Kamen Rider DGP

Chapter 8 - Who Did It Part 3

The Riders all converge onto one particular room. Javier and Akihito enter separately, while Élise and Yuto come in together as a pair, with the former following just behind. They all look at each other with a confused, almost suspect look in their eyes. 

Yuto talks up behind Élise, spooking her a little as she had lost track of him while on their walk through the mansion to find John and Alex.

Akihito is the first to say something and break the silence. "So, we're just going to ignore the elephant in the room, and pretend we didn't all hear that loud shockwave throughout the mansion?"

"Oh good, someone else felt it too. I was worried I had lost my footing on the way here," Javier replies. He looks around the room, "We're two men short."

Right on cue, another of the doors swings open, and Alex marches in. He rushes to a table, and slams his hand on it, dropping the Chain Array Buckle down, "John...Obsidian was murdered. And one of you is the killer."

There's a stunned silence that falls onto the room with Alex's sudden accusation. His eyes linger on the Riders, judging them while keeping his distance in the center of the room.

"You found a Buckle," Akihito says. "I highly doubt that means one of us was attacked. Besides, I bet the old man is just in the restroom. You know how they get on in age." 

"Maybe," Alex has a hint of disdain in his voice. "A Buckle alone isn't proof, and maybe he just dropped it while on a stroll. But I just walked in on a scene, and this was right there to smack me in the face!" Alex reveals the burnt picture of John and his family, his damning piece of evidence of an attack. 

Again, the room falls quiet. Not even Akihito can think of something to mutter from his smart mouth. 

Javier finally speaks up, "I want to see the crime scene. I want to do this properly before we start accusing one another. Sound fair?"

Agreeing to their terms, Alex leads the remaining Riders down the hall. The scent of scorched carpet is still in the air and only grows thicker the closer they get. Arriving on the scene, all doubts are burnt away as they witness the sight of the attack. The scorch marks on the carpet and wallpaper, the torn wood, the slashes in the walls, even the giant hole in the floor.

Alex turns to the rest of the Riders, presenting what he found like a prize on a game show. "See? Is this enough for you to believe me, or are you just going to continue to believe nothing is wrong?"

The evidence speaks for itself. The Riders can't say anything against the truth. One of them is a player killer, yet they all look at each other with the same level of suspicion. 

"So who did it?" Akihito asks, having experience with this game in one of his previous adventures with the DGP. 

Élise notices the slashes in the walls, clear signs of a bladed weapon or buckle used in the attack. "John...I mean, Obsidian only had two Buckles, a mace, and a shield. Neither of those could have caused these types of scaring on the walls," she gestures to the imprints on the wall.

Yuto is quick to agree, "I was thinking the same thing. I saw how he used that mace, it shouldn't have made such a narrow impact in the wall."

"Glad you both agree," Alex turns to Akihito. "The claw marks on the wall and the burns on the carpet are all I need to know it was you."

Akihito is quick to deny the claim, "You really think that little of me to attack another player?"

Élise defends Akihito, "I don't think it was him. I've seen him use the Phoenix Buckle before. And while he does have sharp talons, those are too big to make cuts in the wall this narrow. It would have to be something smaller, like a sword." She turns her focus to Javier. "The only person here I know with a weapon like that is you, Javier." 

Javier says nothing. He raises a brow, but smiles, impressed by her reasoning. Alex keeps his eyes on Akihito but steps back. While his resentment towards the Rider is strong, Élise puts out a reasonable explanation that deters his anger. As well, he remembers what his friend told him. He backs down to listen to reason. However, as he looks over at Javier, something seems off about his reaction. 

Yuto takes a moment to react. "That's right! In the last game, he struck down a fair amount of Jyamato with the Sword Buckle. He was shown to be skilled with it, so he would have been able to take out Obsidian. He most likely went for him first because he was experienced."

Before any decisions can be made, the halls become filled with Jyamato. The various Jyamato that littered the mansion, taking on various roles as staff and guests suddenly appear, and head towards the Riders.

At first, the Riders feel uneasy with their sudden appearance, hearing their unnaturally humming as they get closer. That feeling of alarm takes over their instincts. Individually, they reach into their pockets and pull out a Buckle.

The corridor becomes filled with noise pollution. The source is the humming of the Jyamato, and five Desire Drivers calling out at the same time,

SET!

Now up close, one of the Jyamato pulls a knife from their suit and tries to attack the Riders. The five of them all transform into their Rider forms to fend off the Jyamato ambush. Garuru uses Claws to slash away at the Jyamato. During the struggle, he tries to keep an eye on all present Riders. He watches Papi leap into the hole, while Scarlet creates another in the ceiling as he flies away. Before going after Papi, he looks back to see Lure dragged Snow away from the fight.

....................................

Outside of the game, Tsumari watches the Riders from the observation deck. She has a concerned expression, clearly, she didn't know this was going to happen. A monitor appears beside her. She has a direct line to the Game Master, a masked figure in a white suit, and black cape. 

"Game Master! The game, it's....,"

"I know, Tsumuri. I'm not pleased either. The Riders were clearly tricked, or at least these Jyamato weren't as domesticated as we had hoped."

"What should we do? Call the game off?"

The Game Master thinks for a moment, wanting to weigh their opinions. "The game will continue, however, please notify all Riders that violence on the Jyamato won't be punished. They can earn points the original way. But...," he holds his hand out, putting a pause on his words, "They still must uncover any and all Player killers in the group. Only then, may they continue. For the sake of this world." The monitor disappears. 

Tsumuri looks back at the screens showing the game, concerned for the Riders. "Be strong players. Be strong."