Mastermind

Side-eyes.

He cupped his chin and narrowed his gaze.

He's out of the running. Or was he? Probably definitely. He more or less knew the moment the shop was emptied. He's never been good at math, but he could at least keep count.

Nonetheless, he should at least try.

How could figure this out...? The random element of the kills made it hard for him to pin down anyone in particular.

Who was the most suspicious individual here...?

Definitely Bill Anderson, but... That was maybe too obvious. He couldn't jump to conclusions just because the man's demeanor made him sound like a psychopath. He was probably just enjoying himself the same way Doug would've if Hideo and Eris weren't present.

Courtesy of MATIAS SILPH, The champion makes a stellar comeback and is immediately gunned down; Doug cannot join in. He's missed his chance, to little, too late.

But...

It might well be Matias, right? There were no rules against the killer targeting themselves. Doing it at the very last round could've been intended to make everyone turn their gazes away from him. After all, if he didn't die at the end as he should have... it was too late for them to do anything.

Yeah... Yeah.

Only one thing left to do.

"Tear 'im apart!" Roared the youth with a sweep of his arms, his Vespiqueen sweeping over him and spreading her arms wide before unleashing several of drones all over the field.

A group swirled around the youth protectively as the rest tore towards Matias, threatening to bash into the man and put him to the floor.

"Oh, and-" The youth said as he casually strapped his his Goggles.

Hey, he had paid for them. Didn't seem like anyone would be wasting their shots on him, but might as well look cool for the last round.

"Get me 'em points if possible. Thanks Loves." Goggles in place, the youth dramatically swept his Reaper Cloth off his shoulders and into the mass of drones, it quickly enveloping them before being carried forth by them towards Matias, hopefully slapping it across the man's noggin' like a wet towel; who knew? Maybe he could get something out of the man's hopeful death before the game ended.

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TL;DR:

SPOILER: Click to show

-CHOSE MIND OVER MATTER and FRONTAL ASSAULT
-Used Goggles.
-Used(?) Reaper Cloth's on Matias hopefully soon to be corpse.
-Ordered use of Attack Order against Matias. (Smart move, Damaging, FRONTAL ASSAULT)
-Ordered use of Defend Order. (Smart move, stat-raising, MIND OVER MATTER)
KILL NUMBER: 3
PORTRAYAL/TARGET: BOTH

Ah shit. The mega-evolved Charizard that the corn field lead them to pigeon-holed them into a raging inferno, something like the final boss room of a video game. Osiris was quickly navigating it, dropping a SUBSTITUTE of itself to throw off any of the said boss' efforts to eliminate them. Did this pokemon belong to the killer?

Mulling over all that happened, Derek ruled out a few individuals as the possible killer. Locke Jamison's clever use of the STRINGSHOT to help everyone on the slippery steps stood out, though not as much as his saving another player. If they were the killer, they certainly did a lot to convince the group otherwise. Good on them.

Serena Malcolm's use of MIMIC to copy the SUBSTITUTE decoys was also shrewdly executed, making the absolute most of everything going on around them in this game. Though the ghost owl did it's best, the heat of the environment on it's grass feathers caused it mild distress. A SYNTHESIS would allow it to endure the heat of the fire a little longer while the trainer pondered on who happened to be the killer.

The individual he most recently encountered, John Sullivan, hadn't greeted him. Derek had been suspicious of them, at least until the latest developments between the group. With the final stretch before them, the Decidueye let out a LOW SWEEP towards the boss.

cLsnGfSK

DEREK ADORNS HIS SAFETY VEST!
DEREK USES LEFTOVERS ON ALEXANDRA'S SODA POP!
DEREK DRINKS SODA POP!
DECIDUEYE used SUBSTITUTE, SYNTHESIS & LOW SWEEP!

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@contest | KILL #1 (DRAMATIC) | FRONTAL ASSAULT & HEART x2

MASTERMIND

CONTEST APPRAISAL FROM THE #1 TARGET

THE LAST PORTION OF THE CONTEST BEGINS TO WIND DOWN. Against his better judgement, Fernando remains. Thankfully, it seems to request very little of him, merely going along with the charted route and activities as the other players grasp at who the last killer is.

Who does he suspect?

Hard to say. There’s not enough circumstantial evidence to make an educated guess. Even with GAVIN’S GLASSES, that only scratches out two of the remaining ten.

That leaves eight. At least until Locke Jamison announces a game changing clue: the killer opted for FIGHT THE CURRENT.

If memory serves right, it had been Bill Anderson, Ruby Walker, and luka chêne who had been in the pool with him.



CASE AGAINST Bill Anderson:

For all intents and purposes, it’s a hard case to suspect Bill Anderson. After all, he killed the killer, kyle lopez. But that does not clear him from Fernando’s suspicion. The earnest jump for the kill weapon and each subsequent kill weapon means there’s little chance to kill him.

For a killer, this is the perfect spot. Able to rack up points without consequence. Sure, the items cost a decent amount, but immunity plus the total per kill will easily pay dividends over the remainder of the game. The extra option to kill leading non-killers is a nice bonus to boot.

But then the case of why Bill picks the HALL OF TRUTH instead of another obstacle for additional points. To throw off suspicion? To look innocent and build and alibi. Or maybe to get a glance at what clue would be revealed for those who undertook the same task.

His pursuit of the clue could easily be painted as a valid reason on why he evaded the other obstacles. The fact that they failed lowers the killer number hence making the last round a free kill for the killer. An easy 5 points—the fact that it’s MATIAS SILPH is only double deserved.

But, at the same time, it could Bill just has a penchant for riddles (OOC guess that d-bug would want to try the riddle because he enjoys the puzzle aspect).



CASE AGAINST luka chêne:

One of the three suspects and the one Fernando pays the least attention to. Little happens from her own actions as opposed to those around her. For instance, when Violet Fairbanks and luka chêne pick the same kill number it is Violet Fairbanks who dies.

Chance? Coincidence? Killer preference. Perhaps. But now that she’s one of three, it’s only natural for the killer not to pick themselves. The fact the kill number pool is so large means it’s entirely possible but luka chêne did pick after Violet Fairbanks.

The argument against luka chêne proves stronger than the case for her though. Why protect Bill Anderson after he strikes at the killer? Having them both go down is optimal assuming he picks correctly. To build an alibi, sure, but Fernando suspects she’s much to carefree and clumsy to reach such trickery.

The fact she has a LEMONADE still unused only proves his point. Why not expend it for protection, or score an easy double kill in the final round?



CASE AGAINST Ruby Walker:

Much like luka chêne, Ruby stays under the radar with nothing noteworthy happening aside from an early RAGE CANDYBAR play. Likewise, after that Ruby remains relatively passive.

But why wouldn’t they? There’s no real threat if they’re the killer now that they’ve established a ‘good guy’ persona. Especially after Bill Anderson’s eliminated their only real competition.

If it wasn’t for the others, himself included, that mimicked such a playstyle, more suspicion could be cast on a lack of self preservation. Ultimately, she stands at the middle of his accusation list. Above luka chêne but below Bill Anderson.





FERNANDO SILPH's USE OF GAVIN’S GLASSES:

The glasses had immediately revealed Locke Jamison and Hideo Kino. From there, he had immediately expended a RAGE CANDYBAR on Locke Jamison without telling him why. The only condition and prompt was that Locke Jamison return the favor, a circumstance that would never come to pass as Ruby Walker beat him to the punch.

Afterwards, Fernando would reveal the identity of each safe person to one another. But it stopped there, at the three of them.

Including anyone else on their secret would just open them up to being a safe target should the choice present itself. A seldom circumstance but one that provided no value to the overall game. The fact that it may have made him look more suspicious in turn was a cost he was willing to pay, hopeful that the two would come to his aid should it come down to that.

The only other person to be clued in was Bill Anderson. But not at first, not until Fernando has no choice.

The first to pick up the killer-killer weapon does not exclude Bill Anderson from suspicion. Which is why their identity is never revealed. Instead, an offer it made: reveal who you intend to kill and Fernando will verify whether they were cleared by the glasses. A slow ticking option that made Fernando both valuable to Bill and delayed the inevitable should his fellow Councilman look to eliminate him as well.

Eventually, Locke Jamison’s identity as a cleared individual is passed to Bill Anderson. A round later, after Bill Anderson has both MACRO BIKES, Hideo Kino is revealed as well. Strangely enough, abruptly after, Hideo Kino is targeted by the spotlight. Coincidence, perhaps, but the timing places an implicit suspicion deep within Fernando’s heart.

The same case could be made between him and MATIAS SILPH. The exception is MATIAS SILPH publicly announced his suspicion on FERNANDO SILPH while Bill Anderson was told about Hideo Kino in private, in confidence.

Despite being purchased early on, GAVIN’S GLASSES comes into play for many rounds after, expiring only after the HALL OF TRUTH.



CONCLUSION:

Fernando’s not sure what to think. Ultimately, his only definitive conclusion is that the remaining killer is the most likely to win. Despite the numerous items being expunged during the final round, the killer has at least a 15 point lead from earlier kills.

There have been more than three kills but whether they were made by the remaining killer or by kyle lopez remains to be seen. The fact no one else seems to pressed about it underplays just how much this swings the end results.

Rather than shoot in the dark, or eliminate the competition in general, those who have a chance to shoot go for kyle lopez. Sure, it’s easy points, 10 whole points to be exact, but how will that overcome the repeated kills that have happened during previous stage? They don’t.

If he had to guess, it’d be Bill Anderson with Ruby Walker being his off-chance secondary guess. It’s a two out of three chance, but which choice he makes hardly matters. As long as one of them is right.

His Comfey struggles to aid the FRONTAL ASSAULT with its GIGA DRAIN, GRASS KNOT, and STORED POWER.

“Return,” he orders, pressing the EJECT BUTTON shortly after. No point sticking around and fighting a lost battle.

bNSBlbke

KILL NUMBER: 3

CLEVER MOVE: GIGA DRAIN
CLEVER MOVE: GRASS KNOT
CLEVER MOVE: STORED POWER
USED SODA POP
USED EJECT BUTTON

FRONTAL ASSAULT
GUESS: Bill Anderson
FRONT ASSAULT DOUBLE UP
GUESS: Ruby Walker

Aaaand that was it. His weird-specs-wearing Beheeyem took the shot, got the newly-revived killer, and they managed to avoid the rampaging Charizard. And with the other killer subdued, courtesy of Eris Halla and Bill Anderson , nobody else (innocent) had to die.

So with that finished, they all made their way back to the waiting room. Hideo found himself met by Cardamom Bliss , who gave him a nice not-hairstyle-wrecking headpat. “To be fair, Mr. Anderson got him first,” he said, “I just helped make sure he didn’t get any kills after he was brought back.” Well, his Beheeyem did; he didn’t really consider himself capable of nailing a shot with a crossbow. Or anything other than a Pokeball. But the points were in his name so it counted as him doing it.

Though the points weren’t enough to make Hideo #1. Or #2. But he did get #3, and he still clapped when Bill Anderson was announced the winner. From what he was told by his Beheeyem, Eris Halla wasn’t far behind. “You guys did great!” he said to the two above him, “Congrats on top 2! And nice job catching the last killer!”

“And thanks for covering for me with that climbing part,” Hideo said, this time to John Sullivan . “I thought I was done for there!” Unfortunately, he was still unaware that his brief bout of misfortune may have caused Alexandra Briarwood ’s elimination, but that was that.

“And thank you for confiding in me, Mr. Silph,” he added, this time facing towards FERNANDO SILPH . “You helped narrow things down for me. Good to have a few people we can trust, huh?” Guess it really was a bizarre coincidence that Hideo was targeted the moment after Fernando told Bill of his innocence.

“Though now I gotta wonder what we win from this. Gonna just be money? Or will there be something-”

He could feel something press against his chest, and he took it into his hands. His Beheeyem had given him the crossbow they’d used just moments ago. “Well...I guess we could keep this!” Hideo said, grinning. He never had a crossbow before!

He's totally keeping the crossbow

His Beheeyem's keeping the Weird Specs