Final Investigation

[airlockedmods]

[It's been about 24 hours since CT was killed. Blaze has made no other moves, and his robots are mysteriously absent.

In fact, it's almost too quiet.

But then there's a note in Pyrrha's PIP that...she didn't write.]

Comments

[power_of_dominance]

But why wait until there are so few of us left? Do you think it might have something to do with Blaze's illness? Maybe he's vulnerable now?

[empathiser]

Maybe. He's definitely been looking worse and worse over the past weeks...

[And they still have no idea why...]

[power_of_dominance]

At the last trial? He looked jaundiced. If he's a cyborg, that means he has both mechanical and biological parts. Maybe the organic stuff is messed up... or shutting down.

Do you know if liver problems can cause psychosis?

[empathiser]

... [He's thinking.]

It's not... impossible. There's a type of brain damage that can occur from problems with the liver. Behavioural changes, confusion, poor judgement... I think there's something about sleep patterns as well, but I don't remember clearly enough.

[power_of_dominance]

[Maybe that explains a lot about Rick.]

It's all just speculation, but we don't have much else to go on. But if Blaze really is crazy, then there's a chance the shapeshifter was never here.

[empathiser]

[Will just. Exhales at that. Slowly.]

... [It would be a relief if that were the case, but]

Then what did sixteen people die for?

[power_of_dominance]

Nothing. Absolutely nothing, unless you count the ravings of a lunatic.

[Does Soma sound bitter? Hell yes.]

But even if It's here among us, do you really think sixteen lives are a reasonable price for anything?

[empathiser]

[There's a silence, but Will does answer.]

Not that many lives, no.

[power_of_dominance]

To me, for something like this? One is too many. There's no equal exchange when it comes to lives. An eye for an eye, and the whole world goes blind, remember.

[Soma sighs.]

It might be too late to do anything about the ones we lost, but we have to survive. Even if it means taking a big risk trusting an unknown. It worked for me before, at least.

[Because Arikado was suspicious as hell, and he turned out to be one of Soma's greatest allies.]