We set our scene on Mulaka, A planet not too unfamiliar from earth, the year is 2020 and the dimension is 1-Alpha... The Very First!
The festivities had just started on the eve of a cosmologically celebrated holiday known only as Christmas... after all, everyone wants an excuse for a lazy day, even extra-Terrestrial (and dimensional) beings...
The crew is in what looks like a market town out of an Isekai Anime itself...
Adam pipes up with an unfamiliar level of enthusiasm and joy, he sniffs the air and exclaims "You guys smell that? Everyone, Everywhere is bustling to prepare for this one holiday... you see, everyone else back on earth seems to speculate about extra-terrestrial life as though it was merely fiction!..."
He started before realising he needed to take a breath... He continues "...But we never notice that earth is a tourist attraction around this time of the year, aliens and other dimensional beings of all beliefs travel to the home of the holiday they cherish and love!"
"I don't know why, but..." before he could finish his sentence, a demonic figure popped its head out from a portal right in front of them...
"HELLO SIR! May I interest you in a one of a kind antique from earth! The Mona Lisa herself... with a festive makeover of course!" Exclaimed the being with an aura that seemed to exude confidence... but as soon as this being looked closely at Adam, that soon changed!
"Soooo, what was that about the Mona Lisa..." Adam sounded completely serious
for a second, before his frown quickly changed to a big smirk "Good to see you haven't changed much in the past year Wellarx!" He laughed!
"OMG! Adam! I'm soooo sorry, I almost didn't recognise you... it's been waaaaaaay too long!" The being and Adam very quickly hugged as though they'd known each other since birth!
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"EEEERM!.... Adam? Who's this?!?" The crew seemed to pipe up in complete unison, all with a look of complete confusion on their faces!
"Ohhh, I'm so sorry guys!" Adam soon realised his mistake "Guys, meet Wellarx... Wellarx, meet my team... they're helping me with that new time preservation thing I told you about last year!"
The demon extended his hand to the crew with a big, friendly smile "well, any friends of Adam's is a friend of mine too... Pleasure to meet you all!"
The crew seemed stunned for a second but soon snapped out of it and extended their hands in turn "you too!" They all replied, their confusion morphed to joy
"So how'd you two meet?... if you don't mind me asking?" Asked Henry!
"Yeah, it's fine..." started the demon in response to the second half of the question...
"It was Christmas; around 5 years ago now... I was still a police detective for the time agency and I had a case on my hands that nobody else wanted; they'd deemed it: 'The Unsolvable Case!' When we knew what it really was!" The demon began his long tale.
"There were many suspects with motive, but all of them had alibis!" The way he spoke had all the makings of an experienced storyteller!
(We cut to the actual event as a flashback from the perspective of the detective)
"So, was anyone around at the time this man kicked the bucket?" I asked inquisitively
"No Sir, everyone has alibis for the time of the suicide... do you think it wasn't then?" Asked my partner with a look of pure admiration.
"No, doesn't seem to be murder... But you know how people think when we don't cover all bases." I replied knowing that I needed everyone to be in total agreement to shut the case.
All of a sudden, I heard an officer outside project his voice towards the entrance to the house "SIR! THIS IS AN ACTIVE CRIME SCENE! YOU CAN'T GO IN!" But each attempt fell on deaf ears!
Then, not soon after we'd all registered the officer's voice... an unusual individual came in with more confidence and charisma than I've ever seen in an entire force combined!
"Hello There!" He extended his hand to me!
I extended mine in turn as he continued "Pleasure to meet you detective..." he looked at my name tag for a second then continued "...Wellarx, great name... cool if I just call you that from now on?"
I was in complete shock for a moment, it's as though this person knew no concept of the word restricted, but the way he went about it... you couldn't help but admire him!
"Yeah, that's fine... Sorry for asking, but who are you?" I responded after I'd collected my thoughts...
He moved over to where the box of latex gloves were kept and put on a pair "chears Wellarx, and the Name's Adam" his face bursted into a reassuring grin!
He started scouring every inch of the crime scene, and the house in turn; before coming back in with a look of complete sincerity...
"Detective... I believe we've got a murder on our hands here!"
Everyone in the room stopped for a moment, everything seemed suspended in time as soon as he finished uttering that sentence!
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He gave everyone time to consider what he'd just said before continuing...
"Detective, if you wouldn't mind indulging me for a moment and follow me?"
I was still stunned, but I was incredibly curious, so I chirped up:
"Of Course! But where are we going?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me
"You see where he's hanging from?"
"Yes?" I responded quickly but unsure where this was going
"Notice how there's no signs of anything he could have stood on except the table."
"O....Kay?" I still couldn't see what this man could possibly mean...
"But there's still wet mud on his shoes from the rain the night before and the dirt outside."
"Where are you going with this?" I asked
"Patience detective, this one has a detailed background." He responded calmly before continuing...
"If there's still wet mud on the bottom of his shoes, why hasn't a single bit of mud been tracked inside? The floor was completely clean."
"I see what you mean, but it's not grounds to call this a murder... he could have just cleaned up!" I was kinda annoyed at this point, but I remained calm.
"Yes detective, but could he have cleaned up the table as well while he was dangling from the noose?" He asked, clearly knowing the answer.
"Well no, he couldn't have..." I started before actually considering what he'd just said and rushing to inspect the table!
"You're right! There no trace of any mud on the table!" I was shocked at this individual's powers of observation!
"There's more to tell though, detective."
"Ok, I'm listening..." I responded, trying not to let my morbid fascination with this individual show!
"If he had stood on the table, he would have swung while hanging from the noose... right?" I could see he was trying to make it look like I was involved, and I appreciated his restraint on my behalf.
"Yes, don't stop in my account" I responded with a smile forming, you could see he noted this and continued...
"Wouldn't the lacerations to his neck be deeper if he were swinging? This seems like he was unconscious the whole time, the body always fights death... even people who are suicidal!..." he started before pausing for a breath...
He continued "so surely there would be more of a mess around where he was found, what's weird is there is one sign of struggle..."
"What's weird about that?" I asked
"It's in the living room!" His sentence still holding a captive audience!
"You what!?!?" I was gobsmacked!
"Yep, if you wouldn't mind following me again detective?" He asked
"Hell, you've gotten this much already... I'll happily follow you!" I responded with a tone I have only ever used around my closest friends!
We walked from the kitchen to the living room, Adam looked at the latex gloves he was wearing for a second and picked up a shard of what seemed like a vase from underneath a drawer.
"This, shows that something was broken recently and wasn't entirely swept up! And from how clean this house is... I can say it's cleaned fairly regularly!"
He motioned to one of the forensics guys and asked... "hi there, would you mind grabbing me an evidence bag?" The worker quickly rushed to grab an evidence bag and, even quicker, give it to Adam...
"Thank you dood" he said energetically with the biggest smile, before putting the piece of broken pottery into the bag and sealing it...
"Here you go detective..." he passed me the bag and I put it with what little evidence we had already obtained!
I still had many unanswered questions though, but the one that was at the forefront of my mind was... If it wasn't suicide: How was he killed?!?
As if in response to my question, Adam continued!
"And, we can't leave out how he died now, can we?" He asked
"Of course!" I responded trying not to sound impressed with the guy who'd walked into an active crime scene!
"You see the water at the victim's feet? And the thermostat is at 34 degrees celsius?" He leaded
"Yes, but it was raining the night before." I responded thinking we might be loosing this one...
"Yes, but if the mud is still wet on his shoes... shouldn't there still be moisture on the windowsill?" He hinted.
I moved my index finger across the window ledge... "there's no moisture at all!" I was beginning to like this guy, However fanatic his methods...
"I think he was knocked out or possibly drugged beforehand, then placed on a large ice block... and the noose tied around his neck! It would give the killer enough time to either escape or clear up after themselves!" He exclaimed
"Not well enough it would seem?..." I responded...
"Nope, seems not..." he said with a smile that was reassuring, but not cocky.
(We cut back to Adam and the crew with Wellarx in the present)
"So you're basically the modern day Sherlock?" Asked the crew in unison with an air of surprise!
"We're Time Travellers! How do you know Sherlock won't be written about me?" Adam chirped jokingly
The crew and Wellarx laughed to the point of tears...
"Hay Wellarx? How'd you like to see the base, maybe even join us for Christmas Dinner?" Adam Asked
"Yeah, we'd love to hear some more stories about you and Adam!" The crew exclaimed!
"You know what? That's sounds like fun!" He replied, complete joy filling every word that left his mouth!
(The crew leaves for the base and has X-Mas dinner together!)
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*Reconstruction Complete! Christmas 2020 Cataloged for HoloSuite!*
The words of the virtual diary faded, Adam smirked and his face filled with joy as the nostalgia really sunk in!
*So, I just wanted to end this story to thank everyone for reading the series so far! Here's to many more Chapters... Oh and one more thing before I head off to enjoy it with the family: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :)*