Fifth Trial

[bathymetric]

[ There's a long while of examination before the Mayor speaks up. There's plenty of evidence to pick up yet again this week, after all. ]

Annnd that's going to do it. Wrap it up and head to the bathyspheres, kids, you've got some business to attend to.

[ The bathyspheres take you all down, down, into the now-familiar dome below the city. The similarly familiar red glow persists until the lights properly turn on - the projection of Fontaine's silhouette is gone, of course, replaced by that same flickering "please stand by" message. But your mayor's voice is still the one that speaks over the increasingly empty circle of podiums. ]

If you somehow need a reminder of why you're here, three of you are dead. Get away with it, killer or killers, and the execution room gets to really work overtime today. But I guess if you wanna live, you should find who murdered three people. Could be important for you guys.

[ Welcome to your fifth trial. ]

Comments

[asymptotes]

[ And... one reveal later, Drakkon starts to just... laugh. He throws back his head and laughs. If you've ever seen a cartoon, or read a comic book? It's an evil fucking laugh. A supervillain laugh. ]

Ridiculous. All that work, and for what?

I hope you all have more of an argument towards my guilt than a rock.

[ MTB Start! ]

[honeyedtea]

. . . Oh, I refuse to believe I've ever myself sounded so pompous and ridiculous.

[ IS THIS HOW HER EVIL LAUGHS SOUND TO PEOPLE WHO HEAR THEM??? ]

[allatonce]

All evil laughs sound like that.

[asymptotes]

[ He shrugs. ]

It's not my fault if you lack confidence in your own abilities, Mielle.

[visiblepattern]

Not to be rude about it, but reacting like this isn't precisely an argument in your favor...

[asymptotes]

No, I suppose not. But being placed at a crime scene isn't proof. I just want to know you all can finish the job.

[visiblepattern]

Being placed at a crime scene does raise the question of what you were doing there, if not actively committing murder.

There's also the question of who you would suggest did this. Personally, if we were to ask, who do you think is likely to have done this?

[asymptotes]

[ Looks around. ]

I'm not here to do your homework for you, Pink R- Forrest. If you're going to defeat a monster, do it properly.

[allatonce]

God, you're so cliché. Seriously? This is like supervillain 101.

[asymptotes]

What can I say? I appreciate the classics.

[allatonce]

Fine, whatever. Blah blah power of friendship will never run dry blah blah I bet you fight robots all the time so you'd know how to rip one's head off.

[asymptotes]

You're right, I'm familiar with robots. Though mine are different than whatever Misfire is.

[onemillion]

Given what we've worked out so far, the rock is rather important. Someone was in the aquarium making it look as though a fight took place there; this same person was responsible for killing Misfire, and it seems they must have been strong to impale him with a pitchfork.

You fit that profile, and that rock places you at the aquarium.

[...plus, like Forrest said, this isn't exactly inspiring confidence in your innocence here...]

[asymptotes]

Okay. Anything else?

[ He raises an eyebrow. ]

If you can't figure out my involvement, how are you going to find the other killer?

[honeyedtea]

As I thought. You might be the only one here who wouldn't cause that sort of bumbling mess. You're too... decisive.

Do you know who they are?

[asymptotes]

No. I have... thoughts, but I wasn't planning to voice them so long as you were focused on the other two bodies.

[onemillion]

We will come up with something. We always have before, and we always will, for however long this continues.

Thank you for confirming that there was a second killer, but you don't need to drag this out any longer. You've made it clear by now - you killed Misfire. Will you at least tell us why?

[asymptotes]

... My hostage, if you can call him that. The world's better off without him. And I bet a few of yours are the same.

[ He chuckles. ]

One last attempt at heroism, but I've never been very good at being a hero.

[sastruga]

...The pitchfork was giving you trouble, huh?

[asymptotes]

It's not my preferred weapon. I don't use polearms too often. That was Billy's thing.

[sastruga]

Did it take very long?

[She's not too concerned with the proving it part. Everyone else is on that. Just.

Well.]

I think... I liked him. So...

[asymptotes]

[ He's quiet, for a long moment. ]

... No, Bla- Mafuyu. I mean, each thing I tried was going to be quick. Him getting away from the chipper was... unexpected.

[inaclearing]

[Brett's just. Bitterly disappointed here.]

.....what was the point of telling me any of that, last Friday?

[asymptotes]

You're actually the only one who might understand why this was necessary.

[inaclearing]

[Brett recoils, pale and starting to get angry. And hey, you gave that other exposition in song form, so:]

I thought you told me the story,
Told the whole story for a reason.
Like you were moving past it all, maybe cared just a little.

A man who'd let himself be saved.