THIRD TRIAL

[bathymetric]

[ Two bodies this week. As a result, it's a little longer before Mayor Fontaine's voice calls out over the loudspeakers. ]

All right, that'll do, all of you. Get to the bathyspheres. Trial time.

[ There's fewer bathyspheres this week, aren't there? It's starting to get really noticeable. One by one, alone or in pairs, you descend into the depths. The bottom of the seafloor, a place no human life was meant to travel to unassisted. It's dark, until it isn't, the same bio-luminescent slugs as before lighting up the area and revealing the great glass dome in which the trial takes place.

Within, three more podiums have gone dark. They remain empty as you all gather around into the circle.

The projector clicks on, and you see the silhouette of Mayor Fontaine above you. ]

We all know why we're here. Florida Man and Cryptobro got themselves got. Up to you to figure out who did it, or... well, you know by now.

[ Welcome to your third trial. ]

Comments

[allatonce]

Yeah. Jason possibly use his hologram plasmid to confuse their attacker, resulting in a confrontation in the church, and the attacker might have used both the fire and ice Plasmids.

[inaclearing]

If Jason's fire attack and the killer's met in the middle, would that make an explosion? I know we brought up the sonic plasmid earlier...

[yep, he's reviewing his notes]

...but from what I understand, they only could have had two.

[allatonce]

Possibly? The church was, like, really on fire at some point.

[inaclearing]

I guess we don't have any way of telling now.

[Unless two other people were being idiots with the fire plasmid earlier in the week and want to speak up?]

The scorch marks between the arcade and the church make it look like someone was...shooting at Jason. Chased him in there. Once they cornered him, they had a real firefight. [.....] You know, I'm a little surprised they brought a sword at all if they also had two plasmids going.

[Like he guesses he's glad they didn't decide to just burn everyone alive, but it does seem a little like overkill?]

[dullshooter]

Maybe they weren't so confident in their aim?

[He knows a thing or two about it.]

[onemillion]

Perhaps the sword was supposed to try to point us in the direction of someone who wields weapons normally?

Speaking of, we didn't find any swords anywhere, did we?

[allatonce]

We didn't unless someone's got a sword they haven't presented yet.

[visiblepattern]

[Uh.]

Why would anything but the fire injection be necessary? It allows you to make grenades, does it not?

[fuckingguy]

It does?

[ THAT'S... REALLY COOL ACTUALLY ]

[visiblepattern]

That's... I believe that's what it said? There were a list of side effects, and...

[He's not usually unsure of things like this, but he'd prefer to not mess this up in front of god and everyone.]

Unless "grenades" means something different to what I looked up?

[fuckingguy]

... Honestly, not sure myself. Zinda?

[inaclearing]

Does it?

[NEWS TO HIM....]

[visiblepattern]

I believe so...? There was a list of side effects and I looked it up...

[He sincerely hopes he didn't fuck this up?]

[bootyhunter]

Go ahead, Frou Frou.

If anybody gives ya a hard time, they'll be my problem, not yours.

[visiblepattern]

...I had to look it up, because I didn't know what grenades are. That's why I remember that part at all.

[inaclearing]

No, no - that's good! No one else mentioned that, but if they did, that probably explains it right there. Grenades are like mini explosives. Usually you pull out a pin and throw them.

[Magic grenades may be a little different, but like, he assumes it's roughly similar or else why describe it like that]

[visiblepattern]

I see. We don't have things like that where I'm from, so I looked it up because I didn't know what it meant. Would that possibly explain the, ah... The wounds on Hagakure as well?

[The shrapnel that we couldn't find a source for.]

[bootyhunter]

Yeah, it would.

His hair was burnt up, too.

[howveryglib]

…Does it? Would that account for the disappearing shrapnel…?

[bootyhunter]

And the weapon was like... A sword, right? Somethin' big, hard to handle.

[be grateful it's his man who's on the chopping block so he doesn't make another dingledandy joke]

[allatonce]

Yeah, which... interesting, because it's not really a stab weapon? You tend to slice with swords.

[bootyhunter]

Was it a spear, maybe?

I picked one of those up from the vending machine and looked it over.

[Oh, how he wishes he could retrieve it and check.]

[allatonce]

I don't... think so? It looked more like a cut, but I'm not really a huge expert.

[fuckingguy]

What if someone was throwing it? Like, [ and he's miming what he imagines someone using telekinetic powers to throw a sword would look like ] with the plasmids.

[ to his dubious credit, even he seems to realize this is dumb as shit ]

[allatonce]

No, the wounds were clean, is the thing. Pulling a spear out is kinda... messy.