Accountability.

[ratingspoint]

"Killswitch? I 'left Alphys to die'? Please, darlings, don't tell me you actually buy all these tired old storylines..." It's been a few weeks since that particular voice has been heard by anyone in the Vault; it's sharp, flamboyant and incredibly familiar, and it's coming from the same place the Kingmaker's always seems to - nowhere and everywhere at once, piped in through some unseen system. "You know, normally I'd balk a bit at being dragged out in front of all of you for another trial, because I think you all know by now how much I hate repeat performances. Fortunately, there's a difference, isn't there? Between now and then... And if the crowd cries for an encore, who am I to deny it!" There's a panel of wall behind that balcony, one that slides open quickly and easily; the pair of people that emerge from it...well, they're different than anything the Vault has seen so far, that much is obvious. The first is reasonably slight in frame, his hair and his clothing bright in color; he's resplendant in...just about every tacky accessory Caren unwittingly brought with her to the Vault - with the exception of the bra, naturally. Because we've got to have some dignity here, clearly, even if that dignity doesn't extend to the fucking leopard-print bucket hat currently sitting on his head at a jaunty as hell angle. His expression is intense and deeply manic, his body shaking a bit and fists clenched at his sides as though he's trying to keep himself from laughing, from lashing out and hitting the wall, from doing something to relieve some of it, but his eyes... ...His eyes, though. His eyes are dead as hell, his stare cutting and utterly devoid of emotion all at once. And the second...well, he's familiar, though it seems his avatar has changed quite a bit since the last time you saw him. It's something more suiting, let's put it that way. He's the one leaning over to greet you now, hands braced tight against that railing spanning the length of the balcony. "Beauties and gentlebeauties, I'm pleased to introduce to you our hosts for the evening! First of all, the Kingmaker, without whom none of this would have been possible!" And that gets a sweeping gesture to his side, where the ginger just...enthusiastically pumps his fist in the air, and that's when the laugh escapes him, harsh and uncontrolled. "It's about time!" Mettaton tosses his head a bit at that; he doesn't laugh himself, but he seems pleased enough with it before he continues. "As for me? Well, I'd like to wish you good evening and good luck - both sentiments straight from the King of the Underground! Try to make this good for us, all right?" "Make it cool!" "...Sweetheart, really." ...Right, well! Let's begin, shall we?

Comments

[ratingspoint]

[Well, all of this is well and good, but after a while of this Mettaton just kind of hops up to sit on that railing, kicking his legs up and over so he's facing the lot of you down below and crossing his legs idly at the knee. Fortunately his balance is good.]

So! Now that we're all done screaming in self-righteous anger and all, why don't we get back to the heart of the matter? Let's have a bit of a recap - what you all know, what you still have yet to figure out, questions you're going to ask us that we may or may not answer...

You've still got a ways to go yet; don't quit now, while you're still ahead! Make it beautiful, I've got faith in you.

[goodforsomething]

Well, we're on the TV show from hell and we've been havin' to stare at that half the time.

[Stan gestures at their comatose bodies.]

And we still never got any coffee. So far, lotta fun. What do you guys think, wanna get into the notes we found now? We never decided much about those.

[amygdalae]

At this point I'm almost certain they're red herrings.

[Bruce will take out what he has, though - which is the notebook he got from the office, the one written in German.]

[goodforsomething]

Showin' someone findin' one would be a good way to end an episode of...whatever. What's this show called?

[amygdalae]

Trusthell, probably.

[Obviously they're having a hell of a time with this trust thing.]

[notjustawriter]

"Murdervault", maybe?

[notjustawriter]

At this point? They might as well be.

Hell, I don't even know what the heck this journal could mean, or who the hell Observant is.

[amygdalae]

Doesn't hurt to compare, either way. It's not like we've got anything more to lose at this point.

[ratingspoint]

[Notebooks like that...]

Well, we certainly didn't leave them, if they are. We've been wondering about those ourselves.

[amygdalae]

[...huh.]

Were they also here in the previous session?

[Not that he expects an answer to be honest, but.]

[notjustawriter]

....You didn't?

[......]

I guess that's a mystery that can wait, can't it?

[It has nothing to do with the trial; he's not too keen on letting their captors more than necessary.]

[goodforsomething]

Well, there ya go.

[To the others, because he does not want to engage with Mettaton right now.] Glory could've done it. Not sure who else there is - virtual reality doesn't leave too many people unaccounted for.

[captainobnoxious]

[Well, she's had her part with him, it was very... a thing that is both painful but nice, and now she has to think of things to ask.

... She hates it because she doesn't want to kill Mettaton, she wants to make him work for atonement the way she tried with Black, but she has to and that blows.]

Why can't you just come down here and let us fight it out?

[ratingspoint]

...Look at him, think about what you know about me, and tell me that would be at all actually fair.

[YOU ARE DEALING WITH A NOODLE AND THE THING THAT CAN'T DO MUCH OUTSIDE OF DIE.]

[captainobnoxious]

[EXACTLY. SHE CAN BENCH PRESS YOU BOTH, POSSIBLY AT THE SAME TIME.]

You're so difficult. You wanted to spar me sometime, didn't you?

[penduli]

[ ...OOOOKAY god you have good balance, he's almost jealous. Almost. ]

How did you two intend to deliver on your incentives? Mettaton [ since he was the one doing the texty text stuff ] you said that time's an obstacle that can be overcome, and that I could call it time travel powers if it made it easier for me to understand, but that's not what they are, right?

[ratingspoint]

It has to do with how we brought you here!

...And the others were correct in guessing that we aren't too sure how it works, we just know that it does. Glory handles most of that!

[goodforsomething]

Is it a big portal? Because I swear to god...

[cherryblooded]

[Okay. Okay, he can try to be useful. He's not just dead weight here.]

We know why we ended up here - entertainment for the city, and for you. We still don't know how, given that one of you is a human and I really doubt Mettaton can teleport people out of different worlds.

However we got here, we were then drugged and put into a virtual reality. And now here we are.

One thing that's bothering me [aside from the obvious] is the empty vault we saw on display in the surveillance... normally, you wouldn't have the same show running overlapping itself, would you? That seems a bit strange.

[ratingspoint]

Of course not, that's tacky.

[Thanks, Mettaton.]

[cherryblooded]

[Thanks indeed.]

So it's not from other shows like this one running concurrently. In that case, are they rooms you could swap in for ours?

[penduli]

[ ...hi black's the quiz show tonight, here's another question he's pretty sure hasn't been asked— ]

I know this game's purpose is to be a source of entertainment and get a new king—last man standing wins and all—but why do you want one? [ ...god if this has been asked and i'm just being a tired fuck i'm so sorry ] Another king, I mean. You two seem to be having a good time running this yourselves.

[greatestcool]

...I really don't care, honestly. If someone's crowned then Mettaton and I are dead. And that's... that's fine.

[It doesn't sound totally fine, and he looks sort of unsure about it.]

It used to be fun. I was having a blast when we started. I don't know. I'm tired now. I just want it to be done.

[pokexplorer]

[Well this has all been rather...depressing, hasn't it? Colress' expression is so mixed right now- both these two lost someone during the murder game like he did...but they're also the reason why he did, in a way. They're also the reason why he even met that person too, so...

...

He hates feeling so conflicted.]

Is that why things suddenly changed in the last few weeks? You were acting very erratic.

[Well, it could have also been Mettaton too, now that he thinks about it, but...it still applies.]

[penduli]

[ ...someone's all talk and no bite when it comes to "we knew we were going to die," aren't they. ]

You don't have to die for one of us—or all of us—to get crowned. Glory said it herself: it's up to the new king to decide what to do with the old. For all you know, majority could decide you're better off alive and atoning for what you've put us through than dead.

[ He's not sure what they're going to end up choosing when it comes down to a choice, when they've got them all lined up, but hey, the AI running the murder virtual reality said what she did. ]