Part One: The C that Swept In
Baby, baby, naughty baby,
Hush, you squalling thing, I say.
Peace this moment, peace, or maybe
Bonaparte will pass this way.
Baby, baby, he's a giant,
Tall and black as Rouen steeple,
And he breakfasts, dines, rely on't,
Every day on naughty people.
Baby, baby, if he hears you
As he gallops past the house,
Limb from limb at once he'll tear you,
Just as pussy tears a mouse.
And he'll beat you, beat you, beat you,
And he'll beat you into pap,
And he'll eat you, eat you, eat you,
Every morsel snap, snap, snap. -Traditional English Lullaby
Out of all the cases Philip Finder of Brumby had ever found himself handling, none he ever found more life-changing than that of which he called the case of the Shrouded Woman. It was Manehatten, the last Thursday in March. It was unusually cold for this time of year, he remembered. Strikingly, frost bitingly cold. In hindsight, perhaps he should have considered it as an ominous warning for what was about to happen.
One Cherry Popped had just gone out for the day, to do her weekly shopping. She was this big famous actress, hailing from Trottingham -As all the big name mare actors seemed to, must have been the accent- and strikingly beautiful with her crimson red mane that flowed like a bloody waterfall.
She was never to come back.
Now, Philip wasn’t quite sure on the details of what exactly happened, at least not at first but he did have a working theory.
“Take my car,” Cherry’s lover at the time, one Tidal Fury had suggested. Half Saddle Arabian, he was. “I’m certainly not going to be going anywhere for a good long while.”
“Buck no, I’m taking mine! Yours handles like a tugboat!” Cherry refuted. Little did the poor mare know it, but Tidal was one of those Gaia Memory dealers that had been popping up lately in the streets. Now, Philip wasn’t quite honestly sure where these Memory Dealers were getting their crap, or where they even came from but here they were, in his city.
Now Gaia Memories? How to describe them? Well, one thing you should know is that they were all mysterious devices resembling either USB Flash Drives or ribcages that contains all of the Earth's knowledge of whatever it happened to represent. What Gaia Memories did, in layman’s terms, turned you into a monster. It all depended on what memory you stuck in your arm or wherever. Might have been your ass, Philip had heard that a Dopant as these monsters were called had done such a thing. Say, for example, you had a memory based on the mighty Quetzalcoatlus. You’d turn into a giant monster resembling the extinct beast for a short time.
Now, you would want more and more of this power, like any other good drug and you’d keep on taking it until eventually… Well, the results were never pretty that was for sure. Philip had seen the remains, or what little of them there were, of ponies who died from Memory Overdose as it was beginning to be called. Ponies, good ponies were getting killed no thanks to these things, and Philip intended to make sure nobody else ever died. Not while he was alive anyways.
Now back to Cherry. Her muzzle always remained closed in photographs, as Philip understood it due to a rather nasty overbite. Filmmakers always found ways to work around this, and made her a star. She’d attracted many a lover with her prominent features, and as you might expect from a mare with a such a name, took them under her wing. Of course, she didn’t always return their feelings or take interest in some of them, leaving them out to the cold. Yes, she hopped from stallion to stallion, never staying with one for too long it seemed. Not even her current lover was immune, as in her thoughts men were like fine wine, you savored them for a little while before moving onto the next batch. Needless to say, various sources weren’t -Philip’s partner amongst them- overtly fond of the ‘Woman’ as they called her in polite company.
It was on 11th Avenue in the district known as Hell’s Kitchen where it happened. She was visiting another lover of hers, in this apartment when a 911 call was suddenly placed from across the street by a pony who heard the sound of a window smashing and then this white dreadlocked creature sprinting away from the apartment.
When police got there, it was already too late. Both Cherry, and her lover at the time -A pony named Blue Moon- were both frozen solid, and the word “slut” was carved on the apartment wall. And so the case began for Philip Finder, when he showed up at the scene with his ever-faithful companion and chronicler Daring Do. Now, Daring was a security expert for museums, AKA a hired thief who broke in and tested every aspect of the systems from top to bottom. Like Watson, she also wrote down Philip’s many adventures and published them in her personal blog, omitting names and changing others for privacy’s sake of course.
“Lefty!” a voice barked out to Philip as he entered the room, adjusting his signature stone gray trilby as he did so. It was a cop, Phil never cared to remember the name. A cop who had this odd prejudice against left-handers. You got all types, Philip figured to himself. Yellow crime scene tape had been set up around the area, and various police photographers were snapping every picture they could get their grubby little hands on. Ponies were being warded off from the area, press amongst them the little vultures. Oh sure, Philip knew, they’d get ahold of this story eventually but points for to the police for trying at the very least.
Now Philip was one of the world’s only consulting detectives. In other words, he solved the crimes the police couldn't. In Daring’s words, that was about half of them. He looked frankly unassuming, with his trilby and his light green vest. Like any other pony on the street, and that was the whole point of it. No need attracting any more attention than you needed to, especially amongst the criminal element.
Now, the crime scene itself was a bit… odd. It was cold, yes, but the window was shut, and even if it had been smashed open -Which it had- there was no reason for two bodies to have frozen solid this fast. At least, not in any scientific manner.
A cop reached out before Daring slapped his hand away. “You moron, you want to shatter them upon touch? Cause that’s what’s going to happen soon as you do so! They’ve been frozen solid, or haven’t you noticed?”
“Oh shut up,” the cop who’d called Phil ‘Lefty’, some dude named Makura said. “Don’t you think I know that?”
“If your brain was as large as your ego…” Daring muttered, having no time for Makura’s nonsense. “Hey, speaking of which, how goes the relationship between you and Sargeant Swift Wind?”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Makura denied, a red blush rising to his face.
“I knew from the start, no thanks to your deodorant,” Philip muttered quietly, but Swift Wind, a mare of some years heard him.
“It’s for men! That’s why it’s called deodorant!” she piped up.
“Then why are you wearing it?” Daring sniped as in the background, Philip pulled out a magnifying glass and began looking at the shattered window for any traces of blood or whatnot. Swift Wind’s face was now as red as Makura’s. “...Oh, think it just vaporized. Swift Wind, word of advice. Actually, two words. Don't talk out loud, you lower the IQ of the entire street. And secondly, at least use perfume to mask the smell.”
“Okay, now this is extremely odd…” Philip muttered.
“What, the two people frozen alive?” Makura snarked, and Philip looked at him.
“No, not that,” Philip replied, and Makura blinked at him in surprise. Philip groaned, Makura really wasn’t cut out for this job in his opinion. “You know how normally when people bust open a window, smash right through it they leave traces of blood or ripped clothing behind yes?”
“Yeah,” Makura replied. “So, what are you getting at?”
“There’s neither here. Well, at least of the normal kind.” Philip said, in his gloves holding up a piece of tattered white cloth of some unknown fabric and on it, icy blue blood.
“...Doesn’t look like any form of blood I’ve ever seen…” Daring muttered, leaning in for a closer look.
“Exactly, best we send this off to the lab for testing, see what it turns up,” Philip remarked. “For now, we’re an at an impasse. Lots of people who would have wanted to see this poor woman dead, former lovers mostly so that leaves us with a lot of suspects.”
“You know what this looks like, don’t you Phil?” Daring asked in worry.
“Yeah, a Dopant case. It figures, doesn’t it?” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Should have known this right from the start, when I heard of two bodies frozen alive. Thought it might have been a spell, but there was this nagging thought in the back of my mind…”
“Hold on, what’s this…?” Daring asked, holding up what looked to be the ripped edge of a photograph showing a part of Cherry Popped when she was alive. Philip took it from her, still wearing his gloves.
“Just couldn’t help himself, could he? Criminals and their egos…” he muttered in distaste. “But why leave only part of the photograph behind? If you were doing this for your ego, I’d imagine you’d take a selfie for Celestia’s sake! A little tribute, I mean we already know this criminal has an ego by his little… signature.” Philip continued, gesturing to the wall carving.
Daring shuddered at the carving. The whole thing rendered her at unease, to say the least of it. It was clearly obvious from this alone, that the criminal had a grudge and held it severely. She did not want to run into this guy, although she had a feeling like most cases she and Phil took she would run into him (or her, she wasn’t sexist) anyways. That was always the way of things, wasn’t it? She groaned, why couldn’t this just be a simple museum break-in? Those were always easy enough to work out.
“Maybe he got nervous, or he was intelligent enough to leave only a snippet of the photo behind,” Daring suggested.
“I’d go with nervous, as intelligent crooks -if there ever was such a thing- would never leave behind such a big clue. I’m only speculating at this point, and you know how much I hate to do that, but this was his first kill and so he wasn’t fully prepared for who might come after him.”
“Yeah, the long arm of the-”
Daring shot her a glare. “Swift, what’d I say about speaking? And Philip, you said first kill. Does that mean…?”
“Yeah, whoever did this? He or she is only just getting started. Note how Cherry and her lover were frozen together, that suggests someone in love with her, and angry at her latest tryst. And Cherry’s had a lot of them, which means a lot of potential victims. Boys, better prepare yourselves, because if I’m right and I pray to Celestia that I’m not, we’ve only just seen the first incident of many.”
And on that ominous thought, Philip took his leave, grabbing his coat which billowed behind him in the cold evening air with Daring swift to follow leaving the grisly crime scene behind. It was going to be a long week, that much was for sure. Time to get started.
Unbeknownst to them, a woman, hiding in the shadows wearing a long trench coat, fedora hat and shades over her eyes watched them leave. Yes, these two would do. Yes, these two would do just nicely.
Philip’s apartment was fairly modest, just like him. A piano laid in one corner of the room, which Philip played and practiced in his rare moments of off time. The far side of the living room, wall to wall bookshelves packed with every sort of thing imaginable. Books littered with information like the extinct species of ancestral arthropods known as the Anomalocaris to just simple things like how to play the saxophone or even various hard-case crime novels. There was even a ancient pony’s skull, or at least a replica of the Piltdown Pony’s forged one sitting in there amongst various taxidermied bugs resting in jars of fluid. Outside a heavily blinded window that let almost no sunshine through was both a rain gauge and an anemometer.
Leading away from that was Daring and Phil’s shared bedroom, which at the moment was being repainted so the two had to share the couch. Not that either of them minded, they still had curiously great lovemaking besides.
In the kitchen, boiling an egg was Daring, her distinctive pith helmet laying beside her on the countertop, her vest tossed off to the side and hanging on a coat rack. She had a passion for this particular type of headgear, just as Phil liked fedoras and trilbies, specifically ones made by the Windscale fashion company. Next to this, were two Gaia Memories, noted ‘Injury’ and ‘Cockroach’ specifically kept locked tight in glass cases. These ones were those that had been recovered by Daring in hopes of her and Phil being able to study their abilities. This was in hopes of figuring out how they exactly transformed ponies and whatnot into Dopants and more precisely, how to reverse the effects without killing the monster in question as they had been forced to do more often than not.
“Ugh, every day it seems this city gets dirtier,” Daring muttered, as Phil played an old Aussie traditional song on his piano. The Dying Stockman, in memory of his late mother. “We’re losing good ponies Love. I admit, I wasn’t a fan of that woman, not in the slightest, but still…”
Phil stopped his playing and nodded, making a grunting sound of agreement. “Exactly. And what’s worse, we don’t even have the slightest clue as to where these Gaia Memory dealers are getting their shit, and handing it out to people. Could be under a bridge, could be in a dark alley, could be in an abandoned office building in uptown, probably a combination of any one of these places!”
Phil held up another Gaia Memory in its case, this one marked Money. It had come from a classic boiler room scam that he’d helped the local outfit of the police’s white-collar crime division shut down. Classic pump and dump, as it it was called in the business. Basically, what you had was a bunch of junior Gordon Geckos selling bad stock. What the guy in charge did, he buys half a million shares of dollar stocks and then gets his boys to inflate the price by selling it over the phone. Whenever the stock peaked, he dumps it leaving the buyers often penniless.
The police had enough, and were clueless as ever so Philip went undercover as a new guy, (Alias wasn’t important) hoping to get rich fast. Blew the whole scam wide open in just a matter of days, but that’s when the guy in charge, one Impossibly Rich pulled out the Money Memory and transformed into this monster and tried to kill everyone including Philip to cover up his deeds. Sadly, it got to the point where Philip was forced to fire upon him. The memory ejected itself, and the police were left with another body to burn. The sad thing was, killing these memory users and the memory ejecting itself meant there was no trace of it left in the body to learn from.
“You know, one of these days I really wish you’d invest in a lab microscope and all that crap,” Daring remarked. “Lab Work always takes too long, lots of red tape and paperwork to go through. We need some sort of clue here!”
“I would, if we had the money and the space. Can you honestly see all of that fitting on the kitchen counter, where we eat might I remind you?” Philip asked, eyebrow raised.
“So, we could make room, couldn't we?” Daring remarked with a shrug of her shoulder.
Philip groaned. “...Never mind.”
The bitterly cold snowfall had changed to a harsh form of sleet and was currently pounding down on the roof outside. Only the devil himself could love this sort of weather, and may Celestia have mercy on those stuck outside in it. Philip had to take his motorbike, and park it in this nearby underground garage just so it wouldn’t get wet. He loved that thing, sometimes more than Daring herself. Boys and their toys, the mare often thought to herself when thinking of that thing.
“Funny thing, we got this faxed letter earlier today now that I think of it,” Daring remarked. “Came from this unmarked postage, read it and said it was from your archenemy. Don’t know who that could be, as you’ve got a few I’d imagine but it turns out he wasn’t so pleased with Popped Cherry getting frozen either. Said he hated beautiful mares getting offed. Offered you money to solve the case.”
“Almost a pity really. If I didn’t accept cases from scum, I would have split the fee. Need the money. However, I know he’s scum. In fact, I believe he’s likely to be heading up the group who distributed the Gaia Memories from my guess,”
“How so?” Daring asked, and Philip replied with:
“Think about it Daring, why would he send a faxed letter, instead of using his or her own handwriting? He’s obviously wanting to stay anonymous to me at this juncture, so that could mean he’s someone very high up in society, and very dangerous if my hypothesis is correct. At the time being, we are not ready to face him, not without proof anyways.”
“Said he was concerned about you, that you’re getting in too deep for this,” Daring remarked. “Odd yes, I know.”
“No, not odd at all really,” Philip refuted. “That just means he’s afraid of us, which is good. Eventually, he’ll slip up and we’ll have hi-”
A knock on the door disrupted Philip’s musings.
“Now who the devil would be out at this time of night, and in this blasted weather?” he muttered to himself before going for the door. As it turned out, it was one Tidal Fury, looking every inch of his name.
“Who did it?” he growled out, lightning flashing in the background illuminating his furious facial features. “Who did it?”
Philip reached for his baton just in case, but for now, he had to play it cool.
“Sadly, we’re still working on that. It’s only been the first night since she was killed after all,” Philip sighed, gesturing for Tidal to sit down on the couch. “Cup of coffee? Tea? I have some Lebanese laying around here somewhere if I remember correctly… Soothes the nerves quite well.”
“Only thing I want to is to find out who killed my love.”
Daring scoffed as she ate her eggs. “Hardly your love, if she’s been going around whor-”
Philip shot her a warning look, and she shut up at once.
“You don’t know anything about her…” Tidal whimpered, taking some of the offered coffee and a sandwich. Two tomato slices, mixed in with some feta cheese. Classic Arion recipe. One of Philip’s favorites, the pony of various tastes he was. Really, Manehatten was a cauldron of a little bit of everything mixed together, so it was nigh-impossible to find something you didn’t like. Even Grand Central’s bar had the best clams this side of the East Coast.
“S-She…” Tidal started, his voice trembling with every word. Philip laid a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s okay, just take your time,” he stated his voice soft, patient and kind but still firm. “Just tell us what happened, all of it. No need to rush.”
“Okay, it was like this. She wasn’t going over to that guy’s apartment to have sex with him, not in the slightest!” Tidal whispered, Daring leaning over the back of the couch in peaked interest. “She was actually going over there to break off her relationship with him, just like she’s been doing with all of her previous lovers in the past few weeks! We… we were going to get married, a-and then this happens!” Tidal whispered, fighting back a sob and bringing out a little black box and opened it, revealing a diamond engagement ring.
“By Celestia…” Daring whispered, fighting back tears and honestly feeling sorry for the poor man. As much as she wanted to deny it, he was telling the truth. Nobody could fake that kind of emotion in their tone, that kind of despair.
Philip let out a small, and barely noticeable growl. Tears never suited this city, not in the slightest. Whoever did this, he or she was going to pay.
Then, to both of their surprises, Tidal fished out a gold-toned Gaia Memory marked ‘Beast.’
“Here, take this, before I ever get tempted to use it myself and avenge my wife.”
“Where… where did you get this?” Philip asked in shock.
“Alright,” Tidal admitted, his shoulders falling in resignation and shame. “I admit it. I’m a Gaia Memory Dealer.”
Both Philip and Daring glared at the man harshly.
“You piece of shit…” Daring snarled, wanting to throttle him right then and there. “You mean you’re part of the slime who’s been dealing out these things on the street, the things that have been turning ponies into Dopants, just like the one that killed your wife!?! You’re no better than they are!” she barked.
“Daring!” Philip barked. “Look at the man! And I mean really look at him, does this look like the face of a killer?”
He pointed to Tidal Fury, who’d put his head in his hands and was sobbing heavily no longer able to fight back tears. He kicked a briefcase towards Philip and Daring, who opened it and were stunned to see it filled with Gaia Memories that had presumably never been used.
“G-Give these to the police, turn me in if you will,” Tidal sniveled. “You’re right, I’m no better than them, these Dopants. I’ve only recently begun to realize that. I was going to have one of my men drop this off at the police station and take the blame for my crimes. But now I see it’s better if I own up to them myself…” he whispered before he spotted something through his tear-filled eyes. “Hold on, what’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the ripped piece of a photo on Philip’s coffee table.
“Just a ripped piece of photo, probably left behind by the killer in his haste,” Philip replied, shrugging his shoulders. “What of it?”
“I… I recognize that photo, moreover I know who took it!” Tidal stated, his heart being filled with a new resolve, and a new unquenchable fury. “It was in the newspapers a while back, for this movie premiere. I remember it well, it was the film called: “From Ash to Ash, from Dust to Dust”. Real solid tragedy. Taken by this guy, named Grape Vine. Has his own studio on the lower East Side and everything, does all kinds of photos for famous models and the like. Gets paid handsomely for it.”
“Then that’s our first real clue,” Philip smirked. “In the morning, when the weather clears up and it gets warmer, we’re going to have a look at that studio, and talk to this Grape Vine character. But for now, you stay the night with us. Much too cold for you to be out walking about. I’ll lock the Gaia Memory up, and throw away the key so you can’t get to it. Get a good night’s rest, you’ll be needing it in the morn. I deeply suspect we all will.
They said that once you left Manehatten proper and crossed over into any other part of the city, you weren’t in New York anymore. Philip Finder was inclined to disagree. He thought New York was New York, simply just a different part of it. It was a melting pot of different cultures, ponies, griffons, and zebras had been coming here for generations, adding their own little tidbits to the city and making parts of it their own.
Now, Philip would normally have used his motorbike which he called the Typhoon to ferry him and Daring across the Brooklyn Bridge to this little place down the river past the Lower East Side where he heard Grape Vine had recently bought this old warehouse and converted it into a loft/photography studio, but today was different. He had Tidal with him, using Tidal’s personal car which was of Germane make. Now, it was against Daring’s wishes to bring the obviously emotional pony on the case but Philip had two reasons for doing this. One, he needed to keep an eye on Tidal and having him along would be the best way to do that, and two Tidal knew Grape and his area better than him.
He knew he was taking a dangerous risk, but in the end, it all would hopefully pay off as long as Tidal kept his cool and didn’t try to throttle Grape. If he did… well, that’s what Daring’s taser was for.
“You know, I was reading just the other day in the newspaper that all the old bridges, they’re deteriorating. Lack of city funding for the upkeep. Shame really, this old girl’s a fine one. Ever looked across the bay at night, or in the evening?” Tidal asked. Around his neck, on a chain was his engagement ring. He was currently smoking a cigarette. Daring grimaced at this, but let it slide. She supposed he was allowed one after what he’d been through. Still, her suspicions weren't off him yet, after all he had a whole briefcase full of Gaia Memories and one in his pocket. Who's to say he didn't have another, hidden out of sight?
“Can’t say that I have really,” Philip replied, keeping his eyes on the road. It was slick, after the rain last night, which had continued into the early morning. Far too easy to have a spinout.
“Damn shame,” Tidal replied. “Probably the finest sight you’d ever see. You know that old song, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay?” That’s exactly what I feel like doing at times, just wasting time and watching the setting sun glinting off the bridge and the windows of the buildings. Sadly, the bridge in its current state may just be a memory someday soon.”
“Yeah, at times it does feel like the whole infrastructure of the city is crumbling, thanks to higher-ups like Silvertongue taking all the money for themselves to fund their wealthy lifestyles and not help the city. Sometimes I just wonder why I bother helping this city really. It’s… it’s just taxing, y’know?”
“Every little bit helps, you give the ponies hope Phil,” Daring said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “And it’s not just the city Phil, heard there was a water main break in Las Pegasus this other day, filled an entire hotel with sewage. Pipes were old, and not well maintained. City’s crumbling, just like this one.”
“Whoever heard of water mains breaking like ten, twenty years ago?” Tidal asked. “Seriously, back when I was a lad, never would have happened. Higher ups would never have controlled the cities. Nobody would have been living in the streets, scrounging up what little they could. Honestly, Phil, this is why I turned to Gaia Memory dealing, just trying to make a living. And look at what it brought me. There’s that old saying, you reap what you sow eh?”
Phil’s only response was a grunt and a nod as they pulled up to Grape Vine’s loft, stepped out of the car and knocked on the door.
“So, about this Grape Vine character, how big of a photographist is he?” Phil had to ask, as they were let inside by this guy in a nice gray suit.
“You have no idea how big,” Daring remarked. “Name any famous model, or actress, he’s done her. In both senses of the word probably,” she remarked before she licked her lips. “Photos are good, really good. You should check out the magazine spreads he’s done.”
Phil stared at her. Daring grinned unashamedly.
“What, you’re often out on cases without me, and a girl needs something to keep her company on those long lonely cold nights. And as a daki of you isn’t available…” she trailed off.
“How bad are the photos?” Phil asked, his mind beginning to wonder.
“Let’s just say they’re… imaginative, and that’s all you’ll ever know.” Daring smirked.
“She scares me,” Tidal remarked in a whisper, and Philip could only nod. The loft, as you would expect it was this big open space that let in a lot of light that was perfect for the shutterbug. Grape, he was this purple unicorn pony, with glasses that were slightly on the geeky side and a brown mane. He wore this nicely pressed suit with a little pin that looked like a peacock on it.
“Oh, now that is excellent!” Grape Vine called out in his distinctive New Yorker tone that had a hint of a southern accent in it. It was like a nice bourbon in some ways, you couldn’t make out all the finer details. He snapped a few photos of a mare wearing this very thin negligee -Philip was blushing at this point- that left very little to the imagination, as she lay on a red velvet couch. “Just make it look, oh this little less slutty I’d suppose and more teasing. Not like I’m going to have sex with you, but like let’s say you want to imagine me with the clothes off if you catch my drift.”
“Uh, Mr. Grape Vine sir?” Daring asked, tapping him on the shoulder. “We’d like to have a few words with you.”
“Okay Fleetfoot, just take five m’kay? Get yourself a drink or something. Can’t keep this lady waiting.” Grape said, waving Fleetfoot off before turning back to Daring. “Well, you’re a fine one aren’t you?”
“She’s taken,” Philip growled out protectively. “Philip Finder, PI. We’re here to ask about anything you might know in relation to the Cherry Popped homicide.”
Grape shook his head, and sighed sadly.
“Ah yes, heard about that. Sad day for everyone in Manehatten, and the world really. Great actress, and fine beauty, going to miss taking pictures of her really. Such a loss.”
“Funny, I think she got a restraining order against you,” Tidal growled out, and both Daring and Phil shared a look their eyes widening in surprise at this new little detail.
“And you are…?” Grape asked before he looked at the chain around Tidal’s neck and more specifically the ring attached to said chain. “...Oh. My deepest condolences to you, my good sir.”
“What’s this about a restraining order, then?” Philip questioned.
“Agh, back in the day I may have made some stupid choices, got a little too drunk for my own good and got a little too handsy,” Grape admitted, with more than a touch of shame as he hung his head. “Actions which I deeply regret to this day, I might add.” he continued, taking a sip of a glass of bourbon. “Think of me what you will, but I’m no Gaia Memory user and certainly no killer. Sure, I take the odd heaping of heroin now and then, but it helps jog the brain. Three patch problems you know, for the crosswords.”
“...Weirdest excuse I ever heard to take some drugs,” Daring muttered. “You do realize that’s not helping your case right? Admitting you’re an addict to something. One could easily speculate that-”
“I take Gaia Memories on the side to get another kick?” Grape finished for her. “Yes, I do admit that, but if ya ask me, Gaia Memory users are scum. Nothing but trouble for this beautiful city of ours. Violence in the streets. You heard about this Smilodon Dopant, and this Dopant seemingly based on a Triceratops going head to head recently? Turned out they were two mob buddies from this crime family trying to settle who got to have a date with this girl. Killed several good ponies in the crossfire!” Grape snorted in disgust. “Good ponies!”
“I did hear about this, yes,” Philip remarked. “A good friend of mine in the SWAT division, Tempest, he put those two down personally with a sniper rifle shot from across the street.”
“Still, does make one wonder, if one could harness the power of the Gaia Memories for good eh?” Grape asked, walking over to the window, and looking at the city skyline before him. “They’re powerful, dangerous, but if you could control that power in some way… Ah, you’ll have to forgive a buck for his fantasies. Always been a friend of superheroes, ya know? Thought about doing my next calendar about them. Had this mare, Suri Polomare commission outfits and everything just to give the city hope!”
He snapped his fingers as he turned to Daring. “Say, you could be in it! You’ve got a good body, and you’d certainly attract some attention and turn some heads! Hell, I’d send an early advance copy to your coltfriend!”
“No thanks,” Daring growled crossing her arms, getting some seriously bad or at least creepy vibes off this guy. Maybe he, in the end, was harmless, if not a little bit of a perv but there was that restraining order. She looked at Phil, and at once knew he shared the same thoughts by the look in his eyes.
“Ah, well. A buck can hope can’t he?” Grape shrugged to himself. “Now take my advice Philip Finder, you stay out of these Dopant cases, too dangerous for you. You’re a good detective,” he stated, resting a hand on his shoulder. “After all, I heard about your exploits on the internet but nowhere near ready to take on Dopants. Especially not this one, if he can freeze you in a single touch.”
“...Now how do you know that?” Philip asked eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“I don’t, just speculating here. But that’s what I think happened to Cherry, if you ask me,” Grape shrugged. “Dopant came to her, froze her solid with just a touch of his finger. Just like that,” he remarked, snapping his fingers.
“Oh, believe me, you may not think I’m ready to take on Dopants but I’ve put a few down. And this one will be no different. Just gotta keep my distance, and the finger on the trigger.”
Grape smirked. “That’s the spirit. Forgive me for gettin’ poetic here, but set your selfishness free and shut that self-control of yers up. Take this guy down, whoever he is.”
“Yes, if it comes to that I will,” Philip said. “But remember, these are ponies, zebras, and griffons under those monster skins. Would like to try and reason with ‘em first.”
“Like that’s ever worked in the past…” Philip thought to himself privately.
“I hate to say it,” Tidal put in. “But I’m with Grape on this. Shoot this guy down, before he gets you. He’s not going to stop, not till all of my wife’s lovers are dead. This guy, if what I’ve heard about him is correct, he’s got one serious grudge to bear. Question is why? He have a crush on my wife, and she didn’t return his feelings?”
“Your guess is as good as mine Tidal,” Philip shrugged. “But the only real way to find out, from the mouth of the Dopant himself.”
“So, how you plan to find him? Or unveil his true self?” Grape asked, and Phil gave him a suspicious look.
“You ask a lot of questions don’t you?”
“Concerned citizen,” Grape replied. “So sue me!”
“Okay, plan on setting roadblocks throughout the city with the police’s help, he won’t be able to leave the city. Got some DNA from the crime scene itself, we’ll know who he is.” Phil replied.
“Ah, I gotcha,” Grape smiled. “Cunning really, and I wish ya the best of luck in your endeavors. Believe me, soon as this guy is put down, I’ll sleep better at night. Think we all will, really. Just be careful about it, m’kay?”
Grape waved them goodbye as the threesome left his studio.
“So, you think he’s our guy?” Daring asked. “Bit of a creep, yes, but he seems like a nice enough man at heart. Definitely seems to despise Dopants.”
“Honestly, part of my mind wants to clear him,” Philip replied before sucking in a breath. “But the other part…?”
“Yeah, I get ya,” Daring replied. “I’ll do a little breaking and entering later. Grab what DNA I can, and hand it off to the lab and see if we get a match. And if I happen to stumble across a Gaia Memory…?”
Philip nodded. “Grab one of his ties if you can. Bound to be some DNA there.”
“Why do you say that?” Daring had to ask, before Tidal spoke.
“Because nobody ever washes a tie,” he said before he opened the car door. “Well, best we be getting off. If you’re right Philip, you’ve got a long week ahead of you. Best you get an early night’s rest.”
However, as soon as he opened the passenger door, he found himself face to face with the woman who had been watching Philip and Daring a few nights before. Bandages covered her entire face, even her eyes. Why she would wear sunglasses then, was a mystery but yet there they were on her face. In her lap was a thick black briefcase.
“Who the hell…?” Tidal exclaimed, jumping backwards in shock.
“Tidal Fury,” the woman sniffed. “Most ironic name ever. Well, good thing you don’t factor into what I have in mind.”
“Just who are you exactly?” Philip asked, eyes narrowed.
“My real name is irrelevant, you may call me Shroud,” the woman answered. “I am here to offer you a proposition, Philip Finder, and Daring Do.”
“Shroud, noun. A: a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial. B: a thing that envelops or obscures something.” Philip thought to himself. “Both equally fitting.”
“So, what is your… proposition?” Philip asked.
“And I think I should have a say in this, that’s my car and besides Philip’s helping me with a case that-”
“Involves your late wife-to-be and a Dopant. I’m quite well aware of the details,” Shroud replied with a dismissive wave. “And this factors into that. Look into the case.”
She opened up the briefcase with a distinctive clicking sound, and inside the case was this section of five different USB flash drives each marked with a different letter of the alphabet and two other items. Both were the exact same in nature and design. They were each small belts with a big, red buckle with a device on it. A slot for something sat at the right side with the left end having more buckle holders, for if the user had a smaller waistline or something.
“Okay, so you’ve got some fancy devices that wouldn’t look out of place on some sci-fi themed fashion line and some USB flash drives. Why should we care?” Daring asked. Shroud somehow managed a glare even without visible eyes.
“Because, this is what will allow you two to defeat the Dopants ravaging this city,” Shroud replied and held up one of the flash drives. “Now this, this is a Gaia Memory.”
“Okay, stop right there. Not interested in sticking a drug in my arm and turning into the very same monsters I swore to fight.” Philip snarled. Shroud ignored him and continued on.
“I do not care what you think,” she said. “I work for an organization who wishes to stay anonymous, which has been able to refine the Gaia Memories and use them in conjunction with these belts. Their power has been weakened, yes, but these T2 Gaia Memories as we call them will not turn you into a monster of any sort.” Shroud continued, tossing a light blue Memory marked with the letter N into Philip’s hand.
“A drug is still a drug,” Philip refuted. “I’d want more and more of that power, and I have no guarantee you’re not lying and that these do the opposite of what you say and just turn me into a monster anyways. One that the police would not be able to stop. The devices, just plastic accessories to sell your lie.”
“Believe what you will, but sooner or later there will come a time you and Daring will see I’m right.” With that, she slipped out the other side of the car and when Philip and Daring gave chase they found she had only vanished into the shadows. Unusually, Philip was still clutching the T2 Gaia Memory…
To Be Continued...
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Other than your weird name choice for the victim that was discussed briefly on Discord, good chapter.
Also, lets hope Philip isn't half-boiled (sorry, I had to).
9120012
Yes, well the joke has to be made at some point I suppose. If you didn't do it, someone else would have.
9120060 Yeah, its good to get it over with, reminds me I need to link you to a section of a video talking about Shoutarou as hard-boiled sometime.
Now, count up your references: 1
Don't remember that part
Huh, clever nickname
Now, count up your references: 2
Just to be sure: Now, count up your references: 3
How can a Dopant cut himself on a broken window
Not a direct reference but still: Now, count up your references: 4
I know I'm grasping at straws here, but come on: Now, count up your references: 5
Now, count up your references: 6
Ok, so dopants are vulnerable to bullets. Ok, interesting. So these dopants are more like Showa era kaijin.
Now, count up your references: 7
Now, count up your references: 8
Now, count up your references: 9; 10
hey Shroud, oh and: Now, count up your references: 11
I still have no idea how to respond to something like this. Seriously
Thanks.
9120067
Huh, I think I know what video you are talking about.
9120079
Remember Isaka and what happened to him after the Weather Memory was broken via Accel Trial? That's what I'm referencing there.
Yeah, the Villain in Glasses, the same guy who suggested Robert's catchphrase in Wild Access be the same as Captain Marvelous said I absolutely had to call Philip Lefty at some point.
Yeah, one of the things I learned in the writer's workshop I took was, and this ties into Dopants being hurt by bullets like old Shown era Kaijin was that somehow clues had to be left behind so why not a Dopant cutting himself to leave behind a blood trace?
Yeah, I would look to A to Z, the Gaia Memories of Fate for evidence of this as one T2 Memory using Dopant got hurt by a regular bullets from a gun, but since Philip and Daring and the rest of the police force are mere mortals faced with an army of monsters I had to water them down somehow.
9120067
On another note, who do you think is the Ice Age Dopant? Tidal Fury, or Grape Vine? Both have probable cause motive-wise, with Grape having a restraining order against Cherry (Still not sorry about the name) and Tidal actually being a Gaia Memory dealer who knows, or at least thinks his wife is cutting off older affairs and does have a history of cheating on men.
9120094
Ah, I just thought more along the lines of using them too much and then dying... and now I remember that that was actually was the case... Sometimes my nerdiness fails me.
Makes sense
Fair enough.
9120107
Wasn't the only reference out of 13 you failed to count up. The Injury Memory, it exists and was shown if not named in the very first arc of Kamen Rider Double in the hideout.
9120111
Oh wow, that is even for me too extreme. Wow, I'm just glad I counted 11of them. Seriously, a memory that was only on a computer screen? That is evil.
9120095 Hmm, both legitimate reasons really, I'd say probably Grape.
One thing I kinda found funny. When they were talking about his photos and then when we saw how he looked I was thinking of another photographer who likes pink and has brown hair. Granted that could be because I just finished his series today, so that might play a roll in this.
9120150
"Damn you Decade!" It's seriously always his fault. Who knows, maybe he's the killer!
9120203
Nah, then it would just be Narutaki
This seems interesting, but the whole noir setting is just not doing it for me and is making it more of a turn off for me personally. Still everything looks good, no major mistakes anywhere so I wish you all the luck on this story.
9120203
Don't you know? ZI-O is the new Decade, and we're gunna see more of him soon!! Still, interesting take on the Kamen Rider Double story here. Daring Do as part of the 2 in 1 detective...and with Fang and nasca as the memories in question? I like it!!
9121002
Hate to disappoint, but remember the way the Drivers were described. They were described as the Lost Drivers, aka the ones that Skull, Joker, and Eternal used. Still, the basic premise is the same, the one that lines up with the lyrics to the theme.
Upon meeting the ultimate partner
A miracle will be created (So We can make it)
Basically, while there will not be a two in one Detective, as I've opted to take the Kamen Rider Unicorn route here, it'll still match up with Daring and Philip being partners working in sync together. Think of it as like Takeshi Hongo and Hayato Ichimonji in a way.
9121840
Whoops, I though it was one double driver and one lost driver so that the other guy with them could act like Accel...but that's another good point with having Hidari's mentor Skull and his partner. Good work all the same, and I LOVE Kamen Rider Unicorn, so I can't fault you there!
This sounds like Sherlock Holmes to a T. The weird books, the musical instruments (Noting that Holmes played violin). And Daring Do playing Dr. Watson. like the thought.
9122453
Yeah, one of Ponyjosiah's biggest influences for creating Phil was Sherlock if I remember correctly.