Oh no, poor Holly! I can't wait to read more of this, it's so good. Here's Bean's sheet, sorry it's a little late!

Name: Caribbean

Nickname: Bean

Pronouns: she/her

Appearance: Curly mocha-brown hair that reaches my shoulders, tanned skin, my eyes shift somewhere between hazel and violet.

What Ability Do You Think You Have: Energist or Healer.

What Ability Do You Want To Have: Probably Elemental.

Do You Like Surprises: Yes!

Are You One Who Would Go For a Strange Hairstyle: Probably not.

Favorite Color Combination: Blue and white.

5 Adjectives That Describe You: Calm, mature, friendly, chill, kind.

5 Adjectives That Describe Your Best Friend: Shy, quiet, bookish, introverted, anxious.

Does Your Best Friend Ever Take the Shape of a Snake: No, definitely not.

Do You Like The Color Black? If So, Why: Not particularly.

Do You Like Enlarged Beasts Like Giant Lions: Possibly?

Would You Live In a House With a Personality: Yes, that sounds quite nice!

Would You Be Able To Wear An Eyepatch For Days On End: I don't think so.

Day or Night: Day

Light or Darkness: Light

Do or Die: Do

Do You Like Photography: Yes

Top Three of Your Most Favorite, Obscure Hobbies: Painting my nails, journaling, organizing.

Does The World Bend At Your Will: No

What Do You Think Of Sappy Conversations: I think they're good for you.

Can You Remember Your Dreams: Sometimes!

Favorite Quote You Caught a Friend Saying: "I didn't burn down the kitchen"

Preferred Way of Dying: Peacefully? Not knowing it's coming, I guess.

Favorite Number: I'll say fifteen.

Favorite Time of Day: Sunrise

Do You Appreciate Verb Tenses: Sure!

Drawing or Writing: Writing

Dream Job: Musician

Okay, Are You Tired of These Questions: Not really!

If You Said Yes, Too Bad Because There's One More: Okay.

Letter Your Real Name Begins With: C

Okay, I'm Done: Lovely.

Now I'm Done For Real: Are you?

Sike!: No, I didn't think so.

Alright, Ellith Says I Have To Stop Before You Give Up On This Thing: Alright!

And The Disclaimer: Do You Agree To Say That Arcady And His Associates Will Bear No Responsibility Caused By This Wunderous Situation: I agree.

Arcady, are you Rainbow Riot? 

 

Greetings again! It is time for Day 1 to begin! 

 

And to Quill, Bean just arrived at the Not-Mansion today. She is, erm, safe at the moment. Not to happy about sleeping in Holly's old room, because of, well, you know. I am not Rainbow Riot, but good guess!  

 

Day 1 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goodness, Dreamii was tired. Something had woken her up in the night – a thunk from Holly's room. She hadn't been able to go back to bed until late that night.

 Dreamii intended to storm right into Holly's room and ask why she was galluphing around in the middle of the night. She did not want to deal with interruptions for the rest of the trip. 

So Dreamii did stomp over to Holly's room. She shoved the door, but it won't budge. 

"Holly! Open the door!" She shouted, shaking the door knob. No luck. Rolling her eyes, Dreamii went back to her room. She sat down on her bed, opened her suitcase, and pulled out a hairpin. Perfect. If Holly wouldn't open her door, Dreamii would. 

"I'm coming in!" Dreamii shouted as she urged her hairpin into the lock. Rattle Rattle Rattle Chink! It took a few tries, but Dreamii still got the door open. 

She wished she never had. 

As we know, Holly was dead. The murderer had come in the night before to kill her. A large gash on Holly's head told the whole story.

"Oh no!" Dreamii gasped, shutting the door. She now realized that the thunk had not been Holly at all. It had been the murderer. The murderer. There was a murderer. 

———————————

At breakfast that morning, Dreamii informed everyone about the first victim. Nobody was more shocked than Arcady. 

"That can't be! I…I…I thought. They were…they weren't supposed to. The council said…" 

The guests watched Arcady as he blathered. It seemed that Arcady knew something about the murderer that he wasn't revealing. Did he knowingly admit a criminal into the Not Mansion? 

Ellith glared at Arcady, eyes wide as if communicating some secret message. 

Arcady stopped talking. For exactly 3.34 seconds. 

"Well, alright then. We will have to have her body moved. A funeral will have to be arranged. That is right Ellith? Will you-?" 

"Yes. Already on it." 

"Good, good." Arcady commented. He was fidgeting with his tie an awful lot. Rainbow Riot wondered if that could be his tell. 

"Will you also tell the-" Arcady suddenly burst. 

"Yes. Already on that as well." 

"Okay then because you know Carribean-" Arcady then continued.

"Arcady, I know a lot more than you think I do!" Ellith shouted, tired of Arcady's questions. 

The guests, on the other hand, were not as well informed as Ellith. Bean? Was she coming? Everyone turned their looks from Arcady to Quill. Quill looked sick to their stomach. She raised their hand. 

"Arcady is she…she isn't sleeping…" She paused here, gulping in some air. "She isn't sleeping in Holly's old room is she?" 

Arcady sighed. "I knew there would be problems with that." He mumbled, now pacing the length of the Dining Hall. Notty was lowering and closing the windows as he walked past them, startling a good amount of the guests out of their chairs. "But yes. She is. Don't worry, it will be thoroughly cleaned. And to the rest of you who didn't know about Carribean coming to stay with us, well, Carribean is coming to stay with us!" 

Quill seemed like she might faint. 

Even with the news of a new guest, the room wasn't in a cheerful mode. The murderer had attacked on Day 0. What did that mean for them? 

The murderer, on the other hand, was fuming. They had murdered their first guest and then another one came around to replace them? They had worked so hard! 

The murderer then shook their head, a motion so small it was undetectable by the other guests. The voice – the thing controlling them – it was speaking over them again. Little by little that voice was growing stronger, and little by little the murderer themself was growing weaker. 

And that only meant that when the voice told the murderer to start plotting, they obeyed in even less time than before. 

Arcady glanced around the table nervously. He had to do something. He had to keep his students entertained. They couldn't think about the murderer. It would only hurt them. And oh, he could only see they were already being damaged. There was no time for a tour now. Lessons had to begin immediately. Before it was too late.
Late! Bean was late! Where was she? Oh dear. Poor Arcady forgot to go pick her up. That ment that he would have to do it the quick way. The guests were sure not to like this. Wincing, Arcady envisioned Beans' home – then her room – and then, in that room, her. He saw her standing up and pacing the floor. Then, he imagined sticking a large hand into the room. In his mind, the hand appeared. Finally, he made the hand grab Bean, and bring her to the Dining Hall. 

Crash! The guests looked up at the ceiling in surprise. The crash had all startled them into looking up. Arcady sighed. This wasn't good. He didn't want them to look up. It was quite dangerous

"Shield your eyes!" He screamed, only just before a giant hole appeared above the dining table. Through that hole came a shell-shocked wide-eyed Bean that was tumbling toward the guests at a dangerous spread.  

"Opal! Stick your hands out and force her to slow down!" Arcady cried. 

What? Opal didn't know why in the world Arcady thought she could slow Bean down, but it was too dangerous a time to protest. Bean had mere seconds before she crashed down on the table. She had to try something. 

Opal closed her eyes tight and thrust her hands toward Bean's falling body. She thought about making a big cushion underneath Bean. Enough to let her land safely. Without her mind knowing, her hands started to buzz and vibrate. They moved in a motion that can only be described as mime squishing, seeming to be fluffing an invisible pillow. 

The air grew warmer as Opal kept imagining. Or now, I see it is much more appropriate to call it envisioning. For in front of Opal, right beneath Bean, was a humming, yellow tinged cube of electrified air. 

The guests gasped. What was Opal doing? It seemed this…this thing would be more likely to kill Bean than to save her! 

The rest of the table was wrong. Bean fell shockingly fast through the edge of the cube – faster than she had been falling before, but once she wasn't touching the cubes border, she stopped moving all together. Bean became immobile, frozen in a cube void of energy.

That is correct. Opal, unknowingly, had summoned her powers as an Energist. 

Arcady began applauding. "Wonderful job Opal! I have never seen such a successful first knacking!" 

Slowly, the rest of the table began clapping. Well, all but Alexander. He was too busy shooting rubber bands at people under the table. That likely explains why Rainbow Riot continuously winced as she applauded Opal. It is quite a curse to sit across from Alexander. 

The whole group of guests now saw that they were much more powerful than they had ever imagined. With magic at their hands, they felt as if they could accomplish anything. 

The murderer smiled, grimaced, and then realized that everyone was smiling and decided to keep on doing so. A wonderful idea had just occurred to them. A horrible idea. A horrible, wonderful idea.  

————————————-

After breakfast had finished (and after Opal figured out how to get Bean out of her cube), Arcady instantly started doing…something. He kept pointing at different guests, mumbling under his breath as he did so. This on its own was strange, but when the participants kept rising in the air when pointed to, it became a much odder situation.

 The first to rise into the air was Silver Crystal. She gasped as she ascended upward, looking down toward the rest of the party in disbelief. 

Fortunately, she wasn't floating for very long. Arcady soon sat her down in front of a bright green door. Silver was certain it hadn't been there before. 

Next, LG began to rise. She landed in front of a dark red door. Sliver, this time, was sure she had seen it appear just as LG landed. 

This, shall I say phenomenon, continued to occur until each and every guest was infront of different colored doors, two people for each door. Silver (now standing with Writing as well)was at the green door, as we know. Bean and Opal were staring at a bright blue door. It was so bright, in fact, that it was almost white. Gillian and Raynee were gazing at a purple door. Skip and LG had landed at a dark red door. Oil and Dreamii's door was black. Riot and Quill's door was sunshine yellow. And finally, a white door sat in front of Jaybells and Them3sticw0lf. 

Each guest, too drawn to the doors, forgot to even question Arcady. Arcady smilied. This meant he had solved it. Now all he had to do was hope…

The doors, as if on some kind of timer, all opened simultaneously in front of the participants' eyes. A gust of wind thrust out the door, knocking everyone back a few steps. Then, they appeared.

Now, I am sure you are wondering who they are. That is quite a good thing to wonder about, since it is a vital part in the story. But let me tell you, it is not an easy thing to explain. They looked different to each Cber or AE. For example, when LG saw them, she saw a short, stout, graying 50-year-old lady. Skip, look at the same one of them that LG was, saw a towering, stern looking woman with dark auburn hair and a severely pointed chin. 

Even Arcady himself couldn't explain how they did it. It was one of the mysteries of The Council. 

Yes, the guests had finally met The Council of Phenomenal Occurrences. They had also met their teachers. 

"And here," Arcady announced with great bravado, "Are the masters, the great informers, the Council of Phenomenal Occurrences!" 

For once, he wasn't offended when none of the participants didn't respond. He remembered what he did when he met The Council. Arcady cringed. That wasn't a good thing to think about now. 

"The Council has so graciously offered to be your teachers for this semester. You will be working in pairs with one of the Members to learn your ability. Your classes will begin…"

Arcady paused, checking his watch. One, two, three, "Now!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Murders: 1; Hollyshock; Knocked on the Head with a Wrench

 

Suspects: Skip, … (any others?) 

 

I loved hearing the theories on Holly's murder! I will say that the murderer's map was purposly made to gain quicker access to all rooms, even the ones they are right next to. So, don't rule Dreamii off yet!

 

Wait wait wait I just spotted this thread is this based off of the Nevermoor series??? I thought I was the only one who's read it! (Great idea to turn it into a ski lodge, btw) 

Hello again everyone! Here is the next installment! 

Day 1, Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The guests were suddenly sucked into their doors by a suction-like grasp. It was like a gust of wind, but backwards. Nobody could quite figure out what had happened, as it blinded their senses temporarily. A minute passed before the world came into view again. 

"Wh…Where are we?" Bean asked cautiously, finding her instructor; a 40 year old man with wild brown hair (to her of course, we know the Council members look different to everyone); in the new, stark white room. Bean was still utterly confused about this whole 'magic' affair, just recently being unfrozen from an Electrical Cube of Air. She herself couldn't quite believe it. 

"We are…Here!" The instructor answered with a grin. 

Opal sighed. She wasn't a fan of these riddle-y people. What Opal didn't know was that the man wasn't fooling at all. In fact, the name of the room was Here.  

"This room is meant to be an in between of sorts, a transition. It's name is Here." The man explained. 

"Where is here?" Opal asked, "You aren't pointing to anything."

"Oh but that is just it! Here is here! Here is this very room!" 

Opal rubbed her head in defeat.The man, apparently, wasn't going to give in. 

"Now, you two should know my name, don't you think?" the man inquired. 

Bean and Opal looked at each other. Neither of them were sure what to think of this man; he was quite…odd; but they agreed nonetheless. This was why they were here after all. 

"You can call me Bolt. I know the Council says everyone should address me as 'Councillor Bolt', but that is much too formal in my opinion. Just Bolt please." 

"Okay…" Bean answered. 

"Okay indeed!" Bolt responded. "Now, Caribbean, I believe, let me go ahead and tell you, you are an Elemental. My good friend Arcady seemed to have forgotten to tell you. Alright then, are you ready to go to the training room?" 

Bolt was moving a little fast for both Opal and Bean, but they nodded their heads slowly, eyeing each other behind Bolt's back. No telling what training would be like. 

In another Sphere of Here, Riot and Quill were looking up to a very different teacher. To Quill, there was a tall, 30 year old woman with pitch black hair and dark brown eyes that were on the verge of blackness, too. Riot saw a plump gray-haired grandmotherly figure with a rather sour expression on her face, as if she was displeased to be there.

"Ah. Welcome." The woman said, quickly glancing at Riot and Quill. 

"The name is Summer. Are you ready for training?" 

Riot and Quill shot each other suspicious glances. This lady, to both of them, didn't look a thing like anyone named Summer would. Quill wouldn't be surprised if her name had been Gothic, and Riot thought it was more likely she would outright tell them to call her Granny. 

"Are you ready for training?" 

Summer or not, this trainer didn't have much patience. Quill and Riot hurried along into their training room before Summer's mode got worse. 

Throughout the Not-Mansion, guests were meeting stranger and stranger teachers. Skip and LG's teacher, Mendi, turned out to be a paranoid yet friendly figure who tended to pace quite rapidly when there was a problem. Skip and LG found out rather quickly that she was also supremely strict. And loud. Really loud. 

Writing and Silver found themselves facing Instructor Amina, a wildly eccentric teacher who often got lost in their own thoughts and had to be prodded multiple times by Silver to stay focused. To both Writing and Silver, Amina's hair cut was wonky and daring: Writing saw bangs, a pig tails, and a braid all on one head while Silver saw long flowing hair tied into a multitude of ponytails. 

Oil and Dreamii's teacher was difficult to see to both of them – he was wearing a dark cloak that covered most of his face so that only his mouth was visible. His voice was quiet, but deep and full of power. Oil and Dreamii woud never admit it, but they were slightly intimidated by him. His name, they found out, was Mare. They both thought he was named after a mare horse. It was probably a good thing they didn't truly learn what he was named after. 

And finally, Gilly and Raynee's instructor, likely the strangest of them all (meaning he seemed…do I dare say normal?), introduced himself. His name, or what he insisted Gilly and Raynee call him, was MM. What neither Gilly or Raynee realized though, was that his appearance, unlike the other members of the council, was the same to both of them. He had golden-blond bangs of hair that flopped into his face with a kind, almost forlorn smile and pink cheeks. He seemed pleasant enough, but Raynee recognized a hidden, fleeting darkness that ever so casually crept over his face during his introduction. 

Now, I shall assure you that each guest is just now entering their training rooms, feeling shimmering, raw, Wunder in the air for the very first time. But it is necessary to point out something that our murderer is experiencing that is much different from the other participants. The murderer felt a sharp, burning tug when they entered the room. Instead of embracing the power, they wanted to back away, hide in the Here again. They noticed a faint, shimmering dust gathering on their skin as they desperately struggled to feel calm. What was happening to them? 

The murderer quickly excused themselves to go to the restroom (the door magically appeared – one of Notty's favorite tricks, the murderer guessed) and vigorously threw the door open. Resting their head on the sink and splashing water onto it with the other hand, they tried to ease the burning sensation. Water didn't help. The flame inside them was still torching them from the inside out. 

Suddenly, the voice – the little murderous voice in their head spoke. 

It is your true power. 

Their true power? What was that supposed to mean? Seeming to hear their question, the voice answered. 

Wundersmith. 

The murderer knocked their chin on the sink, they were so startled. They weren't supposed to be a Wundersmith. That was not what Arcady had told them – what did that mean?

The burning feeling only got stronger at the realization of the murderer's real knack, flaring up so that it felt as if the murderer's throat was on fire. 

Relinquish it. 

But how? the murderer wondered desperately, I don't know how!

The voice inside their head mumbled an indecipherable message to the murderer at that question, doing nothing but aggravating them. They felt as if they were going to explode into flames.

And then it clicked. Something in the back of the murderer's mind fell into place, and they started humming a tune that they themself didn't recognize. 

Little crowling, little crowling, with button black eyes,

The voice was singing through the murderer now, the golden dust now gathering at their hands. 

Swoops down into the meadows, where the rabbits all hide." 

Swarms of the golden powder were now dancing around the murderers hands, begging to be commanded. 

Little rabbit, little rabbit, stay by Mother's side.

The murderer's hands started moving in unrecognizable patterns, the dust bending at their will. 

Or the little crowling, little crowling, will peck out your eyes."

At the last note of the song, a vision of Raynee flew into the murderer's head. It was an exact portrait of what she was doing at that moment, learning about meanings of colors from her teacher, (strange lesson, the murderer thought). The image then zoomed in so that the murderer could only see Raynee's head, blocking out the rest of the vision. The murderer, knowing what they had to do, then shot the burning inside their chest into the vision, straight at Raynee. 

Right as Raynee was describing the calm, sad feelings of the color blue to her instructor, the ground beneath her started to warm. The floor beneath her lit up in a brilliant burst of white, hot heat. The burning flame swallowed Raynee up in its billowing tendrils, sending sparks flying.

It is safe to say that Raynee was no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dead: 2: Hollyshock, (Let's just say bludgened – it's shorter), Raynee (burned)

Suspects: Skip, Any more? 

Currently Ruled Out: Bean, Dreamii, Opal 

 

Ah, and I must add, IF YOU KNOW THIS POEM, PLEASE DO NOT SAY WHERE IT IS FROM! Okay, that was a bit loud, but it is quite important. You will soon learn why 😉 

dear goodness. i seem to have forgotten to fill out the form. my bad. [tmw here, btw :D]

Name: aislynnlynx

Nickname (If no nickname, leave this space blank): i have multiple, actually. you are permitted to call me lynn, lynnie, or lynx, although i prefer lynx.  

Pronouns: she/they. 

Appearance: hmm. i have black shimmering hair [posing somewhat of a resemblance to a raven's feather] with purple eyes. i have pale skin, and wear a wolf mask. i wear a black cloak, and black hunting boots, as well as carry a bow and a quiver of arrows. that's all you need to know. 

What Ability Do You Think You Have?: telepath or shadowseer. why? *laughing* because, you see, dear friend, i am able to read people quite well- telepathy of some sort. shadow-seer? i reside in the darkness. [im serious. my room has led lights and a lamp, but the lamp is never turned on and the led lights are only in a soft shade of purple or blue.] 

What Ability Do You Want To Have?: a wundersmith would sound wonderful, but too much of a burden. i'd say telepathy- quite useful indeed. 

Do You Like Surprises?: if they are the good kind, i suppose so. 

Are You One Who Would Go For A Strange Hairstyle?: heavens, no. i prefer life simple. 

Favorite Color Combination: ah, the old question. i like indigo and blue together, although black and gold look simply superb as well. 

5 Adjectives That Describe You: elegant. somewhat mysterious. somehow childish? bipolar. strange. 

5 Adjectives That Describe Your Best Friend: hyperactive. artsy. childish. cheerful. hmm, chaotic. 

Does Your Best Friend Ever Take The Shape Of A Snake?: why, of course. i have two best friends. one is a snake, dear friend. 

Do You Like The Color Black? If So, Why?: yes. why? is that even a question? it's dark. i like dark. 

Do You Like Enlarged Beasts Like Giant Lions?: of course! they're lovely. 

Would You Live In A House With A Personality (The answer is yes): of course! a house with no personality is rather bland. 

Would You Be Able To Wear An Eye-Patch For Days On End: i've lived in one for two months as a dare. 

Day or Night?: night. 

Light or Darkness?: darkness

Do or Die? (Please answer do – We can not except dead candidates): *large sigh* do, i suppose. perhaps in an alternate universe i would have chosen die. 

Do you like photography?: not particularily. 

Top Three Of Your Most Favorite, Obscure Hobbies (The obscurer, the better): obscure, you say..very well then. being mysterious. creating water mist. and…yelling at small children. *sigh* 

Does The World Bend At Your Will?: why shouldn't it? 

What Do You Think Of Sappy Conversations?: ugh. romance is much too overrated. and sappiness…no. just no. 

Can You Remember Your Dreams?: i live in a daydream. 

Favorite Quote You Caught A Friend Saying: hmm. "WE DIDN'T START THE FIREEE IT WAS ALWAYS BURNING SINCE THE WORLD'S BEEN TURNINGGG!" 

Preferred Way Of Dying (Being a hero is not an option. We can not always provide hero-required scenarios at the time of death. Oh, and dying of old age doesn't count either. Because, well, we haven't made aging rays yet.): *large sigh* i would prefer to die being a villain. 

Favorite Number: 13. lucky numbers are overrated/ 

Favorite Time Of Day: midnight. it's peaceful and you can see the stars. 

Do You Appreciate Verb Tenses?: do i appreciate grammar? [the answer is no.] 

Drawing Or Writing?: drawing. 

Dream Job: either being a minecraft developer or a youtuber. [*sigh* the other ones are farrr too complicated.] 

Okay, Are You Tired Of These Questions?: no. 

If You Said Yes, Than To Bad Because There Is One More: i didn't say yes. i said no. 

Letter Your Real Name Begins With: sorry, that's classified information. 

Okay, I'm Done: nOOO- *ahem* that's fine. 

Now I'm Done For Real: aAAAh- *coughs* very well then. 

Sike!: yEE- *coughs again* ah, alright. 

Alright, Ellith Says I Have To Stop Before You Give Up On This Thing: nOOOOO- *draws self up regally* very well then. 

And The Disclaimer: Do You Agree To Say That Arcady And His Associates Will Bear No Responsibility Caused By This Wunderous (Pun Intended) Situation?: hmm. i suppose so. in multiple alternate realities i am already dead. so it wouldn't cause all that much trouble. 

 

Hello again everyone! And to TMW/Lynx, thank you for posting your form! I will be sure to utelize it in the next installment!  

~~~~~~~~~~

Day 1, Part 2

The murderer hadn't realized they had set Raynee on fire until dinner that night. Gilly had walked into the room (yes, walked, Notty had taken mercy on the guests that night) with red, puffy eyes and a tissue in hand, and the guest immediately realized what had happened. Still, they asked for the details, wanting to know what the murderer's strategy might be. 

Really though, the murderer didn't have a strategy. They had a voice in their head literally singing them instructions. The murderer was getting quite annoyed, to be frank.

Arcady announced that there would be a funeral for Raynee later. The guests didn't miss how he never specified exactly how much later, but they went along with him anyway. They were all too worn out from their day of lessons to be that concerned about when the funeral took place. 

The group ate in silence for awhile, mourning Raynee and trying to unnoticably close their eyes. Seeing the sorry state of the guests, Alexander, Arcady's Nephew, decided to have some fun. 'Liven things up' as he liked to think. Nobody knew that he actually had a knack, so this was sure to be entertaining. 

Gathering his thoughts, Alexander thought up a plan. It was a beautiful plan, if he did say so himself. Any plan with as many paper airplanes as his couldn't be bad. Smiling to himself, Alexander opened his mind to the rest of the guests and thought one, clear message.

Stand up. 

The guests all stood up on cue, standing straight as staffs at their space at the table. Alexander chuckled, musing at the expressions on the participants' faces. 

Grab your napkins.

Everyone bent to pick up their napkins, returning to the ram-rod position they had been in moments before. Alexander grinned. His plan was working perfectly. But wait – was Rainbow holding the table cloth? Darn – he mustn't have been clear enough. 

Focusing on Riot's mind particularly, he repeated the phrase. 

Grab your napkin. 

A little less precisely than Alexander had wished, Riot eventually grabbed the napkin. Now, all Alexander had to do was tell them how to fold. As daunting as the task was, Alexander still knew he could do it. He had been able to mesmerise three members of Wunsoc, his school. If he could do that, he could do this.

Alexander shut his eyes tight and imagined himself folding a paper airplane. He was an expert at airplanes, so the steps came to him in a flash. He did his very best to send a clear image into the participants' minds, using less words than his previous message. All he had to do now was hope it worked.

Slowly, and much more clumsily than before, the guests started folding their napkins, paper, thankfully, into clean paper airplanes. Some, Alexander was reluctant to admit, were more balls of crush than plane, but it was still a success in his mind. Just one more thing. 

Throw!

Alexander immediately disconnected his mind after the command, wanting to see the guests' true reactions. And what a reaction it was. Most of the participants were dazed and confused, as expected, but a good amount were acting unusually. And as you can tell, Alexander is quite unusual himself, so, in other words, they were acting extremely unusual. 

Silver, the first one Alexander noticed, had somehow kept the image of the plane in her head and had transformed into a sheet of paper without being able to stop herself. It was a good thing Jaybells grabbed her, or else she would have fallen on the floor and been trampled for sure. 

Bean's mind had gotten stuck on the command to throw, and had accidentally sent a gust of swirling wind across the room (Adding to the danger for Silver). All of the successful airplanes were now caught in a miniature tornado over the dining table. 

Writing had arisen to think they had somehow caused the mess, being an animator, and was trying to bring the planes back to the ground. Unfortunately, the net she had harnessed from her imagination landed on Dreamii instead of the planes. 

Riot, the fastest guest to recover, was trying to burn the planes with sunlight, but her slight missaim led to a scorching hole in the wall. Notty was angered by this, and started firing arrows out of the wall at Riot, at least successfully knocking down a few planes. 

Alexander smiled. He had done his job. 

"QUIET! ALL QUIET ON THE NORTHERN FRONT!" Arcady shouted over the tornado's winds. 

The CBers and AEs froze (Riot safely ducked under a table) and looked at Arcady. Even the wind seemed to slow down. 

"Bean, will you please try calming the wind?" 

Bean took a deep breath, inhaling the storm. Now, there was as close to a tone of silence as possible, for Notty was still shooting arrows and Arcady knew better than to yell at them. 

"Okay, Silver, can you turn back into a human?"  Arcady asked

Silver's paper form shuffled, and her human form returned. 

"And Dreamii? Can you get out of that net?" 

Dreamii hopped over to the table, grabbed a knife, and cut herself free. 

"Yep." 

"Alright then, now, ALEXANDER!" 

Everyone turned to face Alexander. The grin on his face told the whole story. Alexander had no shame. 

"Yes, Uncle?" Alexander asked innocently. 

"I told you to NEVER use your knack on the guests! It is DANGEROUS! Look what happened here!" Arcady gestured around the Dinning Hall, now in an utter state of chaos. 

Alexander cocked his head as if he couldn't see anything. 

"What? Nobody is injured." Alexander answered. 

With a deep sigh, Arcady pointed to the exit, currently blocked with a current rack that had gotten dislodged during the storms. Shrugging, Alexander moved the rack, saluted to the guests, and left with a bow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, Notty worked away at the wrecked Dining Hall, using their best possible skills to rework the room. It was difficult and laborious work, but Notty still accomplished it anyway. They decided the Dining hall would only contain cloth napkins from now on. Still fuming with Alexander, Notty quickly located his room and made his bed disappear. The thunk was enough satisfaction in itself. If a house could have smiled, Notty would have. 

The murderer was also in a pleasant mood, knowing they didn't have to kill anyone that night. Maybe the voice would just…disappear. They doubted it, but they still tried to think there might be a chance. And maybe, with their normal senses back, they could prevent themselves from further murders! 

The world dark and Notty busy causing pain to Alexander, the murderer walked over to their luggage case, trying to attempt something that had never been done before – to stop. Searching through the suitcase, the murderer picked out all the things that they considered could possibly be a weapon. The wrench (which, on second thought, they really should have gotten rid of beforehand), a blade with serrated edges, a particularly dangerous looking protractor, a pallet knife, a bowling ball, and a hammer.   

The murderer was utterly confused as to why they had painting equipment and a bowling ball in their luggage, but they were moving too fast to care. They hurriedly put the oddments into a sack and left the room. 

The murderer had been in such a rush, they forgot that they could have used their map to travel. It would have been so much easier than to carry all the weapons in a bag around the Not-Mansion, but it was too late to turn back. The murderer had to move. Where they were going, they didn't know. All they knew was that it had to be far, far away from their own room. 

But what the murderer didn't know was that on their trek across the Not-Mansion, they had awoken a guest. Jaybells had heard the uneasy sound of footsteps from outside of their door, and had gotten up to follow them. Jaybells was staying quiet, never revealing to the murderer that they were in their tracks, waiting to catch a glimpse of the murderer's face. It was so dark in the mansion, however, they could only see the silhouette of the figure and hear the bag on their back going thump, thump, thump. 

Once the murderer thought they were a sufficient distance away from where they had begun, they stopped walking and flung their sack on the ground. Jaybells thought this was not a very cautious thing to do, but then realized that not one bedroom door was nearby. Jaybells had left their's a good few hallways back. With a shiver, Jaybells realized that there was no way they could make it back to their room now. And if the murderer turned around, they would for sure see them. Jaybells had to hide. 

While Jaybells searched for a particularly dark shadow to place themselves in, the murderer looked for a window. A big window, preferably. They wanted to be able to dump the whole bag out in one shot. They had just found one and were edging it open when they heard a noise from behind them. And it wasn't just Notty groaning from insomnia – it was a sneeze. A very distinctly human sneeze. 

The murderer turned around slowly, bag in hand and spotted what they had feared most. Another guest. Jaybells. 

"It's you." Jaybells proclaimed, shocked and horrified.

"I never thought it would be you." 

The murderer shook their head and responded in a solemn, deep tone that Jaybells found odd coming from a criminal. 

"I…I never thought it would be me either." The murderer answered. "I don't want to do this."

"Then don't!" Jaybells cried. 

"But I have to." The murderer answered. "I…I must." 

The voice that had been nagging the murderer so long was starting to arise again. The murderer reached for their sack. 

"No…" Jaybells moaned. 

The voice commanded the murderer not to respond. It commanded them to, like with Holly, let all emotions leave their body. If they could feel, they would be useless. The murderer grabbed the bowling ball out of the bag and strained their arms to lift it over their head. 

Jaybells tried to run, but the murderer stomped on Jaybell's feet before they could move. Then, as fast as they could, the murderer dropped the bowling ball onto Jaybells' head. 

And for good measure, stabbed them with the blade. 

The murderer looked around, and tied the bag back up quickly. They glanced at the window, and then back down the hallway they had come. They ran back down the hallway with their weapons in tow.

Dear readers, I am so sorry for the delay on this next section. My life has been very demanding lately (I would tell you what, but, I am supposed to be an adult in this story, and therefore I shall remain silent). I will try to get the next part out this weekend, hopefully, but if I can't I sincerly apologize. Thank you so much for staying with me! 

Ah! Day 2 is here! I yet again apologize for the long wait, dear readers! 

Day 2 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The murderer woke up with the burning pain inside their chest again, and now it was worse than ever. The heat was blistering. Something must be done. 

The murderer wandered over to the window overlooking their room and tried to breathe. To their surprise their breath was not made of air, but fire. 

Inferno

That voice was in their head again. But the word inferno…it must mean something. 

The first Wunderous Art.

Even with their dim knowledge of the Wunderous world, the murderer could guess that that meant Inferno was something a Wundersmith would use. 

And apparently, they were Wundersmith. 

One with a taste for fire. 

Shaking their head in disbelief, the murderer turned away from the window and set back to normal morning routines. Oh, how they hoped they could be normal again. 

That was, in fact, an impossibility. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AHHHHH!" LG's screech could have been heard from miles aways. As a matter of fact, one bewildered farmer far off in the countryside heard her that day, and has since been wondering why he ever got a pair of hearing aids. Riot screamed herself, at the noise. 

"What! What! What is happening-wait ohh…." Riot's expression immediately changed from that of anger to that of discomfort. In front of LG – in the very hallway in front of the Dining Hall – was Jaybell's body. 

"No…not another one…" 

"Oh gosh there is blood on the floor…" LG whimpered. 

Riot felt sick at the sight of the body. She didn't like the giant dent in Jaybell's head or the dagger in her back. It was all so awful. But wait – what if…"You're a Healer!" Riot shouted to LG." Is she still alive?"

LG perked up quickly, running over to Jaybells to place two fingers on her neck. 

"No."

Riot's expression fell, and she knew breakfast that morning was not going to be a pleasant one. 

For the most part, she was right. At the announcement of Jaybells' death, the table was saddened instantly. It was a quiet meal. Until the pie fell from the ceiling. 

"Gah!" Writing cried in the middle of a forkful of eggs. "What was that?" They looked across the table to see a glaring, pie splatted Opal.

"Ergh…" Opal growled. " I. Don't. Like. Flying. PIE!" 

Opal was furious. She was in a bad mood already from Skip's late night snoring, and the pie made it all that much worse. 

She picked up a stack of pancakes, and flung one at Writing. 

"Hey!" 

And so forth, a food fight broke out. Writing and Opal both formed teams. Opal had sided with Bean, Gilly, Dreamii, and Riot while Writing took Silver, Quill, LG, Oil, and Skip. Lynx refused to be on either team and stood on the table throwing waffles at either side for the entire battle. Alexander snuck around under the table and sneak-attacked people with globs of whipped cream. Ellith fled at the first sight of a battle, and Arcady disappeared in thin air.

It was officially a food fight. Quill, Oil, and Silver worked together to build a miniature biscuit catapult, and pumuled Bean and Dreamii until they were forced to retreat under the table. Then Quill was smacked with a waffle on the back of her head, and found a wild-eyed Lynx grinning at her from the table. Lynx was neck to get biscuit-ed. 

Writing and Opal faced off one on one, full on pancakes versus eggs. Writing got so sticky from the pancakes' syrup, the fork they were holding got stuck in their hand. Opal soon backed away when Writing started waving her fork hand around. It was a good thing too, because the fork eventually came loose and lodged itself in the wall. 

Skip considered the whole thing to be an utter time waste, and tried to leave the room. Unfortunately for her, Alexander whip-creamed her face as she turned to go. Of course, Skip now had to stay and defeat him. Alexander and Skip soon were engaged in a feisty food battle that everyone in the room noticeably avoided going near to. 

LG, Gilly, and Riot just stuck to the old fashioned method of simply throwing food, and honestly, they were the most successful out of all the fighters. Each was thoroughly covered in bacon grease, hash browns, and peanut butter by the end of the whole affair. Oh, and Riot had gained a waffle hat that she was quite proud of procuring. 

Lynx remained unscathed by any of the flying food on their table perch. Somehow though, their waffle bombs had landed on practically everyone. Telepathy was a special gift indeed. 

Yes, when Lynx had woken that morning, she had finally developed their ability. It had just…clicked. She didn't know why or how, but it was an amazing gift. She might have been a late bloomer, but she was a fast learner. Already, she could infiltrate minds like a professional. 

Lynx grinned and grabbed her bow. One of Opal's pancakes was now flying in the air (as she had known it would be), and Lynx had a new target. She shot their bow and pierced the pancake right through the middle, pinning in right above Opal's head.

After that, everyone decided they better stop the battle before someone got killed. Lynx sighed, but agreed. 

Alexander took all his remaining whipped cream and flung it at Lynx's head. 

Lynx charged Alexander out of the building and nobody again saw the two before dinner that evening. 

"So…what do we do now?" Dreamii asked, rubbing a splotch of butter off her cheek. Or trying to. It only smeared the butter, and made Dreamii stomp with frustration. 

"I suppose we look for Arcady?" Oil answered.

The guests agreed. Arcady was the host of this whole thing after all. And if classes were to start soon, as they thought they would, Arcady would be the only one who would be able to make the mysterious doors appear. 

They decided to split up. Opal, Gillian, and Bean departed to look in Arcady's office. Oil, Dreamii, and Riot headed for the library. Quill, Skip, Silver, and Writing set off for the Arcady's bedroom. 

Oil was the one who found the papers.

"What is this?" Oil asked quietly when he came across the library's fireplace. It was a beautiful hearth, laid in with brick and delicate gold-colored molding. Books sat atop the mantelpiece, pages faded and yellowing with age. Holding them upright was a statue of a sour looking lion with a mouse held in between it's teeth. It seemed to frown at Oil when he looked it in the eyes. Blackened wood sat in the fireplace, an ember still glowing faintly from the night before. And in between the logs, there was a scrap of paper, still legible, but charred. 

Oil picked them up. 

"Is that a letter?" Riot asked, edging her way past a teetering tower of books in the middle of the room. 

"A clue?" Dreamii questioned. 

"I…don't know." Oil whispered. He was not whispering simply because he was in a library though. He was whispering because he was completely terrified of what he read. 

It was a letter, as Riot has guessed, written out in messy, untidy scrawling. And it was addressed to…Arcady. 

Arcady,

I see that trouble has arisen. Never had we thought they would dare set foot…or mind for that matter, in one of our own buildings. It is them, of course. Nobody else could have the skill to take over in such a manner. This is clearly not the coincidence we thought it was. Their power, as we feared, is growing. If we don't find their apprentice, then I dread they will be able to use them against us even worse than they already are. We must find them before they take over. We must. 

"There is no signature." Dreamii mumbled, staring at the paper over Oil's shoulder. 

"But look, there was one." Riot pointed a quavering finger to a burn mark over the end of the letter. "That is where I always signed my letters." 

"So someone is communicating with Arcady about…about…an intruder?" Oil asked.

"I mean, maybe. But they seem much worse than that. It looks like they really want to find them. And that line about them setting mind in the building – it makes me think they aren't really here." Dreamii gestured toward the line in the letter. 

"But that isn't possible, is it?" Riot questioned, rubbing her head. 

"I didn't think it was…but…I'm not so sure anymore. The intruder might be a telepath or mesmerist." Oil commented.

"Lynx and Alexander! What if it is them!" Riot exclaimed. 

"It could be.." Dreamii started. "But this person has an apprentice. What do you think that means?"

"What if there are two murderers?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opal, Gilly, and Bean were not having much luck with Arcady's office. Every time they found the door, it would move down the hall away from them. They never even got close enough to see if the door was unlocked. 

"What is it with this dang door!" Gilly cried, charging at the door again, only to have it move further down the hall.

"I don't think Notty wants us in there." Bean answered calmly, grabbing Gilly's arm to prevent them from trying to attack the door again. 

"But whyyyyyy?" Gilly moaned. 

"I bet there are secrets in there!" Opal exclaimed. "Ooh – what if there is evidence?"

"Evidence for what?" Bean asked. 

"For who dun it!" Opal shouted enthusiastically. 

"I doubt Arcady knows who the murderer is." Bean responded. "I don't think he wants us to be killed. 

"But you never know!" Gilly chimed in. "So we've got to get to that door!" 

Gilly again ran up to the door, this time, running into a vase that shattered on contact. 

"Are you okay?" Bean asked, running toward Gilly. 

"Yeah…I knew that was going to happen.." 

"Then why did you do it?" 

  "I thought I might have been wrong." 

"But how is an Oracle wrong?" 

"Maybe I…miss-saw?" 

"You still crashed into a vase." 

Gilly gave up at that point, and sat down on the carpet in defeat. "So what are we going to do here?" 

Opal and Bean both sat down next to Gilly, and they all thought for a good few minutes. Gilly was about to go back to charging at the door when Bean had an idea. 

"What if we try to trap the door?" She said, looking toward Gilly and Opal. "Like, one of us goes on one side, and the other goes on the other side, and then one of us runs down the middle and opens the door?" 

Opal, who was about to retort, paused in the middle of opening her mouth. "You know, that isn't a bad idea." 

And that is how Gilly, Bean, and Opal ended up cornering a door. Opal agreed to walk around to the other side of the door while Bean and Gilly stayed where they were. It took Opal a great deal longer than both AEs thought it should have, but eventually, they saw her appear on the other side. 

"Where were you?" Gilly shouted.

"It was just a long walk!" Opal exclaimed, flush appearing on her cheeks. "I'm not that fast!" 

"Fine, fine." Gilly answered. "Let's just get this door open. 

Bean and Opal slowly approached the door from their sides. Clearly, the door wanted to move, but as the AE's got closer, it had less and less room to move. The plan was working. 

"Gilly! Go!" Bean screamed, turning around to signal Gilly forward. 

Gilly took off, running past Bean and grabbing the handle to the door with both hands. It was locked. 

"NO!" Gilly cried. "It's locked!" 

Opal stared uncomfortably for a minute, and then reached up for her hair. She pulled out a hair pin and handed it to Gilly. "Try this." She said. 

Gilly jammed the pin into the lock, and wiggled it until they finally heard the door click. Then, they turned the knob and the door finally opened. 

"Yes!" Gilly shouted, beaming. But they weren't beaming for long. Because inside that door, was someone who was definitely not Arcady. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quill, Skip, Writing, and Silver found Arcady's bedroom on the very bottom level of the Not-Mansion. It was dark in the hallways there, and each of the CBers were slightly creeped out, though none of them wanted to mention it. 

The longer they trekked through the hallways, the stranger they started to feel. Paintings on the wall started moving more often, and lights flickered on and off when they walked past them. The occasional cool breeze brushed past them more than once as well, and it felt all too much like they were in a haunted house. 

They were close to believing it, too. 

"H-h-how much farther do you think we will have to g-g-go?" Silver asked, teeth chattering. The temperature had definitely dropped in this area of the hall. 

"I'm sure it's near…" Writing answered, rubbing their hands together for warmth. 

As they continued, a strange sound started to fill the air around them. It sounded like…breathing. 

"Is that one of…you?" Skip asked, looking at her companions.

"That noise? Not me." Silver answered.

"Not me, either." Quill responded. 

Skip looked to Writing, and they shook their head slowly. 

It wasn't any of the CBers. So who was it? 

That, the group didn't find out for a while more. 

Trying to ignore the haunting noise, the four continued down the hall until they spotted Arcady's bedroom door. 

"Finally!" Quill exclaimed, jogging the last few steps to the oddly plain brown door. "This has taken forever!" 

Quill tried to get the door open, but it was locked. Or, she thought it was probably locked. She couldn't tell because there wasn't a knob. 

"Um…any guesses on how we get this open?" Quill asked.

"A wedge?" Writing suggested, shrugging. 

"We could break it." Silver commented. 

"Maybe we should just try knocking first?" Skip replied. 

Skip walked toward the door this time, reaching her fist out to knock. Wrap Wrap Wrap! The sound echoed around the eerily dark halls, sending shivers up the CBers spines. 

The door slowly creaked open. 

Skip eyed her friends skeptically, and with a brief nod, stepped into the room. All Skip saw before she fainted was a giant, furry, paw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dead: 3: Hollyshock (Bludgeoned), Raynee (Burnt), Jaybells (Smashed)

Suspects: Skip, any others? 

Temporarily Safe: Opal, Bean, Dreamii

Readers! I am so sorry on the wait for this! I hope you can forgive me! 

Day 2, Part 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, dear, dear reader. I see you have suffered through many cliffhangers in this story by now. Dreadful of me, isn't it? I believe it is time to clear some things up. Let us start with Riot, Oil, and Dreamii:

"No way." Riot answered her friends, looking at the letter again in utter horror. "No no no no NO! There can't be TWO murderers!" 

"But…we can't exclude that possibility now, can we?" Oil answered.

Riot responded only with silence. 

"So…so do you really think there are multiple murderers?" Dreamii asked cautiously. 

Riot answered "No" at the exact same time Oil answered "Maybe". The two turned to glare at each other. 

"Okay then…" Dreamii whispered

"Well, what if somebody wrote the note just to throw us on the wrong trail?" Riot started." 'And…if there were two murderers, what if they accidentally murdered each other? 

"Well, they could be working together." Oil responded. "Or what if they are working against each other?"

"Like a battle…"Dreamii said. 

"Mm" Riot mumbled. She didn't seem to like this idea of two murderers at all. 

"But then again," Dreamii started again, "We really can't know what the situation with the murderer or murderers is until we find out who wrote this letter. We should take writing samples or something from everyone."

"And not tell the other CBers?" Oil asked.

"It might be best not to…" Dreamii answered. 

The three shivered. It was uncharacteristic to not include the other participants in their finds. How could they keep this a secret? And even worse, what if one of them was the very culprit they were looking for? 

"I guess…I guess we can watch the other guests today." Riot sputtered, "We can see if any of their handwriting is similar." 

"Yeah, but we need to watch the staff harder," Oil added, "It seems more likely the person who wrote the letter knew about this event before it began." 

"Good point." Dreamii commented. 

"Alright then." Riot began, "we keep this a secret?" 

"Yes." 

"Mhm." 

"Okay – then, I guess we are going to be spies for a day." 

And with that, the trio of CBers left the library solemnly, none feeling even the slightest bit excited about their self-given job. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, let's check in on Gilly, Opal, and Bean, shall we? 

"GAH!" Gilly shouted from the doorway, bringing their hands into fists as if they were about to pummel the figure in Arcady's room with punches. 

The figure inside jumped at the scream, and turned around to stare. They, too, shouted in shock. 

"Get OUT!" The voice shouted. "Get out get out get OUT!" 

"Why should we?" Gilly challenged. "Who are you to be in that room? I don't…I don't think I even know you…"

"You do, Gillian." 

 "Wha…" Gilly found herself staring into the face of none other than MM, her teacher. 

"I am down here looking for Arcady." He started, grabbing a piece of paper from Arcady's desk. "I was sent to deliver him this." 

"What is it?" Gilly asked, drawing closer. 

MM yanked the paper back. "Confidential business." 

"Confidential my foot." Gilly murmured. "If Arcady isn't here, which he obviously isn't, then why are you still in here?" 

"Because, Gillian, I was looking for his mailbox. 

"In his room." 

"Yes, in his room." 

"Yeah, cause everyone obviously has a mailbox inside their office."

"Yes!"
"Well anyway, how did you get in here?" Gilly continued." 

"Key," He said, dragging a chain out of his pocket with a shiny golden key on the end. "And you?" 

"Logic." Was all Gilly answered.

"Well then! I believe I should see you out!" MM shouted. 

"But! Arcady!" 

"Is not here. Now go." 

So MM ushered Gilly out of Arcady's office, his dark cape scraping the floor yet never leaving his face. The mysterious so-called "letter" dangled out of the corner of his pocket, and Gilly very badly wanted to yank it out. 

"Now, go do something productive, thank you!" MM grumbled, plopping Gilly outside the door. He didn't even think to look around, for if he had, he would have seen Bean and Opal had so clearly been eavesdropping. 

"Who is that?" Bean cried, helping Opal up. 

"My teacher." Gilly sighed. "My now highly suspicious teacher." 

"What was he doing in there?" Opal interrupted. 

"Delivering a letter." Gilly said, rolling their eyes and adding finger quotes to echo their belief that he was lying. "He was clearly up to something." 

"You think?" Bean questioned. "I mean he might have been looking for Arcady. That was what we were doing, after all."

"But he wouldn't show us the letter. That is enough proof for me." Gilly commented. "Come on, let's go find the others. They need to hear about this." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, and now finally, Skip, Quill, Writing, and Silver. 

"SKIP!" Writing screamed, hearing the tail-tale thump of a frightened body falling on the floor. They darted into the room, Quill and Silver close behind, to see what was the matter. 

"Oh dear, there are more of them." Moaned a most feline-like voice. "Would you get them off of my rug, please?" 

Silver gazed up into the face of not another odd house guest, but to that of a cat. Or a lion. Either or, it was extremely large, and its teeth were much too close for comfort. 

"I knew it…" She mumbled, grasping for one of Skip's legs so that she could pull them out as quickly as possible. "That form was much too specific."

"Oh cod," Quill squeaked.

"Um, hello?" Writing cautiously. 

"FINALLY!" The beast purred so loudly the walls shook. "Someone with manners! The humans these days are so disrespectful!" 

"Um, your welcome?" Writing responded. 

"Yes, I am welcome. Now, please, get them," the creature paused to nudge Skip, "off of my carpet." 

Quill, Writing, and Silver each grabbed a limb and pulled Silver into a sitting position. They were too scared to disobey it, and they also didn't think it was right to leave Skip just lying on the floor like that, so slowly, they scooted them against the wall. 

"This good?" Writing asked, seeming to be the only one with enough confidence to speak to the thing. 

"Yes, you are very compliant little things. I don't hate you." 

"You mean you like us?" Writing questions.

"No, I mean I don't hate you. Now what are you doing down here in the first place?" 

"Uh, looking for Arcady. We were told to come this way." Writing answered. 

"By whom?" The thing asked. 

"The map." Writing answered, pointing to the map. "It said this was his room." 

"PHH! That map is a monster I tell you! Going and sending meddlesome humans down here during my nap time!"

"Your Arcady?" Silver suddenly chimed in from next to Skip. 

"Goodness no!" The creature shouted, "I am simply a Magnificat, for Wunder's sake!"

"A Magnificat!" Writing commented, remembering Arcady's lecture on the first day. 

"Yes, though I have a name!" It answered, "Matilda."

"Oh, that is a lovely name!" Writing said. 

"Well poo, I don't like it. Call me Mat if you have to call me anything." 

"Um, okay…" Writing answered. "So why are you in Arcady's room?" 

Mat looked annoyed, rolling her big cat eyes and realising a big cat sigh. "Well I obviously am his helper."

"His helper?" 

"You humans don't know anything, do you? Yes! I help him with things he needs help with! I don't just lie around and sleep all day, what do you think I am, a pet?" 

The CBers did not think it was a good idea to think that that was exactly what they were thinking. 

"Now, you probably would like to know that your friend over there is waking up." 

Quill, Writing, and Skip, all promptly turned to look at Skip, who was, as Mat had said, waking up from their faint. 

"Big…Cat…" They mumbled, groping for the floor and trying to stand up. 

"Magnificat, dear." Mat said, "And I believe you should be going." 

The Magnificat opened the door with her gigantic paw, and pointed, as best a feline could, toward the hall. 

"Now that your friend is awake, please leave. You are disturbing my rare and important peace." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that is how the guests went about discovering that many mysterious things happened at the Not-Mansion. They knew it shape shifted, and they knew the residents inside held magic at their will, but now, they had seen that it wasn't all fun and games. They still hadn't found Arcady, to somes' dismay and to others' delight, but they had found many other things, and were about to burst to share it with each other. 

Once they were each completed with their tasks, they headed back toward the Dining Hall to tell their tales. 

Gilly, Opal, and Bean arrived first, theorizing to themselves what MM might have been up to. Gilly suggested that MM was some kind of spy. Opal said that he was probably a Wundersmith. Bean decided that they both were making up tall tales and would have no part in their "game". 

They continued on like this until Riot, Dreamii, and Oil entered. 

"What is this about M and Ms?" Oil asked, trying to erase all traces of worry from his face. 

"Not M and Ms, Oil, MM!" Gilly shouted. 

Those two went on for a while about the oddness of MM's name, and even more theories erupted. Riot and Dreamii kept to themselves, and brainstormed ways to get their fellow guest to write something for them. 

"I. Don't. Like. Giant. Cats." Quill shouted as she stomped into the room. 

As one would expect, more conversation instantly spread throughout the room. Riot and Dreamii even got involved this time. 

"What did she look like?" Bean asked, curious that some of the guests actually spotted such a beast. 

"Gray fur with black streaks," Skips started "And really large teeth." 

Opal retreated to the far end of the Dining room. It continued on like this until Marli arrived. 

"Silence, Silence, SILENCE!" She screeched, turning everybody's heads away from their previous conversation. Writing and Oil instantly knew who the distinct voice belonged to, but the other guests were clueless. 

"Who are you?" Gilly asked, tired of asking the same question over and over again. 

"Your temporary commander." She said, "And you will do as I say." 

"Sheesh," Dreamii spoke. "She's intense." 

"And you," Marli added, "Are no one to insult me. Intense people get things accomplished, and as you have not noticed, LG has gone completely missing from your group." 

She was right. LG had just – disappeared. The group started mumbling to each other in astonishment – where had she gone? 

"Where is she?" Quill asked quietly.

"You expect me to know?" Marli commented. "I am not a member of your group. You are the ones responsible for her." 

The participants lowered their heads, ashamed. 

"But, what are we to do?" Opal asked. 

"Find her. And find her fast." Marli answered, "Before the murderer gets to her."

Quickly, the guests created a plan. Quill and Opal were to go North. Oil and Gilly planned to head South. Riot and Skip decided on going East. Dreamii and Bean were set to go West. Writing and Silver were assigned the hallways. 

"Now go, people!" Marli shouted. "Find her!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Skip who found the body. 

"Gggh"

They had no idea what that sound they made was, but it was one of disgust in horror. They had simply been going to get a sip of water, somewhere off of the path of their and Riot's search, but low and behold, that was where LG lay. 

Dead. 

"Riot!" Skip shouted, recovering themselves. "I found LG!" 

Riot, who had been searching the Library (even though she had told Skip LG wouldn't be in there), came running. 

"You did! Where is she?" Riot shouted. 

"Um…here." Skip answered, seeing Riot come around the corner. 

"OH…oh. She's dead." Riot's smile fell instantly, and she walked to join Skip with the body. "We were too slow."

"We were too slow." Skip agreed. "And look," They picked up a pallet knife lying next to LG's bloody side. "They used this." 

"Wait a sec…" Riot said, looking confused. "Nobody could commit a murder with that thing – its flimsy, used for painting." 

Riot took the pallet knife from Skip, and plucked it with her finger, letting the tip wobble back and forth. 

"Plus, there is no blood."

"Then why is it here?" Skip asked "I know LG didn't just carry a – what is it called, Riot?" 

"A pallet knife." 

"Yeah, I know LG didn't just carry a pallet knife around with her." 

"Mhm…" Riot looked as if she were staring off into space, all of a sudden.

"Riot?" Skip asked, concerned.

"Mm?" 

"You okay?" 

"Yeah – I was just thinking about who would have a pallet knife with them." Riot answered. 

"Who?" Skip questioned. 

"Raynee." Riot said. 

"But she is dead…" Skip commented. 

"Exactly. Her roommate could have easily taken it." 

"You're not saying…it couldn't be them."

"Oh yeah I'm saying." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Dead: 4: Hollyshock (Bludgeoned), Raynee (Burnt), Jaybells (Crushed), Lightning Girl (Cause Unknown) 

Suspects: Skip, Rainbow Riot, Raynee's roomate (which I will see which of you can figure out whom that is), MM?, any others? 

Temporarily Safe: Bean, Opal, Dreamii