FINAL TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Alright, that's enough snooping around for one day. There's a door in the underground tunnels that lets out beyond the vault door, just use that to get to the elevator. One of you has a damn staff keycard now, might as well just have you use it, since apparently I'm down both of my Assistants. The code is 020594.

[ As you head in and punch in the code, the elevator rises up to meet you one last time. And one last time, you take the ride down into the depths, evidence in hand. Something stirs in you - hope? Dread? It's hard to feel nothing at a time like this, don't you think? Even if it's just being really angry at The Professor.

When you reach the bottom, the dome is the same but you find the setup itself changed wildly. There's no sign at all of the original podiums or where they were, just a number of sleek new ones and a box of frosted glass. It stands out in stark contrast to the inky blackness of the sea outside. The lights don't reach out of the dome at all, and within the dome they illuminate the silhouette of a man, sitting at a desk, hands folded in front of him.

The Professor is here. You hope. Do you have any choice but to believe he's here? ]

Take your places, boys and girls. It's not what I think any of us anticipated, but it's time for your final trial. There are several questions I expect you to be able to answer, the largest being, well... tell me where you are and what you're doing here. Though I suspect first you'll want to talk over your... evidence.

[ Welcome to your final trial. ]

Comments

MODS

[nothingcanstop]

[ That's a good question? Does one of them have a dumb smirk on his face?

...And, on that note. Which one is missing, if we compare it to Jasper's list? ]

[bathymetric]

[ Depends what you mean by dumb smirk? They're all smiling, and some of them look like smirky fellows.

William Schuester is missing. ]

[nothingcanstop]

...Couple of them are kind of smirking. [ Here, Jasper, she'll hand you the photo. However-- ] Uh... What'd this guy do that he wasn't even in the class pic?

[bathymetric]

[ Oh, that gets a noise of genuine derision out of The Professor. ]

William was let go, just as the file says. I can work with many things, but I have no use for the kind of adult and teacher he proved himself to be.

[nothingcanstop]

[ ... ]

Some of the people you've been fine with aren't really...fountains of ethics. What kinda line is too far for you? Is it a moral thing?

[fivestagegod]

[thanks della you're a peach]

[nothingcanstop]

[ look. look, she's not gonna out him, but it's true. ]

[fivestagegod]

[he never said it wasn't...]

[bathymetric]

I deal in theft, extortion, and, when needed, assassination. He had no aptitude towards any, and was an insultingly poor teacher, the only other area in which he could have been useful. We chose unanimously not to continue with him.

[bolderfell]

[Ah. Hm.]

You deal in assassination. Do you teach it?

[bathymetric]

That would be primarily the Coach's department.

[bolderfell]

So the people in this test are people who'd also benefit your... school, or company, or whatever.

[...]

Hey. Some of you recognized that picture as something that happens in your schools, right? When do pictures like that get taken?

[fivestagegod]

[...wait.]

Why does his "aptitude" matter? Use him as cannon fodder, if you didn't think he had what it took to make it - if he didn't have the skills you're after, he definitely wasn't going to win.

[bathymetric]

You did not meet William Schuester as I did, Doctor Birkin. It was clear from day one that there was nothing to be gained from him, and our organization does not look kindly on liabilities.

[hardnosed]

But not the Wigglytuff.

[ whatever the FUCK that is ]

[bathymetric]

You would be surprised what a Wigglytuff can do with the right motivation.

[hardnosed]

... he's not there. The notes don't mention him. And the information was taken out of the profiles, so that's useless.

What did he even do?

[nothingcanstop]

Displease Mr. Charmless over there, apparently.

[hardnosed]

[ YEP, THAT'S THE ONE ]

There's a full list of names and titles. But one of them got "let go", whatever that means.

[bogwife]

Wait. Wait, wait, wait- [Hold on, she's digging through her bag and pulling out the Teacher of the Year plaque she got from the vending machine and holds it up for Jasper to see. There looks to be a shitty sharpie mustache drawn on his picture since she got it.]

I don't see him in the picture. Was it this guy?

[hardnosed]

—That's him!

[ YOU SEE WHAT SHE MEANS RIGHT... HE DEFINITELY HAS A DUMB SMIRK ON HIS FACE ]

Did you find that today?

[bogwife]

No, the vending machine gave it to me a few days ago. He looks like kind of a smug jerk so Mia and I blew off a little steam last night with it. [She lightly taps the marker mustache.]

[hardnosed]

... wait, have we been getting their garbage this whole time?

[philoxenia]

... It seems possible.

[bogwife]

...Oh. Oh, that would explain a few things. [Just gonna...carefully set down that plaque.] Probably not the snacks and things there were a lot of but the single items we didn't recognize like this.