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]

Actually, was that stuff still smoking? Because the stuff in the church was still, like, on fire.

[bootyhunter]

And the residue seemed from the plasmids seemed new.

[visiblepattern]

...It should have faded after about half an hour, actually. It always did whenever I used it.

[bootyhunter]

Wait.

That doesn't make any sense. We were lookin' at bodies n' shizz for over an hour. You were there, you know!

[visiblepattern]

I know. It...didn't occur to me at the time, everything going on was a lot, I'm sorry. I should have...

[...OKAY, LOOK, LET'S JUST. TABLE THAT FOR NOW.]

I know it doesn't make sense. But up until this morning, the longest I've seen effects linger was about half an hour. I suppose it's possible that no longer holds true after we die...? There would be no reason to take the power away from a dead person.

[fuckingguy]

Maybe it was meant as a sort of helpful hint for us.

[pairtner]

The effects of the plasmids on Jason were present on him as well.

[So yeah, maybe it no longer holds true after death, hmmm...]

[bootyhunter]

'Kay.

This is gonna sound loopy.

[He is groaning because! Great!!!! His least favorite subject...]

Time-loopy, specifically, but nobody's special abilities are workin' right now.

It sounds like... Ugggggh, GAH!

[His brain!!!! He would like it to be quiet, especially since it feels like there are five heads on his shoulders, right about now.]

So they were frozen?! Like in time, baby? Ohp, well, it's probably the dead guy thing.

[visiblepattern]

Nothing was actively on fire, no - so whatever occurred in the church happened after everything in the lobby, then?

[allatonce]

It could be that we have the entire timeline backwards or it could be that the damage in there... happened... afterward...

[She trails off, frowning.]

There was, like, smears in the blood kind of implying Jason tried to pull himself away from where he initially fell. What if he set the grenade before the killer got him and it didn't go off until afterward?

[inaclearing]

Like...he ran in there so he could trap the door behind himself?

[allatonce]

Something like that, yeah.

[inaclearing]

Well, it...makes more sense than just running in there for no reason. I just thought he panicked.

[fuckingguy]

I mean, it was more smoldering, but I get your point.

[allatonce]

More on fire than the pile of ash in the lobby, is what I'm saying.

[fuckingguy]

Ah. But... we have the scorch trail going from the arcade to the church. And this started in the arcade, did it not?

[allatonce]

We've been assuming that, but also I'd believe that Jason would run from the lobby to the arcade and then back to the church.

[On account of he's an idiot, you see.]

[sastruga]

Carrying nachos and two sodas without spilling them until he got to the arcade?

...It wouldn't surprise me if he ran off with them, but I'd imagine they would've gotten knocked over sooner.

[dullshooter]

There was definitely Hagakure's blood in the arcade, so something had to have happened with him there too.

[bootyhunter]

The first stab wound, maybe? Or, set. Then again, I dunno. It seemed like those were all made at the same time. Quantity over quality, or somethin' like it.

He mighta-

[Oh, and there goes the fire. Snuffed out like a candle blown by the wind.]

Stumbled.

He fell in front of the elevator, though. Maybe tried to get... Out?

[Dandy flinches.]

And ended up where he died.

[dullshooter]

There wasn't a whole lot of blood in the arcade, either. Pretty much just at that one point. If he got stabbed wouldn't it drip a little or something?

[sastruga]

Maybe if the weapon was still inside him, that might've stopped some of it, but... I don't know.