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

[amygdalae]

The anatomy does seem to be generally human - even if the proportion is a bit off. From what I can make out its either that the nails were extremely long or the hand itself is bigger than the average human hand.

[cherryblooded]

Alright. That rules His Majesty out.

[He seems a little relieved to put that in the air.]

In that case, we're looking for someone who we previously assumed to be human, who is not.

[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]

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.

[amygdalae]

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

[lackinginfaith]

Probably. Something that couldn't break us out, but couldn't be dampened.

[cherryblooded]

...Miss Caren.

[He's not going to out her just yet, but since he knows she's not human either...]

[lackinginfaith]

I don't have claws, if that's what you're thinking. [She shows off her very normal-looking hands.]

[cherryblooded]

Not any of the time?

[lackinginfaith]

Never. I know it's hard to believe when anyone could be this supposed rampaging monster, but I don't.

[cherryblooded]

No, I believe you. Thank you.

[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.

[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.

PAGING KINGMAKER

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod raises his voice.]

Kingmaker, would you be willing to answer a question?

[kingmakereffect]

That depends on what sort of question it is.

[...this also answers the question of whether or not he's listening in, doesn't it.]

[amygdalae]

What exactly is the extent of having powers being stripped away from the ones who had them?

[...totally not asking this for his own purposes too.]

[kingmakereffect]

It varies from person to person.

[really???]

You're right about biology playing a key part in it, however.

[amygdalae]

[So helpful.]

What would you exactly classify as it being biological in nature?

[kingmakereffect]

Being a part of one's biology.

[kingmaker oh my god]

[amygdalae]

[w o w]

...clearly you're just as lost in dark.

[prismbloom]

Or he knows but refuses to tell us.

[amygdalae]

We at least have the basics of what we need to know. It's good enough.

[For now.]