Trigger Happy Equines

“I AGREE WITH THAT!”

Broken Lock <> self-inflicted

< Argument Break >

“Button might be on to something. I don’t think it was the killer at all. Rather, Yoko caused the injury himself.”

“What!?” Elsie exclaimed. “How in the world…?”

“So I’m right!?” Button cried gleefully. “Yay, I’m right! Wait a minute.” He looked around confusedly. “How am I right?”

“I’m not saying Yoko cut off his own leg,” I continued, “and definitely not with a blade of any kind. Remember near the end of the first trial, when Shetland told us about Cube Rick?”

“I try not to,” Lancet said, shuddering. “But yes, I do remember. He fought back against Monobunny and ended up being decapitated. Shetland said Monobunny shot a laser beam from his eyes, if that’s to be believed. Not that Shetland had any reason to lie at that point.”

“Don’t forget,” I added, “that Monobunny has been very specific about the punishment for violating certain rules, whether it’s entering restricted areas out of hours, performing complex spells, or breaking pieces of equipment.”

“That’s right,” Copper said, frowning. “You’ll have one of your limbs sliced clean off.”

I nodded. “Exactly. Since Monobunny is the only one capable of causing such an injury, it must mean that Yoko himself was the cause, breaking the lock on Reph’s door and suffering the punishment. Isn’t that right, Monobunny?”

“Ding, ding! Correct!”

“That does make sense,” Reph said. “The banging I heard on my door this morning must have been Yoko.” He shook his head violently, clamping onto his forehead with one hoof. “If only I’d opened it, maybe I could’ve saved him!”

“Wait,” Dish Panner said. “If Yoko was the one who battered down Reph’s door, the question is, why? What would he have to gain from that?”

“If I may,” Maribelle interjected. “I do not believe he lost his leg intentionally. Rather, he was in a state of panic. If he was being attacked by the killer at the time, he may have been trying to get help any way he could, but in doing so was met with his end.”

“There is another possibility,” Copper said forebodingly. “What if Reph was the one who attacked Yoko, then he ran once Yoko turned on him? Then Yoko tried breaking down his door to get revenge.”

“That’s not true!” Reph cried. “I already said, the first I saw of Yoko was when my door was pried open after the body discovery announcement!”

“I say we accept his testimony,” Mesmer said.

Reph sighed thankfully. “I’m glad someone here believes in me.”

“For now, at least,” Mesmer finished. “That is, unless new insight gives us reason to disbelieve you.”

Reph’s smile faded and he sank into the floor. “I should’ve thought as much.”

“In that case,” Elsie said, “we can assume that Monobunny’s attack occurred before the killer struck. But still, Yoko suffered a number of rather confounding injuries. His body was…” Elsie trailed off, holding a hoof to her mouth as if to stifle a vomit. “Anyway. The question is, was Monobunny’s attack the first he received?”

“That's what we need to confirm,” Sanscript said. “That way we can build up a picture of the series of events and how they played out.”

Truth Bullets

Crowbars

Trail of Blood

Broken Window

Monobunny File #2

State of The Body

Elsie: Yoko battered on Reph’s door leading to the loss of his leg. Did the killer spring on him before, or after?

Maribelle: It must have been before. Yoko was being attacked and tried to get help.

Reph: I thought I was the one under attack!

Dish Panner: But why get help from Reph? The guy’s a bag of nerves.

Inky: Yoko’s a big guy. If someone attacked him, he’d fight ‘em off! The killer must have a bruise from where he lamped ‘em!

Copper: Or the killer could’ve failed the first attack and ducked into their room.

Reph: I already told you, I didn’t kill him!

Lancet: If Yoko lost his leg before the killer’s attack, he might not have been able to fight back.

Dish Panner: He would’ve been a sitting duck. He must’ve been stuck there in the corridorwhen the killer launched their attack.

Maribelle: But all that with a knife? I should think then, that the killer was a unicorn. Only they could have sliced him up that badly.

Elsie: Rather presumptuous of you to cast the blame on our race!

Mesmer: We should figure out the chain of events before we start pointing hooves like morons.

The chain of events… There’s a clue that points to something important, something that might unravel what happened to Yoko before his death. We must get to the bottom of this!