Taking Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And a while after that strange, dark floor is accessed, after you've had time to look things over and get some idea of what's happening...well. There won't be any sort of official announcement to tell you to get downstairs, nor will there be a personal invitation for you to do so. Instead, the doors at the end of the corridor (were they there before? You find that you don't remember. It doesn't matter anymore, though-) slide open, as they always do, and the elevator ride to the courtroom is probably the first familiar thing that's happened all day. It's smooth and quick, though it seems to take a bit longer than it usually does. And when the doors open at the end of the line, the courtroom looks different. The dark, weirdly cylindrical room is largely the same in and of itself, but the usual twenty-seven podium circle is gone; instead, there's a smaller setup in the center of the room - ten podiums total, and you'll likely find the way your spots have been distributed to be very familiar indeed. Of further notice is the balcony - there's a structure that wasn't there before in view of the courtroom, situated high above, barred-in by a railing that'd probably be at about waist-height on your average person; there's no one up there just yet, however. There are so few of you now. It seems that today there are no speeches to give; maybe the Kingmaker is absent, maybe he just doesn' have anything to say. Either way, however, the implication in the fact that you're here at all is clear. For one last time, make the guilty take responsibility.

Comments

[kingmakereffect]

That's not important.

[amygdalae]

[Of course he goes with 'that's not important'.

Sigh.]

Then at least answer this - we've all been throwing the virtual reality theory with a lot of circumstance evidence to back it up. Will you at least confirm that for us?

[kingmakereffect]

[There's a pause that follows that question, and the response he gives isn't a verbal one, not at first; instead, lights seem to be flickering to life inside the walls of the room, illuminating that glossy black surface from behind and showing exactly what's behind it.

They look almost like stasis chambers, almost like coffins, tipped back at an angle so they're not directly vertical but it's simple enough to see the people inside; twenty-seven bodies lying inert, though there are enough signs that they're sleeping rather than dead - there's no pallor to their skin tone, and occasionally they twitch a little. Not violently, just enough to indicate that they're breathing, that something's still functioning in there. Even on the nonhumans that don't have to breathe, there are signs - Pearl's eyes still track behind her closed eyelids once in a while, and Mettaton's circuits are still softly glowing.

Each of the setups are elaborate in design, all faintly glowing machinery thrumming from some sort of nearby power source; they definitely seem to be hooked up in multiple places to something, anyway.

More importantly, it looks like your deceased friends are still witnessing the proceedings after all. As are you, twice over.]

Is this the sort of confirmation that you wanted?

[goodforsomething]

...literally nobody ever wants that!

[what the fuck, km]

[garudynamic]

[Okay trying to literally not vom now]

[amygdalae]

...yes.

[After a very slight pause. Bruce has been sort of expecting something like this the moment the theory was thrown up, but this is...

He raises a hand and stares down at it, briefly, fingers clenching up into a fist and then unclenching.]

I assume we're just seeing projections right now?

[kingmakereffect]

Something like that.

[amygdalae]

[Well it certainly explains... a lot.]

Why show this to us only now, after everything? Because this 'game' is ending?

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod's hand flies to cover his gasp - it'd been a theory, certainly, but he hadn't wanted to get too attached to it. It could be wrong, they could be completely guessing-

But this. This isn't wrong. He can hope and he can be right for once.]

They're alive... They're all alive.

[He sees those circuits glowing, and he could not possibly be happier right now.]

Paging KM

[garudynamic]

Speaking of...

Hey, Kingmaker- are the 'dead' okay? Are their 'ghosts' basically just like us right now?

[kingmakereffect]

Focus on the trial.

[isafraid]

Everyone...! They're bloody out there... along with the rest of us!

[God can he just have a heart attack now and get it over with]

This... this is sick....!

[cherryblooded]

It's - kind of gross yes - but better than being dead.

[It's so much better that he may not stop smiling for an hour.]

[notjustawriter]

[He's not sure whether to be relieved that there's... possibly signs that everyone is still alive, or to be utterly horrified that everyone has been locked up in stasis for months.]

Je... Jesus Christ!

[sleepingkogoro]

...

[Mouri feels pride for being right about the virtual reality thing. This is exactly what he had envisioned.

But damn, this is horrifying]

This is madness...

[isafraid]

Oh my god!

[They... they were right! Oh wow.

He can see himself. Is this what an out of body experience is like because no sir please and thank you.]

So we're really inside a machine all along!

[penduli]

[ ...holy shit that's creepy.

And... ugh, it's weird to see himself; he doesn't have any good memories when it comes to reflections, so Black busies himself with turning to a new page in his sketchbook and drawing heart-shaped balloons around the edges. They're simple and easy and distracting enough. ]

So those are us—really us, our actual bodies? Not... clones or something, because as much as I liked having a twin I sincerely don't want an identical twin brother.

[goodforsomething]

Yeah, uh...speakin' as someone who's pretty damn close to identical? This is still creepy.

[garudynamic]

...wait. We have a lot of people here. Think the 'ghosts' can see themselves too? Man I bet they are going nuts right now.

[goodforsomething]

Hahaha! Good - riot, you guys! I'm expectin' full-on Poltergeist!

[pokexplorer]

Arceus...

[That's all Colress can choke out straight away, gripping onto his podium.

AGAIN, IF THIS ENTIRE THING HADN'T BEEN A MONTHS-LONG SHITSHOW...THIS WOULD BE PRETTY AMAZING...

The reveal sends his mind whirling in a mix of emotions though. But...there's a little bit of relief in there, seeing everyone alive.

...But he still can't get rid of that sense of dread about this whole thing.]

[captainobnoxious]

[There's a sharp intake of breath from Sigrun, because coffins are never good but... they all seem to be alive, just like she hoped, and she can't stop glancing over all the faces she knows, unsurprisingly lingering on one in particular.

Black's words about crying seem to be good right now, but she's not gonna, just deal with her heartache and the happiness from it.]

If you're feeling like answering questions today, why are we here?

[kingmakereffect]

Do you really think I'm going to hand you all the answers?

[garudynamic]

I think we gotta offer theories for him to answer...

We're not here for the same reason as the original games, right?

[captainobnoxious]

No, but I kind of expected you to be an asshole and answer why we're here here, not here as in the game thing.

[He's still being an asshole though.]