SIXTH TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Alright, same as every week before this - gather at the Vault Door so my Assistant can let you in. And I can start hoping to salvage at least the aquarium.

[ The Assistant, nee Failsafe, stands in her armor at the ready when you arrive, not saying a word and simply unlocking the door and elevator for you to head on down to the trial room. Second verse, same as the first five verses, but a whole lot quieter and a whole lot meaner.

The elevator is a lot emptier now, isn't it? Your number has fallen yet again since the last time you were here. Feels like yesterday, or maybe forever ago? Time's feeling pretty weird right about now, but trial days are for getting locked into the moment. You're here, you're present.

You're running out of allies.

The screens are the same as ever, though, and lower as you enter. ]

I see you haven't decided to continue to increase the number of bodies this week. Perhaps something to be thankful for, in all of this. Hotshot is dead, and the responsibility of finding his killer falls to you. Hopefully this is all old hat to you by now, no?

[The screens rise.

Welcome to your sixth trial. ]

Comments

[nothingcanstop]

Everywhere got a little messed up, huh...? I was going to ask you about the bullets. [ Della places a few on her podium. ] Found these in the garden. They were in the pond, but that's not the only place. There were bullet holes on the walls, as well as claw marks and scorch marks.

...The rest of the garden didn't get off well either, since there was kicked up dirt just...all over the place. And the plants--most of them got hit by something. Except, it was weird...there was a lot less damage to the poison plants.

[mouflon]

There was also dirt tracked into the aquarium. I assume that means the chase moved from the garden to there.

It sounds like whoever was firing the gun was either inexperienced, or not in a controlled state of mind. Whether you're chasing someone or being chased, your fire should be more controlled than what we're hearing about, and being chased alone shouldn't be enough to make someone with combat experience lose their cool.

[bolderfell]

Vincent, at least, was used to combat. Someone wanted to destroy the world he's from. He was part of a group fighting back.

[mouflon]

Doesn't that mean something here doesn't add up, then? His cause of death was a stab wound, and it seems like the weapon that was used was probably improvised. So, who had the gun?

[ladygeryon]

Hmm...Poison resists itself, maybe the plants got hit with acid and their interactions had similar properties.

[nothingcanstop]

But there were a lot of things happening in there. The gun, the...whatever made the fire, the claws... Plus, I didn't...see any of the weird acid-ish stuff you guys were talking about.

[bolderfell]

Maybe we need to map this out. In the garden, we have bullet holes, claw marks, and scorch marks. In the hall, bullets and corrosion. Aquarium's got bullets, claws, and corrosion. Weapons display... just had the claw marks and the smashed case? And around where Vincent died, there was the shockwave and more of that corrosive damage. And the stab wound, obviously.

[nothingcanstop]

Aquarium also has dirt from the garden...so could we assume they went through there first? Er- I mean- first after the garden? There'd be dirt everywhere if there was a lot of it, right?

[bolderfell]

That's what I'd think. Though... maybe it's important that there are two routes to take. After all, if we think the bullets, the claws, and the corrosion were all Vincent, then we don't have any proof anyone else was with him besides the scorch marks in the garden and the missing sword. He could have been alone in the aquarium, for all we know.

[nothingcanstop]

But...then what was he shooting at? Nothing?

[bolderfell]

Could've been.

[...]

Could've been his own reflection. If he thought he was a monster.

[nothingcanstop]

[ Della goes very quiet at that and just...slowly nods. ]

[ladygeryon]

He could have thought someone else was there. You don't even need powers to do that kind of misdirection.