[center] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjk2LjVmYzhjOC5UV0Z5YVdGdWJtVWdVbTlqYUdVLC4w/bananas-personal-use.regular.png[/img] [/center] [b]“A body has been discovered. The patients have a limited time to collect evidence before being called into the court of carnage. Do your best everyone!”[/b] [i]Sharp inhalation.[/i] The next sounds that could be heard, left behind in the empty room, were the thud of a heavy item falling and racing footsteps, leaving the room silent once more. --- It had been a couple of days, and like everybody else, the Infinite Herbalist had taken to exploring the area. She was one day down as compared to the rest of the infinites who had already had the chance to survey the premises, but she would not let that hinder her usefulness to the group. After all, with the motive's introduction, everyone had to be on high alert. As high alert as physically possible, because anybody at all could be a target. Krista especially was at high-risk, but thanks to the quick thinking of the policeman, she was under constant surveillance and care. Still, somehow, Marianne had a feeling in her gut that someone would no longer be able to take the waiting game anymore, and the most likely target would be taken out. Even if nobody else voiced their concern out loud to the group in an effort to preserve morale, it was a common thought (thought Marianne) that Krista would be in the most danger. When the sound of footsteps, in a half-run-half-walk pace (as fast as possible for the young woman, really) skidded to a halt in front of Aladdin's Palace, it was a result of Marianne witnessing one Noel Hawthorne, like a speeding bullet, exiting the premises. Something looked eerily suspicious. ...why would someone look so anxious, unless...? Hiding behind a rocky outcrop on the outside of Aladdin's Palace, Marianne waited for the reporter to be out of sight, before choosing to enter the premises herself to assess the situation. It was much darker than she had expected within, and she tentatively trudged through the faux cave until a sight stopped her dead in her tracks. She immediately saw the injured blonde and her suspicions were confirmed. In the room were also Davis, the infinite conquest, and a limited amount of others. On the ground, and the centre of attention though, was Krista, wounded and leaving a trail of red dripping behind her as she was carefully moved and examined by the rest in the group. [i]It could not have been Noel. To murder, and be witnessed by another person. ...they aren't working together, it appears. Davis appears to be tending to Krista. Improbable, unless the murder was set up in advance.[/i] The gears ground very, very slowly in Marianne's head as she took step after step to the crowd. Her head was fuzzy, and noticing Krista sent another rush of thoughts through her. [i]If the announcement stated a body had just been discovered... A murder could have occurred at any time, and the body hidden here. This would throw off the time of the crime by a large amount. Thus, not those immediately present must be suspected. Anyone, anyone at all, could be responsible.[/i] Marianne's entrance went hardly noticed, as the rest of the group were preoccupied with the injured woman, and she had meant to inform them that the first course of action would be to not panic - Krista looked very much alive! Maybe the announcement was a farce? [hider=BGM][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1OWJuyaN7A&index=5&list=PLDE9265AF4D593BF8[/youtube][/hider] It was then she noticed the unmoving, glittering metal in the eerie artificial light and otherwise darkness. A familiar facial structure stared back at the infinite herbalist, eye sockets dull and emitting little to no light. It almost looked like the hunk of junk was soulless, like that. [color=8EE5EE]"Everyone. ...a body has been discovered. Krista seems to be alive. I...I-is...?"[/color] her words trailed off, and the woman almost answered her own question, wobbling over to the monk's body against the spike. He looked so peaceful, so you really couldn't have told that anything was off from the outset. He looked like he was tranquil, and sleeping. Maybe that was the default for his suit. She had meant to ask if everybody was alright, but the eerie silence from the husk replied. The unconscious blonde came to, and Marianne breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she was alright. However, someone else in the room clearly wasn't. It took a while for the thought to register to the infinite herbalist. Someone was actually dead. And not just someone, but the Infinite Monk himself. He who seemed absolutely indestructible was taken down, now looking like a doll the way he sat with his head limp against the stalagmite. Fortunately, the shock of noticing Krista unconscious never hit Marianne (at witnessing her wake up before her very eyes) and in an attempt to console herself, she couldn't help but move to Mondatta's body. Even if it was a crime scene, the thought slipped the herbalist's mind. In an almost-trance, she laid hands on the metal suit. It was cold, and not even warm air escaped the gaps where it should have, from what she had felt in her time spent with the man-machine. She appraised the suit up close, careful to not move its position any more than she should. It was very difficult for her to believe Tekartha Mondatta was dead. [color=8EE5EE]"I'm afraid so, Krista. I'm afraid Mondatta is...exhibiting no signs of life, as far as I can see. I think he...um. He inside the suit, that is, may have already begun to..."[/color] her voice trailed off. Where were the words when she needed them? No, it wasn't the words. It was almost like her brain stopped, mid-thought. A minor hiccup. Marianne stepped away from the body solemnly, trying to hide the fact that her knees seemed to be trembling. Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned to Davis and Krista, going to kneel down beside the injured woman as well. [color=8EE5EE]"At least you're safe. ...do you remember anything at all?"[/color] It wasn't long before the rest of the crowd poured in, one by one by one, all except for Noel, who Marianne would later learn ran out to alert everyone else of the murder and where it occurred. The Herbalist found herself fretting over the wounded violinist. She was hesitant at first, but with shaky legs, carried herself over to where Davis was. She said very few words to the man, instead seemingly fixated on Krista's wellbeing. [color=8EE5EE]"It will be bad if you lose too much blood."[/color] Did the French in her accent just thicken, for a second? She knelt carefully beside the woman, gritting her teeth against the stretch-feeling in her lower abdomen, and dared to move her from being propped up against the cold stalagmite to...having her head resting in Marianne's lap. Did she not care for her clothes at all? The white cotton dress caught the blood. And it stained, and it stained, and it stained a bright, sickly red colour. Still, the herbalist stroked the violinist's hair, and tended to her with care. Should she have been in a better state of mind, she would bark orders to fetch bandages and water, anything at all to ease the survivor of the assault, but it seemed she didn't have to. When the others had arrived, Max Visser had already taken to commanding the crew around. But, from where Marianne was, she refused to move. The lukewarm blood played at her fingertips as she carefully, curiously felt around for the source of the wound. Her dark skin took a sickly maroon shade where the blood stained it. Her other hand fiddled with the pendant of her cord necklace. It was a situation in which it would be useless. [color=8EE5EE]"...this is a hospital. We need a qualified doctor."[/color] cursed Marianne under her breath. Though it seemed in the building crowd, it would be unlikely that she would be heard.