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-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.]

[fivestagegod]

Not so willing to be cutthroat when it's someone you find sympathetic, are you.

[like, don't think he missed your little exchange with obstagoon earlier, completely negating all the insisting "pokémon would never hurt anyone."]

[blackmass]

[you know what never mind this is the best trial yet]

[ladygeryon]

[Hey, she said they'd never attack to kill.]

You shut the fuck up, Mr. Birkin.

[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. ]

[precognit]

Yes. [Alice's voice is...very thick.] I'm so sorry, everyone. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, for that poor man to die because of me.

[lovelikeyou]

That's awful. I'm so sorry you were put in that position.

[but she was, and now piers is dead. and now...]

[nothingcanstop]

...I'm sorry, Alice. You know... He's going to...

[ Maybe it's that Della can't bare to look her in the eye. ]

[snackooed]

[ Ema looks no more comfortable than she did when this started. ]

I don't blame you for being backed into a corner like this. I'm sorry. Taking our requests away means he must have anticipated this happening...

[ She can't help but feel like this whole thing was rigged. But there's conflict on her face, here. Of course, the situation is bound to make anyone panic, but the truth of the matter is that Alice did go out of her way to scatter the evidence...

She probably went into self-preservation mode, she figures. Ema feels like she's not above doing the same, in the same circumstances. It makes her stomach twist. ]

I'm sorry about that party, too. I was kind of looking forward to it...

[ladygeryon]

[Now that she's gotten out her frustration about this whole thing being rigged:]

...were you actually trying to get rid of Slade, when you shoved his Pokeball in the vending machine? [Because that's fucked up if true.]

[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.

[precognit]

I did. [It's plain as day.] I killed Piers.

[hardnosed]

[ She doesn't really react at the statement; it's all but been established already. ]

That's all we needed to know.

[ He used her as a weapon. It was targeted, this entire time, in case nobody else acted. She'd never stood a chance. ]

[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. ]

[archboxer]

[Oh shut up]

[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.]

[precognit]

[Alice still can't look up at her. Her voice is wooden and hollow:]

It's okay, Zaza.

[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...

[precognit]

That's...about what it was, yes.

[philoxenia]

Alice....

[ ... ]

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

[precognit]

[Alice nods solemnly. Hurting Mira...that hurts really bad. She tugs at her tanktop, exposing her abdomen—which, in the center of all that pale white skin, is a faint yellow-green bruise.]

I don't normally bruise, but it makes as much sense as anything else.

[fivestagegod]

[All right, now that we've cleared that up and we're ostensibly not going to die today...]

I get it if you don't want to hear this from me, because I'm not going to apologize for stuff I said or did in the name of survival. But I am sorry about the asylum crap. And the...being weaponized thing. I have a good amount of experience with both. Not really something I talk about much.

[...Just saying.]

Either way, I'm pretty sure everyone else here's going to want to kick the guy's teeth in after this, so. There's that, I guess.

[ladygeryon]

[THERE WAS THAT SO FUCKING HARD]

[precognit]

...I appreciate the apology nonetheless. I know you were only trying to get to the bottom of this.

[A grim smile.]

I hope they do.