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]

Ugh, a to the end. I wasn't trying to kill Mordecai, he just bled out while I was chasing Marty or whatever.

Who I burned to make this easy for you guys. Duh.

[clearasmud]

If you wanted a chance at fighting the monster, all you needed to do was kill one person.

I'm calling you a liar, Dynamic.

[zomgboom]

Yeah, I know that. Do I, like, look like I know how swords work? I'm a long range weapons person, I already told you that.

So I swung, hit way harder than I meant to, and kiiiind of didn't stop to give him medical attention while I was going after my real target, sorry.

[clearasmud]

[ 'sorry.'



goodness. ]

You successfully killed one person. So why keep going after your original target?

[zomgboom]

. . . Are you, like, not listening to me? I didn't know. I was gonna come back, patch him up and, like. Have him just tell you guys I did it.

He just died before I got to that last part.

[clearasmud]

I am listening. [ you stupid girl. ] Why didn't you change plans, and stick with the one you'd already injured?

[zomgboom]

I DIDN'T THINK HE WAS GONNA DIE, GOD HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY IT?

[clearasmud]

Okay, you're stupid. I get it!

[zomgboom]

I've, like, never claimed to be smart.

[IN FACT SHE'S SAID THE EXACT OPPOSITE. MULTIPLE TIMES.]