theairlock | first trial

[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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, but... you really think anybody here's got a reason to kill someone?

We were already granted an incentive, remember? That thing offered the full restoration of our abilities.

I- I know, but obsessed would you have to be with your powers?

It's not a matter of 'obsession' at all. For some of us, our powers mean more than just our own strength. My own abilities are what my planet's survival hinges on, I've made no secret of that.

You're not there, though, you don't have any reason to-

[she's not gonna finish that sentence]

Never mind.

The culprit gets to go home.

[Spoken fairly quietly. Please tell him you didn't, Ardyn.]

...If you have something to say, by all means feel free.

[He seemed offended at the implication, but...well, there was plenty of reason to assume.]

I wouldn't have laid a hand on Mikaela or any of you. If I am to save Eos, it will not be through the blood of an innocent child.

Let's... not make accusations just yet. We cannot be hasty. Not when the stakes are this high.

(no subject)

scourgingstars - 2017-05-27 16:36 (UTC) - Expand

Your planet had better be the Singularity or something if you did.

scourgingstars - 2017-05-27 16:35 (UTC) - Expand

No! I don't think- I can't believe anyone here would do this.

[And yet someone did.]

But- even if powers aren't important here, they might be back home. Sorry.

scourgingstars - 2017-05-27 16:34 (UTC) - Expand

They might be extremely important to someone. As much as I'd like to think none of us would kill Mikaela, we don't know everything about each other.

Then why was everyone sharing all these details almost day one? Just to set the rest of us up for later?

[you sweet fuckin spring child]

They likely shared what they felt comfortable sharing.

There's no telling what someone may have kept secret. People lie and hide things, surely this is no surprise.

Not when these are the stakes!

[she knows she's wrong. she really does know it. backing down has never suited her, though, and she fights instead of cries when in a corner like this.]