Cossette has been rescued, Hugo turned into a Chucacapra and disappeared… But the most important thing now is that they know the mayor of Roux is the leader of the Thorn Mafia… So Remy starts thinking about how to make sure the mayor pays for all the terrible things he has done…
(Crash!)
Remy: "Damn it!….."
Casper: "What's wrong, Remy?"
Casper asked as he opened the door…
Remy: "I keep trying to figure out how we can put Bernard Boneparte in prison. I've got some photos… but how do we prove it was in his house—his mansion?"
Casper: "Hmm."
Fiona came out of her room…
Fiona: "May I ask what's going on?"
Remy: "I'm trying to find a way to get Bernard Boneparte behind bars. He's the boss of the Thorn Mafia. He is the boss, Le Chapeau (the Hat)."
Fiona: "Hmm… You did take photos, right?"
Remy: "Yes, but only of the statues and nothing more… We have to find proof that he's the boss…"
Fiona: "Hmm…"
Suddenly the door opened… It was Vivian and Cossette.
Vivian: "Master… Cossette says she knows how… how to do that."
Remy: "What?"
Fiona: "Cossette?"
Cossette: "I've seen him… I think I can do it because he did business with forbidden trades. Human trafficking and murder… For that, we have to go to Walden."
Remy: "Walden? But that's dangerous."
Fiona: "Walden?"
Casper: "Well… It's a city… but… it's located beneath the Franconian lands… It's basically a city for… how to say it… the underworld, you could say… For people who are very poor or where a lot of crime happens."
Fiona: "Hmm… I see…"
Remy: "Hahhh… Walden used to be a city famous for its great sights… Waldenheimer, someone who came from the Weimar Empire and then lived here in Roselande, built it… It was a city full of hope for the people… But then…"
The door opened.
Jade: "One day, during mining work, they broke a rock… That rock was full of chemicals and radioactivity… It poisoned the city… The people managed to reach one side where it was still safe and built a huge wall… It's called the Mur de Poing (Fist Wall)… Long story short, half of the city was completely destroyed—well, not entirely. The radioactivity faded eventually, it wasn't that much; the real problem are the chemicals, which make it so that as soon as a human touches them, they die of poisoning in less than a minute."
Fiona: "I see… So we can still go there."
Remy: "Yes, we can. But Cossette… what exactly do you mean, why there?"
Cossette: "A nobleman does his business there. That's where they tried to sell me… They call him Bluebeard… He's known for buying women and children to send them into the danger zone so they bring him valuable diamonds and stones…"
Remy: "I understand… Do you know his real name?"
Cossette: "Gautier Thomasson."
Remy: "Hmmm!?"
Remy's face froze in shock… The others looked at each other… Fiona and Cossette got confused…
Fiona: "What's wrong?"
Casper: "Remy, I don't understand… I thought he was in prison!"
Fiona: "Can someone explain this? Cossette and I don't get anything…"
Remy: "Gautier Thomasson… was the head of an orphanage."
Remy stood up…
Remy: "Where I lived… There we, the orphaned children, were abused in horrible ways… We had to endure it because at least we got food… And as you know, I'm also from Havre Etienne… and thanks to Etienne, Meltz, Saint Troye, we children had no choice… Gautier Thomasson was one of the nobles of Etienne. On the outside he appeared kind, someone who cared for children… But behind that, he was a monster who forced the children to work for him… From the outside it looked like an orphanage, but inside it was really more of a factory… The children had to work hard… the more you worked, the more food you got… Whoever didn't work got no food… Whoever disobeyed orders was locked in a basement full of blood and hedgehogs."
Fiona: "Ugh…"
Remy: "But then… there was an accident… The entire factory… collapsed…"
He hit a toy house and knocked it over.
(Crash!)
Remy: "It all went down and they found out about Gautier Thomasson's crimes… He was sentenced to life in prison… I never expected they'd release him."
Fiona: "Hmm… there must be money behind it… or the Franks…"
Remy: "Mhm… That's what I can imagine… He was important in Etienne, after all…"
Casper: "That means we have to talk to him now… Remy, you don't have to come."
Remy: "Oh, I'm coming… I'm a detective. My job is to solve cases, face dangers, and catch dangerous people."
Fiona: "Hmm…"
Jade: "Well then, let's go."
They set off for Walden. To get there, they have to take a street called Waldenway. It's very close to Havre Etienne.
(A few minutes later)
(Crash!) (Crash!)
(Dong!) (Dong!)
(everybody Dance Now yeah!!!!)
Jade: "So, ready?"
Fiona: "Uh… what is all this noise…"
Remy: "He's singing…"
Fiona: "Singing?"
Cossette: "Hmm."
Singer: "Oh yeah… Ladies… Let's fu—(bleep)… Yeah, let me touch your v—(bleep)… bi—(bleep)!"
Fiona: "He's just insulting everyone…"
Cossette: "It's loud…"
Remy: "Ignore that idiot… He's never had a girlfriend, that's why he only thinks of stuff like that…"
Fiona: "Hmm…"
Cossette: "What stuff?"
Fiona: "You're too young for that…"
Cossette: "I'm 14…"
Fiona: "So what? Even worse. People your age make a lot of mistakes…"
A staircase…
Remy: "You should know: Walden is underground… It's in the middle, so you can reach it from any Franconian country without trouble. We just have to go down these stairs… By the way, don't accept anything people give you there."
Cossette: "Not even presents?"
Remy: "That's even worse. Things you didn't buy yourself here are dangerous… People pretend to be nice and then give you stuff like needles… drugs… You get addicted."
Cossette: "Oh…"
Fiona: "I see… like in Dehl…"
They walked further down the stairs until a city came into view… Tall buildings and a heavy atmosphere…
Remy: "All right, we're here… Cossette… you should stay with us, it's dangerous."
Casper: "Children can be kidnapped easily…"
Jade: "So stay close."
Fiona: "Hmm."
They entered the city—music everywhere, on every corner…
(Crash!) (Crash!)
(Dong!)
Remy: "Gautier Thomasson is called Bluebeard here, if I understood correctly."
Cossette: "Mhm…"
Remy: "Got it. Then we just ask around."
He tapped someone on the shoulder.
Stranger: "Huh?"
Remy: "Do you know someone here who goes by the name of Bluebeard?"
Stranger: "What do you want from him…"
Remy: "We want to talk."
Stranger: "We don't talk to strangers, and especially not to detectives… Be glad nobody's followed you yet. Take my advice and wear something else…"
Remy: "Hmm…"
Stranger: "I can help you with that… You got money?"
Remy: "Hahhh…"
He pulled out a 500 bill.
Remy: "How about this?"
Stranger: "Hohoho… all right, all right… My name is Dokin Nikod, nice to meet you. Come in, I'll give you the outfits you need."
They went inside.
Remy: "Hmm… That suit there."
Dokin: "Hoho, good choice…"
Fiona: "Hmm."
Dokin: "For you, I have this outfit…"
Fiona: "Huh?"
It was an outfit that showed a lot of skin…
Fiona: "No thanks… that shows way too much skin…"
Dokin: "Hmm… All right, how about a crop top then… As for your leg… and that cane… I've got these pants for you. They're long, but have some rips…"
Fiona: "Okay…"
Jade: "Hmm… No one is allowed to see my skin except Casper."
Casper: "(Sweats) Can you please not say that so loud…"
Remy: "Hmm… And for little Cossette, please an outfit that fits an innocent poor cute girl… Cossette needs exactly that."
Dokin: "Oh, this one… hahahaha… No problem."
(A few minutes later)
They got their clothes. Remy wore a suit that looked kind of gangster-like, same for Casper… Fiona wore a crop top, off-shoulder, with long pants… Jade had a backless outfit, and Cossette had something more normal.
Fiona: "(Sweats) These are weird."
Jade: "It's tight… my pants…"
Remy: "Well, it's just a short mission we have to clear, then that's enough…"
Casper: "Okay, let's go."
Dokin: "Wait… you asked about Bluebeard, right?"
Remy: "Yes, do you know him?"
Dokin: "Not personally… but I know someone who knows him."
Remy: "Can you tell us where he is and who that is?"
Dokin: "Hmm… I'll go with you…"
They followed him.
Dokin: "His name is Drey… He used to work for Bluebeard… But Drey quit… He said he couldn't stand what he saw there anymore… I don't know exactly what… I only know that apparently people are abused there… Hmm… Here we are…"
It was a small house. He knocked.
(Knock!) (Knock!)
Drey: "Who is it?"
Dokin: "It's me, Drey… Dokin…"
Drey: "What… okay… Wait…"
He opened the door.
Dokin: "Drey, what's wrong?"
Drey: "Hm… who are these people…"
Remy: "We're detectives!"
Drey: "What… Dokin, how could you… Do you want me locked up?!"
Dokin: "Calm down, Drey… They're here to find Bluebeard…"
Drey: "To find Bluebeard?… Hahhh… He'll kill me if I tell you anything…"
Remy: "He won't. He'll be put in prison. His real name is Gautier Thomasson. We want to ask about Le Chapeau…"
Drey: "Hahh… All right then… Come in quickly."
They went in.
Drey: "I worked for Bluebeard for more than five years… But… I couldn't take it anymore… He became more and more brutal… My job was actually only to evaluate the stones and diamonds coming from the mines in the danger zones… to see if they were good… But one day, when I received a crate… and opened it… I saw melted… skin… I knew something was wrong… So I asked questions… Then I decided to go into the building, into the room where nobody is allowed except him and his most important right hand and left hand, Roy and Rey… And what I saw… That was four months ago…"
(Four months earlier)
Drey: "Huh!… hahhh…"
Children in the room… Children in terrible shape… Hardly any food… Poisoning… Diseases…
Drey: "What does this mean… Are the ones working in the mines these children…?"
(End of flashback)
Drey: "That was too much… and… I left… I even left the area where I lived and came to this shack here… It's run-down, but at least it's safe…"
Remy: "I see… Do you know where he usually is?"
Drey: "Oh yes… You have to go to a restaurant. That's where he is. The restaurant is called Viande En Bouillon (Meat in Broth)… He's always there around 4 p.m… You have to hurry, it's already 3:50."
Remy: "Thank you very much."
Drey: "I didn't do this for myself… but so that this guy finally disappears… I never want to see a child's tears again… I've seen enough in Havre Etienne… I… was a soldier… in the Etienne unit… I helped make many innocent children lose their parents… I helped with that…"
Remy: "You were just a young soldier…"
Drey: "Still… It was a choice… I could have left… I could've taken my own life or tried to help the children… But I did it for my sick wife… she needed money… But… when my wife found out what we, the unit, had done to the people of Havre Etienne… she took her own life… She loved me too much to leave me… and hated what I'd done too much to ignore it…"
Remy: "Hmm..."
Drey: "Please… I just want to finally… make sure the right thing happens… No innocent person should suffer. War is wrong… While we soldiers do this and hurt innocents, the officials and nobles knew everything and wanted as many innocent people as possible to die…"
Dokin: "Hmm…"
Remy: "Thank you, Drey… I'll tell you one thing… you're not a bad person… Stop destroying your own life. Everyone makes mistakes… The important thing is that you've improved."
They left the house.
Fiona: "Well, look at that… You can be nice."
Remy: "Hmph…"
Fiona: "Are you okay?"
Remy: "I'm perfectly fine… Let's hurry…"
(A few minutes later)
Jade: "Hmm."
Remy: "This must be it."
Fiona: "This restaurant?"
Casper: "Oh boy…"
They went inside… People were glaring angrily all around.
Remy: "Act like they do."
Fiona: "Hmm… okay…"
Casper: "Easy for you to say."
Jade: "Let's go…"
They whispered as they started walking with serious expressions, copying the others.
Remy: "Do what I do…"
He whispered.
Remy: "Hmm."
He went up to the waitress…
Remy: "What's up… sweetheart… Is the food here as tasty as you look…"
(Silence!)
Jade: "Uh?"
Fiona: "This will never work."
Casper: "Mhm."
Waitress: "Wait… What was that… just now… hahahahahaha… Wow, you're really hot… Would you go out with me?"
Remy: "How old are you, sweetheart… You look so young, are you 23?"
Waitress: "No, no, I'm 34…"
Remy: "No way… Really… Well… that still works… Older women—wait… Do you have a kid?"
Waitress: "Yes, is that a problem?"
Remy: "Oh, a Mi—(bleep)…"
Waitress: "Hahahaha..."
Remy: "I'm here to meet someone… Is that possible? Is there someone here called… Bluebeard?"
Her expression turned serious…
Waitress: "Why?"
Remy: "I found an interesting mine with valuable golden stones…"
Waitress: "I see… He's sitting over there in the corner… Be careful… He's a real bastard."
Remy: "Thank you very much…"
He went over to Bluebeard… A man with a long beard and glasses.
Remy: "Gautier Thomasson?"
Bluebeard: "Ugh!"
He looked up at him.
Bluebeard: "Who are you… Damn!"
Remy sat down.
Remy: "I'm a detective…"
Bluebeard: "Hmph… Do you realize you could die here… I could just yell and say there's a detective here."
Remy: "And I could yell that Gautier Thomasson, who supported the civil war, is here… Most of the people here are from Havre Etienne. After their homes were destroyed, they had to become thieves."
Bluebeard: "Wait… those eyes…"
Bluebeard looked at him more closely.
Remy: "It's me… Remy Thomas…"
Bluebeard: "Hahahaha… You're still alive… My most valuable child… You're still alive and you even came looking for me…"
Remy: "You bastard…"
Bluebeard: "Huh?"
Remy: "Listen closely… I might be a detective… but I could still kill you. Under the table I've got my gun… One shot and you're so dead… You're going to tell me what you know, right now…"
Bluebeard: "What… I don't know what you want from me."
Remy: "The mayor of Roux. Le Chapeau."
Bluebeard: "Huhhh!… How… do you know that…"
Remy: "You will tell me immediately how I can find proof of it… Don't you dare lie."
Bluebeard: "Hmmmm… Hahhhh… If it's about someone else… I do have some important information…"
Remy: "Which is?"
Bluebeard: "Bernard Boneparte personally sent me… I even received a letter from him. I have his handwriting… And I have a spy who worked for him…"
Remy: "Hmm?"
Bluebeard: "His name was Ulric…"
Remy: "What… but he's dead…"
Bluebeard: "I know that… But we still have his fiancée… She's… still alive…"
Remy: "Hmm?"
Bluebeard: "The Thorn Mafia is looking for her… But they don't know that this woman is actually someone who works for the authorities… A police officer… named Ciende… They don't know where she is simply because she barely knew Ulric before he was killed… Also, she's a civil servant and the daughter of an important noble. They can't kill her even if they want to or find her…"
Remy: "I see… And?"
Bluebeard: "She lives on Le Seine Street…"
Remy: "Hmm…"
Bluebeard: "Number 32… You should hurry."
Remy stood up.
Remy: "You'd better run… I'm giving you 40 hours… Then I'll tell the police…"
He went back to Casper, Fiona, Jade, and Cossette.
Remy: "Let's go… We got what we wanted."
Fiona: "Hmm?"
They followed him.
Remy: "Le Seine Street, No. 32."
Fiona: "Remy…?"
She looked at him.
Remy: "Hmm?"
Fiona: "You look angry…"
Remy: "Oh really…"
Fiona: "Mhm…"
They kept walking. The street was about 20 minutes away, and the whole trip they said nothing.
(20 minutes later)
Remy: "This is it…"
He went up to the door and knocked.
(Knock!) (Knock!)
The door opened…
Remy: "Oh… Sorry… Ugh…"
Fiona: "Ugh… but… what…"
Casper: "Huh…"
Jade: "Mayor Boneparte?!!"
Bernard: "Hmm?"
It was the mayor himself…
Bernard: "What is it? Who are you… If I may ask…"
Remy: "Ugh… we… were looking for a woman named Ciende… Sorry…"
Bernard: "That's my daughter…"
(Silence)
(ba-dum tss!)
Remy: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Um…"
Jade: "Okay…"
Casper: "Hmm…"
(ba-dum tss)
Remy: "Hmm."
Casper: "Can you stop that, Remy…"
Remy: "Sorry, it was just too funny a moment…"
Bernard: "(Sweats)… Why do you have musical instruments…"
Remy: "We just wanted to talk to Ciende…"
Bernard: "My daughter… Yes, of course… but why?"
Remy: "Uh… We heard she's interested in music!"
(Silence)
Bernard: "Ugh… I see… Well then, come in…"
They went inside.
Bernard: "My daughter isn't here at the moment… Come in and sit down…"
He went into a room.
Bernard: "Come on out, you have visitors… Ciende…"
Ciende came out… She looked… completely exhausted…
Bernard: "I'll go make some coffee…"
She sat down.
Remy: "(Something's wrong!)"
Jade: "Hmm."
Fiona: "She looks worn out…"
Cossette: "Hmm…"
Fiona: "Shhh…"
Cossette was afraid of being recognized.
Remy: "Uh… I'll say it quickly… You're Ulric's girlfriend?"
Ciende: "Huh… Is he okay?"
Remy: "No, he's dead…"
Ciende: "Hahhh… I see..... Papa did it again…"
Remy: "What?"
Ciende: "Everyone who gets engaged to me, he kills… Please… get me out of here…"
Remy: "Calm down… Why are you trembling so much?"
Ciende: "He's not normal… Not normal… Here, look…"
She showed them a wound on her knee.
Remy: "Hm?"
Fiona: "Huh?"
Jade: "Hmm?"
Ciende: "He abuses… me… He abuses… me…"
Remy: "He abuses you?"
Fiona: "Wait—you're being abused?"
He came back.
Bernard: "Sorry I'm late… It takes a long time to make coffee… and at the same time… fetch my weapons!"
He aimed his gun at them…
Remy: "Ugh."
Fiona: "Huh!"
Jade: "Ugh…"
Casper: "What are you doing!"
Cossette: "Mmm."
Bernard: "That girl there is Cossette… You're the ones who took her. Did you think I wouldn't know…"
Remy: "Hahhh… Well, then we don't have to pretend anymore. We know you're the leader of the Thorn Mafia…"
Bernard: "And that makes you happy… Hmph…"
He aimed at his own daughter…
Remy: "Ugh…"
Bernard: "Sit down… or I'll kill her…"
Remy: "That's your daughter!"
Fiona: "Are you really like this?!"
Bernard: "Sit!"
They sat down.
Bernard: "Hmph… Hands up…"
They did so.
Bernard: "It's true, I am Le Chapeau (the Hat)…"
Remy: "Hmm."
Fiona: "Hmm."
Bernard: "But you should know that I've been mayor for years… Since then there's been no poverty in Roux… Factories… Sacrifices are necessary… and I'm the one who makes them…"
Remy: "People live in fear for it… They shot up a whole supermarket with its customers just because Ulric worked for you."
Bernard: "Sacrifices are always necessary…"
Ciende: "...…Hmm…"
Bernard: "Hmph… My daughter is at fault too…"
Ciende: "Hmm… I… I broke up with him…"
Bernard: "That doesn't matter…"
Ciende: "Hmmmm…"
Bernard: "Anyway…"
He stood in front of the window…
Bernard: "Unfortunately, you have to stay here… and I'm going to kill you all…"
Suddenly they noticed something behind the window…
Remy: "Ugh…"
Fiona: "Huh!"
(Crash!)
The window shattered and suddenly a shape appeared… Chucacapra… It was… Hugo…
Fiona: "Huh!"
Bernard: "Hrrrr… Get off me…"
Ciende: "Ugh… arghhhhhhhh!!"
She screamed, but at that moment he stopped and looked at her…
Hugo: "Ciende?"
Ciende: "Huh… Hugo… Is that you?"
Bernard: "What is going on…"
Ciende: "What did you do to him…"
Bernard: "Nothing…"
Remy: "Why isn't he attacking her…"
Jade: "I get it… Hugo is in love with Ciende…"
Fiona: "Huh?"
Remy: "Huhhhh?"
Jade: "Exactly… That's how it looks."
Bernard: "Ghhhhh…"
Bernard was badly injured. He pushed Hugo away…
Bernard: "You bastards… You bastard, Hugo… How dare you…"
Ciende: "He has nothing to do with this."
Bernard: "Traitor…"
Ciende: "Don't you understand? He joined the Thorn Mafia to be with me!"
Bernard: "What?"
Ciende: "He never wanted to be your right-hand man… He only pretended… so he could stay by my side… We've known each other since childhood… since Havre Etienne."
Bernard: "I'll just kill you all…"
Bernard was severly injured…
Bernard: "Every last one of you…"
(Bang!)
Suddenly he was shot… but not by Remy, nor Fiona, nor Casper or Jade or the others…
Remy: "Down!!!"
Fiona: "Ugh!!"
They ducked. Then the shooting stopped…
Remy: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Ugh…"
(Meanwhile)
Sniper: "It's done… I got him… Also… The detective who left Dark Umbrella, Fiona, as well as the girl Cruella, are there… What are your orders?"
Dark Umbrella Commander: "Not now… We accomplished the objective: Bernard Boneparte has been killed. Give the police and the newspapers the information that he was the leader of the Thorn Mafia… As for his mansion, investigate it at once. The cursed Jug must be there… Wasn't it necessary to kill him?"
Sniper: "Was it really necessary to kill him?"
Dark Umbrella Commander: "We tried to talk to him. He killed a member of Dark Umbrella and the information about the cursed Jug of the Lone Wolf… That's an object that's dangerous in the wrong hands. With it he could create werewolves and hurt people… and spread chaos… As for Fiona Househould… She helped us get rid of him faster… Besides, Meliodas doesn't want her killed… And I don't want to disappoint him… He saved my life when I was a child in the war of Havre Etienne…"
Sniper: "Understood, Lady Beatrix…"
The next day, the corpse of Bernard Boneparte was found… Remy, Fiona, Casper, Jade and Cossette were already gone. Bernard's daughter Ciende was there and said she saw him being shot from a distance with a rifle… And after a few minutes she said she wanted to hold a press conference…
Ciende: "I am the daughter of Bernard Boneparte… And I will shed no tears… You might think it's because I was proud of my father… No… My father… was the leader of the Thorn Mafia… I repeat! My… father… was the leader of the Thorn Mafia. Le Chapeau (the Hat)… was my father…"
In the following hours, within twelve hours, the media and newspapers spread the same headline everywhere: "Mayor Bernard Boneparte Was Le Chapeau (the Hat)!" The factories and locations where human trafficking took place, the victims and family members of the murdered… Ciende personally stated that she would donate her father's fortune to them and to the poor, and that 80 percent of her father's wealth would be used to rebuild and restore Roux… She also said that as for Hugo, he had been her spy who only did these things to protect her and to someday bring Boneparte to justice. She confirmed that she was also his stepdaughter and that her real father had been killed years ago by Boneparte himself… Thus, the crisis of the Thorn Mafia finally came to an end. The members were arrested and everyone was facing sentences between 10 years and the death penalty. Only one wasn't caught… Camilia… She was not found…
(Meanwhile, on a train)
Gautier: "Hmph… Finally… I can leave… Good thing I managed before it was too late… The police are probably already looking for me…"
(Knock!) (Knock!)
Gautier: "Hmm?"
But it wasn't coming from the door…
Gautier: "Ugh."
He turned around and a pistol was pointed at his head… It was Remy…
Remy: "Hello… Gautier…"
Gautier: "Remy… what are you going to do…"
Remy: "What do you think… I'm holding a damn gun to your head… That's not exactly a 'goodbye' greeting…"
Remy looked at him.
Gautier: "Please… Remy…"
Remy: "You really traumatized me… me and the other kids… 45 children died… and I lost control of my shadow and destroyed the whole building…"
Gautier: "Hahhh… I'm sorry… truly…"
Remy: "Because of you… I lost my big sister…"
Gautier: "Hahh…"
Remy: "This is for her…"
(Bang!)
(Crash!)
Gautier fell dead to the floor…
Remy: "Hmph…"
He jumped out through the window. The door opened…
Conductor: "Oh… Call the police!!! Someone's been shot! In the head!"
The train continued on…
Remy: "Hmmmmm… I did it… Yvette…"