SECOND TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Time's up, boys and girls. Please gather up your evidence and make your way to the vault door.

[ The process of heading to the elevator and crowding in remains the same as last week - Angel leads you all to the elevator car, then stays behind as you make your slow descent to the dome below. You might not even notice if you aren't paying attention, but... the cart is already less crowded than it was last week. You certainly won't be able to avoid noticing it if your numbers dwindle too much further than this.

When the doors open on the trial room, it's just as bleak a place as last week. ]

Take your places, won't you? And this time, you all know what's at stake. No more... funny business.

[The number of podiums displaying that red light is higher now - Damien, Lif, and Piers are all represented by blank spots now, no tasteful covers or anything normal to mark their passing, just a red glow and a gap in your number.

Cheery!

The screens raise up to the ceiling to give you all room to see, and the Professor's final words before the trial begins ring out: ]

Find the killer, leave alive. And killer? Try a little harder to stop them from doing that than the last one in your shoes. Call out for me if you require anything.

[ Welcome to your second trial. ]

Comments

[ladygeryon]

Someone shoved Slade's Pokeball into the vending machine. I bet they were trying to get rid of him as a witness! He didn't even seem to know Piers was dead yet...

[Nira is breathing hard, leaning heavily on her walking stick.]

[precognit]

If he was a witness, wouldn't he...know already?

[ladygeryon]

It depends-Piers might have recalled him, to protect him. [She lifts his Pokeball.] Though...maybe he can recognize someone's scent. [She pauses, then presses the button to send Slade out.]

[obstagoodboy]

[Hi Nira. Slade makes a low 'grrroo?' noise, looking around]

[ladygeryon]

[Aria's gonna move over to nuzzle his leg slightly, comforting him while Nira pats his shoulder.]

Hey Slade...sorry to send you out here, but do you recognize who...who attacked Piers? Anyone here?

[obstagoodboy]

[His shoulders slump and he shakes his head. He walks over to Nira and points at the ball, then his own ears]

[ladygeryon]

You were in the Pokeball? Oh, I'm so sorry...but you could hear something?

[To be stuck in there and not able to help...that sounds like a horrifying situation for a starter to be in.]

[obstagoodboy]

[He nods, mimicking... a guitar playing motion.]

[ladygeryon]

He was playing his guitar, huh...did you hear him being attacked?

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della chimes in quickly: ]

There was, uh...it looked like a handprint, or at least a partial one. It was near the...the mouth? Of the vending machine, you know where you get all the things. I couldn't tell much from it, but...it was on the smaller side.

[ladygeryon]

Did you trace it or anything? [Nira sounds a bit tired there. Maybe she should have thought of it, but comforting Slade was the priority at that moment.]

[nothingcanstop]

It, uh...kind of slipped my mind, once the whole...upset Pokemon thing happened.

[snackooed]

Agh, if I had been there, I could've dusted it for prints...

[nothingcanstop]

Sorry... I remember about the size of it, so I think I could at least look.

[snackooed]

Definitely less your fault and more that I wish I could be in multiple places at once, is all. If it comes down to it, a check like that might be helpful to narrow it down.

[emberserker]

We've been leaving handprints all over this place for the past three weeks. Is that really going to help anything even if you could've gotten it?

[bolderfell]

...The vending machine wouldn't take something back inside if you put it in, would it?

[dID HE ALMOST LET HIS ARM GET EATEN BY A MACHINE IN WEEK 1...???]

[pimpplan]

I didn't see a "sell" option on it, so I kinda doubt it.

[ Th...Therion...... ]

[bolderfell]

...That's odd. Piers's instrument was hidden in the library. Why go to a whole different room to hide something else, if it was so close to morning?

[emberserker]

Whoever this culprit is knows how the investigation process works, obviously. We've already done one of these trials, so they know if they just left everything in the chapel, it'd be found. They're clearly trying to hide their tracks -- there'd be no point otherwise.

[bolderfell]

The fewer places you move, the less of a trail you leave. Especially if you haven't much time before you might be seen. And there are better places to hide things, too. Our rooms, for instance. None of us really has time to search there before the Professor calls us here.

[emberserker]

That's true, but Ema mentioned that the death was hours before the morning bell. None of us heard anything, even though he was playing the guitar.

[bolderfell]

It's a lot quieter when he doesn't use the...

[Ugh. What is it called. What the fuck.]

The cord that takes lightning from the wall.

[ladygeryon]

I don't think anyone's really tried...

[bolderfell]

...