf, knowing that Mikad was listening. Sighing, Jason left the recreation room. He headed downstairs and into the library, where Lavender was still looking for Mikad.

“I found him,” Jason told Lavender, who jumped in surprise.

“Found who?” Jason hadn’t seen Vivian before he spoke, and shot worried glances at Lavender. “Your inner self? That’s really important, you know. Well, I’m glad you found him!” Vivian said dreamily and began spinning around by herself once more. Jason raised an eyebrow in Vivian’s direction, and Lavender chuckled.

“Yeah, she won’t be much of a problem,” Lavender whispered. The two then headed out of the library. Lavender headed to the recreation room, probably to scorn Mikad, and Jason looked around for something to occupy his time.

After wandering a little, Jason headed into the dining room, where Anne-Marie and Lelina were talking. Lelina looked as though she would rather be anywhere else. She looked at Jason and mouthed help me! Jason shrugged and went to talk to the two.

“…and that is why I- oh, hello, Jason! I was just telling Lelina here about the wonders of believing in something. I feel like it’s very important!” Anne-Marie exclaimed.

“W…why do I get the f…feeling that you and M…Mary would get along very w…well?” Lelina sighed.

“Mary? Who might that be?” Anne-Marie asked.

“Th…The best priestess in the w…world,” Lelina replied. Anne-Marie looked at her with disdain.

“I didn’t mean that kind of belief. Blind faith in something that may or may not be real isn’t good for anything, if you ask me,” Anne-Marie confided. “To be quite honest, I’m not sure how that would count as a talent at all.”

“What was that about blind faith?” Mary, who had overheard their conversation, cam rushing up to them. “I’ll have you know that I’ve enriched the lives of hundreds by leading them to the path of God!”

“Oh, please don’t start talking about religious nonsense again,” Lelina whispered hastily, with none of her usual stutter.

“Enriched?” Anne-Marie asked incredulously. “How? All you’re doing is closing their minds to the world, which is quite the opposite of enrich, if you ask me.” Mary looked outraged.

“You dare!” Mary shouted suddenly, her anger having appeared in a flash. “You dare question me, my practices, and by extension, Him? Who do you think you are to deny God like this?! Atheists like yourself will never understand… People are suffering, and God is helping them alleviate the suffering!”

“The placebo effect is rather powerful, I’ll give you that,” Anne-Marie pointed out, “but it isn’t helping at all.” Mary looked to be on the verge of exploding.

“This is an outrage!” Mary was practically screeching, her voice reaching pitches Jason hadn’t thought possible by a human being. “The placebo effect?! That’s all it is to you? I’ve never met someone so blind before!”

“You’ve never l…looked in a mirror b…before then,” Lelina whispered softly enough so that Mary didn’t hear her. Jason had to supress the urge to laugh.

“All of you are ignorant fools! I can’t believe you would dare utter such accusations! You… You...!” Mary was struggling to find words that suited her anger. “Gaaaaah!” I need to pray for forgiveness,” Mary uttered angrily before storming off to her room.

“This is the second person to have stormed off angrily because of me,” Anne-Marie remarked. “Am I really that ugly?” Lelina looked at her in disbelief, and Jason bit his cheek to stop himself from laughing. “Maybe my breath smells… Are there any mints in the kitchen?” Jason bit down harder, blood starting to trickle. Anne-Marie waltzed into the kitchen in search of breath mints. Finally, once she was out of earshot, Jason started howling in laughter. Lelina chuckling beside him.

“She’s really an odd child,” Lelina commented softly. Her voice was completely different, much softer and kinder than usual. “I… wonder what happened to her, before coming here. She’s startlingly thin for her age, and that hair is more a hindrance than anything else.” Jason looked at Lelina. If this was how she spoke to children, he now understood why they all loved her, and why she was the best babysitter in the world. “Uh… So, y…yeah, I’m going to g… go do… Something I don’t k… know. B… better than wasting t… time here,” Lelina said and excused herself. Jason’s gaze lingered on the kitchen door, wondering how Anne-Marie would fare amongst the nerve-wracked guests and the killer. Sensing he had nothing else to do here, Jason headed to his room. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He collapsed onto his bed and, almost immediately, he fell asleep.