CMA: Act 1 - Mystery

Frostfern10 08/02/18

Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I posted a story here and even longer since I did one about Serenity, one of my AUs where everything is peaceful and all that (If you want to know more, feel free to check out the linked wikis).

What is CMA?

Short for "Case of the Missing Amulet", it is a five part mystery story set in Serenity, an AU, some time after the events of Long Awaited Battle.

In the united town of humans and monsters, an amulet has been stolen before its reveal in the local museum. It's up to Frisk, Chara and Asriel to uncover the culprit and unravel the truth behind the missing amulet.

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Yes, it's not as suspenseful or interesting as a murder mystery, but I meant for this to be more lighthearted than my other stories.

If you wish to predict who is the culprit (don't worry, it's someone you would know, i.e. it's not an OC), go ahead! Bonus points if you say why. ;)

There will be a hint and a fun fact at the end of each part.

Also, it's my first time actually attempting a mystery focused story, so some would be nice. ^-^

Word count: 1661

Time taken: 3 hours over a span of more than five days because I'm slow.

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With the year's end around the corner, the holidays arrived. Lately, the small united town of monsters and humans was buzzing with excitement, with the magnitude of events that were launched.

Moreover, Chara and Asriel returned from overseas, making the house feel less empty than before.

Frisk missed them a lot, even though they wrote letters to each other at least once every two days. The thought of the three of them being back together brought a smile on their face.

The faint buzzing of their phone snapped the child out of their thoughts.

Odd... who would be calling at this time?

Sliding out of bed, Frisk grabbed their phone and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey Frisk!" it was Undyne's voice that reached their ears. "Well, sorry in advance if I'm interrupting something, but there's a situation at Gemma."

Frisk would have blinked if their eyes were not closed. "Gemma?"

It was one of the jewellery stores in the town. Recently, the owner decided to close down the store, but rumour has it that they were also donating an ancient amulet to the local museum.

"Yes," she responded. "Well, it was robbed."

"Let me guess, the amulet was stolen?"

"That's right. Here's the thing," Undyne paused momentarily, "the police is having a little trouble figuring out. I figured that you would be able to help, so I talked to the in-charge and he gave you the green light, with a few conditions of course."

"Me?" Frisk was surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised, Frisk," she said. "You are a smart kid. Also... how did you know about the amulet? I thought the police and the owner tried to keep it a secret."

"I make it a point to be in the know," they replied vaguely. "Okay, I'm coming over in a few minutes."

Glimpsing at the clock, Frisk quickly changed to their iconic blue and purple striped shirt. When they arrived at the dinner table, they noticed that everyone was already there.

Chara gave them their usual smile, a peculiar mix of smugness and friendliness. "Look who finally decided to show up."

"It's only 8:40."

"That's around 10 minutes later than usual," Asriel commented. "Even Chara woke earlier than you-"

"Hey!" Chara interrupted indignantly.

"I just found it a little off, that's all," the goat said, concerned. Asriel would never say anything that was intended to hurt anyone, such that he was referred as someone who was "too kind".

"Well... Undyne called, asking me for my help in a stolen amulet case," Frisk spoke up.

"Isn't that a job for the police, my child?" Toriel asked, putting a tray of freshly baked butterscotch-cinnamon pie on the table.

"They seem to have some kind of trouble." That got Frisk thinking after they said that sentence. Why would a group of professionals ask for a 14-year-old's help?

"Oh?" Chara sounded interested. "Hey, how about I in? I have no plans for today anyways."

"Okay," Frisk agreed instantly. "Asriel, want to come too?"

Asriel nearly hopped out of his seat in excitement. "Sure!"

The three of them exchanged knowing looks; each of them took it as an excuse - albeit a good one - to do things together again.

Of course, Asgore and Toriel understood as well, giving their approval.

"Like old times, huh?" Chara grinned.

"Like old times," Frisk echoed, trembling with anticipation.

~~~~

Like every crime scene, the area was cordoned off with blue and white tape. A row of policemen were trying to usher the crowd of reporters away from the scene, but they were persistent, and so was the police.

Frisk stared at the front of the jewellery store. The glass window was the most glaringly obvious difference; it was shattered, probably by something big.

Chara and Asriel - but mostly Asriel - were looking around in curiosity. Frisk had explained the situation to them along the way and they were pretty eager to start.

"There you are!"

Undyne ran up to the three of them, followed closely by a police officer. "Glad you agreed to lend a helping hand. We need all the help we can get."

"Unfortunately so," the policeman said. "I'm Inspector Blake Hollins. Pleased to meet you... Frisk."

They exchanged an awkward handshake before the inspector got down to business.

"Before we begin, I will have to run through the and conditions of this investigation. I assume your friends are going to assist as well."

"Yes, they are," Frisk responded.

"I see," he acknowledged. "Moving on."

Inspector Hollins proceeded to list a string of conditions ranging from avoiding contaminatation of the crime scene to giving a daily report to him about their findings.

Each time he spelled out the , Frisk felt more intimidated, elevated with his towering figure and strict, brown eyes.

"Last but not least," Mr. Hollins made sure to emphasise those words, shifting to a grim tone, "should the investigation take a dangerous turn, abort immediately."

Frisk glanced at Chara and Asriel, whose faces reflected their own doubt that the case would ever come to it. Nonetheless, they nodded.

"I need a verbal confirmation," the policeman requested. "Perhaps you do not understand that the fact that you all are children-"

"Teenagers," Chara muttered.

"... so you will be more vulnerable and may not be able to defend yourselves from an attack..."

The three of them were perfectly capable of protecting themselves. However, Frisk didn't feel the need to tell him that they themselves were able to get past the king of monsters when six other children couldn't, and so on. That list was endless at this point.

They kept their mouth shut, and so did the others.

"Do you understand?" he asked sternly.

"Yes sir," the three of them chorused.

"Now, please excuse me. I have other matters to attend to, but I will you shortly," Inspector Hollins said, stalking off. "Miss Undyne will tell you more about the case."

"Everything he said went over my head," Chara commented once he was out of earshot. "Wow, that guy talks a lot."

"I'm sure he just wants to be specific," Asriel offered.

"Too specific, if you ask me," Undyne added. "Come on. I'll show you around the crime scene."

Even in the morning, the store felt dark and musty, as if time was particularly fast in that area.

Frisk found themselves tiptoeing unconsciously, while being careful not to trip over the evidence - everything, basically- until Chara gave them an annoyed jab.

"So, this is where the amulet was before it was stolen," Undyne began, gesturing to a display case in the middle of the store.

They leaned forward to take a closer look. It was like any other display case in the jewellery store, completely intact, with the exception of its shape and size.

"It seemed to be unlocked by this thing down here," she continued, pointing to a thin, black hairpin on the floor, marked by the number "3". "Of course, the police can't really run prints on such a tiny thing, so that's a dead end."

"How about the cameras?" Asriel inquired.

"Trashed. Every single one went out of operation at around 4am."

"At the same time?" Frisk spoke up.

"Pretty much," Undyne shrugged. "I'm as clueless as the police at this point of time."

Asriel took note of it, scribbling a few words in his notebook he always brought along.

Meanwhile, Chara was inspecting the broken window, rubbing their chin thoughtfully. "Hmm..."

"What is it?" Frisk knew, from their actions, that they had discovered something peculiar.

"Well..." Chara stepped away from the broken window and turned towards them. "What do you see?"

"A robbed jewellery store," Undyne cut in. "Seriously, why can't you just tell us?"

"Shush, fish lady," they jested, as an annoyed look crossed their face. "Just answer the question."

Taking the hint, Frisk scanned the entire room and started describing what they saw. "A broken window, glass shards... cameras, display cases with jewellery... brown, cardboard boxes..."

They trailed off, wondering what Chara wanted them - all of them - to find.

The amulet was stolen from the display case in the middle... which seemed to be unlocked by a thin, black pin...

Something then clicked inside their head. "I think I get it."

All eyes were on Frisk as they started to explain. "The culprit got into Gemma somehow and stole the amulet by unlocking the display case, right? At first glance, it seemed that they broke through the window to get into the store, but that's contrary to how they got the amulet."

"Uh... explain...?" Undyne still wore a look of bewilderment.

"We all know that the thief got the amulet without breaking the display case. However, if they were the one who broke the window, wouldn't they just break the case too? Since the cameras are disabled?" Frisk spoke excitedly. "Sneaky and aggressive... too different ways of getting the amulet..."

"... and two different people!" Asriel finished for them.

"Bingo, partner!" Chara said, pleased. "And Asriel. I couldn't have said it better myself."

They never ceased to impress Frisk with their perceptiveness of things that were usually not given a second thought. That was one of the reasons why they looked up to them.

"But," Chara stressed, before settling on a more casual tone, "the culprit could just be erratic or indecisive. Or they could just be messing with our heads. Who knows?"

Even though they have a bad habit of messing around with others.

"What?" Chara asked, unaffected by the stares laid upon them. "It's just what I think."

The room remained in silence for a while until Asriel broke, muttering hesitantly. "Uhh... I'll write it down."

As he scribbled it down on his notebook, Frisk surveyed the store again, at the heap of evidence laid before their eyes. It represented that wall of uncertainty that would have be overcome, if they wished to crack this puzzling case.

Needless to say, it was all still a mystery.

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