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

[zomgboom]

I'd, like, advise against it, but if you want. Not you, though. No offense, but I don't want you feeling me up.

[blazeit]

... Trust me, I wasn't gonna volunteer to be the guy doing it.

[ EVEN HE KNOWS HE SHOULDN'T PAT DOWN GIRLS... ]

Blue, you wanna do the honors?

[withabigsmile]

[She puts on some white gloves as she heads over.]

I'm on it!

[Time to rummage through Tabby's pockets! What's in there?]

[zomgboom]

[I wouldn't rummage too hard.

Tabby's pockets are full of homemade flash grenades.]

[withabigsmile]

[She will rummage gently, pull exactly one out, and gently put it back and back the fuck away.

If there was anything worth looking for in her pockets, someone else can do it.]

[zomgboom]

Told you it wasn't worth it.

[blazeit]

[ Okay, that he does recognize. ]

... I'm not gonna ask why, that much is obvious.

But the only reason you would want them here is if you thought you were going to need them... here.

[ Like if she thought she was going to be getting executed...

... ... He still doesn't want to be thinking this and yet he is, Bakugou actually kind of hates his brain right now. ]

[zomgboom]

That's not a question. Are you gonna ask one, or do you wanna, like, waste more time?

[blazeit]

... Yeah, okay, I'll bite.

Did you bring those because you were going to use them... if you were about to be executed?

[zomgboom]

Yeah, I did.

[blazeit]

[ For a moment, he seriously looks like a little kid who was just informed that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy aren't real. ]

... Okay.

Did you kill both of them?

[zomgboom]

And the chicken, yeah.

[withabigsmile]

Why the chicken?

[blazeit]

... Okay, I have to ask. Why the chicken.

[clearasmud]

Why Mordecai?

[zomgboom]

Wrong place, wrong time. I was, like, going for Marty but he was there too and well. Whatever. They're the ones who can come back easiest.

[clearasmud]

[ Uh. ]

Why not just knock him unconscious?

[ you're pathetic. ]

[announcemyvictory]

You wanted to be executed so you could kill the creature.

[perpend]

.....Tabby.

[zomgboom]

Uh-huh, Mr. Lawman?

[perpend]

There must have been another way.

[He doesn't sound angry or disappointed. He just sounds incredibly sad.]

[zomgboom]

Do you know another way to get down there?

[icysemblance]

...blowing up doors? Breaking in here? Staying after a trial?

All of those, any of those, would be better than murdering two people.

[zomgboom]

That's not a question either, but, like, good job.

You figured it out.

[clearasmud]

[ good boy son she's raised you well ]