FOURTH TRIAL

[bathymetric]

[ Well! That's sure something, isn't it? There may or may not be a lot of you excited to get down to business, but Jones does eventually move to collect you all and bring you to the theatre. It's a familiar routine by now, perhaps even comfortingly so given the irregularities of this particular killing.

Two of you gone this week. The elevator is started to feel downright spacious, don't you think?

A shanty, as usual, echoes from the crew of the Dutchman as you enter. The room is the same as it has ever been before you as the elevator settles into position. ]

To yer positions, passengers. Chins up.

[ Three more podiums claimed by the rust and wear.

You have your evidence, and you're going to need it before long. The music outside dies down.

Welcome to your fourth trial. ]

Comments

[silentscout]

Mhmm. Like how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. That's not magic.

[thisaroma]

That's kind of a one-way transformation, though...

cw: zombies

[silentscout]

Well my first thought was that someone is becoming a troll, but I don't see that change in anyone here. And the cats aren't acting up I don't think.

[scouserer]

It could be possession--or something similar to it.

[A pause.]

I've seen instances where someone has become host to an entity without their own knowledge. That entity'll remain dormant until it's time to strike--completely transforming their host physically and mentally, and the host is no the more wiser.

[sivard]

Hmm...

That could explain it. Both how it could be triggered, and how someone wouldn't know there's a problem in the first place.

[scouserer]

Exactly.

[Constantine rubs his chin.]

But regardless of physical transformation, there's always at least some evidence left behind. With werewolves, you've got...you know, random scars and shed fur, so on and so forth. Since Sara and Albedo were...uh, presumably ripped apart with claws...there'll probably be at least some sort of blood, unless they cleaned up.

[Constantine grimaces.]

[silentscout]

So whoever it is might not even know what happened.

[scouserer]

Mhmm.

[He crosses his arms, brow furrowing deeply.]

It's somethin' worth thinking about. Of course, we could be going about this completely the wrong way, and they might just want to hide it out of shame.

[silentscout]

But it's not their fault. If they lost control, we shouldn't be blaming them.

[hellahighwater]

You're saying someone...might've done all that and not know? Again?

[ Allenby was bad enough, but this... ]

[scouserer]

Memory's more fallible than you think.

[As demonstrated by Captain Jack's earlier motives....]

We could be going about this the completely wrong way, but for the time being, what's important is that we've got evidence that doesn't match up with anyone's physical form--which means something's up.

[sivard]

But that's just a one-way change, isn't it? A butterfly can't turn back into a caterpillar.

[this metaphor is going over his head]

[silentscout]

Like a pufferfish then. How it expands real big and then gets small again.

[sivard]

[....hm]

Then I guess there are a couple of questions we need to answer. One, how is this triggered, and two, is it consciously triggered?

[ltcommandroid]

It seems likely that it was triggered by hunger.

[given all the......you know,,,,]

[sivard]

Well, yeah.

But how can we get them to transform here?

[ahelpingpaw]

Couldn't we not do that? That'd be way too dangerous.

[By the sounds of all this Albedo wasn't a novice at fighting, at all. There may be many more fighters here but clearly someone transforming here like it may have happened would be incredibly dangerous]

[cethflayn]

[Wow Flayn hates this!!]

We - we ought not do that, what if...

[What if more cw: gore warnings happen]

[jibunwo]

If it is an unconscious change, that seems the most likely catalyst. Especially given this hasn't happened until now, and that is the only clear variable.

[magycks]

Yup.

[ahelpingpaw]

I think I...talked with someone once the Captain wasn't throwing random motives. Like he was aiming at a few of us directly with the stuff he was offering.

Maybe having no food--maybe that's what triggered it.

[In which case wow, did it work ever so wonderfully. Poor Sara and Albedo]

If it was that it may not have been conscious? I guess? Because if you have to starve to trigger it, it doesn't sound like it'd be conscious.

[sivard]

That leaves us with a big problem, though, of not knowing who it could be.

[silentscout]

[CONSIDERING...]

Who ate something before coming here? It's been several days with no food, so everyone except the killer would have rushed to eat something right?

[magycks]

[ literally eating an apple as he speaks ]

[jibunwo]

I didn't, but that was more due to the...

[you know. cw: gore.]