first trial

[airlockedmods]

[With the announcement and evidence, the doors in the pool area are the next destination for anyone who doesn't particularly want to see what a punishment from PAL would look like. Kip, for once not acting like a complete coward, takes the lead and opens the doors. The patio is a large, round room with high walls and a domed ceiling, but the biggest feature of the room is the a circle of podiums that takes up most of the floor space.

The room itself is decked in the same almost gaudy golds and reds as the rest of the mansion, with walls high enough that it's impossible to see inside the trial room from the promenade that encircles the whole mansion. The domed ceiling provides an unhindered view of the stars overhead. As for the podiums themselves, they're the same sort of garish gold with a digital screen facing toward the center of the circle, and a large, currently dimmed rose silhouette facing the center beneath the screen. The screens each have a name and title associated with a Champion written in green block letters, all save for Mikaela, the Champion of the Millennium Tree Forest. Hers are a striking red and, floating above her podium, is a greyscale portrait framed in some kind of bold, gilt-looking frame. She smiles out at the group, her eyes gentle and kind even with the noticeable lack of color.

With Cece staying behind to take care of the body, Kip is left to cross the room by himself, stepping onto a platform that rises up just high enough to be out of reach and back far enough toward a far wall to have a full view of the court room. For a brief moment, Kip is obscured by a dome of glass that closes over him, but when the dome lifts it's clear that the only thing obscured was a quick change, taking him out of what was clearly his pajamas and dressing him in a sharp, mournful black suit. He's recovered from looking slightly green, but his body language and expression remain quite somber nonetheless.]

Welcome, Champions, to the Rose Ceremony. This is the trial stage, where the goal is to find the true culprit and...

[PAL almost sighs in disappointment.]

Well, Kipsqueak already spoiled the stakes for you. Find the culprit and they'll be eliminated, vote incorrectly and they'll be allowed to go home at the expense of the rest of your lives.

Oh, and don't bore me. I cannot stand being bored.

Comments

[nojohnyouare]

They break things. Knock things over. When they move, the air distorts, like a jet with cloaking on TV.

[honoraryembryon]

[ He's quiet for a long moment. Taking everything everyone said into account... ]

... Mai. Why are these demons here?

[nojohnyouare]

I don't know. I don't understand it. But it must have been one. I was marked again when you killed the other one.

[honoraryembryon]

... Marked? You mean, when we killed the one the other night while we were drinking?

... Mai... are these demons... connected to you?

[nojohnyouare]

I don't know. They appeared one day.

I didn't kill it. But if the dust was there, maybe something else...

Check me. If it's dead.

[She looks at Junpei; he'll know what she means.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

D-don't you think a girl should do that...?

[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

[nojohnyouare]

...Probably. But you knew beforehand.

[She looks around at the girls. Help?]

[daughterofthemark]

Dame Mai?

[...what are we suggesting here, arianna doesn't know]

[honoraryembryon]

[ "They appeared one day" is not how most stories go. There's usually more to it... ]

... Hey, Junpei?

[misanthropicprinciple]

Hm?

[No, this is dog.]

[honoraryembryon]

[ GO CHECK HER look he is giving you, she asked YOU. ]

[scourgingstars]

...

[boy ardyn sure did just get quiet]

...Is it possible that is...part of your abilities, perhaps?

[cameupshort]

What-?

[Ardyn, you saying what he thinks you're saying.]

No, that- that can't be it. And if it was, it wouldn't be her fault.

[honoraryembryon]

[ Thank you Ardyn for saying what he was subtly trying to imply, sob. ]

... It wouldn't be, except on a technicality, if it was. But technicalities are still going to be counted in this infernal place, I'll bet.

[cameupshort]

...shit-!

[Yeah, PAL does seem like that kind of asshole.]

We can't let that happen.

[honoraryembryon]

Do you have a suggestion, Finn? Because I'm... not sure how we get out of this situation. I don't want it to be US that kills a second person, but...

[ She is probably guilty. ... What... do they do? ]

[scourgingstars]

...Not directly. You and I both know that, as does everyone here. I have no doubt Mai would not have done anything to hurt Mikaela or any of us.

But if she was even indirectly involved, I can guess that would be more than enough to render her guilty by PAL's rules.

[He hates every second of this and it's starting to show.]

'Champion Scapegoat'.

[cameupshort]

That's- no, that's bullshit. IF that were true, then it'd be PAL's fault for unlocking the abilities to begin with, right?

[Please.]

[scourgingstars]

It won't incriminate itself. There is simply no chance of that.

[nojohnyouare]

[Mai just freezes. She stares at him.]

...My abilities?

[scourgingstars]

Mai...

[The resigned look finally slipped, Ardyn looking to her with what seemed like genuine sympathy.]

It's already clear several of us have some part of our powers back. Church couldn't even seem to control his. If the same follows for you--if your world's invisible daemons are somehow drawn to you, then I fear that will be enough for PAL to condemn you even should we refuse.

[serrata]

... what...? But-- that can't count, can it?! She was trying to stop them, to keep them from hurting anyone!

[cameupshort]

It's not though, right? All you do is fight them.

[nojohnyouare]

I don't understand.

[Mai looks at her hands. Then up at the Overseer platform.]

The motive. Powers were coming back. That's when the demons started to appear. But the only one from my time or my city is me. And I couldn't... Even if I made myself, I couldn't...

[She's shaking as she forces this out. More to the point, the air ripples.]

It's because of me?

[daughterofthemark]

Perhaps they came up through the dumbwaiter.

[SHE'S TRYING]