THE THIRD TRIAL

[strangerpeople]

THE THIRD TRIAL
(~SK. 17-18)


[When the investigation ends, the D O N G rings throughout the ship, followed by Zero's voice.]

It is time. Everyone, come to the theater. Time is...wasting.

[And so it is. The seating has once more changed to reflect the fallen-Moriarty and now Brain's podiums are draped in black. And, of course, there is no food-

The screens come up, and the mask of Zero appears, ever inscrutable. Their instructions are brief.]

Your Brain is gone, I'm afraid. Cut into pieces and cast aside...and someone here knows why. Now, it's time for you to discover the truth as well...if you can.


[The trial for the murder of Brain, the Blue, has begun.]

Comments

[superstylishsquid]

[And Alastor is going to take his entire wing to slash through those vines!]

Run!

[strangerpeople]

[ The vines reconstitute quickly, now reaching for Alastor as well. ]

[jinglebros]

[ Aoi steps beside him and throws a fabric ball full of herbs that are poisonous to demons, right at the vines. ]

[superstylishsquid]

[And with Zack moving, he starts backing up, drawing a sword with each hand to fend off the vines, and - oh, he gets the feeling this is going to suck, so close to him? But not nearly so much as a direct hit would.]

[strangerpeople]

[ The creature hisses and withdraws its vines, skittering off into the darkness.

It leaves behind an overwhelming feeling of: you will regret this. ]

[superstylishsquid]

[Alastor also lets out a slightly inhuman hiss as the herbs scatter too close to him, and quickly recoils before turning to run. His face has a bit of a violet rash, or possibly burn, on it, but he'll heal.]

[voidseeing]

[Oh no you fucking don't. Gai whips out one of the knives from beneath his coat and hurls it straight at those vines.]

[strangerpeople]

[ This doesn't do much. The vines simply reform. ]

[voidseeing]

[Ugh. It's too bad he doesn't have his gun or anything more powerful to try on them instead.

But it may not really matter anyway; he sinks down to his knees, breathing hard and his face pale. Yeah, he's tapped out for the time being.]

[autonomousthought]

[She stuck around but hung back, just in case the trouble turned into needing her power - she can move pretty fast with it. Fortunately most people seem to be getting out fine.

And then there's Gai. That...can't be good. Her power gets her to him quick.]

Can you walk, or do I need to see if I can carry you?

[voidseeing]

[And of course, someone would notice this! Gai has to bite back his instinctive urge to snap and say he doesn't need any help, because at this point there's no reason to try to hide it. It's not as though he'll be able to camouflage it for long.]

I can walk, with help. I'll be fine once I get some rest.

[autonomousthought]

Alright. Lean on me, and we'll get out of here.

[She'll give him the hand up if he wants that part. She's unsure if it's an energy thing or a balance thing, but either way, she's prepared to support.]

[voidseeing]

[As much as he hates to admit it, he does want that part, though he won't say a word as he accepts it.]

... guess I can't complain when we're all sinners here.

[autonomousthought]

I don't disagree, but...what do you mean, exactly?

[Something about that statement feels like it may mean something else.]

[voidseeing]

That our hands are all stained, whether we've committed a murder here or not.

[That's one thing that has become increasingly clear to him over the course of these trials.]

[autonomousthought]

The voting, if nothing else, not to mention our backgrounds. Is that it?

[voidseeing]

Yeah. I don't think any of that is a coincidence.

[Is that why they were chosen? He honestly can't say, but he has a gut feeling.]

[autonomousthought]

You may be right. They're all such different backgrounds, too - it would be one thing if everyone was made for it, like me. But most of the rest of the group isn't.

[It's worth considering...maybe she should go back to searching for trends among them.]

[voidseeing]

"Made for it"?

[Well, that definitely gets his attention there.]

[autonomousthought]

Well... I am a weapon. I was a weapon before I was a person, and being a person doesn't mean I'm not still a weapon.

[voidseeing]

... we're not that different in the end.

[Oh, he's human, to be sure, but he's a human who has been molded into what is basically the equivalent of a living weapon.]