*gasps* why is this down here???

Thank you for your tops and theories! To make up for my sudden lag, I have an extra-long installment for you lovelies. Top!!

Day 12 part 1

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting."

-Unknown

~~~~~

Feline Fantasy woke up with a lemming on her face.

A strange situation to be in, of course, and one that begs the question, "What did she do about it?" to which the answer is, absolutely nothing. Feli quite liked the lemmings, she thought they were cute. And funny. She did have to take action, however, when Qwinn started poking the lemming and it got mad at him. She gently pushed Qwinn away and suggested that they go get breakfast. When the two arrived in the kitchen, they found Firefly and Bean talking quietly as they ate cereal, Kali buzzing about the ceiling with a Poptart in her mouth (the AEs had crumbs raining down on them), and Starlight happily eating a cinnamon roll. Firefly and Bean didn't notice Feli and Qwinn appearing, so Starlight was forced to squeak out a greeting.

"Where are Sam and the rest?" Feli asked.

"We're not sure," Bean replied, having noticed Feli's appearance. "They're usually down here by now."

"I guess I'll just make myself breakfa- AAAAHHH!"

Before Feli could finish her sentence, Jem Louise Margaret emerged from the pantry. Everyone began to shout. Jem Louise wasn't phased. She simply pushed past the panicked guests and started to get breakfast.

Feli finally got over the shock of seeing Jem Louise walk out of the pantry. "Gosh, Jem Louise, you scared- and she's been stabbed already." And indeed she had been.

At that very moment, the six guests heard shouting from upstairs and the sounds of several people coming noisily down the stairs. Feli could distinctly hear Abie wail something about betrayal. This worried her, of course- there was a murderer in their midst and the Mystery to save; betrayal from one of the other staff members could be serious. Little did she know the true dread, horror, and tragedy of what was really afoot.

Sam, Zach, Remi and Abie exploded into the kitchen and didn't seem to notice the five guests or the dead Jem Louise Margaret. Their conversation was too intense. Remi had joined the great Battle of the Bands, but she sided with neither 40s Heavy Metal nor Disdainful Cat. Rather, she came charging into the war having created her own, third army. She boasted the power and beauty of Ruby Angst- an emo band formed by a member of Disdainful Cat who left to pursue her own unique emo dreams. Sam tried frantically to calm the chaos as Zach loudly attempted to imitate 40s heavy metal and Remi waved her phone around dramatically as a song called "Dionysus has Mood Swings" by Ruby Angst played. Abie was shouting at Remi with her hands over her ears, trying to get Remi to see reason.

For a moment, the dust started to settle as Abie sulked in the corner looking at Remi with pain and disgust and Zach stopped screeching.  "I don't understand this argument," Sam grumbled. "Sure, there are certain things I can understand being overly defensive about, but when it comes to your weird music tastes- no, wait, I can understand that completely." Sam sighed. "Here I am trying to be the responsible one… anyways. Where's Jem Louise Margaret?"

"Stabbed," Feli replied shortly. "Just next to the toaster."

"Oh," said Sam. "I guess we could all pitch in to make breakfast- not you guys, Feli and Bean and you all, you were responsible enough to make yourselves breakfast and your reward was watching us fight like a bunch of wild animals. You go have fun while the rest of the staff and I make breakfast."

"Hey, I can make some mean waffles," Zach offered. But when he got to the toaster, he found that Jem Louise Margaret's body was gone. "…Gone? But that- oh no, I knew this would come. I knew Jem Louise was secretly the most devious one of all. We have to act quickly or she might walk away with her soul in one of our bodies. I should interrogate everyone, see if old JLM held a grudge against any of them…"

Remi rolled her eyes. "I'll start on some pancakes." Abie silently went to make some scrambled eggs while Sam started to set the table.

Zach wasn't done yet, however. "…That means this cabin is cursed somehow- we have to rescue the souls of the dead CBers, and definitely before they try to rescue themselves, because we all saw how that turned out, didn't we?"

"No, we didn't," Sam replied breezily. "Didn't you mention your superb waffle making skills, Zach?"

"There isn't any time for waffles," Zach growled.

"Then make the time," Remi said with an eyeroll as she tossed him a box of homestyle Eggos.

While the staff was making breakfast and telling Zach to be quiet, many of the guests started gathering in the living room. Feli, Bean, and Firefly started telling people about the new element to the battle of the bands and Zach's newest signs of insanity. They were also chatting about yesterday and their questions about Sam's discoveries. Luckily, their questions were going to be answered after a hearty breakfast- delicious, except for the half-burnt, half-cold waffles topped with peanut butter and mustard. Dallas seemed to enjoy them, though. 

Zach wasn't done with his madness, though. He had a theory. "Who was Colonel Mustard in Clue yesterday??" he demanded.

"That was me," Sterling said. She wasn't expecting Zach to aggressively grab her by the shoulders, stare into her soul via her eyeballs, and shout at her, but that's what happened. "I KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT," Zach screamed.

"ZACH!" Sam yelled. "Do not scream at the guests!"

Zach took a step back from the confused, frightened Sterling. "I fear for your sanity, small child."

"Okay, everyone, I have some announcements! Look at me and not Zach, because I fear for you and what will happen to you if you look at Zach!" Sam encouraged the guests. Many of them immediately stole glances at Zach, whose eyes were bulging out of his sockets so as to properly stare at all of their souls.

Sam proceeded to explain what they had discovered the previous day about using the power of the Mystery that was already embedded inside of the guests as a weapon against the force. "We'll go and face this thing tomorrow," Sam said confidently. "I'm really excited for you guys. This is going to be great."

"Can you tell us what the force is?" Quill asked.

"I… well no, I can't, because I don't know myself," Sam replied. "I know I said that was my goal, but I don't think that knowledge is going to be the key ingredient to your success." They looked around the room. "Does anyone else have questions? I'm open to them."

"We're not going to use actual weapons? I was promised I could destroy something," Dallas said, disappointed.

"Sorry, Dallas. I knew from the start that this wouldn't be something you all could beat with physical weapons- the Mystery is all about stories and ski lodges and other intangible things. Whatever is attacking it isn't something physical, and we can't fight it that way. Anyone else?" 

Nobody else raised their hand. "Great! We can have a chill day. If anyone wants to go out and explore, Abie and Zach will be taking you." 

Thank you Quill and Silver for the comments and the tops! I'd love a revival of your ski lodge! I loved the concept, the unique setting, your writing style… it may not have lasted long but it was very memorable!

Day 12, part 2

Leafy was looking out of the window, waiting for the rest of the guests who wanted to explore, when she saw something very strange. A kind of strange that she hadn't experienced yet at the cabin. It was the kind of strange that happens when you look out of the window and see an actual and literal volcano near a snowy hill and wonder when the heck it got there, how it can be there, and how you haven't noticed it before- you know, that very relatable kind of strange. This was obviously the kind of strange that you also want everyone to share in, so Leafy looked around for some random person to come stare at the volcano with her. She encountered Bakerloo, Honeybee, and Tumble and decided that they were perfect candidates to do so.

"Hi yes hello you guys are cool would you like to see a volcano of course you would! Follow me!" Leafy said in a single breath. The three looked at each other, shrugged, and followed her. What they did not expect was to see an actual and literal volcano and experience a kind of strange where- you know, I'm just going to fast forward a few minutes when the four guests went to ask a staff member what the heck was happening.

The staff member they first came to was Remi. She's the most logical of the staff, Honeybee reasoned with herself. Surely she'll give us a straight answer.

"The volcano?" Remi said nonchalantly. "Oh, it's been there forever. It likes to pop up on occasion. Don't you worry about it."

"But this is a snowy hill and it's definitely a rather fiery volcano!" Bakerloo said.

Remi chortled. "When have you noticed this cabin having normal, cold snow or being logical?"

"I… that's a decent point," Honeybee said.

"I feel like we should have seen this coming," Bakerloo commented. "We'll have seen just about everything before this vacation is over."

"Watch ooutt!" Tumble squealed as a lemming scurried away from Abcde with her fan club pins in its mouth, Liddy trailing behind Abcde with a frying pan wrapped in her dragonic tail.

"What did I tell you?" Bakerloo said. And thus the mystery of the actual and literal volcano that causes a very particular strange feeling was solved in the most anticlimactic way possible.

Fear not, dear reader! Our guests went to explore a ski lodge set in Mount Olympus, and some lovely shenanigans ensued.

They first had to travel through a strange door to get there. "The world is canonically considered a pocket dimension," Remi explained. "Most ski lodges don't say much about how they fit in with the regular world, but this one did." They were greeted by Greek gods, much to the delight of the mythology and/or Riordan fans. Nox almost screamed with excitement when Artemis offered to show them all to the library. Unfortunately the only book that was written in English was "Hades, God of the Dead". They still had a fun time observing everything, though.

Quill: this is all so cool!

Faith: check out that statue… and that window sill… and the cold cup of tea over there… and this neat rug!!

Dionysus: This carpet got ruined! I can't bear to look at it. What a disgrace.

Artemis: a child was murdered here.

Dionysus: Oh. Right. …But my rug…

Faith: well it's, um, despite the stain thing, and the tragedy, uh… it's a, uh, very nice rug, I mean I'm sure you're very right and that, um, it was better before, and I would have loved to see it in its, er, original state, but uh, I seemed to have left my time machine in my other pants….

Firefly: it was a valiant effort, Faith.

While two of her AEs were having such misadventures, dreamii herself was browsing the books, not to read any, but just to appreciate the beauty of such a library. There was a very grand-looking maroon-colored volume with intricate gold borders that caught her eye. Ever so carefully, she pulled it from the shelf, ran a finger over its glossy spine, and opened it.

The book sprang to life and started singing to her about the dangers of piemonia and wise potatoes who educate people on Death by McDonald's. dreamii squealed, dropped the book, and scurried away in an anxious flurry. 

The other guests soon came to realize that all the other books were just as strange. Spellbound had picked up a volume that yodeled to her about the legendary Double-O-Pie; Honeybee was being lectured about Grieving 101, which consisted of mourning a person for a day then forgetting about them; Nox was being taught about a girl named Maggie and her mission to get to a Fall Out Boy concert or die trying; Leafy was being screamed at about a distressed minigoat named Spice; and Bakerloo was learning about how "Rumor has it that she is an acquaintance of the evil ggggghhfrlghbwEBFLQEHFG2B [FFGF' hjkh;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;"

Strangely enough, all the books spoke or screamed to them in English though they were written in Greek or other ancient languages. This lead to the question of what would happen when the only English book was opened, which Dallas did, to the request and the surprise of no-one. "Hades, God of the Dead" was Hades's journal, this particular section being about a group of his victims who had gone to a ski lodge and had died in strange ways. "There was that dimwit Tiffany who was abducted by a dragon, the girl Lizzy who was murdered with a camera tripod named Maggie (the name of one of the other victims, oddly enough), the murderer himself who simply keeled over from shock, and the girl who was so traumatized by her trip in the Yukarimobile that she perished," Dallas read aloud.

"Isn't that the original ski lodge?" queried Feli.

"It sounds like it," Quill said.

The guests and staff members went back to the cabin soon after that. I'd hate to jinx it, but I don't think the staff members got into any huge argument over their band preferences. It was like a miracle.

Speaking of miracles, they'd need a bit of one for the next day- alongside their knowledge of the Mystery and their own awesomeness. This was the guests' chance to accomplish what they'd come for, to save something built by many people over many years. Their legacy was about to catch up with them.

~~~~~

Dead: 10. Arya, poisoned. Cherry, stabbed. Olive, concussed and stabbed. Moondrop and Lucinda, poisoned by plant. Orson, stabbed. Azalea, grenade. Nerd, stabbed. Grace, shot with a bow and arrow. Morning, crushed.

Stabbings of Jem Louise Margaret: 13.

Suspects: Sterling

References this day: 

Mount Olympus:

http://www.cricketmagkids.com/chatterbox/puddingsplace/node/468325 

Aww, Silver, I'm flattered! I am far from the greatest ski lodge writer, but you've certainly made my night by saying so. 🙂

Minisode #2

What better time to interrupt your regularly scheduled program than at one of the most suspenseful points? In my head, none! And my head is the only head that matters around here, so there!

Today, we will be taking a closer look at the Battle of the Bands. As you know, Zach and Abie began to argue about music preferences when Zach's beloved 40s heavy metal played at Hotel Le'Faye, the place of the genre's origin. (At least, I think so.) Abie subjected the children to Disdainful Cat's "The Ballad of Sonny", and so on and so forth. Until quite recently, Remi had remained neutral, but she has now taken her own side- that of Ruby Angst, a band formed from a member who quit Disdainful Cat. The tensions are high! Let's first do an interview with dear Abie Bailey, shall we?

Me: Abie, you have shown your passion for the punk band Disdainful Cat over the course of the ski lodge. What made you fall in love with this band?

Abie: Oh, everything about them! Their unique playing style, the palpable dynamic between the band members, the evocative lyrics, the sweet sound of the lead singer's voice… I just adore all of it.

Me: How lovely! How did you discover the band?

Abie: Well… that's a bit of an interesting story… let's just say they were recommended to me by a very particular friend of mine who I may or may not have met in prison. But hey, they do have good taste.

Me: I would press further about your mysterious prison friend, but I'm already scared! Thank you for that enlightening interview!

Abie: my pleasure!

Me: Now we will go interview the opposing side, with none other than our own Zach Lamborghini. Zach, could you tell us a bit about the genre of 40s heavy metal?

Zach: 40s heavy metal is a very unique, beautiful and underappreciated form of music that began not in the forties but in the eleventeens. The idea was first conceived by my greatest hero, Julius Geezer Aldo Galaxy Roxanne Goldie Hope Cicada (or Queen Hazel for short), after they dedicated years of their extraordinary life to perfecting the art of transforming the sound of hunks of metal clanging and banging against each other into a form of music. Very few people in this dimension know of it, but in other ones, the beauty of 40s heavy metal is widely popular. I've visited them myself, it's quite beautiful.

Me: How fantabulous! Could you tell me about how 40s heavy metal has changed and evolved over the years?

Zach: Well, the hunks of metal used to just be whatever people could find lying around. They were usually either rusty or part of something that belonged to someone else. Now the technique has been refined; artists use a mix of types and states of metals to create different sounds and experiment with how they sound when they get thrown at each other. It's quite fascinating. 

Me: Thank you, Zach, that was…. enlightening. Now onto the knowledgeable, trustworthy Remi Mazí, who recently joined the scene with her chosen band, Ruby Angst. Remi, what inspired you to enter the battlefield?

Remi: Well, I was determined to stay out of it for a while. I didn't want to fight with these guys- one of the three of us had to be responsible, anyways. But I did make sure to listen to 40s heavy metal and Disdainful Cat, just to see what all their excitement was about. Neither of them struck me as particularly amazing, but I always appreciated the backup singer and bass guitarist of Disdainful Cat. When I heard that they were forming their own band, well, I had to listen. It was… like nothing I've ever heard before. Like if the noisy yet beautiful ambiance of a public park mixed with the salty, calming smell of the sea merged together and became a song. I think it changed my life, honestly.

Me: Quite the story! What makes Ruby Angst so unique, do you think?

Remi: I'd say it has to do with their subtle ways of creating metaphors and calling out the harmful ways of modern society. They won't just scream a message in your face; they'll hide a message within a story within a punk song.

Me: nesting doll messages. Truly beautiful. Now for a few questions with the leader of the bunch and the neutral party of this conflict, our own Sam Crickett. Sam, how do you feel this argument has impacted the dynamic of your staff members?

Sam: They went from having super weird banter to having super weird banter about obscure music. So there's some difference, but not a lot.

Me: Interesting. Have you ever thought about choosing or creating your own side?

Sam: No way! I think the guests are enjoying the crazy band battle- or at least I hope so- but it's not very helpful when it comes to supervising them. I'm the host of the ski lodge and the one in charge- if I took a side or added a fourth party, I'd just be creating all-out chaos. The wrong kind of all-out chaos, I mean.

Me: Good to know! You're quite responsible, Sam. But I have to know… if you could take or create a side, what would it be?

Sam: Well…

Before Sam could answer, the front door was smashed clean off its hinges by two people, one with weird glasses and the other with a ghostly look about them. They promptly dragged Sam out of the cabin, saying something about protecting the youth from weaponized beavers that hide in mailboxes.

Me: Well, there you have it. I hope you learned something today. I certainly did. Remember, don't be scared of the monsters under your bed. Instead, be scared of  freaky murderous robots and evil faceless people who invade your very normal hotel visit to kill you all. Good day to you all. 

Day 13, part 1

"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."

-Margaret Thatcher

~~~~~

Usually in stories that have epic confrontations or battles, there are scenes where everyone is suiting up, or saying something empowering, or whispering something meaningful in the ear of a loved one. There might be some twist, or an attempt to reconcile with the villain. The intensity does its best to smash through the roof.

The thing about the guests confronting the Mystery's attacker is that there was no suiting up; no grand plans to map out; no tangible villain. There were just the guests and the staff members. There was no way to tell how everything would go; they just had to try.

At breakfast, Sam cleared their throat and prepared to say a few things. It was much quieter than usual, and the guests were barely eating anything. "We'll be going in about twenty minutes," they began. "I realize I haven't talked to you very much about the actual logistics of how this is going to go, and for that I apologize. What's going to happen is, I'll do a thingy and we'll all be transported under the cabin and into the place where the Mystery is manifested- meaning all of the guests and me, none of the other staff members. I'll give you any kind of advice or guidance I can, but I won't stick around for long. Remember that you can't fight this with anything physical. It's got to be done using the power of the Mystery. You don't need to do anything special to prepare; just be back in the living room with your game face and your awesomeness in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, the nineteen remaining guests met in the living room. Most of them had their game faces, or were at least trying to have such things. All of them had their awesomeness, since they were all awesome by nature.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked. Their smile gave some of the guests confidence. When they all nodded, Sam- well, no-one was quite sure what exactly Sam did, but one moment they were standing in the living room, and the next they were in a nondescript cave… or tunnel… or cellar…

"W-what is this place?" Starlight asked anxiously.

"The place where the Mystery lives!" Sam beamed. "It's very undefined because, well, so is the Mystery. It's hard to match things like the Mystery with physical spaces."

"Where is the Mystery?" Spellbound asked.

"It's not something that can be seen," Sam replied. "It's all around us- it always is, sure, since we're in a ski lodge and all, but like I've said before, this is where its power is concentrated. A sort of home base for it."

"But if we're not able to see the Mystery, will we be able to see the thing attacking it? How can we destroy something we can't see?" Bakerloo questioned.

"True, you won't be able to see the force, but you will be able to feel it. And that's all you'll need to be able to destroy it!" Sam looked around themselves. "Okay, I don't have much more time to be here with you all. I promise you, this is going to be okay, and you will do wonderfully. Does anyone have any other questions?" Sam's own certainty and confident demeanor faltered at the sight of the guests' anxious expressions. But they couldn't let the guests see that.

"You didn't think to tell us all of this stuff before we were in a weird creepy cave or tunnel or whatever, just about to destroy a freaking scary unknown thing in a way we don't know?" Dallas asked, trying to mask his fear with anger. It sort of worked.

"No, I didn't, and I'm sorry about that."

"Okay, but like, how are we actually going to attack this thing?? I get that we can't use our fists and stuff, but how are we supposed to use the Mystery?" Leafy shouted.

"I know it's hard to understand, but you won't be able to use anything. It's not like you can raise your hands or say some special words to call upon your powers or whatever. I guess it's like… the Mystery will be working through you."

"What does that even mean?" Leafy asked, her voice pitching an octave higher than usual.

But there was no response. Sam had gone. The guests were on their own.