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

[housenurse]

Mordecai-san isn't the only one who can do it! Once... Once we get past these shadows, once we get at Conductor-san, we'll have the powers of gods!

We can bring back whoever we want!

[clearasmud]

I know, Sukuyo. But Mordecai was our most easily accessible option.

[housenurse]

And now he's dead, and that's not something any of us can change right now.

... Work with us here, Youko-chan. This won't work unless we're all united on this!

[perpend]

There's another way.

There will always be another way.

[clearasmud]

We don't have to lie about what happened to be unified.

Of course I want Dynamic to fight and win. But if we don't talk about it - if we pretend things are better than what they are, raise them up - then this is going to HAPPEN AGAIN.

[withabigsmile]

Of course it's going to happen again. It's been happening for six weeks.

Our attitude won't change that.

[clearasmud]

Fine, Blue. When it happens again, I don't want two people dead because someone wanted to fight a monster.

[ do you get it >:v ]

[withabigsmile]

That doesn't really seem like anyone else's style.

[She gets it she's just also being a butt-]

[clearasmud]

I'm not putting it past anyone.

[ HUMANS ARE WEIRD AND UNPREDICTABLE SOMETIMES, ALRIGHT ]

[announcemyvictory]

She's right. All we've done, all we're doing, all we keep doing is risking more and more.

[housenurse]

And we'll keep risking everything, because that's all we can do! It's either risk it all for a chance to get out of here, or die scared and alone! There's no other choices, even if we keep wishing for them!

[perpend]

...what's that saying? "No risk, no reward"?

We'll do it. I know we will.

[announcemyvictory]

I'm scared. All right? I don't want this. I never wanted this, even when I didn't actually like you people, and now everyone I care about gets betrayed and killed in cold blood when some Asuka or some Mr. Sanchez decides they've had enough!

[perpend]

....I know you're scared.

I'm scared too.

We..... we'll find a way to make sure this never happens again, that no one else has to die.

[announcemyvictory]

...I don't think so.

[clearasmud]

No! That's not how this needs to be, Sukuyo!

[housenurse]

It's the only way it can be, by now! It's either fight or wait to die, and only one of those gives me even the littlest chance of seeing my children again!

[clearasmud]

[ she almost shouts at sukuyo. almost.

stay calm. hold it back. you can do this. ]

You haven't heard my plan, and my plan does not need us to risk death.

So just stop with that.