Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-5999656-20160207063839/@comment-5999656-20160429232329

And so it seemed that life had returned to normal, after the brief experiment that was Team PRFC. Fen returned to classes after a few days, although she was told to refrain from participating in fieldwork until her arm healed completely. Platinum went back to working alongside Team RASB.

A week passed. Then, on what was supposed to be a normal day a breaking news report came in: the body of a young woman identified as a high-risk victim was found outside of Vale, badly damaged by the Grimm. However, the forensic autopsy revealed that she had been doused with various acidic chemicals and tortured for days prior to her death. Two days later, another body was found with similar damage to that of the first, suggesting that this was an act by the same perpetrator. However, this time the scene of the crime differed by a marked signature. The image of a black, nine-headed dragon was found spray-painted next to the body. Local law enforcement immediately connected the deaths to the Nine Dragons, an underground mafia that was reputed to have significant control of the nearby area, and immediately began a crackdown on street gangs and criminals that were believed to have a connection to this secretive network. No more deaths were reported for another week and a half, until this time the remains of a Huntress were found in the Emerald Forest bearing the same signs of abuse as the previous two and another dragon imprint. The strength that this victim possessed as a Beacon graduate suggested that the perpetrators were escalating their attacks and becoming increasingly daring with choosing their targets. And although detectives were aware that this extremely violent MO did not match those of typical organized crime, they allowed it to serve as an impetus for crackdown on the thieves and mobs that frequented the city. Meanwhile, the teachers in Beacon grew concerned that this apparently premeditated nature fo the attacks meant that one of their students might be targeted next, and warned them to restrain the desire to go out and try to seek these serial killers themselves. Of course, this warning made little difference to those who were determined to find out who was committing these atrocities, and how they could be stopped.

One week ago...

Fen watched carefully as Platinum laid out sheets of printed paper on her desk. The detective-in-training's focus on this case was worrying for her friend, who felt that either she was going to go after the wrong people or get herself in some serious trouble with the law. And there was the possibility that she might actually get too close to finding these killers and end up as the next target.

"So you're convinced that this isn't the work of an organized crime ring?" Fen asked.

"It can't be, unless they exist for a purpose much unlike that of traditional crime. The evidence points to these murders not as a way of getting money or as retribution but solely for the sake of causing grievous harm to another human being, probably as a way of getting emotional gratification. It practically screams 'thrill killer'." The silver-haired girl moved some of her papers around. "What's really interesting is the rapid escalation of the murders. It suggests that the killers are now either going to have to disappear into the woodwork, or the next crime they commit is going to give them away."

Fen's eyebrows creased. She could never speak lightly of such topics, so it bothered her that Platinum could speak so clinically about it without hesitating. She reached up with her right arm and felt the two rough scars on her left arm and shoulder before dropping it again.

''Yet another mark of a dramatic school year... yay.''

Neither of them had seen Cyzarine around school for weeks, so they assumed she had hopefully listened to Automne's advice and found outside help, or she'd just disappeared to conduct her soldier activities somewhere where it was more appropriate, if such a thing could exist.

The whole crew knew now, about how the kid had been brutalized in an ice rink less than a year ago by a true monster, and how she had never gotten emotional help from anyone after. It didn't excuse her actions.... but it at least explained where some of the paranoia and unreasonableness had come from. It was a complex topic for them to wrap their heads around, so until they met again, what Cyzarine did was of no concern to them.

Fen leaned close.

"Platinum, look, I know you're really interested in this, but don't go too far, okay? Whoever's doing this is extremely dangerous if they can take down Huntsmen and Huntresses and evade capture by the police."

"There's nothing to worry about," Platinum replied back, without looking away from the notes she had gathered.

_________________________

"Wait, so you've got no idea who's behind it?"

Zanipher broke eye contact with her sister to look up at some imaginary point in space. Fen came by occasionally for "training", but it wasn't easy for the Dragon to admit that she, the head of an intelligence agency, didn't know something.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"They have a pretty good idea of what the Dragons' collective logo looks like, which isn't something that's usually shown to outsiders, and certainly not something we use to mark whatever we want. It's used to affirm membership, not to show off. So they probably worked for us at some point." Zanipher looked back at Fen with a wry smile. "No one's happy about being scapegoated for this messy type of killing, so we're doing everything we can to put the pieces together based off our database of affiliates. But our information gets more and more patchy the father back we go. The Nine Dragons of Vale haven't been around that long."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Seeing Fen's worried expression, Zanipher leaned forward in her chair and gave a genuine smile this time.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What I can tell you is that we've got all the pieces shown to us so far all lined up, and we've got a list of suspects down already. All it's going to take is one more victim for us to have a good idea of who's behind it, and believe me, the nature of these deaths is gruesome even by our standards. Not just in its mutilating intent, but also in the substances used to carry it out. How many people do you know who fight with corrosive chemicals?"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Alright, but Platinum's already thinking of going after whoever's doing it. So I can't let her throw herself into the path of a serial -"

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Stay out of it and you'll be fine. But believe me, there's gonna be a showdown and it's not gonna be pretty. We don't take kindly to people who target us, especially not people who try to foist their ugly jobs onto us."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"... Alright, sis. If you say so."

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Two days ago...

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Platinum had disappeared and Respersio and his teammates were off doing some mission far away. Out of range, out of contact. Fen held the crumpled note in her hand for the fifth time.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Fen,

<p style="font-weight:normal;">''I know you and everyone else have been telling me not to go after it, but I think I've found enough evidence to implicate the perpetrator if I compare it to the information in the law enforcement's database. ''

<p style="font-weight:normal;">See you tonight,

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Platinum

<p style="font-weight:normal;">That was it. And Platinum hadn't come back two nights ago, and she hadn't made it to the police station according to the officers stationed there, and she wasn't answering her phone and no one knew where she'd gone. Fen could feel the fear rising in her throat. Even if she hadn't come in contact with the killer, it was pretty damn likely that Platinum had run into the wrong people. So now what? Zanipher had explicitly told her that they weren't gonna make an obvious move until another victim showed up. The police were too busy cleaning up petty crime from the streets, and her closest friends were all gone. So what was she supposed to do?!

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Five minutes later and she was knocking on the door to Raizel Heidrich's dorm room. If the government and the Dragons weren't going to make a move, then she would have to find a way to contact the other big shots in Vale: The Bluthardts.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Fen started talking as soon as the door opened.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Raizel, I know this is super sudden but Platinum's disappeared and the police aren't helping so I need to know if you think i should get in contact with the Bluthardts and do something before my best friend turns up dead". She said this all very fast. And she knew that the redhead probably couldn't help much, but she needed to talk to someone who might actually do something.