Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Book — March 31th, 2024

On a nice evening, a woman with blue and green two-toned hair was preparing some coffee. As the stench of the drink filled the room, another woman caught wind of it.

“Oh my gordita, Book!” This other woman was slightly shorter than Book. She had darker skin and wore some fish earrings, for some reason. “That’s the fifth cup of coffee you’ve had today!” 

“Oh please Taco, I’ll be fine.” She takes the now prepared cup of coffee and takes a sip. “Besides, I really need something bitter to drown out the sweetness from Cake’s red velvet.”

“WHAT!?” Taco looked at Book, her jaw practically at the floor. “Cake is baking for you guys? Is it still too late for me to join?”

“You had multiple months to join our GnD campaign and only now you want in?”

“I didn’t know you guys were getting free sweets! If I did, I would’ve joined asap.”

“Of course you would.” Book sighs.

The two’s conversation gets interrupted by the ringing of Book’s phone. She went over to the table she left her phone at and immediately answered it.

“Hello?”

“Is this Ms. Cavalier?” A monotone male voice came from the other side of the phone.

“Yes it’s me, but please just call me Book.”

“Alright Book.” The one on the phone cleared his throat. “I’m Black Hole, and I’m a police detective.”

Those words put Book on edge. Even if she was a lawyer, her interactions with law-enforcement weren’t the nicest. “O-oh. What makes you call me, sir?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of DPA.” The mention of the three letter acronym was enough to ease off Book’s edge by a bit. She had worked with them before, and was even friends with some of the members.

“Yes. I’ve heard of them.”

“That makes my job easier. I’m one of the members.” This shocked the lawyer. She thought that all of the group’s members were just random nobodies, she wasn’t expecting one of them to be part of law-enforcement. 

Black Hole continued. “We're looking into a string of murders that have been taking place in the last few months that we have some evidence to believe were caused by the same perpetrator."

“But what does that have to do with me?”

“After some examination of the autopsy of the man who died on March 5th, we have reason to suspect that he may have been a victim of this hypothetical serial killer.” Book started to see where this was going. “During the case, another woman had been tried under the belief that she was the murderer.”

“Pin…”

“Precisely.” The detective sounded a bit proud of himself. “Since you were Ms. Scarlet’s lawyer, and had exclusive access to some case records…”

“You wanted to interrogate me.” Taco, who was scrolling on her phone on the couch, eyes Book with a very concerned expression, trying to reason just what she was talking about on the phone to warrant her to say that.

“When you say it like that it makes it sound like we think you’re the murderer. We just want to chat a bit about the case, preferably face to face.”

“Well I can’t do it right now.” Book leans on the table. “I’d need to brush up on some info about the case.”

“No worries.” Black Hole pauses before speaking again. “Would you be able to meet up tomorrow?”

Book tries to think if she has anything tomorrow, but nothing comes to mind. “Yes. I’m free tomorrow.”

“Then we’ll speak again tomorrow. Goodnight, Book.” And just like that, the phone call was over. And Book was left with a feeling of anxiety.

DPA was counting on her to bring them crucial information related to the murder case that could further their own investigations on some mysterious serial killer. That was a lot of pressure put on her, and it seemed Taco could tell.

“Hey.” Taco puts her hand on Book’s shoulder. “Look, I don’t know what the person on the phone said, but there’s no way it’s something that can make you that anxious.”

“It was from DPA. They want my help to catch a serial killer.”

“And I’m sure you’ll do great!”

“I couldn’t even get Pin a not guilty verdict.” Book says, dejected, while staring off into space, her body trembling slightly.

“Hey! Girl! ¡Miramé!” Taco snaps her fingers in front of Book’s face, literally snapping her out of her downward spiral. “Your job was to prove she wasn’t a murderer. And you did just that.”

“But she still got arrested!”

“For something completely unrelated. Something that you aren’t at fault for.”

Taco’s words make Book feel significantly better. She was pretty good at that. Makes the lawyer think just how childish her old one-sided beef with her actually was.

“Well, I have to go now.” Taco stretches and starts walking towards the door. “Lolly is gonna need a helping hand with everything that's going on.”

“I still don’t get what actually happened.”

Taco sighs. “Remember the whole Gelatin’s Steakhouse fiasco? That got Gelatin put on probation?”

“Yeah.”

“So basically, the ownership of the brand was all transferred to Lollipop. But not only that, she’s also his legal guardian now, since no one has any idea where his actual parents are.”

“Oh.”

“She’s having to juggle her job, managing the steakhouse and taking care of Gelatin. So I’m going there to take some of the burden off of her shoulders.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at the calendar. “Should be just for a year, since that’s when the kid turns 18.”

“So you’ll be babysitting Gelatin then?” Book teases.

“Come on, Book. The kid was managing a whole restaurant chain, he can handle himself.” A mischievous smile creeps up on Taco’s face as she reaches for the door. “I’ll be babysitting Lollipop, obviously.”

The two share a laugh before Taco walks through the door, leaving Book alone in her apartment.

—

Hours passed since Taco left, Book was completely absorbed by the glowing screen of her laptop, meticulously reviewing all the info she could get her hands on regarding Pin’s case. Her eyes were starting to burn and she was having to re-read words multiple times to make sure she got it right, suffice to say, she should definitely be going to sleep soon.

As soon as the thought of going to sleep came into her mind, she heard a series of knocks on her door in quick succession. A strange occurrence, it was 11 p.m. after all.

Book made her way to her door and—due to her being very tired—opened the door without looking through the peephole. On the other side of the door, standing in the hallway, was a woman with very long, and very messy, lavender-colored hair. She stared at the lawyer with an unreadable expression.

“Are you Book?” She asked, in an aloof tone. The woman held a little notebook in her hands, she kept looking at it and then at Book a couple of times, as if checking something.

“Uhmm… Yes?” Book, still kinda out of it due to being sleep deprived, answers the suspicious woman at her door.

“Great!” The aloof girl simply waltzes into Book’s apartment without a care in the world.

“Hold on! This is my apartment! You can’t just walk right in!” The home-owner tried to assert some sort of authority in the situation, but failed miserably.

The intruder simply walked around, looking around the apartment while scribbling around on her little notebook. She then went straight to Book’s kitchen.

“Hey! What part of ‘you can’t just walk right in’, didn't you understand?” Book tried to approach the weird woman, who was now standing in front of what the home-owner assumed was the kitchen cabinets. She couldn’t be too sure though, the kitchen lights were off and the only light was the moonlight coming from the window—that was relatively far away from where she was standing. 

“Are you even listening!?” The second Book’s hand touched the woman’s shoulder; she spun around at breakneck speeds, pinning her to the ground while brandishing a knife in the poor lawyer’s face. 

Book’s eyes widened and every bit of sleepiness left her body, being instead replaced by sheer adrenaline, as she thrashed around in the attacker’s grasp, to no avail.

She struggled under the other woman’s iron-tight grasp, her purple-ish eyes glowing in the dark room, reflecting Book’s own panicked expression. It was then that a thought crossed Book’s mind—or more like an alarm sounded on her head.

I’m gonna die here.

The lavender-haired assailant was significantly stronger than her and, as such, no amount of struggling would allow Book to leave with her life.

“FINE!” She blurted out, in an adrenaline fueled panic. “WHAT DO YOU WANT? I’LL DO ANYTHING JUST PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”

It was then that the home invader got off of her. Book took a sigh of relief, as she got up from the floor, still shaking from the whole ordeal. The knife-holding one stood at the kitchen’s only door frame, the light from the living room shining at her back. She stared at Book with an unnerving smile that gave the panting one chills. 

The two stood there in a daunting silence that seemed to last for an eternity, before Book finally managed to get herself to speak. “What do you want?”

“You’re a lawyer right?” She answered her question with another question. “I’m probably gonna need one of those.”

Book didn’t know what to say. Nothing this person said seemed to make sense to her, but maybe that could be because she’s sleep deprived and fresh off a life or death situation.

The girl walked back into the living room, leaving the knife she was carrying on the table. Book followed suit, standing next to the laptop she was using to review the case. On the screen were some notes she had taken of the March 5th victim’s death, to aid in DPA's investigation:

– victim was found in a forest, he was riddled with multiple stab wounds (15 to be exact, it could be relevant to your investigation, who knows)

– later investigations show evidence that he had actually been killed in his own house and only later dragged to the aforementioned forest by the perpetrator (who at the time was presumed to be the defendant, Pin Scarlet, who I was responsible for the defense of)

– law enforcement reported that the victim’s house had been forcibly broken into, and that there were visible signs of a struggle (they couldn’t find anything that could be linked to the killer, aside from some ripped pieces of notebook paper with gibberish that they couldn’t distinguish. They tried to argue that it could have possibly been the culprit’s handwriting but I was able to disprove that theory)

A realization hit Book, as her eyes left the laptop screen and darted across the room, looking for the woman who had invaded her apartment. And there she was, scribbling something down on that little notebook of hers.

It was her. Book’s expression shifted into one of horror at her—albeit a bit obvious—realization. The murderer, on the other hand, simply smiled at her direction.

“I’m Pillow by the way. Pillow Lavender.” The lawyer didn’t know if she was just toying with her, or if she was genuinely trying to be friendly. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

“T-tomorrow?”

“Goodnight.” Pillow walked deeper into Book’s apartment in the direction of the guest room—how she knew that that was the guest room will forever be a mystery. But not before saying one last thing to the terrified lawyer. “Don’t forget to lock your door. It’s still open.”

Book watched as the other woman closed the door of the guest bedroom. She felt a mix of fear and anxiety bubble up in her insides. 

The one responsible for that murder is now in my house. She thought. 

Do I call the police? But what if she manages to kill me before they get here? And what am I gonna tell Black Hole when I meet him tomorrow?

All of those thoughts ate away at her. She became a lawyer because of her want to uphold justice, no matter what. But for the first time ever, she was wavering. She knew she had to report Pillow to the police. She knew she had to tell Black Hole about Pillow.

All of those golden dreams and idealistic views of justice were being suffocated by a thought that sounded on her mind in repeat, like a constant wail of desperation, accompanied by her despair-filled reflection as seen from Pillow’s own purple colored eyes.

I don’t wanna die here.

Chapter Text

Book — April 1st, 2024

Book had trouble sleeping that night. I mean, who wouldn’t? She was currently housing a murderer in her guest room. Plus, the five cups of coffee she had yesterday definitely weren’t helping. 

Honestly, she always had trouble sleeping. Constantly tossing and turning in her sleep. Taco would tell her to stop drinking so much coffee, energy drinks and Dr.Fizz, framing that as the main culprit to the mysterious case of why Book couldn’t sleep. Our stubborn lawyer, however, was convinced it was her bed that was the problem, so much so that she spent a good chunk of her salary on different bed covers, pillows and pillow cases, to no avail. She never bought a new bed though, those are too expensive.

Although, the past night was slightly different. It started the same as every other night, with her squirming on her bed like she was having a seizure. But, as the night went on, she felt herself becoming at ease. A kind of ease that took her back to when she was just a child, sleeping peacefully in her parents bedroom when she had a nightmare, feeling the warm embrace of her mother cuddling her to sleep.

Wait…

Book’s eyes snapped open when she realized that there was something clinging to her while she slept. She pretty much jumped backwards out of bed, like a startled cat, before looking over at her own resting place to see… Pillow, peacefully snoring. 

When did she get in my room? And why? Book was very confused, her head being invaded by a myriad of questions. Why was Pillow in her bed? Why was Pillow cuddling with her? And most importantly. Why did that make Book actually sleep better? She didn’t actually get to ponder those questions, as her phone started ringing, and so she swiped it from the bed-side table.

“Hello?” She said to the one on the other side of the line, her voice still raspy from having just woken up.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Book.” A familiar monotone voice greeted Book. “I apologize if I woke you up. I didn’t know you’d still be asleep at this hour.” 

The lawyer, confused by Black Hole’s statement, looked at her digital clock. It displayed 13:43. Her eyes widened at the realization that she had overslept by almost 4 hours.

“O-oh. I usually wake at 10:00.” Book answered, shaking the drowsiness away. “I guess I just overworked myself yesterday.”

She lets off a nervous laugh, while looking at the serial killer that was currently sleeping on her bed.

“No worries.” Black Hole hummed, as if he were thinking of something. “One moment.”

Book could hear Black Hole calling out a name before leaving the line. She used this brief moment to recompose herself.

Okay. I need to keep my mouth shut about Pillow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What will she do to me if I end up screwing it up? 

Book could feel her legs begin to give out, she backed up to take a seat on her bed as she waited for the detective to return to the call.

“Book? Are you still there?”

“Of course.” She was still a bit shaken, but Black Hole didn’t seem to catch it in her voice.

“That’s great.” Multiple voices can be heard in the background from Black Hole’s side of the call. “I wanted to talk to you about our agreement from yesterday. If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Well. I’m free for the whole day today.” She could still hear Pillow’s light snoring. “Do you have a time and place in mind?”

“Actually, about that.” He cleared his throat. “Me and some members of DPA were gonna have lunch together today. Maybe you could join?”

“I’d love to.”

“Alright then. I’ll send you the location in a minute.”

“I’ll get ready right away!” And with that their conversation ended. Sure, Book still felt awful at the idea of having to lie and withhold information from a police detective, but it was either that or—what she assumed to be—death.

“Who were you talking to?” Just as she was about to get up from the bed she was surprised by Pillow’s soft voice coming from behind her. 

“You— I— Why were you even in my room!?” The surprised lady shouted at the woman who occupied her bed, flailing her arms around like some cartoon character.

“You were tossing and turning in your sleep.” Pillow shifts around, eventually sitting up-right. “And according to my research, sleeping together with another person reduces their chances of tossing and turning in their sleep by exactly 57%”

Book stared at the woman, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

This is the serial killer DPA is after? 

Every time Pillow opened her mouth to speak, Book was left completely confused. There wasn’t a single thing she said that didn’t have that effect on the lawyer.

“Whatever, I have a meeting to go to. So I’ll just… go…” Book got up from the bed, opened her closet, picked up some nice clothes, and left to take a shower and get changed in the bathroom—all the while Pillow maintained her gaze fixated on her, like one of those cursed statues you’d see in horror games. 

After a while, she leaves the bathroom, now wearing a blue polo, a light green vest, some jeans and a black jacket gifted to her by Pin. Afterwards, she grabbed her things and made her way to the front door, but not before turning towards Pillow, who was following her around with a notebook in hand.

“There’s food on the fridge, the wifi password is written on the router, and the tv has pretty much every streaming service you can think of.” Pillow continued to stare blankly at Book. “So please just… don’t cause any trouble. Okay?”

Book asked, no, pleaded with the woman. She felt like an idiot, trying to reason with a murderer, but she really didn’t feel like she had much of a choice.

“Okay.” Pillow answered in an aloof tone, before walking towards the internet router to get the password.

Book then left her apartment and locked the door, thinking to herself just how much of a bad idea leaving Pillow alone in her home is.

Much better than bringing a literal serial killer to the DPA gathering. She told herself, in an attempt to reassure herself that that was the right call, as she made her way towards the elevator.

—

30 minutes of walking. 

Book thought—and so did Google Maps—that it would be a short walk to the place DPA was holding the gathering at, it wasn’t, as a matter of fact, it sucked really bad. Nevertheless, she did eventually make it.

The place was a medium-sized house, the smell of blueberries and madeira sauce escaping into the outside. As Book approached the house’s front door she could hear multiple voices speaking at the same time. After quadruple checking the address, she took a very deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

“I’ll get it!” A nasally voice shouted from the other side of the door.

The door swung open, revealing a laid-back looking chubby woman with short curly hair, the tips of her hair being painted a light blue. She wore a blue sleeveless shirt, a beige cardigan and gray pants.

Her and Book traded looks, in an awkward silence. 

“Are you Book?” She asked, crossing her arms and looking the guest up and down.

“Yes, I am. And you?” 

The girl narrowed her eyes at the lawyer, giving her a scrutinizing stare, as if she didn’t actually believe her. “You don’t look like a lawyer to me.”

“Huh?!” Book felt a tad bit disrespected. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Pie, please stop being like that.” A slightly tired, dark-skinned man approached the two women. He was really tall, wearing a black and orange hoodie with a light blue armband. His voice was familiar to Book.

“Oh! Are you Black Hole?” She asked, tilting her head to look past Pie and towards the man who invited her.

“Yeah, it’s me.” 

Pie casually left Book with the tall man, walking back towards the couch.

“Please, come in.” Black Hole gave the guest some space as she entered the house. “I’m sorry for her.” He gestured towards Pie. “She takes the idea of being the leader very seriously.”

“Wait. She’s the leader of DPA?” Book says, not being able to hide her bewilderment.

“Yep. She was the one that came up with the whole thing.” He stares off into the couch of the living room, where three other people—not including Pie—were at. “She pretty much founded the whole thing, she wanted to make the world a better place. Each person that joined after had their own reasons.”

“If that’s the case… What was the reason you joined?” 

Judging by the way he stopped walking and fell silent, Book assumed she may have asked a question that she shouldn’t.

Great going genius. First time meeting the guy and you already asked a personal question.

“I just… I just felt like I had to.”

Book could hear the guilt in his voice, it was almost paupable, but it was clear to her that that's as far as she’d get with that.

“Well look who it is!” A voice very familiar to Book calls out to her from the couch. “If it isn’t my favorite dictionary!”

The one who was just called a dictionary turned towards the couch, locking eyes with a white-haired girl with a light-blue hoodie, a playful grin on her face.

“I thought you wouldn’t show up.” She got off of the couch, walked towards the lawyer. “And you know how much I hate no-shows.”

“It’s a good thing I showed up then.” Book extends her right hand forwards towards the woman, a devious smile plastered on her face.

The woman, who lacked her right arm, stared at her in disbelief. “You…” The two laugh for a moment.

“I didn’t know you knew Book, Fanny.” Black Hole stated.

“We go way back actually.” Fanny begins. “I met her in high school, back when I used to be part of student council” 

“You were part of the student council?!” A giddy boy, probably no older than 15, questioned, his eyes gleaming with glee. He wore a purple beanie with three little light-blue button badges with letters, together they spelled DPA. “That’s so cool!”

“OOooOo. Never thought you’d be part of something like that, Fanny.” An oblivious sounding woman spoke from the couch. She was using a crop-top, some jean shorts and an absurd amount of kandi bracelets on both arms, one of which was indeed light-blue.

Fanny groans. “I hate when people think I am incapable of doing good deeds!” She shouts, as her, Black Hole and the two other DPA members bicker with each other.

Book giggles, as she watches their argument.

—

The sun was setting over a small unremarkable house. Its front door was wide open, the knob bent in an uneven angle.

The living room was completely intact, the table was set, the floor was clean, the couch just had its lining changed and the flowers by the window were watered.

Going up the staircase lead to the second floor hallway, three of its four doors remained closed while one, more specifically the one at the end of the hallway, was left open.

The room was darkened, the only light being the setting sun shining through the bedroom-window, its rays illuminating the bed like a glass coffin. In it lies a woman caught in a peaceful slumber, wrapped by tainted red bedsheets, her face tranquil, eternally locked in the most beautiful of dreams.

On the other side of the room, hidden by the shadows, was a shade, a shape, holding something in its hands. It stared intently at the enchanted princess, unmoving in her glass coffin.

The shape then proceeded to leave the room, making its way through the hallway, down the staircase and across the living room, leaving through the front door, but not before closing the door on its way out.

And so the house was left in a peaceful harmony once more, with everything in its given place, as if nobody had ever been there. Like an enchanted grove from a fairy tale, complete with a sleeping princess, a single apple on the living room table…

And a knife missing from the kitchen.

—

Book spent the entire afternoon at Pie’s house, chatting away with the members of DPA about their high school years, eating blueberry pie and filet mignon dipped in madeira sauce. 

The lawyer was in the kitchen with Fanny, drinking some water and chatting, when Black Hole approached her.

“I think now is a good time to talk about the case.” The tall man proposed. Both women nodded in agreement, and the three sat down at the kitchen’s table.

“I’ll start with what we have.” Black Hole began. “Since the beginning of 2024 ‘till now, there have been a total of 7 murders cases. The police couldn’t find a culprit, until the 7th case, where it was suspected that it was Pin.”

Black Hole paused, assessing the lawyer’s face before continuing. “Of course, she wasn’t responsible and the police force was once again left without any leads.”

“I hate when the police is incompetent.” Fanny remarks, below her breath.

“Anything to add, Fanny?” Black Hole asks, an air of authority in his voice. It makes Book uneasy, but Fanny seems unamused.

“I would actually.” The DPA member rests her head on her left arm. “All of the victims had their houses broken into. But, the culprit didn’t actually seem to bother with trashing up the place.”

“Actually, the March 5th victim’s house was left completely thrashed.” Book interjected.

“That was an exception. And I hate exceptions!” Fanny shouted, before falling back into her chair. “Exceptions make our job much harder.”

“That it does.”

Book stared at the two DPA members, they looked puzzled, but not as puzzled as she was. She was trying her best to find a way to convey her own info in a way that doesn’t compromise Pillow’s identity, or even worse, puts herself on blast.

“Well…” She began speaking, the other two turned their heads to listen. “There were pieces of paper with gibberish written in them at the victim’s house. They were thought to be the culprit’s, since it wouldn’t make sense for the victim to be writing in loose paper like that. And I’m sure the police force should still have them.”

Black Hole fixates his gaze on the wooden table, deep in thought.

That’s a dead-end. Book had already testified against that lead in court, proving it meant absolutely nothing. That should occupy them for enough time for me to figure out what to do with Pillow.

“I could try—” Black Hole was interrupted by his phone ringing.

He answered it in his usual monotone voice, but that didn’t last long.

“ANOTHER ONE!?” He shouted, startling the other members of DPA and waking up Marker, who was asleep on the couch. “Yes. I’ll be there as fast as I can!”

The tall man bolted out of the house, in a fit of tunnel vision so strong he didn’t even say anything to anyone else.

“Could have at least said goodbye.” Pie rolled her eyes.

“What happened?” Marker asked innocently, still tired.

“Just boooring grown up stuff.” Bottle answers, giving Marker a big hug. “You can just go back to your nap.”

“Oookaaay.” He lies down on her lap, and shuts his eyes again.

Book could feel her ears ringing and her heart start racing.

No. No. No. No. No.

“Book, you good?” Fanny asks, putting her left hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Y-yeah!” She replies, way too fast and way too loudly. “I-I just remembered I have somewhere else to be!”

The panicked lawyer dashes through the front door, the DPA members watching her leave.

“People nowadays don’t even bother closing doors.” Pie scoffs, as she walks over to the front door to close it.

Fanny simply stares as Pie closes the front door, before muttering something beneath her breath, a frown on her face. 

“I hate liars.”

—

Book stood inside that elevator for what felt like years, her arms crossed and her feet tapping the ground anxiously. As soon as the elevator doors slid open, she power walked her way towards her apartment door.

She fumbled for a bit trying to get her key in the keyhole, but eventually she succeeded, turning the doorknob and pushing the door open like it was made of lead. Upon entering she found the living room in pitch black darkness, and a voice emanating from the direction of the couch.

“I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong…”

She slowly made her way towards it, to see… Pillow… hugging a bucket of popcorn, immersed in a movie. 

A huge weight was lifted from Book’s shoulders, and she felt like she could actually breathe now.

“Pillow?” She said, in between breaths.

Pillow turned to face the lawyer, that ever-present smile plastered on her pale face, contrasting with her fixed gaze.

The woman patted the couch-seat next to her, inviting the home-owner to sit with her. Book obliged, cautiously taking a seat next to her.

“I met this... six-year-old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face…”

Book couldn’t care less what movie Pillow was watching, truth is, she was mere seconds away from collapsing from exhaustion. Running to and from Pie’s house really tired her out.

“…I spent eight years trying to reach him…”

Book could feel her body getting heavier, as she fell sideways into Pillow’s lap.

“…and then another seven trying to keep him locked up…”

The two locked eyes and for a moment, while staring at the endless lavender sea that was Pillow’s eyes, she wondered just who exactly was that woman really, who was living inside that head, behind those eyes.

She couldn’t think much of it, as her eyes got heavier and heavier, they involuntarily closed. Enveloping her vision in darkness, leaving only the shape of Pillow and her lavender eyes lingering on her mind. 

She began drifting off into sleep, but not before the TV had its final say.

“…Because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil…”

Chapter Text

Book — April 2nd, 2024

Book’s eyes jolted open, as she found herself in a small little suburban town she didn’t recognize. She pulled her phone to try and check her location, but it was dead.

And so, she looked around in an attempt to find some landmark that could give her any sort of headstart in finding out where she was.

To no avail.

Her attention was diverted to a couple walking down the sidewalk. The lost woman tried to call out to them, but no words came out of her mouth.

She was dreaming.

“I tried. I really did…” Book snapped her gaze towards the porch of the house behind her. On it was an old lady, leaning over the railing, staring longingly at the sky. “I spent years and years trying… but it never meant anything.”

Book, confused as to what the lady was talking about, tried to question her, forgetting the fact that she couldn’t speak.

The old lady began speaking once again. “I should have seen the signs… They all did.” She buries her hands on her face, a mix of guilt and regret on her voice. “I thought I could prove them all wrong.”

Book fixated her gaze at the woman, analyzing every aspect of her appearance, in an effort to burn that lady’s image into her head. 

The more she looked at her, the more she looked… familiar, but not familiar in the sense of someone she had met before—as a matter of fact she was positive she had never seen this woman before in her life—but more so in the sense of she reminded Book of someone.

The old lady laughs ominously. “But I suppose that’s not my problem to deal with anymore.” With that, the woman looks directly at Book, chilling her to her very core.

“Death has come to your little world, lawyer. All you can do now is ignore it, help stop it…”

Book felt like she was drowning, an unbearable amount of pressure weighed on her, making her unable to stand.

“Or make the same mistake I made."

—

Book slowly opened her eyes, realizing that the room she was in was dark, and that her head was resting on something soft. She shifted her head to the side, locking eyes with Pillow, who smiled back down at her.

“Good morning, Book.” She said in a soothing voice. “Did you sleep well?”

Her question made Book remember her dream. The ominous old lady, the unfamiliar town…

What was that even about? What was that lady talking about? And why did she look so familiar? Book tried to recollect the woman’s appearance, but alas, she came up with nothing.

The lawyer’s pondering was interrupted by Pillow caressing her head, brushing her fingers through Book’s two-toned hair. She froze for a moment, staring at the pale woman with sparkles in her eyes, she could feel her face go redder and her body go warmer.

She wasn’t this pretty yesterday, was she? To be fair, the last few days have been very fast-paced. So much so that Book didn’t have the time to take it all in. But now… now she had all the time in the world to do so. 

She spent those moments staring longingly at Pillow’s eyes, the same eyes she had fallen asleep to yesterday… and the same eyes that stared her down while she thrashed around in the killer’s grasp.

Those dead, expressionless, beautiful, bewitching eyes.

That blank, dread-inducing, warm smile.

And that unreadable expression.

Book never seemed to understand her, like at all, and it drove her mad. She was always the observing type, over-analyzing every minuscule detail of a person, down to their micro-expressions; but, even so, she just couldn’t get Pillow. She was an unknown, something not yet determined.

It was almost as if… she wasn’t really there… As if only Pillow’s body, her shape, was present, and that whoever that woman really was… was so, so far away… 

Completely out of reach.

“Why?” Book whispered. “Why are you keeping me alive?”

Pillow stopped caressing Book’s head, which allowed her to get off of the other woman’s lap, getting up from the couch.

“I know you’re responsible for all those deaths!” 

Pillow tilted her head to the left slightly and stared at Book with a smile.

“I know you’ve been killing people!” Tears started welling up in her eyes and her legs started shaking, prompting her to sit back on the couch. “S-so… why…?”

The murderer continued to stare at the lawyer with that same smile on her face, but this time with her head tilted to the right. The apartment was swallowed by an unnerving silence, being occasionally broken up by Book’s hiccups.

Eventually, Pillow got up from the couch, and began to absentmindedly make her way towards one of the rooms.

“H-hey!” Book calls out to her—wiping away her own tears—and gets up from the couch again, her legs still trembling slightly. “Where— What are you doing?”

“I’m getting changed. I wanna go to the mall.”

Book stared flabbergasted as the woman casually entered her room, with the authority of someone who had been living there a long time. She still didn’t know what to think. Who was this woman really? What does she really want? Those and many more questions swam around the giant ocean that was Book’s mind.

But in the end, she shook her head.

You know what? Screw it. All that despair and desolation that once reflected in her eyes—and her shaky legs—was replaced with a fiery determination, as she entered her own room, where Pillow was.

“I’ll drive you to the mall. Kinda wanted to go there myself anyway.” That was only partially a lie, she did want to go to the mall, but had no plans to do so anytime soon.

“Okay.” Pillow didn’t even look at Book, instead inspecting the home owner’s closet for anything that fit her. A tough task, as both of them had very different builds.

Book realized this would probably take some time, so she sighed and sat back on her bed, waiting for her turn to use her own closet. All the while staring at the back of Pillow’s head, or rather her ridiculously long hair, that had probably gone uncombed for—at least—two months. 

I suppose there’s no way she could actually comb a hair that long herself. She caught herself thinking. 

I mean… I could… She started imagining the absolute herculean task that would be, and sighed as her face got redder. 

It can’t be that bad can it?

—

The two girls finally arrived at the mall, after 30 minutes of Pillow trying to find one of Book’s clothes that fit her—consequently stretching a couple of shirts in the process—and an extra 2 hours of the most painful hair combing ever done by mortal hands.

It took a single blink for Book to lose Pillow in the myriad shops present at the mall. This would definitely be reason for panic, but her rumbling stomach wouldn’t give her the time for that.

Book decided, against all logic, that she was going to the mall’s food court to get something to eat, instead of looking for Pillow. While doing so, she passed through a multitude of pretty looking shops, most of which were completely out of her price range.

“These new dice are gonna make him totally jealous.” Book is drawn to the sound of a familiar voice coming from a shop to her left. It came from a person, slightly smaller than her, wearing a red puffer jacket and a red face mask with a cat smile on it. 

Their eyes linger away from the bag they were holding, meeting with Book’s. “Oh! Hi Book! What a coincidence to find you here, eh?” They approached the lawyer and gave her a very careful hug, to which she reciprocated.

“Taggy! I didn’t know you came to this mall. Isn’t it a bit far from where you live?”

“Yeah it is. But, it’s the only place in all of Goiky with one of these.” Price Tag points to the store they just came out of. 

Book didn’t seem to be able to discern what exactly was being sold inside, as its windows were heavily tinted and pretty densely decorated in a way similar to a post-impressionist painting, with a big sign reading The Nominal Value hanging up high. 

“It’s the place where I buy all the GnD stuff for our campaigns, you know? The shopkeeper here makes some really good deals!”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“What I wanna know is why are you here? You aren’t really the type to go to the mall at all.” 

Book opened her mouth to answer her friend’s question, but stopped half-way through, upon realizing that she would have to choose her next words very carefully. “Well…” Her mind raced to find an excuse. “I’m accompanying someone actually.” She wasn’t lying, necessarily.

“Is it… Taco?” Taggy asks, with the intonation of someone playing guess who with a child.

“No. Taco is busy fixing Lolly’s and Gelatin’s problems.”

“Then I have nothing. You aren’t exactly known for having a huge group of friends.” Although Book couldn’t see their mouth through the mask, she knew they had the smuggest smirk imaginable.

“Hey! I—” Her words were interrupted by her stomach growling.

“Damn girl! Have you not eaten anything at all?”

“I had breakfast…”

“Girl, it’s 5 in the afternoon! At this rate you’ll start fainting; trust me, I’d know.” That last part came out more sorrowful than they probably intended it to be. “Bomby’s at the food court right now. Want to come with?”

“Definitely! They changed everything in this place, so now I have no clue where it is anymore.”

The two start walking before they are interrupted by another voice coming from the direction of the shop. “You forgot something!”

Both of them turn towards the voice, locking eyes with the shopkeeper. They wore a big blue cloak that covered their whole body and a big blue wizard hat with a veil that made seeing their face pretty much impossible. With hair so long it would put Pillow’s to shame, it was majestically put together and absolutely flawless, and Book swore it felt like it was… floating? Nah; she was probably just seeing things from not eating for an entire afternoon.

The stranger pulled a bag from the inside of their cloak, holding it out to Price Tag, strangely Book couldn’t see their hand holding it though; it was probably inside the cloak. “You forgot your other bag.”

“Oh!” Taggy reaches out and grabs the bag. “I can’t believe I forgot. Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it. Anything for an esteemed customer such as yourself, Price Tag.” The dealer retreats back into their shop, leaving Book feeling unnerved for a reason she couldn’t quite understand.

“Anyways! Food court here we come!” Price Tag marches onward, with Book following close behind and the lingering feeling of uneasiness hovering over her.

—

sooo…

anything?

nope

not much anyway

leads are kinda dry rn :/

howbout you?

nothing here either

i swear this whole thing’s driving me nuts

i hate this >:(

what about “mr serve and protect”?

did he find anything?

haven’t heard of him for the whole day actually

someone else died yesterday so…

guess he’s looking into that

another one?

do you have the name?

no

i don’t get to know the name until it hits the news

none of us do

it’s stupid

i hate it

>:(

no wonder you people get nothing done

you sure you got no leads at all?

well…

i have a hunch

but that’s it

i’d say go for it at this point

we have literally nothing substantial rn

ye

i’m look into it

will get back to you on that one

sounds good

i’ll see what i can do on my end

just remember to keep your word alright?

don’t want blueberry girl getting on my ass about it

no worries

i wont

you know i hate whistleblowers 

>:)

—

Book sat at a table in the food court, holding a small little burger. To her left sat Bomby, who had long since finished his hamburger and was now just drinking some purple slushy, and Taggy; they didn’t actually have any food and were just chatting with the other two.

“All I’m saying is that I think I’ll go for cleric next time.” Bomby says, in his usual higher pitched voice.

“I told you you’d get tired of playing fighter all the time.” Taggy rolls their eyes.

“I like to stick with old reliable.”

“Nothing stays reliable forever Bomby.” Book chimes in after finishing her meal.

Bomby pouts. “Says the one who can’t switch off scholar to save her life.”

“He does have a point, Book. Will you ever pick something other than scholar?”

“Hey! I just like the aesthetic!”

“Sure. Whatever you say.” Bomby picks up his phone to check the time, before addressing Price Tag. “Pricey, did you eat before we left?”

“Yep.” They answer quickly, their eyes locked into their phone.

Bomby raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Dude I’m not a baby!” They tighten their grip over the phone, in a fit of anger. “I think I’d remember having to clean this stupid thing.” They lift their shirt slightly up, revealing a small tube inserted into their abdomen.

“S-sorry… I-I just wanted to… you know…” Bomby gestures nervously.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Price Tag lets out the sigh of someone that had to go through that conversation multiple times.

The two continued chatting, all the while Book was completely absorbed in her own world, when the sudden realization hit her.

I left a serial killer completely alone in a mall.

It was as if her entire world fell apart. How could she have overlooked such a glaring detail? How could she just let someone like Pillow roam free like that? She should’ve handcuffed herself to Pillow; like she read in that one comic that one time. 

Actually; scratch that, she shouldn’t have even let her leave the apartment to begin with! Why did she do that? It was obvious something like this was going to happen. She was obviously going to lose someone like that purple-eyed menace in the middle of a crowded mall.

Book could feel herself grow colder and her chest tightening, as her friend’s voices blended into the background chatter of the food court. A myriad of questions began flooding her mind.

What if she killed someone?

What if she got in trouble?

What if I get in trouble?

What if—

“There you are, Book!” A familiar soft voice invaded Book’s ears, silencing those pesky voices that were terrorizing the woman, and filling her with a warmth unlike anything she’d ever felt before. 

“Pillow!” Book pretty much jumped off her chair and towards the long haired woman, who held a lavender flavored ice cream with two scoops on her right hand, and a shopping bag full of clothes on her left. “Where even were you?”

“I was just buying some clothes.” She shakes her shopping bag. “Can you hold this, by the way?” Book nods sheepishly, and Pillow dumps her bag onto her.

“So this was the one you were accompanying.” Price Tag says, still sitting on the table. 

“Congrats on making more than three friends, Book.” Bomby adds, making the other one at the table laugh, and the lawyer to frown.

“Shut up!”

Bomby, Price Tag, and even Pillow share small laughs as Book pouts and crosses her arms in frustration and embarrassment.

“We should get going.” Pillow stated. “It’s getting kinda crowded.”

Book looked around and, as mentioned, it was indeed getting crowded. “You’re right.”

Pillow didn’t even waste any time, as soon as the glasses-wearing woman uttered those words, she grabbed her arm and started walking away.

“I’ll call you when we get the next session set up!” Taggy shouted from the table.

The lawyer heard it, but it kind of blurred together in her head, as she was too focused on matching Pillow’s pace without tripping. Both of them walked side by side, holding hands—or rather Pillow held her by the wrist. 

Book snuck a glance at Pillow’s face, that same default smile on her face, and that same undecipherable gaze, fixated on something very far away. She couldn’t stop staring, it was like a spell had been cast on her; a spell that was only broken when Pillow took a bite of her lavender ice cream, swallowing the top scoop in one go.

Book’s face had never gotten that red before.

Chapter Text

Fanny - April 9th, 2024

The sound of a loud bell rings throughout the halls of a school, followed by the sounds of chattering, people walking and wheeled bags being dragged around. Classes had just ended for the day and, as such, all the students were going home. Some waited for their parents to come pick them up, while others walked back to their places of residence.

Little by little, the morning students disappeared from the school premises, leaving only the afternoon students, the school staff, and a group of ten grade 11 students; who were all currently together in an unused classroom, with its desks set up like a conference room.

“—and that’s pretty much it. Any objections?” A boy, painfully average looking, sat at the very edge of the table. Despite clearly being a student himself, he was dressed similarly to one of the teachers.

A brief moment of silence was shared by the other nine students, followed by them trading looks. Eventually, a darker-skinned girl raised her hand.

The boy sighed, looking visibly irritated by the girl. “Yes, Pepper?”

The girl straightened her posture, pulled out her phone, and began. “Well. I don’t like, personally have anything against your ideas OJ—”

“Then why raise your hand in the first place?” He interrupts, trying his absolute hardest—and failing—to not sound rude and condescending.

“I would if you like, let me finish.” 

The boy crosses his arms, sighs, and slouches in his chair. Signaling to the girl that she was allowed to continue.

“As I was like, saying I have nothing against your plans, since they are very solid; for the most part.” She looks at OJ, and he rolls his eyes. “However, what you failed to do was actually like, survey the student body…”

She pauses, as the rest of the other members of the meeting all stared at OJ with looks of slight disappointment.

“Uh… well. I’m sure it was just a mistake on his part—”

“Paper, with all due respect; I know you’re the vice-president and all, but that doesn’t mean you should excuse OJ’s every action. You can think for yourself too.” Interjected a boy with a thick Kiwi accent.

The members nodded in unison, and a glasses-wearing girl cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself. “Since Pepper spoke of surveying the student body…” She presents a folder full of files to the others. “Most of the things written in these files are complaints from students, of grade 10 to 12, about a multitude of topics. I believe we should look into—” 

“As much as I value your input, Book. Factoring the complaints of over 800 students from grade 10 to 12, would be too much of a hassle, and wouldn’t yield much results.” OJ imposes his vision, trying to herd the group’s opinion to fit his own vision.

“How would you know that if you haven’t even tried it?!” One of the members provokes OJ. This one being a white-haired girl, wearing the school’s hoodie, its empty right sleeve drooping downwards. “How do you call yourself the President of Student Council if you don’t even take time out of your schedule to actually hear the other students.”

OJ glares at the white-haired girl, all the while the other student council members remain silent, with anxious looks on their faces; except for Pepper, who was clearly enjoying the girl’s challenge to OJ’s ego.

“We as members of the student council should be the ones to bring the other’s concerns to the higher-ups.” The girl says with confidence, matching OJ’s condescending glare with her own gaze of conviction. “Our job is to use our privilege of being heard by the school staff to amplify the common student’s voices! Our job is not to jerk you off, OJ.” 

Pepper snickers as OJ looks like he’s about to pop a blood vessel. He then takes a loud, exaggerated sigh, drawing all attention to himself, before storming off the classroom. 

Everyone remains silent, until Paper gets up from his seat. “A-Alright meeting’s over, everyone’s dismissed.”  He says, before leaving the room in a hurry.

None of the other members leave their seats.

“I think we should use this opportunity to actually discuss something for once.” The boy with the accent says.

“I’m with Winner on this one. Any objections?” The other student council members shake their heads. “Great! Then, Fanny, since I think you’re probably the most apt to do something like this. Could you lead the rest of this discussion?”

She nods. 

“Of course.”

—

“Foinny. You should get up.” A woman sporting a very strong Yoylese accent reaches out to a sleeping Fanny. "You'll end up with your back all messed up.”

She spent the previous night crunching to meet a deadline she neglected to work on, instead choosing to spend most of her week trying to trace the steps of the serial killer that has been living rent free in the minds of the DPA members.

“Woiky woiky Foinny~” The woman ruffles Fanny’s white hair, while humming a soothing melody.

Fanny raises her head, still half-asleep, and yawns loudly. “I’m up Bubble; you can stop messing up my hair.”

Bubble laughs. “Your hair alroidy looks oiful; especially when you woike up. Oi’m not choinging much.” 

“Fair.” Fanny gets off her bed, and walks towards the bathroom. “Can you make me some coffee while I take a shower?”

“Sure.”

The investigation had taken over a huge part of Fanny’s life. Especially after Black Hole had mentioned that the police force has completely given up on trying to find the perpetrator. 

Part of her couldn’t fathom why they would just stop the search, while another felt like it was very predictable for the police to just wash their hands and throw the case aside; not caring about the fact there is currently a serial killer roaming free in Goiky.

She hated this. 

Hated that the police were useless. 

Hated that this murderer was getting away with all of this.

Hated that she felt like she was walking in circles.

But still, she couldn’t just sit idly by and let it happen. She had to do something— No, not just something…

She will catch this killer.

No matter what it takes.

And the first order of business… is following her hunch.

— 

“We’re here.” Bubble says as she parks her car in the very packed parking lot. “Honestly Foinny, I woisn’t expecting you to go to an amoisement park.”

“They do say to never judge a book by its cover.” 

“Oi guess you’re roight.”

“So I guess this is where you go meet with the girls, right?”

“Only Ruby is here right now, but yeah; she’s probably waiting near the carousel, she really likes that one.” Bubble pecks Fanny in the cheek before leaving. “Don’t woirry, I won’t forget about you.”

Bubble disappears into the amusement park.

Fanny stops near a small shop at the entrance of the park, pulls out her phone and opens her contacts list to send a message:

i’m here

you? 

yeah

you’re at the pop-up shops right?

She raises her head, scanning the area to try and find the person she’s talking to. She eventually ends up seeing a very shady looking person in a pastel blue hoodie, their face obscured by the hood.

i am

but with all due respect

you could’ve looked less shady :/

beggars can’t be choosers, girly

now

just do whatever you wanna do

pretend i’m not here ;)

Fanny pockets her phone, rolling her eyes. There was an actual reason for her to be in an amusement park, aside from it being a good chance for her to de-stress, was to meet with a certain lawyer. She begins making her way towards the innermost area of the park—the area where most of the food stands were—her contact following her inconspicuously from a distance, using the night’s shade to obscure itself.

There, sitting at a table, was Book, smoothie in hand, chatting with a woman that Fanny had never seen before in her life. Before said woman left the table, presumably to look for a restroom.

Fanny was just about to approach the table when she felt her phone vibrate:

slight change of plans

I’ll go for the pale one

you can go do what you were gonna do

just text me everything later

Fanny watched as the hooded figure tailed the long-haired pale woman as she walked away from the table, blending in with the other bystanders.

“Oh! There you are, Fanny!” Book shouted, as she got off her table and walked towards the one she was calling. “I was starting to think you were gonna stand me up.”

Fanny scoffs. “You of all people know I wouldn’t do that.”

“Suuuure…” She takes a big sip of her smoothie. “Why did you wanna come to this place anyways? You were never the type to go to amusement parks.”

“‘Cus I felt like it.” Fanny shrugs. “I wanted to catch up, since it’s been a pretty long time since we spoke; and I thought that a place like this was a nice change of scenery.”

“Well, in that case…” Book’s eyes wander towards the gargantuan green ferris wheel, right at the center of the park. “How about a ride at the ferris wheel? The sights are very pretty during the night; and the ride should last a long enough time for us to talk uninterrupted.” 

“That’s… not actually that bad of an idea…”

“Then what are we waiting for?” 

Book yanks Fanny’s only arm, dragging her towards the previously mentioned park attraction. Both spend a couple of minutes waiting at the line; but eventually, they find themselves inside one of the cabins. 

As the wheel started turning and the cabin started rising, Book took the initiative to ask questions. “So… How’s work?”

“…Is that really the best you could come up with?”

“I was just curious…” Book fidgeted with her hands.

“Work’s been boring, and the pay has been even worse.” Fanny sighs, slouching on her seat. “But I guess that’s what I get for getting into graphic design…”

“Wait. How bad is the pay.”

“Less than minimum wage.” She says, bluntly.

“Oh my word, Fanny! That’s awful!”

“I’ll live. Bubble has enough money to pay the bills threefold anyways.” Fanny looks out the window of the cabin, watching as they get further, and further away from the ground. “What about you?”

“It’s been…” Fanny noticed Book’s gaze drop. “…more of the same. Nothing major since the March 5th case and the college I work at is on strike, so I’m mostly just lazying around.”

“EXIT’s on strike? Why?”

“Honestly, Director Four just closed the university off without giving any sort of notice. Some people speculate it’s some impasse with the Ministry of Education, but no one really knows.”

“That’s… uhh… rough.” 

A silence befell the two women, a silence that seemed to put Book very on edge. Fanny remembered how she was always like that, even back in their high school years, drowning herself in her studies or in her old work as the student council secretary. When anyone would ask she’d say it was because she wanted to always be one step ahead, but Fanny knew it was actually just a way for her to cope with her own anxiety.

The truth was, Fanny came here to interrogate Book. She had been suspecting that she had something to do with all of this since that one moment in the DPA gathering a couple of days ago; the way she simply ran out of Pie’s house just didn’t sit right with her. But after hearing everything that’s going on with her, after seeing just how anxious she looked.

Fanny was still wary of Book’s possible involvement in all of this, but she couldn’t push, nor intimidate Book into giving her information. 

She was going to have to play the long game.

Their cabin reached the ferris wheel’s apex. Both of the women stared in awe at the beautiful sight of the lights in the city’s center. Fanny had never seen a view that pretty before.

“See? I told you the sights were pretty during the night.” Book smiled while staring out the window, her anxiety fading completely.

“Yeah…” Fanny also stared out the window, losing herself in the pretty lights. “I like this.”

—

The pale woman walked, and walked, and walked.

Nevermind the fact that she didn’t actually know where she was going. Only that she was walking to the left-most part of the park.

She eventually stopped walking when she reached a big rundown house-like building with a big spray-painted sign reading BEWARE. It looked like an attraction, but judging by the tarps and the lack of a line it wasn’t ready yet.

Next to it was a little tent, colored purple and neatly decorated with loads of trinkets and colorful crystals.

The woman stared at that tent. Waiting. 

She may not have known where she was going.

But she did know one thing.

She was being followed.

“You know…” Said the shady individual, as they approached. “You’re the last person I was expecting to see here… Pillow…”

Pillow turned to face her pursuer, the same as she saw them last. The same pastel blue hoodie that hid not only their appearance, but also their guilt, their shame. 

The pursuer’s yellow eyes—riddled with scornful nostalgia—stared directly at her, seeing past all the hundreds upon hundreds of walls that Pillow had set up. 

Pillow knew who that mysterious pursuer was.

They were someone from the past. Like a wraith. Dead, yet still walking.

The only one who could see right through her.

A big grin appeared on Pillow’s face as she addressed the pursuer.

“Hi, Liy.”