The Final Trial

[airlockedmods]

[After a while, the shaft in the middle of the elevator rises up again and glows a beckoning shade of blue. PAL the literal infant in the computer stopped responding somewhere when Queenie started throwing shit around, but the hum of the machinery goes quieter to match.

And when all 10 Champions get on the elevator and Junpei uses his robot hand to firmly grasp the shaft, the elevator rises back up into place. There are no new portraits, because nobody new has died. The only difference between now and the last time you were up here is the lack of stairs leading up to the Overseers' booth, and the complete lack of lighting aside from the blue glow on the shaft. As each Champion takes their place behind their podium, the rose on the front lights up red.

Sorry everybody, this trial is very #aesthetic, good luck reading your notes.]

Welcome, Champions, to the final trial aboard the Fantasy Sweet. At stake here is your freedom, and possibly your lives. Can you solve the mysteries of the Fantasy Sweet and earn your way out?

Compile your evidence. Discuss. And Vote.

This will all be over soon.

[Despite the lit-up roses, the voting panels remain dark and inactive.]

Comments

(frozen comment) [OOC] Objectives

[airlockedmods]

-Who is the Mastermind?
-What was their purpose?
-What now?

[misanthropicprinciple]

Could you turn the goddamn fucking lights on, Kip?

[airlockedmods]

[Dead-ass silence.]

[shikosuki]

What Junpei said.

And you may as well come out while you're at it.

[everylittlesecret]

Yeah! This ain't the time for mood lighting!

[everylittlesecret]

[LIGHTING ASIDE

Nari holds up a bunch of picture of different earths.]

Does anyone want a picture of their earth before we proceed? Each one has a number on it. Should correspond with your note.

[She doesn't want the pictures, guys, take your earth or just take one if you don't have your own earth.] These were found with strings and pins attached to each one. Whoever did this made it look like one of those crime scene "What does this all in common" board.

[daughterofthemark]

These are... Earth?

[The Caledonian space program consists of an astrologer.]

[serrata]

... am... am I going to want to see mine...?

[ is it a zombie diseased and ravaged nightmare........ ]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Well, they're all fucking Earth. And the notes were figuring out what planets are easiest to invade...

[shikosuki]

...I'll take mine.

[ He goes over and finds the one with the 5 on it. Aw yes... his beloved stupid planet that's blown like 4 times by now. ]

[desperateprayer]

He was only looking at "earths?" There wasn't a "Third Period?"

[shikosuki]

Solve the mysteries, huh? Okay.

You're Kip. And you've been playing us this entire time, pretending to be PAL and setting up everything.

We translated your notes and if those weren't damning enough, there's a PAL downstairs in the computer who talks completely differently. There's also a-- [ a dick ] a microphone that can broadcast everywhere with PAL's voice. However, the one in the computer seemed to only speak from the computer and wouldn't answer me when I asked if someone else had been there broadcasting.

[desperateprayer]

Yes. After the contents of my own note, I firmly believe that Kip is PAL. Because... There's something I didn't tell people. After the meeting, the one where everyone argued, before the last motive... I talked to PAL. And he'd made me cupcakes.

[ ...A deep sigh. ]

I didn't think anything at the time, but the cupcakes were too sweet. I thought it was simply that he'd made a mistake, but looking back...

[scourgingstars]

Whether he comes out or not, let's just get this over with.

I found a note hidden in the couch which sounded as though it was describing Larimer. It detailed that he became 'biologically incompatible with his own kind' and 'would be persecuted as a foreign invader upon returning.'

it closed with 'it is therefore in his best interest to remain employed by the network for the time being.'

[And then he took out a formerly-crumpled slip of paper.]

This was with it.

[everylittlesecret]

He got a pink slip. Dude, it's the future, and they still give out pink slips? What the fuck.

[serrata]

... so they knew if he went back he'd be killed and they fired him anyway?

[ RACKIN' UP THE EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARDS AS WE SPEAK, NETWORK ]

Does it say when they fired him...?

[misanthropicprinciple]

I found the workbench where my arm was made. Here are some metal scraps that match me.

[He holds one up to the light and then drops it on his podium.]

There were no tools on the bench.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Did anyone find any tools at all?

[desperateprayer]

...

[ Something has just occurred to Clarith in the combined evidence. Something kind of horrifying. ]

...Guys. This is a trial, right? And with the notes and-- and the paper about him... He thinks we probably hate him, and there's nowhere else for him to go after this.

[ She is suddenly very, very worried about this entire thing. ]

...He said, rather ominously, that it would all be over soon, right?

[scourgingstars]

He thinks the same way I did. That we'll all turn on him.

Larimer, you idiot--!

[misanthropicprinciple]

The voting panels are off, though. And no one else has died. It wouldn't fit with the rules.

[goteachother]

He did...

[And now she looks terrified. There's no way...]

He knows we can't hate him we were ready to forgive PAL all of this so how different is it really, that Kip was really the one doing it, and partially to protect himself?

[But there's one thing-]

But I told him I'd stay here instead of going with him.

Oh, Kip.... you idiot.

[daughterofthemark]

[F U C K]

[shikosuki]

Then he should probably get his dumb ass out here already and stop being a baby so we can prove him wrong about that, yeah?

[ where the fuck are you, you little irken shit ]

[goteachother]

No...

No.

We're not doing this. Kip!! [She doesn't know where to direct her words except to the platform where he stood for so many of these.] You have lied, you have betrayed us and hurt us all in so many ways. And you have learned through all of it. If you wanna keep comparin yourself ta Ardyn then you gotta learn this one last thing.

Families argue. You can bicker and fight and be so mad you wanna throttle 'em. But you never stop loving them. It takes time to work through that, sure. It'll be hard to trust for awhile... But if you think for a second... that I'm gonna lose you again.

[She pauses, looks up and blinks away a few tears, too determined to let herself cry.]

We're done voting. We're done with the killing. You saved me now let us save you, baby. Please...

[everylittlesecret]

[Oh gosh... Nari throws her arms in air.]

OHANA!

[Okay she's done. Proceed with the friendship speeches, guys.]