Take Responsibility.

[antitrust]

And when the door at the bottom of those stairs unlocks and it swings open gently of its own accord, allowing everyone back down into the courtroom, there are decidedly fewer of them than there were just a few days ago. The change in the podium circle is massive this time; Dio, Logan, Marty, Yuuri, Hibiki and Mordecai have all joined the ranks of the deceased, their podiums adorned with black cloth and greyscale photographs. Furthermore, the mass of shadows in the pit at the center seems agitated again, shifting and breaching upward toward the glass if one looks at it long enough. It's been something of a bad week, to put it gently. Not that it's evident from the Conductor's behavior; as usual, the proceedings are being watched from behind that panel of translucent glass behind podium 30, and he'll speak as soon as everyone has found their place in the circle. His words are a bit more rapid than usual; he seems interested in this one. "Temporal, Lucent, Vivacious and Universal...all four of them have been taken from you. Does whomever is responsible for this really deserve your compassion? There can be no hesitation; you should offer no mercy. It's you against the guilty. Take control of your fate, and hold them responsible." Thirteen Participants remain. You've lost five people this week, and eight since the last investigation; we'll see how many more you lose today.

Comments

[rickdiculous]

I-in case you haven't noticed, the people I gave a shit about are dead!

[icysemblance]

...that just means you have nothing left to lose.

[announcemyvictory]

Mr. Sanchez, you said something that very first day, didn't you?

[rickdiculous]

That you've been going after me for e-ever since.

[announcemyvictory]

It's like we said before. Some of us have regrets for how we've behaved. What we've done to survive, or just because we didn't trust one another. In this place, all of the above.

But some of us don't, is that right?

[rickdiculous]

Live in the moment, baaaa-[erggh]-byyy.

[clearasmud]

[ . . . ]

In case you haven't noticed, it's the same for me.

So I'm going to bring them back. What about you?

[rickdiculous]

...I plan on it.

[clearasmud]

What's your way?

[rickdiculous]

The fuck does it matter to you? Christ, as thirsty as my grandson was for you - you don't have...to go prying into my shit.

[clearasmud]

...Say what?

[ what ]

Well, it matters to me because I want to bring everyone back! So I want to know every possible option!

[rickdiculous]

He was thirsty for like every girl here. Don't worry, you're not special.

[not even answering the question tbh]

[clearasmud]

Oh, okay!

[ SHE WAS WONDERING. ]

But I really want to know your method of bringing people back! I want to help, if I can!

[rickdiculous]

That's my business.

[sunsong]

Does it have to do with other dimensions?

[rickdiculous]

Oh, look at this lady. Using - using gargle she heard from Morty without...knowing what it means.

[sunsong]

I know what it means. He told me about his original dimension.

[rickdiculous]

So? That's - fuck. He repeats shit so often I - I don't think even he understands what he's talking about.

[ninehundredlives]

Why don't you explain it to us, then?

You can use small words, if it makes you happy.

[rickdiculous]

Who the fuck are you. You weren't even in this conversation.

[sunsong]

I don't think that's true. I mean, sure, he got confused about shit sometimes, but it's not like he didn't know what he was tellin' me, or like he couldn't get what I was tellin' him.

Does gettin' him back mean gettin' him back, or findin' another dimension's Morty?

[rickdiculous]

Do you know how many of those little shits I've - I've gone through already?

[clearasmud]

But... I want to bring them back.

[rickdiculous]

Yeah, but why would I want to bring everybody back?

[clearasmud]

...So you can kill them again personally?