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Jesse couldn't believe his eyes when the lights sprung back to life and revealed the White Pumpkin standing RIGHT in front of him!
The killer turned around then, swaying a little -- maybe Lukas had gotten to him? Either way, Jesse had an inkling he could finish him off now!
"Aurgh. Jesseee...," the Pumpkin said in that creepy, low voice of his.
Jesse braced himself, slowly moving backwards for maximum impact. There was a wide variety of ways to go about this confrontation and finally clear Lukas' name.
...
[Shove] [Punch]
[Kick]
Simple shove -- he might escape; punch effective but a bit anticlimactic for the moment -- so kicking it was. He deserved it and so much worse.
[Kick]
"RRAAAHHH!" Jesse made as he charged and took a flying leap, feet first.
Just before his heavy boots collided full-force with their target, the White Pumpkin raised his head and quietly said, "Wait-- Hmpf" The force of the impact cut him short and knocked him backwards until he slammed into the opposing wall with a dull thud, accompanied by a grunt. Hugging both arms around his chest, he slid into a sitting position on the wooden floor and let out a heavy groan that got distorted by his mask.
Swiftly drawing his sword, Jesse approached him with a scowl.
"It's over, 'White Pumpkin'. Now show me who you really are!"
His impatience grew when the Pumpkin didn't answer immediately -- it sounded like he was catching his breath -- so Jesse decided to play detective one last time and analyze his clothing for clues.
"Jess--" the Pumpkin rasped, barely decipherable as a word, before a cough cut him off.
Still focused on his task, Jesse's breath caught in his throat. Not only did said clothing look different from just minutes ago, no, he was familiar with this set of armor, the colors, the fabric...
All too familiar.
His grip around the sword hilt loosened as he took a few shaky steps back, eyes widening.
"No wait, it can't be..."
The Pumpkin curled up a little more by drawing his knees toward his torso. Then he grabbed his mask and lifted it, revealing -- to Jesse's unsurprised dismay -- Lukas' pain-contorted face.
"Hey -- Jesse," he wheezed, flashing a smile that got undermined by his clenched teeth. "I thought our days of-- heated rivalry were behind us."
Out of pure impulse, Jesse was about to ask Lukas if he was the killer, if only to feel more justified about what he'd just done. But he already knew the answer. And it would only make things worse.
Between his bafflement and overwhelming feelings of remorse, he forgot to say anything altogether.
"Give me a moment...," Lukas said, voice pressed as he examined the pumpkin head more closely, one hand still on his chest. "I'm trying to figure this one out myself."
...
You let him get away! I'm so sorry!
What happened?!
He kept frowning at it. Then raised an eyebrow. Then squinted.
Overall, he simply looked lost. And not much like he was putting any kind of thought into it.
"Okay, yeah, this looks pretty bad."
I'm so sorry!
Jesse tucked his sword away, rushed over to Lukas and fell down on his knees in front of him.
"Lukas, I am SO sorry! I swear, I didn't know it was you! I just really didn't want the White Pumpkin to get away again. Seemed the best way to clear your name..."
Almost robotically, Lukas looked up and blinked once, expression blank. Faintly, Jesse perceived the sound of several hasty footsteps drawing near.
"... Thanks. I appreciate that. Well, the parts of me that aren't my ribs anyway... Or my back... Or my lungs..." Lukas let out a breathless chuckle. "Should probably-- agh... consider wearing a cuirass."
His attempts at lightheartedness did little to cheer Jesse up but he appreciated them anyway.
"Might come in handy should you put up a fight, murderer!" a female voice -- probably Cassie's -- sounded from behind.
As he spun around, Jesse's eyes fell on the rest of the mansion's temporary residents.
"What's going on in here?!" Petra asked, visibly upset.
"No!" Ivor joined in when he clocked the scene, looking equally distraught. Jesse would have dwelled on it longer, had there not been more pressing issues at hand.
Gasping, Stampy pointed at Lukas, jumping up and down in excitement.
"You caught the White Pumpkin! Grab him! Quick!"
"On it!" Stacy said as she and Cassie (and Winslow) creeped toward them.
Not missing a beat, Jesse shot up, stretched out his arms to the sides and positioned himself in front of Lukas.
"Stay back!"
"Get out of our way, Jesse," Cassie said.
Stacy nodded.
"Yeah. It's all out in the open now -- You can't defend your friend anymore."
"Meow."
Jesse's scowl deepened.
"Leave. Lukas. Alone!" he snarled.
"Hey, you're the one who caught him red-handed! Let's put an end to this madness."
"But Lukas is not the killer!"
"Oh yeah? Then why does he have the pumpkin head?"
"It's the facts, Jesse," Stampy chimed in. "Lukas was at one of the buttons. These… horrible things only started happening when YOUR group arrived..."
"Face it, Jesse. All evidence points to him. It's too much to be coincidental."
Jesse caught himself wishing Lukas would actually commit some sort of minor offence for once, so he could forgive him on the spot and begin making up for all the times he'd been mistreated for things he hadn't done!
"All of that is circumstantial at best. But what isn't is that Lukas and I were CHASING the White Pumpkin, together, just minutes ago!"
Cassie cast a look around.
"Are there… any witnesses for that?"
Jesse already knew the answer, but his shoulders still sagged a little when no one -- including Petra and Ivor -- came to their aid.
"Figures." Stacy slowly shook her head. "You two have been constantly running around this mansion with no one watching you."
"Yeah!" Stampy pointed at Jesse. "For all we know, maybe you're his little accomplice or something!"
"Hey! Jesse has nothing to do with this, okay?" Petra said, moving to stand next to him. "And neither does Lukas."
Jesse gave her a grateful smile, then turned to see how Lukas was taking all this. He was still sitting on the floor, legs stretched out as he leaned on the pumpkin head in his lap. His gaze was fixed on the far wall, brow furrowed in thought.
"Hey. You okay?" Jesse asked softly, so as not to startle him.
Lukas nodded slowly. Distractedly.
"Uh-huh."
With Petra's help, he carefully got up, using the wall for additional support. Once on his feet, his gaze shifted to the small crowd and he pressed his mouth into a thin line, subtly raising the pumpkin to hide behind it.
"What exactly happened?"
Lukas shrugged, looking unhappy.
"Well, I was running after him and... I almost had him until, y'know, he took me by surprise... Punched me in the neck and stuffed this pumpkin on my head."
"Let's assume you're telling the truth," Stacy said, mistrust evident in her eyes. "Who was it? I mean, you must've seen him, right?"
"It was pitch-black in here. I didn't see a thing!"
"C'mon, not even a glimpse? Some flash of color maybe? We're all pretty unique looking, you know."
Lukas' eyes fell to the floor.
"No. Nothing. I'm sorry. It… was a tight job."
He looked so dejected that Jesse felt a strong urge to comfort him. Cautiously, he put a supportive hand on his back. When he looked over Lukas' shoulder, the pumpkin head caught his eye, and he gently took it out of his grasp. One of Lukas' hands immediately moved to rest on his chest.
Stacy sighed.
"... You realize this doesn't exactly help your case."
Lukas looked up at her, then, unexpectedly, at Jesse. He was REALLY close… and simply stared, steel blue pupils moving around, before one of his eyebrows rose. After a moment he turned back to the others, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Think about it... If I was the White Pumpkin, why would I get my nose wrong on my own portrait?"
"I dunno, perhaps you didn't have a mirror at hand," Lizzie said, one hand on her hip.
Lukas tilted his head and Jesse used this small moment of distraction to withdraw his hand and step to the side.
"Seriously? I know what I look like."
Lizzie's eyes narrowed.
"And I'm sure you know how to weaponize it too. But rest assured, your foul tricks won't work on me!"
It took Jesse a moment to fully comprehend the meaning behind her words, but when he did, he cringed at how familiar -- and ridiculous -- that thought process sounded.
"I'm... sorry?" was all Lukas managed to say. Frowning, he turned to his team. When his gaze met Jesse's, something about his expression must have amused him because he let out a poorly suppressed snort.
"I tend to have that effect on people, it seems." His voice was maddeningly smooth...
Then he winked at Jesse.
WINKED.
At Jesse.
Oh sweet diamond hoe...
...
[Wink back] [Glare]
[Raise eyebrow]
Jesse thought that he was the only one caught off-guard by the wink but, apparently, so was Lukas. His little smirk suddenly vanished as he stared at Jesse, body rigid and eyes blown wide.
[Wink back]
As casually as he could, Jesse winked back.
Lukas' lips quirked up in an awkward smile before he averted his gaze.
"Oh wow. Okay," Stacy said, arms raised halfway. "Sorry, didn't know you two were... a thing. But since he's the prime suspect, maybe someone impartial should take over the investigation."
...
Oh, we are totally a thing. Are we a thing?
We're not a thing!
As much as he was tempted to see what would happen if he dug a little deeper into the topic, this simply wasn't the time to be fooling around. He needed to solve this. For Lukas' sake more than anything.
We're not a thing!
"We are not a thing and he's not the prime suspect." Jesse shoved the pumpkin back into Lukas' hands, then walked up to Stacy, using his now free hands to gesture around. "Come on, it's obvious that Lukas got framed! Why would the White Pumpkin suddenly be so careless to let himself get caught this easily when he's been totally elusive so far? Especially since he had plenty of time to get away before I arrived."
Stacy scratched her head.
"That... kind of makes sense... I guess."
"Unless that's what he WANTS us to think!" Cassie threw in. "What better place to hide than in plain sight? How to better divert attention and gain sympathy than by playing victim?"
Stampy nodded vigorously.
"Yes! And then when we think we can trust him -- BAM! We're mush!"
Petra crossed her arms over her chest, looking more exasperated than angry.
"Now you're really reaching. I mean, does anyone of you seriously believe that?"
Ivor nodded in agreement.
"Lulling yourself into a false sense of security by assigning the guilt to the next best person is, frankly, ASININE, because-- surprise, surprise! The murderer is still among us allegedly innocent people. And may I remind you," his voice rose to a shout, "he's after me next!!"
Lizzie pointed at Lukas.
"Then I suggest you watch your back around your shifty blond friend with the silly goggles here."
Ivor blinked a few times, then snorted and turned to Lukas.
"Oh, I'm quaking. With FEAR."
Lukas shrugged as he flashed Ivor a sheepish grin.
Jesse, on the other hand, didn't feel like joking at all.
"Lukas would never hurt anyone! You're being ridiculous."
"Are you sure about that?" Cassie asked, moving closer. "How well do you truly know him?"
When Jesse exchanged a quick glance with Lukas, the concerned expression on his face threw him slightly off track.
Distracted and saddened by the fact that he technically did not know Lukas very well -- not as well as he could have, at any rate -- Jesse hesitated a little too long.
Cassie used his silence to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed Lukas' arm and yanked him to her, causing him to stumble and almost drop the pumpkin head.
"I say we throw him outside and let nature take its course."
Lukas' wide eyes snapped to her.
"What?! 'Outside' outside?" Stacy asked in disbelief.
"Where all the googlies are?" Stampy added, flailing his arms.
Jesse planted his foot with a thud, pointing at her with vigor.
"No! You can't do that!"
The way these people tried everything to get rid of Lukas and punish him, even though Jesse knew for a fact that he'd done nothing wrong, left a particularly nasty taste in his mouth.
Because he'd been there before. They weren't the first to think Lukas was some sort of master manipulator with an evil hidden agenda...
It really was an irony of fate. But he wasn't going to let history repeat itself. He owed Lukas that much.
Before he could give Cassie a piece of his mind though, Ivor quietly rose up behind her and Lukas, glanced from one to the next, reached between them and gently but firmly pushed them apart.
"Shouldn't you cat people stick together?"
Diagonally behind Cassie, Stampy jerked backwards, as if struck by something.
"Not if one's a murderer!"
"Hey!" Ivor shouted, pointing at him, then he narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice to a threatening murmur. "Non-anthropomorphic cat people only."
"What? Why?"
Cassie cast both of them suspicious looks, then addressed Lukas with a raised eyebrow.
"You're a cat person?"
Lukas shrugged, holding his arm.
"Big cats. Ocelots, mostly."
"Ocelots are hardly bigger than house cats."
"Meow!"
"Well, I mean..." He blinked at her. "You're not wrong."
His eyes followed Cassie as she walked up to where Winslow was lying on the backrest of one of the couches. When she picked him up and started ruffling his fur, he purred contentedly.
"They don't make good pets though."
"Eh, I wouldn't say that. With ocelots, it's all about patience -- and playing the long game." His voice turned soft in a mysterious kind of way as he absently wrapped his arms around the pumpkin head and hugged it to his chest. "You just quietly fade into the background, offer them food and shelter, don't cause any sudden noises or movements that might alert them... And once you've gained their trust--"
"You kill them," Stacy concluded with narrowed eyes as thunder rumbled outside.
"What?! No! Who in their right-- Oh. This isn't about ocelots anymore, is it?"
"No, it's about your victims! That the same strategy you're using on us? Because it sounds creepy as heck."
"Same strategy...? The-- Pumpkin builds deadly traps! That's the exact opposite of what I just said."
Stampy leaned toward her, the hand shielding his mouth scarcely muting his loud whisper.
"Yeah, to be honest he's got more of a kidnapper vibe than a murderer..."
"Excuse me?! I would never kidnap an ocelot!" Lukas sounded genuinely offended, though his expression fell instantaneously when all eyes landed on him. "Or-- people! ... for that matter." He flailed about, drawing even more attention to the mask of the serial killer in his hands, and took a step back. "Hey, come on guys. You know it's really hard not to accidentally incriminate myself when you people are pressuring me so much. I feel like everything I say is being used against me."
Stacy put her hands on her hips and squinted at him.
"Why would you feel pressured if you're innocent?"
"Because you want to feed me to a sea of zombies just for the illusion of safety!"
"That's-- I mean, fair point...," she said quietly, fixing a spot on the floor.
"By the way, what happened to the tried and tested method of locking someone up?" Lukas squeezed his shoulders to his ears. "I don't know. Seems somewhat less short-sighted and barbaric... Could just be me though."
Jesse couldn't believe his ears.
"Are you insane? Don't you remember what happened to Dan?"
"Uh, actually, no. I have no idea what happened to him because the door was locked and then all this happened." Squinting, he tilted his head. "But... judging by the way you're talking about him and the fact that he's not here..."
Jesse's expression darkened.
"Exactly. I just... don't want you to be alone. You know, in case the murderer shows up."
Stampy raised his hand.
"Oh! Then how about something with barely enough space to move? There was a closet in the main hall! With a lovely metal door! Seems like a perfect place to lock someone up."
"All right guys," Petra cut in before anyone could approve, bobbing her hands up and down as she turned to the rest of the mansion crew. "Let's just-- step back for a moment. Take a deep breath and calm down, everyone. I think we can all agree that Lukas is not the killer."
"Can we?" Cassie narrowed her eyes.
Petra shot her a glare.
"Yes. We can. But since you're all behaving like a group of raving Endermen, let's lock up one of our allies and risk his life instead of letting him help. Great stuff!"
Her outburst was followed by a few moments of uncertain silence.
"Wouldn't it be... a 'herd' of Endermen? A-- a pack, maybe?" Lukas mused, smiling quietly to himself.
...
A flock. A... clique?
Not again...
Looks were exchanged and heads scratched.
A... clique?
Jesse shrugged, grinning at Lukas.
"Could be a clique."
"I think a haunting's more fitting," Stampy said.
"An annoyance." Cassie rolled her eyes as she set Winslow back down.
"Meow?"
Lizzie tapped her chin.
"A troop perhaps? Since they're two-legged."
"Ooh, I like that," Lukas said smoothly, pointing at her.
"Definitely not a swarm though," Stacy said.
Jesse took a moment to consider that.
"Eh, depends on the number. They do sound a bit like they're buzzing."
"It's a party. Obviously!" Ivor drawled. "They're RAVING after all."
"Guys!" Petra exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she fixed Jesse with a wide-eyed stare. "What the heck."
Lukas raised his free hand in a placating gesture.
"Hey, I'm just stalling. Not a big fan of my options here. So maybe if the White Pumpkin could just, y'know, step forward..."
As he trailed off, the moment of levity faded. Everyone looked around the room, former smiles gradually replaced by looks of unease and silent accusation. They hadn't really made any progress -- almost anyone could be the White Pumpkin.
Suddenly, a startled yelp sliced through the tense silence and Lukas leapt forward, then twirled around. He sighed in relief when he found Winslow sitting down where he'd just stood, licking his paw with closed eyes. Taking a step toward the cat, he bent down to pet him, but when Winslow started snarling, he quickly drew back, looking surprised -- and mildly hurt.
Jesse's smile vanished when he heard Cassie snicker, frowning as she shook her head. He scanned the room, noticing the crossed arms and accusing looks that were now directed at Lukas -- and slapped his palm against his forehead.
Glancing up at the sound, Lukas raised an eyebrow, then turned to look around. As if trying not to startle anyone, he got up real slow. With an anxious expression and slightly hunched over in apprehension, he quietly took a few steps back -- pumpkin head serving as a shield once more -- then stopped and cleared his throat.
"Yeah..." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll just, uh... I'll be in that closet if anyone needs me."
Ivor walked up to him and gave him a pat on the back that made him wince.
"You're doing great, Louie." His tone was a hard-to-discern mix between sincerity and sarcasm.
With a sigh, Jesse grabbed the pumpkin and stowed it away in his inventory, deliberately positioning himself between Lukas and his non-team members.
"Fine. But if you're going, you're not going alone."
"Good thinking. I'll keep guard over ocelot guy, in case he wants to try anything." Before she'd finished speaking, Cassie was already approaching them but Jesse blocked her way, challenging her with a look. She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, visibly displeased.
Jesse pointed at Lukas.
"I meant... to keep HIM safe, not--"
"Ugh. He'll be fine," she said, rolling her eyes.
Jesse stepped up to her, squinting in skepticism.
"Well, I don't trust you. Someone else should go along." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lizzie's hand rise hesitantly. "One of my team." The hand dropped immediately.
"Darn it..."
Of course, Jesse himself would have gone in a heartbeat but unfortunately, he had other responsibilities...
"It's fine, Jesse. I'll watch over Lukas." Despite the kind offer, Ivor sounded… weirdly menacing. But Lukas either didn't notice or didn't mind.
"Ivor and me together in a closet? Now THAT'S a party."
"Hopefully without Endermen."
Lukas chuckled, then quickly lapsed into silence when Ivor threw him a narrow-eyed glare.
"But don't go getting any funny ideas, BLOND GUY. This isn't because I like you or anything."
A smug grin slowly spread over Lukas' face.
"No. Of course not," he said as they began to move. Cassie and Winslow followed suit, the cat cooing excitedly. "Hey, speaking of Endermen... pretty sure I spotted Soren's name on the spine of one of the books in the library earlier."
"Really? Color me intrigued..."
"Maybe we'll finally get an answer to our linguistic quandary."
"Those are some pretty big words. For you."
"I'm just saying. It might be a good thing we've got nothing else to do. ... Wait. You meant MY words."
"I must admit I haven't read some of Soren's books in YEARS."
"You've... read them all. Okay..."
The rest of their conversation faded as they disappeared down the stairs. Jesse's eyes were still fixed on the empty doorway when a hand appeared on his back.
"It's really good to see you sticking up for him, you know. After everything that's happened…" Petra's voice was barely above a whisper.
Jesse crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well... That's what you do when someone gets wrongly accused."
There was a brief pause, then Petra let out a small chuckle.
"I think there's a LITTLE more to it than that."
When Jesse turned to her, she shrugged, mouth quirking up into a knowing smile.
She was right, of course. In reality, Jesse was THIS close to stepping up and offering to take Ivor's place. But in the end, he'd rather have Lukas alive than in forced proximity to him.
In the future though? Preferably both. Minus the part with the force. Especially the one where he accidentally jump kicks his crush into oblivion.