Take Responsibility.

[trustharder]

And after all has been said and done and all clues have been found, those large steel doors at the end of the hallway open up. The elevator both is and isn't a particularly nice one; it rides smoothly and quickly and it's obviously been kept-up, but there's nothing on the interior walls, lending a claustrophobic feeling to what's already a relatively small space, particularly with all of you in there. (Well. Almost all of you.) No distractions from what just happened, nothing to take your mind off of considering what might, just you and your fellow Survivors in an unadorned steel box. There's no visible panel for buttons, either; looks like it's pre-programmed; at least the ride is a relatively short one, though it's difficult to tell the distance traveled before the door opens again. You would be forgiven for your initial thought being that it opens into a void. It isn't complete darkness, but it's enough of a visual shift from the elevator that it probably takes your eyes some time to adjust; instead of the usual concrete and steel, the walls are a dark, heavy black, making the room look far smaller than it is. There aren't any corners to it, either; the room is tightly circular, complimenting the setup in the center of it. In the center of the room is a circle of podiums, twenty-seven in total, arranged so that everyone standing at them can see each other. So everyone can look each other in the eyes, if they so choose. The podiums are interlocked - there's no cutting across the center of the circle, and for good reason, it looks like there's a lot of nothing down there where the floor should be, just a massive black pit in the center - and each is bearing the title of the person who's assigned to stand at it. No names, just adjectives, emblazoned across two brass panels on the very top and the front of each podium. Affixed to the podium itself is a glass touchscreen panel; it's dark for now, but it'll probably be relevant later. At least the glass is shatterproof, in case things get heated. In general, though, all of the podiums are identical, except for the one intended for Zagi. The podium that should bear Adaptable's title has had a black cloth draped over it, and a copy of Zagi's profile photo is sitting on top of it, framed and colorless, an image in greyscale. It's hard to tell where the Kingmaker's voice comes from, when it does; it seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, like it's being piped in from someplace you can't see. But he's very definitely audible when he does speak. "Adaptable has been taken from you. Looks like the guilty among you is attempting to end the exercise by carrying out Rule Seven. It's up to you whether they're held responsible for their actions or not."

Comments

[captainobnoxious]

So no go for the shrimp and the bird. Who's our other inhuman and ancient people here?

[Because it's not human.]

[lackinginfaith]

You haven't at all? ...You were scared off by the... contents, weren't you.

[isafraid]

There's the kicker, none of us look it.

[He doesn't want to agree with Stan, buuuuut...]

Wounds can be easy to hide, lad.

[ratingspoint]

...With enough determination, probably!

[WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING i mean you're getting an answer anyway but]

[sleepingkogoro]

If there was no blood and nothing shows they fought in there I don't think it matters.

For all we know Zagi-san may have been intending to play a prank on us.

[goingdigital]

Huh...what if you didn't need a claw weapon? Just a set of knives or sharp instruments?

[amygdalae]

King wouldn't be able to manage this, no. Especially since I doubt he would have been able to knock away any of those chairs.

[A pause as he considers the next part.]

But wasn't it mentioned that everybody lost their powers? Or at least, the ones who had them prior to arriving here.

[lackinginfaith]

There's a sign-out sheet and a consistently updated tally of our supplies. We'd know if something were gone.

[cherryblooded]

Pearl told us she can change her form under specific circumstances... Besides that, there's Yato and Kamui.

[garudynamic]

...

[Everyone is resisting this really hard, but it really is the fastest way to get that question out of the way.

So yep, Yosuke's shirt is coming off. Though interestingly his scarf, which has been missing all week, finally returns: tied around his bicep under his shirt and jacket- acting as a makeshift holster for a set of throwing knives]

Not like half this place hasn't seen my half naked already.

[ No injuries]

[goodforsomething]

Arms makes the most sense, maybe around the shoulders. Hell if I know how they didn't get hit on the head, that's the first place you'd aim for.

[lackinginfaith]

Some things are built into people's biology. For example, I'd suspect that the King could still fly, or that Cherryblod could breathe underwater if the shower drain were plugged. That's not much of a threat to the Kingmaker.

[sleepingkogoro]

Wasn't there somebody who is said to be like a god or something?

Yato-san, was he named?

[cherryblooded]

If that's a hundred percent the case, then none of us would be manage to change into something with claws. But what if they were only mostly gone?

...Wonder if the Kingmaker is still listening to us.

[pokexplorer]

Yes, arms at the very least could be helpful.

It could even be possible that the killer's clothing would be torn during the fight if they were covering themselves up, though they could have easily worn something else for today's events.

[captainobnoxious]

Maybe even in to a set of claws? My brother didn't really hide his love of fighting, so the pointy nosed rock could've seen him as a threat to the peace.

[amygdalae]

So its not powers, exactly, but something that is already biological in nature.

[neverafters]

T-that's right! There was that size mismatch too... [ If his feet were that huge, they'd probably still show from under his cape. ] The King thanks you both.

[garudynamic]

...there's no way to know without checking.

[lackinginfaith]

[s i g h]

It's going to have to happen anyway, at this rate.

[Caren shunts off the jumpsuit, and for good measure, the tiger-print bucket hat and furry belt. Because it's not like hats have ever hidden a murder before.

In this case, it hasn't; no injuries.]

[prismbloom]

Caren and I made a list during the first few days we were here, and I believe Tarrlok made a list, too. I checked over the items every night.

It may be possible that someone took something after we all went to bed. The rooms are soundproof, from what I could tell.

[cherryblooded]

Don't see a reason why not, but you'd have to ask her about it.

[amygdalae]

[BRUCE IS TOTALLY MAKING A FACE HERE.

Guess who isn't fond of the Kingmaker at all.]

I assume he has to be listening to these proceedings.

[captainobnoxious]

Gods don't punish people unless they're non-believers, like the Danes who can't retain their land worth a damn.

[Simple as that. Her people worship the old ones since the Illness struck through.]

They're also in the right, so even if fancy toes did it we couldn't convict him.

[lackinginfaith]

...Really?