I've not got any ideas, so it's time for some super basic ID attempts to try and find a direction!

That unknown metal in the shuttle wreckage, drop a shard in water and see if it reacts.

Then give it the old flame test, taking a shard and putting it to fire to see what color it burns.

Can we get any dynamite in a pre-made bundle? I wanna see about how much that explodes.

Oh, and, how viable would it be to just chuck a bundle of dynamite on the tracks about where it looks like the explosion occurred? Could you do it just standing on either station platform?

Here's a batch of investigations.

Could a grenade from the armory set off a bundle of Dynamite?

Does the explosion from a Frag Grenade make the same lacerations on Momoyo's body?

Are there any sections of pipe or something missing from the shuttle line or the boiler room?

Do the scraps of exploded grenade match the metal strewn about the shuttle line?

Can I get Analogue Trip over here to volunteer to be hit with a grenade and bundle of dynamite?

How many explosive charges are missing from the mines?

Look in the fountain real quick

You look in the Fountain. Outside of the flowing water, it is empty.

In the bottom, a few symbols are etched: "V-II-VIIII"

I guess I'll do the honors of pressing the detonator button.

You take Columbo's detonator and press the button.

...

.......

Nothing seems to happen. Is it a dud? Is the explosion too far away? Who knows. The detonator button feels very loose now, and doesn't seem to be able to be used again.

Hey Spooks, I'm sorry about you getting blackmailed, but are there are any logs for the holding cell? Can you show us if there is?

I... I suppose I could reveal this information for public viewing. The resident of the Holding Cell should be irrelevant to the Crimson Eye.

...I hope.

Spooks prints out the logs for the Holding Cell. It appears as though someone was transported to the Holding Cell via a Capture Device, however they seemed to have spent the rest of the night there, as the door was never opened.

Phenera has asked me to present my knife! Is this another part of the "interesting things" you seemed to be exploring last night? I promise I have no judgment! I'll present my knife for them!

Giffany presents her knife. It is a very nice knife, however you do not think you wish to get to know "Knife" better, despite Giffany's enthusiasm for the subject.

Could I go nab a few sticks of Dynamite and try to detonate them in different ways besides the fuse? Like specifically extreme blunt force, crushing them, cutting them, chucking them really hard at the shuttle, et cetera. I'd also like to make up a bundle and check if the explosion could derail the whole shuttle car.

You grab some Dynamite from the Mine Shaft's entrance and try to detonate it in various ways. You grab a knife and begin to cut the dynamite...



H-hey! What are you doing!? You're gonna blow your arm off, maybe worse!

That dynamite is super old, it's unstable! Damage it too much, and you're probably just gonna set it off! This isn't C4, this is old-school!

I'll see if I can find an intact wheel and a semi-intact piece of railing. I spin the wheel as hard and fast as I possibly can. Does it cause a spark?

You find an intact wheel on the shuttle, and remove it. You spin it hard against some of the railings, but it doesn't seem to spark. Maybe if it was damaged or the emergency break was applied.

I've not got any ideas, so it's time for some super basic ID attempts to try and find a direction!

That unknown metal in the shuttle wreckage, drop a shard in water and see if it reacts.

Then give it the old flame test, taking a shard and putting it to fire to see what color it burns.

You drop a shard of the metal in the Fountain water as Ciel looks at it. It just... sinks to the bottom.

You then grab a blowtorch from the Kitchen and hold it to fire for a long time. The flame is... a strange white-ish color.

Can we get any dynamite in a pre-made bundle? I wanna see about how much that explodes.

Oh, and, how viable would it be to just chuck a bundle of dynamite on the tracks about where it looks like the explosion occurred? Could you do it just standing on either station platform?

You bundle up some dynamite, grabbing the sticks from Morgan before he kills himself. Tying them together with twine, you light it and toss the bundle outside. It explodes in a large burst, likely enough to damage and derail the Shuttle. The small red scraps left over look very close to the ones on the shuttle line in terms of burn pattern and damage.

You don't think you could throw the dynamite far enough from either platform to reach the position of the presumed explosion though.

Where's the explosive marks relative to the Shuttle? As in, which way did does it appear to be derailed? The "front" is a bit ambiguous.

Well okay what the hell then. If I can, look in the messed up shuttle car. Has the emergency brake been pulled?

Hello, Lyra! Your friend, Jack of Spades, has said that the knife was controlled remotely, by an anomalous power. Are you able to verify this claim? I like your, glasses!

This post was last modified: Feb 9, 2024 at 10:26 PM by Pea.

I've been away from the action for most, if not all of the night, so I don't have much to share, other than I went to the Chem Lab and saw Lyra and Jack there, making herbicide. They beat me to the punch, so I left and checked out the Observatory instead.

My, what a thrilling evening... Exploring a historical site with a famed archaeologist, and a man from TV to boot! I'd almost say this beats the Seattle Opera's 'Rigoletto'.

To summarise - I managed to find a keycard for the Aquatic Lab and took an excurion there with Dex and Indiana Jones. How I came across the keycard is something that, regrettably, I can't divulge. The risk is too high.

I began my night heading to the Archives to research Mirror Lake, and found an ecological report. I firstly took off to the Auxiliary Bathrooms to grab a can of antiperspirant - purely for defense purposes. Actually, I spent quite a bit of the night finding random things I could use to defend myself - an umbrella wouldn't be much use against some supernatural being.

I cornered Dex in the Cafeteria and asked if he wanted to join me on an excursion to the island. I then took a moment in the waiting room to grab a pen and some paper, to make a map of the Lab once we arrived. Lily passed through while I was here, and Alan Wake came in as I left.

My next stop was the Boiler Room to grab a few flashlights and a shovel. Then it was off to the Control Department, spotting Revy heading to the Facility Lobby. Nancy and 23 were here. I discussed picking up a suitable weapon with them - not something I have a wealth of experience in - and managed to find a nifty little baton. Why, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of a beating from this little beauty.

Afterwards, they left with me and stuck around in the Facility Lobby to talk to Morgan. I took the shuttle over to the Lounge and encountered Izumi Konata setting up her "anime night". I'm a total outsider when it comes to Japanese animation, so I didn't plan to stick around for long. I went into the kitchen to grab some kind of metal tray, to use as a makeshift breastplate. It was tremendously uncomfortable, but it made me feel a little safer.

After that, Dex enters the lounge as I leave... though he seems a little off.

Fully prepared, I head over to the Boathouse. Ciel was waiting for me at the shore, for some reason. But when she spoke, Dex's voice came out - and also her mouth and the rest of her body didn't move normally. I reached out and... well, long story short, it was Dex after all. The real one. The poor man had been convinced he was victim of a bizarre body-swapping incident. Not the first one of those I've dealt with, and I'm sure far from the last.

He was a little sour, but perked up once our excursion began. We set sail for the island, and then split up to look for clues. As mentioned earlier, I located the keycard and we stepped into the elevator - met by Indiana Jones, who was trying to smash it open with a dagger. For some reason, his posterior was filthy.

I advised him to step aside and used the keycard to open the doors. We then made our way down into the depths of the Aquatic Lab.

---

The first thing we found down there was another shuttle station, though it's currently nonfunctional. There's a door partway along the tracks, but the control panel doesn't work. It says "Error: power diverted to Thalassic Seal".

Elsewhere, there's a door with an access level so high, none of us are able to enter. There's a fair few anomaly containment chambers, a lab full of odd machines and high-tech equipment, a corkboard with that weird Abyss Team logo on.

But after a while, things took a worrying turn. We started to hear these odd, distorted noises - mutterings about the Thalassic Seal among other things. The bulbs in our flashlights burst, right as this impossibly tall figure with glowing red eyes came from around the corner. Quelle horreur! Well, I took the initiative, grabbed my companions, and got us all out of there safely - back into the elevator and back onto the boat.

Not a moment after we arrive back, a lighthouse began to rise out of the lake. Morgan was knocked out on the shore too, but nobody took much notice of this. After this, we headed back to the main building - spotting Jack in the Arboretum. I left Dex in the hall and finally returned to bed, completely tired out.

Here's a batch of investigations.

Could a grenade from the armory set off a bundle of Dynamite?

Does the explosion from a Frag Grenade make the same lacerations on Momoyo's body?

Are there any sections of pipe or something missing from the shuttle line or the boiler room?

Do the scraps of exploded grenade match the metal strewn about the shuttle line?

Can I get Analogue Trip over here to volunteer to be hit with a grenade and bundle of dynamite?

How many explosive charges are missing from the mines?

Judging by how volatile Lyra said it was, you believe that a grenade could quite easily set off the dynamite.

You drag a body from the Morgue. It has a sigil on its chest, drawn in sharpie. You prop it up against a tree and hurl a frag grenade at it, but the shrapnel from the frag grenade leaves smaller puncture marks and lacerations, whereas Momoyo's are crude, large gashes.

There are no pipes missing from the shuttle line or boiler room. You also don't know where Trip is.

You notice that the crate of dynamite by the entrance to the mines is missing several sticks of dynamite, though you can't really tell exactly how much is missing. Not a large amount. You can't tell if there is more dynamite deeper in the mines, as no one has explored them during the day.

Where's the explosive marks relative to the Shuttle? As in, which way did does it appear to be derailed? The "front" is a bit ambiguous.

It looks as though the explosion went off at the bottom of the shuttle near the front, which seems to have flipped it backwards and demolished it.

Well okay what the hell then. If I can, look in the messed up shuttle car. Has the emergency brake been pulled?

You look in the shuttle car. You can't tell if the emergency brake has been pulled, nor can you tell if the emergency exit door has been opened. It is all too destroyed. It doesn't appear as though the brake is currently active however.

Hello, Lyra! Your friend, Jack of Spades, has said that the knife was controlled remotely, by an anomalous power. Are you able to verify this claim? I like your, glasses!

Kyehehehe, why thank you - but your compliments aren't necessary. I can see you're spouting nonsense with OR without my glasses.



Seriously, a remote-controlled knife? What kind of Anomaly would that even be? That's like, something a crazy guy would build in his basement, not something we'd research here!

Riki buns are wifeypon Oka buns! Frontier Village buns! Not Phenera buns! Hands off Heropon!

Well, Riki ask. Explodey at Liturgical Study, and explodey at big stairs, anything like Momoyo train track big, big boom? Rest in peace. Hom Hom not really Hom Hom, Hom Hom like us... Heropon sorry. Save no one so far, only send off Goose with Heropon funeral...

Where's the explosive marks relative to the Shuttle? As in, which way did does it appear to be derailed? The "front" is a bit ambiguous.

It looks as though the explosion went off at the bottom of the shuttle near the front, which seems to have flipped it backwards and demolished it.

Close to the wheels, or however it connects to the track?
While I'm at it, does the weird metal make sparks if I strike it against metal?

Riki buns are wifeypon Oka buns! Frontier Village buns! Not Phenera buns! Hands off Heropon!

Well, Riki ask. Explodey at Liturgical Study, and explodey at big stairs, anything like Momoyo train track big, big boom? Rest in peace. Hom Hom not really Hom Hom, Hom Hom like us... Heropon sorry. Save no one so far, only send off Goose with Heropon funeral...

Riki checks the "Expoldey" at the Liturgical Study. it looks like the doorway has been blown open, but the explosion seems to have been less powerful than the Shuttle explosion. The Stairway to Heaven's stairs are singed by an explosion, but it looks much the same as the doorway.

Where's the explosive marks relative to the Shuttle? As in, which way did does it appear to be derailed? The "front" is a bit ambiguous.

It looks as though the explosion went off at the bottom of the shuttle near the front, which seems to have flipped it backwards and demolished it.

Close to the wheels, or however it connects to the track?
While I'm at it, does the weird metal make sparks if I strike it against metal?

It looks like it was close to the wheels.

You try to strike the other metal against the metal of the tracks. It doesn't spark.

Riki want to see something. Bits, pieces from explodey thing left at door and stairs - Heropon wonder if exist there, too. Like red scrap at train. Bad bad Spooks know what mean?

Oh, Heropon also compare Liturgical masks to last night. Riki remember Astrid and other friends check then, so see if tiki mask missing.

This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2024 at 1:31 AM by Nashu Mhakaracca.

Cor, what a night! A night of mourning, of celebration, of adventure...and more murder, evidently. Shame, that.

I began my night with an invitation to attend the funeral of our fallen feathered friend. Even if he DID try to brutally assail me with a crowbar, he was still our brother-in-arms...I think? I took a quick detour to the Leisure Center first and saw inspector Columbo heading up the stairs. I wanted to retrieve my void rifle from the Locker Room, but can you believe it? Some opportunistic thief made off with my prize! How could you? I pilfered it fair and square!



In the Facility Lobby, I came across Nancy talking with Morgan and 23 talking with Dodo. I went up the Main Elevator with the latter two, and I had a chat with 23 while Dodo took a stop in the Boiler Room. He had some fascinating nuggets to share...something about a "Black Scribe" and a "Sorcerer's demon". At some point Lily ran from the Boiler Room to the Chapel, then Dodo came back and Giffany joined us.

I think I'll skip over the funeral, since Dodo sufficiently covered it in his testimony. I'll also skip the part when he left his...droppings...by the Fountain.



May you ever walk in the light of the crystal, Goose. You'll be missed...probably.

After the funeral, I began my investigation of the Mine Shaft using the labelled map I found. I came across a room where light was pouring in from a hole dug from above - presumably by that Pegasus fellow. Ah, the room was also full of explosives, if that's relevant. It was also full of goopy Liz. She was looking a lot worse for wear than the last time we saw her; leaky hole in her chest aside, her body was totally mutilated. Bones pulverized, internals shredded...truly a sight to reacquaint you with your lunch.

My progress was barred by a locked grate, so I turned around and went down another path. I followed the rhythmic clanging sound to a crushing machine that looked suspiciously more modern than the old mining equipment down there. Something was glowing inside of it, but the shutoff switch required a key. Peggy showed up around this time and started digging, barely acknowledging me. Now that's a man who's dedicated to making new holes!

I kept walking and headed to the chamber marked "Crystal Cave", which turned out to be a rather apt name! I also came across a report on Crystals & Esotera Storage. Once again blocked by a locked grate, I turned around to leave, but suddenly I heard a strange humming sound. I looked at the grate, and a towering monstrosity looked back! Its form seemed to flicker like it wasn't entirely corporeal, and it glided right through the solid grate. My flashlight began to flicker in its presence, but I bravely waved it in the figure's general direction, staving it off! Before it disappeared, though, I noticed that it seemed to be wearing a coat of some kind, adorned with a familiar purple spiral logo. I recognized it as the symbol of the Abyss Team.



I then (bravely) retreated myself, noticing on my way out that Peggy had finished digging his new hole. Back on the surface, I passed by Lily with her arms full of junk, and Peggy again, this time turning up rocks in the yard. I went inside and down to the Lounge, passing by Konata leaving her own event looking more than a little inebriated. I'd been looking forward to watching that Hingan detective cartoon, but instead I stumbled upon a viewing of...something about chickens?

I wanted to speak with Dexy, but he was preoccupied with a contest of liver failure - which he seemingly won, until the misshapen pink lalafell drenched "him" with ale and revealed "his" ruse. T'was Ciel all along! Inconceivable. Fortunately, the real Dexy made his grand entrance by introducing his fist to the impostor's face.



He poured himself a glass of ginger ale and started ranting about his night completely unprompted - something about crossdressing and being pursued by a monster? That just sounds like normal inspector work to me, though. We got to talking about our respective careers, and honestly, I don't get why you people want to bully him. He's not a bad guy at all!

As fascinating as that was, though, it was getting late, and I needed to rest my brain for a double murder case. I'm sure I don't need to say this, but I passed by the grisly crime scene on the tracks on my way to bed...poor Momoyo.

Hello, Lyra! Your friend, Jack of Spades, has said that the knife was controlled remotely, by an anomalous power. Are you able to verify this claim? I like your, glasses!

Kyehehehe, why thank you - but your compliments aren't necessary. I can see you're spouting nonsense with OR without my glasses.



Seriously, a remote-controlled knife? What kind of Anomaly would that even be? That's like, something a crazy guy would build in his basement, not something we'd research here!

Yeah, that's not what I said...

not case related (probably) so no urgency but can we check out inside the lighthouse and the aquatic lab now that it's opened?

You investigate the Lighthouse, taking the boat out to the island. Inside, you see... an old-fashioned Lighthouse. Very generic, and nothing particularly unique about it. A winding set of stairs leads to a lamp, which is currently unlit. On the bottom floor, there are some raincoats, boots, and sailor gear.

There is also an Anomaly Containment room. You look inside...

Code:

BPI-7222 [Deep Colossus]
[ACCESS LEVEL: IV]
[THREAT LEVEL: YELLOW]
[DESCRIPTION]: An old-timey metal diving suit, slouched over in the corner.

[INFORMATION]: Unknown

---

You leave the lighthouse, not looking to disturb whatever that is. You turn to the small building housing the Aquatic Lab Elevator, and notice that it is now unlocked. You head inside, and the elevator begins its descent...



…You emerge at the bottom, your legs shaky and wavering after the journey down. You take a look around. Besides the Elevator shaft, the room appears to be covered in windows leading out to the lake. Several machines are set up in here, seemingly monitoring something about the water. There are a couple desks and files as per usual, as well as as tanks containing fish and smaller creatures akin to the lake monster. It is pretty dark down here though.

To the east, you see two doorways. To the west, you see another doorway. There is an Anomaly Containment Room to the south

You may now explore this area. Any areas uncovered down here will be added to the map the following night.

This post was last modified: Feb 10, 2024 at 1:31 AM by The Thing that Lives Beneath.

Heat up a pizza from the cafeteria or some place and then leave it in trip's former cell in an attempt to bait him out
also inspect the Cafeteria while I'm there so that I'm at least being somewhat productive with this investigation

Oh oh, black slimey scary thing in Receiving Bay Lita see - lead to weird thingy in Service Elevator? Mannequin, or Trip?

Check Lake too for water trash evidence. Not sure Hom Hom friends or Bird People friends did already!

If I throw the knife in Counter-Terrorism at the ceiling, does it have enough force to become embeded as it was?

I'd like to present [Report - Crystals & Esotera Storage] whenever it's convenient.