THE FIRST TRIAL

[strangerpeople]

THE FIRST TRIAL

[Almost as soon as the investigation is over, a loud DING echoes through the mall.

The elevator doors in the food court, before completely inaccessible, have now opened for the Titled. It will not close until every last Titled has gotten in. Nor will everyone have to wait long for potential stragglers; a thought comes to everyone's mind, a realization that they need to get into the elevator. They need to go.

They need to find out who did this.

The elevator is a small freight elevator inside, and its just big enough to fit everyone in it. After a short ride, the elevator opens...

And they are on the roof. Despite it clearly not being that late in the day, the roof seems to be surrounded by an air of cool, perpetual sunset. Beyond that, good luck making out what's beyond the roof - there seems to be a city, but it's utterly unidentifiable. Not that anyone can jump off the roof to try and get closer - there is a translucent barrier surrounding the roof that is utterly impenetrable.

The main attraction of the roof, however, is not the fuzzy landscape beyond. It's the large, stepped circular platform which is a mere ten paces from the elevator. On this platform are 15 podiums, surrounding a large, empty, circular floor. Instantly every phone pings, giving everyone their platform assignment based on their bedroom number. And - upon arriving at their designated podium - they will find a dock for their phone to slide into. As soon as they do so the XAMINE app will pop up, revealing everyone's findings regarding the murder.

Not Wake, though. His podium is lower, and bare save for a white cloth.

Still, everyone - including Ren, who will find that whoever arranged this whole deal has given him a chair to sit in - will need their strength. Which is why each Stranger also has a bento box lunch, carefully prepared, waiting for them at their podium. Each meal is tailored to every Stranger's specific tastes and allergies, as best as a bent box meal can be. It even comes with a cup of their favorite drink.

So, take a few bites, take a few breaths, and get ready, Titled.

The trial for the murder of Wake Archus, The Feeling, has begun.]

Comments

[lifecoach]

[The Life Coach is there, walking around. Once everyone is in their podiums, she jumps to the empty center area, and strikes a quick pose, leg up in the air.]

Mmmk! I can, like, answer questions you might have about this? Most of them, at least. And take your time! This is totally not timed or anything.

[incrediblystressedout]

[Somehow, the posing is way less endearing when someone is dead.]

Did you have anything to do with this? Or whoever you're working for? Couldn't the people who brought us here have just murdered Wake and tried to make it look like one of us did it?

[eyesofdespair]

So what's the punishment for being caught and for the rest of us if we don't catch them?

[May as well get that one out of the way even if he has his suspicions.]

[byanyother_name]

How is this to be decided? Obviously we want to find the real murderer, but what is the system?

[theirmagic]

... Is it definitely someone here that did it? Do you already know who committed the murder?

[ She really can't eat when she's nervous, so she's just sipping her drink. ]

[foolishjustice]

[Akechi glances at the bento and drink on his podium as he walks in, still finishing off half a mini-sized cinnabun Kurama had brought him, and...nah. Even if they do have the right beans, he doubts they brew it right. So he'll just be creating a cup of his own coffee to sip at, because he gets the feeling he's going to need it.]

I've developed some theories regarding this case already, but I believe the first thing I should mention is that Archus-san likely did not feel the electrocution. The wires were wrapped around him far too tightly for them to have been slipped onto a resisting subject, which makes me believe he was first rendered unconscious.

[Flipping through Xamine...yeah, he thought he saw something about that in his earlier review.]

Likely through a combination of sleeping pills and repeated impact to the facial area.

[theirmagic]

... S-so then... why was there a wire when I went to find him? The one I tripped over. You saw that happen, right?

[thegreenhornet]

So...someone knocked him out with pills and then hit him in the face many times? Why'd you do that if he's already asleep?

[Britt doesn't see how a person would take something with sleeping pills after being beaten up. It's not like a killer would forcibly cram pills into Wake's mouth]

[eyesofdespair]

The pills may reveal something if we can figure out how he ingested them. Were they given to him by force or was it possible he may have trusted the person who gave them?

[totalbullshit]

Additionally, he wasn't drugged up within the Crab restaurant. There were rubber scuff marks around the entrance area, likely from something - or someone - being dragged. I found Wake's shoes in the trash - rubber soled.

Which makes me wonder... was the body wearing shoes?

[incrediblystressedout]

Um. Yeah. In the steak place, the drawer near where Ren found the pills was covered in blood specks. It was really gross. There were also a lot of bloody napkins in the trash nearby, like someone tried to clean up after a messy fight.

Oh, and there was a half-empty glass of water with something in it. I guess someone could have ground up sleeping pills in that? It's sorta how we give medicine to the dog at home, so...

[steelmagnolias]

[When it looks like there's a moment to get a word in, Ren pulls two things from his pockets: a braided gold chain and two rectangular cufflinks.]

I found these at the steak place. Whoever did this probably took them off to avoid getting the shit fried out of them.

[theirmagic]

A gold chain and some cufflinks... do we know anyone who wears that kind of stuff?

[notgentle]

The second you see something shiny, you latch onto it and don't let go... no wonder the motive this week was greed.

[Dio steps in front of his podium, leaning against it with one hand and using the other to dramatically gesticulate. His legs are crossed jauntily.]

I want each and every one of you to really think about what you're looking at, here. This is a premediated murder, you know? Wake would never give anyone a reason to defend themselves from him. Someone spent several hours gathering supplies and then took a few more hours to get that boy alone in the perfect location. The culprit had minutes on end when nobody saw them. [A cutting aside that really strikes him as an opportunity to mock, not to grieve.] Especially not Ursula with her precious little patrol! [Anyway, he's building up momentum here to something he finds simultaneously infuriating and funny.] They brought a change of clothing - which doesn't even fit me, by the way - so they were obviously thinking about the way they would look after getting into this whole oh so heinous crime action, and you're telling me they didn't pick up a LITTLE FUCKING PIECE OF ROPE?

[He lets that hang in the air, then waves outward with both index fingers pointing out of curled fists, continuing with cool determination.] No. Not in a million years. Either there's a damn good reason I couldn't just tie the chain right the fuck back onto my shoe where it belongs, or someone put it smack dab in the middle of the crime scene on purpose and is trying to kill me. The same person who fed trusting old Wake sleeping pills and then struck him on the head - from behind, for some reason, so it's not as if he were standing up straight to run away at that point. And who had a radio handy to drop into the tank even though they were carrying all these other tools. Come on. I've seen lots of courts and lots of circuses. There's a difference. Show me which one this is supposed to be.

[ FRANTIC TALK SHOWDOWN BEGIN ]

[theirmagic]

[ Excuse her? She is pissed now. She'll touch the rest of it in a bit but-- ]

At least I actually tried! What did you do to try to protect the people here?!

[pinnately]

[ .......................... ]

Magpies.

[foolishjustice]

[Don't mind Akechi just holding up a photo of the head wound. The injury is barely bloody, and looks new.]

A minor correction, Archus-san's head wound was sustained post-mortem, most likely when he fell into the tank.

More significantly, losing a small piece of gold rope beneath a drawer would be easy to miss while dragging an unconscious person, don't you agree? Particularly if they were in a hurry to clean up the more obvious signs of their presence and return to their room.

[steelmagnolias]

[ ...what was that? He didn't catch that whole rant, but he peers over Joey to where Dio is and squints. ]

...your profile says you have telekinesis.

[scienceofmagic]

Tell me, Dio.

[ Croix's playful side has vanished in an instant. ]

Did you even notice it was gone before you got back to your room? Or were you too busy murdering a young man and then dragging him to set up a trap? Because why set up a trap and leave behind your little, gold chain to frame you?

[ You have insulted her girlfriend. It's personal. ]

Besides, I seem to recall your ability being moving objects with telekinesis, right? In fact, and I quote...

[ She brings it up to read. ]

"The power to throw any one object or person a short distance, at any time, with a burst of telekinesis."

Did you even lay a hand on him? Or did you throw him with your mind and he grabbed your golden rope just before you mentally threw him into an opened drawer?

[eyesofdespair]

So do you care to explain how your chain just happened to go missing and end up in the hands of the culprit without you having noticed sooner?

[beguiledcard]

Afraid of being center stage?

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama's eyes are ice cold. ] Wasn't the shirt in an obvious disturbance in the main food court area? While the chain had fallen somewhere hidden? I think of the two, the shirt is the piece that's more likely to be deliberately planted.

And Wake's knees were bruised and damp, perhaps as if he fell onto them.... Making your boot chain quite easy to reach.

This high wire act has no safety net, Dio. You should step carefully.

[incrediblystressedout]

[Joey takes a deep breath.]

Okay guys. Let's calm down and think for a second. Our story for how the chain got there uh...puts Dio at the scene of the crime, where Wake was beaten up. We've got a pretty good theory going, I think, but Wake died of electrocution, so we should focus on that electrical trap for a second, maybe?

I didn't look at it myself, but was there anything special about that wire setup that would incriminate or exonerate Dio?

VOTE

[lifecoach]

[The Life Coach has been listening for the most part except to offer clarification. Suddenly, her phone beeps, so she jumps up again for attention. ...Maybe a few times, like she's used to that from being short.]

Time's up, everyone! Now, go ahead and like, cast your official vote... who killed Wake, the Feeling?

[totalbullshit]

> DIO

[ God, she hates this. ]

EXECUTION: Soul Freed [TW: Trampling]

[strangerpeople]

[Once the final vote is cast, the Life Coach very quickly flutters off the platform, planting herself closer to the elevator.]

Well, ok! Totally got a 13-1 vote for the Bodacious locked in...well, you, like, totes tried? But in the end, you were kind of right?

Someone was motivated by greed - you. Even though it wasn't, like, shiny, the second you saw the opportunity, you latched on, and, like, totally didn't let go.

[She presses a button on her phone.]

And now it's totally time to pay your dues.

CULPRIT INPUT: THE BODACIOUS
AWAITING VERIFICATION. . .



VERIFICATION APPROVED.

[Instantly, everyone - save Dio - finds themselves unable to move. Some kind of force is keeping them suctioned to their place; there is no way to escape. Dio doesn't even have a chance to try and struggle; the floor beneath him suddenly slides open, and that, combined with the suction, forces him down into the hole, the floor sliding back into place above him.]

RUNNING EXECUTION PROTOCOL...
[Then came the rumble beneath their feet, as the platform they are on begins to descend around the central platform. Soon enough, the Titled are beholden to a giant glass cynlinder, a shocked Dio shooting out of a hole in the middle of the floor, and landing on his feet.

Not that it means much with the giant shadowy figure standing in one of the corners. A massive, golem-like thing with an unusually small head with two triangle ears on it.

Britt will recognize what it is instantly, as it opens its bright hate orbs and focuses on Dio.]

EXECUTION ACTIVATED.
[Quick as lightning, one of the creature's hands shoots out, and a dart barrels towards Dio. Dio, meanwhile, was just as quick, and, his eyes wide, manages to roll out of the way in time.

The creature's eyes widen as the dart embeds into the glass.]

ERROR! EXECUTION FAIL...SECONDARY PROTOCOL SHUTDOWN ACTIVATED--
[The creature abruptly stops, shutting down. For a moment, nothing happens, save for Dio staring at the creature as he slowly stands up.

He doesn't notice the wisps of black smoke forming behind him, and from the shadows of the golem creature. At least, not until one of them starts to neigh.

On everyone's phone, the following text suddenly flashes:]

Bodacious Secondary Protocol Activated. Enjoy.

[A half-dozen shadowy horses with strangely stencil-like manes - and one giant elephant with a stencil-like tusk - form all around Dio. Their eyes all open, revealing bright, red eyes.

After the shock on his face passes, Dio smirks, shakes his head, starts chuckling as they all, in unison, begin to charge. There's not enough room to avoid all of them, and he knows it. Even his power can only toss so much at once. So he makes his choice - and runs to the elephant.

The elephant lets out an eerie toot as it stampedes, and with Dio going towards it, it doesn't miss its mark.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

Even after Dio is underfoot, and clearly not moving, it keeps stomping, and soon the horses join in, ambling and trampling with triumphant, terrifying whinnies. They keep going, the black smoke of their forms emitting thicker and thicker from their nostrils and tusk, until the entire interior of the cylinder is plunged into inky black.

It is then, and only then, that the suction on the feet of the Titled dissipates, and they are at last free to return to the elevator - and to their continued confinement in the Mall below.]

cw: mild emetophobia trigger

[katsufemmefatale]

[He wishes he hadn't looked up.

Seeing Wake's body is one thing, but actually watching someone die, even someone he hated? Yuuri makes a sickened noise and clamps a hand over his mouth. Before the cylinder is even fully darkened, he's squeezing his eyes shut and trying to breathe through his nose so he doesn't vomit.

Once he's not a split second from gagging, he half stumbles, half runs to the elevator and slumps against the far wall. He wants out of this horrible courtroom now.]