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

[precognit]

N-normally, a couple of weeks. But I was only getting a little bit at a time, so when I couldn't get it anymore...

[Alice sounds very upset. She can't cry, but if she could the tears would be welling up.] It took way less time than usual for it to affect me.

[philoxenia]

... Your protein shake?

[precognit]

It wasn't a protein shake, Mira. It was blood.

[Alice bows her head.]

At home, I'm what we call a vegetarian. We never drink from humans, only animals. But here, I had to take what I could get.

[snackooed]

Do the non-vegetarians normally have to drink so much that their prey dies from blood loss? I mean, with Piers, it's...well, he was probably missing about 3 liters worth. That's about as much as a huge soda bottle, and then another half on top of it...

[precognit]

Y-yes, once you start drinking it's almost impossible to stop.

[ladygeryon]

Was it-was he bleeding first, before you-you attacked him?

[emberserker]

Which is why you were out. Of course, you went to the trouble of constructing alibis first -- staying the night with someone else, spending all that time in the sewing room to try and endear us to you with fashion accessories. But you had time, didn't you? And that designer scarf you're always so proud of, it's the right colour for the snagged thread. Not that we can check it if it isn't here.

[precognit]

N-no, it wasn't like that at all!

[Alice doesn't have a heartbeat, but if she did, it would be racing. She takes another deep, shuddery breath, and looks around at all the faces staring at her.

This is it. She can't keep denying it. It's either her life, or everyone else's.]

After Zerinda fell asleep, I got restless. And I started to get...really scared I might lose control and hurt her. [she can't even look her in the eye after admitting to that.] So I went for a walk, hoping to just...distract myself from the awful, gnawing hunger.

I. [It's okay, alice. you can do this. deep breaths.] I heard music, coming from the chapel. It sounded really...calming.

[Her head bows.]

I walked in just as his string snapped. The cut on his hand...I could smell it. I could smell his blood.

[ladygeryon]

Damnit! All because of a fucking-a fucking accident! At the exact wrong moment! [Nira bangs a fist against her podium, frustrated tears brimming in her eyes.]

[nothingcanstop]

[ Her eyes are closed. This is painful. ]

You lost control...and you panicked. You couldn't fix it...and you knew what was going to happen today. So you tried to hide things, even though...

[ What comes next. She doesn't like what comes next. ]

[hardnosed]

And you lost control.

[ There's no reasoning with a mindless beast. All they know is instinct. And that doesn't sound like Alice as she chose to present herself, but obviously... ]

So that's it.

[mouflon]

[ ha ha this means Rhea is two-for-two on shutting down questions that directly relate to the trial

Rin has enough self-restraint not to say that now, but she's thinking it. ]

[bogwife]

[The first part of Alice confession hits her like a ton of bricks. Alice left because she was afraid of hurting her. She killed Piers because of circumstances of what she was, what she had no choice in being.]

Alice, you- [She can't finish her sentence before a lump forms in her throat and she has to silence herself before she can make another sound.]

[archboxer]

So that is what happened...

[Drinking blood unwillingly is taboo but. She closes her eyes.]

You could not trust yourself but fate decided that you would be forced to lose control. The loss of control can end poorly for anyone but how awful...

[philoxenia]

Alice....

[ ... ]

H-his guitar... he tried to fight you, didn't he?

[reallyhatesharks]

[yeah. totally great. we're fine. it's fine.]

Gonna guess you weren't in enough control to drink from one of us either.

[precognit]

I-I couldn't have possibly asked that of any of you. I don't even drink human blood, normally!

[reallyhatesharks]

Some people are into that kind of thing, Alice! If - if it helped, we could have worked something out.

[boy, what she wouldn't give for a natural disaster to stop this trainwreck!!! it's so much easier to ignore your trauma when you don't have time to think about it!!!!!]

[emberserker]

She just said she can't stop herself. It's an impulse.

[precognit]

I couldn't. It'd kill you. I have good self-control, but not that good.

[drladysounds]

Nothing that happened would even be your fault! That jerk cornered you on purpose!

[Shelley is still dancing around the topic of 'Alice very, very likely bit Piers because of desperation for blood, but she's pretty outraged anything that happened would be the Professor's complete fault]

[precognit]

[A very, very soft whisper:]

I know.

[drladysounds]

I mean it, I...

[Shelley looks down]

...sometimes things just make you do horrors you wouldn't otherwise! I believe in any other situation you wouldn't have! I believe you're a good person, and--

[It all comes out, blurted without really thinking about any of it. She's pretty indignant about the situation, yeah]

[precognit]

[Alice's voice is very small.]

Thanks, Shelley.

[ladygeryon]

[Aria's been snuffling around, but she's going to move to nuzzle against Alice now.]

By the Swords and Dragons. He probably planned this all along, didn't he?