fourth trial

[airlockedmods]

[As the last of the evidence is gathered, the voice chimes in with a call to come down to the courtroom.

In the slowly swindling podium circle McBurn and Shadow's portraits have been added and the green in their scrolling names replaced with red.

Jamie and Bolton are waiting on their floating platform, back in black and ready for a trial. Jamie still looks tired and his posture is a little more slouched than usual but he's here and there's not much else they can ask of him right now. Bolton's put on his usual showman's attitude despite the dark circles under his eyes, and he spreads his arms to make the announcement.]

Welcome, Champions, to the courtroom. Eleven of you have entered, but - in the best case scenario - only ten of you will leave. You all know the drill by now: compile your evidence and figure out who the killer is. If you vote correctly, the culprit will be executed and the rest of you will be allowed to go back upstairs.

Remember, there is no time limit but I'd advise you to keep things interesting.

Comments

[ratherdoweddings]

[Yurika takes her place at her podium and looks sadly at poor Thomasin again before she scans the room.]

We found Shadow-kun in his unlocked room, but we don't think he died there; somebody carried him back and unlocked the door with his PIP after he was already dead. The Doctor and I found him covered in water, with various injuries that don't look like they came from a weapon. It was more like he hit his head on the side of the pool, or something similar, and there were injuries on the rest of his body, too. Given the water and chlorine smell, this definitely happened in and around the pool.

[cyan_maid]

The pool...then, that does explain why there was water everywhere on the first floor. But Miss Yurika, I don't think it could have just been an accident.

[refusedtoleave]

It looked that was a fight in the pool as well. Some of the equipment was destroyed.

[ratherdoweddings]

And with a teleporter on hand, the culprit wouldn't have had to go anywhere else -- but did anyone find anything anywhere else, just to be safe?

[curdle]

After I fell in his--

[ Wow, guess who looks like hot garbage? She pauses to collect herself. ]

My skirts were wet, and even they smell of it now. Whoever brought him up should be the same.

[refusedtoleave]

[Natsuhi's just going to stand at her podium. Wearing her newly made clothes, they have roll up sleeves. She might have looked somewhat presentable if it wasn't for the glitter that's still in her hair.]

There's a strange machine near the swimming pool. I think it turns the water to ice... It looks like someone tried to break it.

[ratherdoweddings]

What kind of equipment? Like hockey sticks, or the console?

[cyan_maid]

I did - there was a blood trail in the bar, and a smallish bloody footprint - not like Shadow's feet at all. And I found some broken colored pencils on the counter.

[She presents the broken pencils on her podium.]

There was other stuff that Ricky found, too.

[ratherdoweddings]

That's true, unless they washed it out or changed.

[refusedtoleave]

The machine I'm not sure why they'd put something electrical so close to a pool. It looks like it got damp enough to throw of sparks. There were marks around it.

[curdle]

Colored pencils...

Was there paper? Or any thing else?

[imnotfat]

Was there anything that could hint what was used to attempt to break the controls of the swimming pool?

[cyan_maid]

Not that I saw. Whoever was using them didn't leave their work lying around for us.

[kingshaming]

I believe it is likely that the killer or Shadow tried to tend to their wounds. In the storage room there was a first aid kit ransacked with gauze and disinfectant used and a puddle of pool water under it.

Considering Shadow's speed, quills and will, it is likely he could have harmed his attacker in a struggle. Or he escaped and was finished off after the fact.

[ratherdoweddings]

That's concerning. Scuff marks, or something else?

[curdle]

[ She nods, and she would point out that it's not been that long since he died, compared to their other victims, but then she starts thinking about his death and that goes out the window. Welp. ]

[refusedtoleave]

I didn't see anything close by. But it had been smashed so whoever did it would have had to have hit it with some force.

[stitch_in_time]

Shadow's ribs were cracked, I was thinkin' someone might've tried resuscitatin' him, but if it looks like there was a fight...

[Unless the fight had escalated into something bigger? Maybe. But they can't assume that, if the last trials were any kind of lesson.]

[curdle]

Shadow spent more time in the art room of late. I can think of no reason else there should have been such there -- but he would not have hidden it, nor had time, surely.

[refusedtoleave]

Scorch marks, they were all around it.

[cyan_maid]

[Oh no

Jane's got you hun]

The time of his death is relatively close to when we've been conditioned to wake up - 5:05 am, I believe. If that's the case, I highly doubt the person would've washed out their clothes enough in time. They may have changed and showered if they were quick, but the chlorine smell might've hung around.

[ratherdoweddings]

I didn't see any bandages on Shadow-kun, but a lot of us are already bandaged up from our existing wounds. Still, the culprit is probably hurt. At least we know it isn't Lightning-san, because she's established she can heal herself, and it isn't any of us who aren't injured.

[bylight]

... They must have broken it to make it thaw. [Hear her out.] There was blood in the water-[Kurumi is getting a look]-and someone just had to jump into the water to check it out. She told me it was cold, which makes sense since there was still ice in the water. It takes an hour to thaw.

[Anyone else thinking what she's thinking? That someone iced the hedgehog?] There was a wet towel nearby with blood on it.

[cyan_maid]

[Oh my god]

Scorch marks again? It wasn't like anything we might've seen last week, was it?

[stitch_in_time]

Almost like they don't actually care that much about our health an' well-being.