FIRST TRIAL

[bathymetric]

[ After a while, once all the appropriate clues have been found, Mayor Fontaine calls out again over the speakers. ]

Alright, citizens, pack it in quick and head to the back of the Hall of the Founders. You have business to take care of.

[ When they do reach the Bathysphere station, Eleanor is manning the controls, gaze quiet and even over the crowd. The hatch at the front of the strange elevator is open, and everyone is gestured inside. A series of small submerisbles are lined up, waiting to be ridden. ]

Just hop into the bathyspheres one or two at a time, and the system will get you where you need to go.

[ It's a long, cramped ride from here, but Fontaine's word is true. At least you can tune into the radio in the pod?

The bathyspheres take you down until even the few lights of Rapture are out of sight, down until lights of a different kind are visible - the reds and blues of bioluminescent sea creatures, a little too out of your way to make out what they are, blending to a strange sort of not-quite-purple as the bathysphere reaches its final destination: a glass dome built into the sea floor, about the size of an average house.

As one by one the bathyspheres arrive carrying the new citizenry of New Rapture, less natural lights than those of the creatures around you begin to click on in the dome. In the center, most of the space is taken up by a circle of podiums, each with an image of one of you engraved into it.

A projector of some kind kicks on, which combined with the lighting allows for the familiar silhouette of Mayor Fontaine at his chair to appear on the side of the dome, watching over you. ]

Time to do your best to figure out who killed the Diamond in the Rough. And do yourselves a favor: keep it interesting. I'm here if you have any burning inquiries.

[ And here it is.

Welcome to your first trial. ]

Comments

[sixthnonsense]

Y'know...it's probably good to check to see if it's the same as it was in my last game. Everything else has been so eerily similar, I just kinda went into the same mindset that it would be.

[howveryglib]

What was it in your last game? Given everything else about this situation, I am not exactly suspecting anything good from it.

[sixthnonsense]

Oh, it's not good alright. If we didn't get it right, everyone but the culprit would die.

[hotpaprika]

Dear God...

[He knows that Nandor doesn't like him saying that but

He's kind of distracted by the despair of it all.]

[sixthnonsense]

...yeah. That's why it real important to make sure we figure this out, even if it's us against them. Even if it was an accident.

[hotpaprika]

So we might have to trade a child's life so we may live...

[He hates this he fucking hates this!!!]

[sixthnonsense]

I ain't gonna tell you to get used to it, but...just so y'know, we went through six trials before it was finally over. It's not gonna stop anytime soon.

cw suicidal ideation?

[hotpaprika]

Six...?

[Jonathan's voice is absolutely pathetic, as he looks at him in pure sorrow. A thought crosses his mind, and he's unsure if he's unable to voice this, but...]

In that case... I have a request.

When this happens again, if anyone needs to kill someone, I ask of you to go after me instead of any of the children here. My days have already been numbered, and I would be happier knowing that I have died instead of living thanks to a child's murder.

[howveryglib]

…

I cannot imagine that being too far removed from consideration here, given everything else.

[sixthnonsense]

Yeah, Fontaine's enough of an asshole for it.

mods!

[onemillion]

[Alright, he's just going to go ahead and do it. Rossiu raises his voice.]

Mayor Fontaine, we would like to request a clarification of the rules. What happens to us should we fail to find the culprit? Alternatively, what happens to them should we succeed?

[bathymetric]

[ There's a heavy sigh. ]

Just had to spoil my favorite part, didn't you? He's right. I'm no Junko Enoshima, but I guess great minds think alike.

[ Mayor Fontaine just loves to see a girlboss winning. ]

[onemillion]

[Not exactly a surprise, since he spoke to Hagakure about all this beforehand and was assuming it would be the same, but boy it still does suck!!!]

I'm guessing you don't want to answer my other question until we've actually determined the culprit?

[So you know. We don't spoil that, I guess!!!!]

[bathymetric]

Like I said. He's right.

[onemillion]

[Not going to be all smug about that one, huh!!]

Understood. Thank you for the answers.

[Even though he sure doesn't like them!!!!]

[withagun]

[ He's already a bit more alert while talking to Brett. So, Hodaka again starts. Because he's paying attention. It's so hard to, in these situations, with so many people. ]

Wait... What... Right about...? What's he right about?

[onemillion]

[Rossiu glances over at Hagakure and then decides that no, he'd better handle it because Hagakure's been through enough.]

Once we've determined the person responsible for killing Adaman, we will have to vote for them. If we don't vote for them, everyone else will die. If we do vote for them, they will die.

[sixthnonsense]

[You're a pal, Ross...]

[giddyundertaker]

. . .

[sixthnonsense]

[Really? Right in front of his...well he doesn't have a salad. His hair, sure.

Flipping off the silhouette,]

Suck it! No surprises for you.

[This is obviously not a great outcome but let him have this okay.]

[howveryglib]

…

We are all very thankful you spoiled the surprise.

[he wants to shoot Fontaine so bad.]

[withagun]

[ A little...urgent. As if he's just waking up. ]

Spoiled what...? When- when was this- ?!

[howveryglib]

…Yasuhiro Hagakure’s previous experience was that if the culprit for the murder escapes, everyone else is put to the sword.

[…]

[sixthnonsense]

[Uh.]

How these trials go. How everyone else dies if the culprit's not found...

[fuckingguy]

Fucking guy.