Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And after a given amount of time, those elevator doors at the end of the first-floor corridor open up; as it was last week, the ride down is smooth and quick-moving, even if there are less of you this week. (Technically, you're only down by one in the elevator; Bruce has ensured that Pearl is with you in some way, albeit unconventionally and by the grace of Ziploc.) However, when the doors open up to the podium circle standing in the middle of that black void of a courtroom, there's no mistaking the fact that there are fewer people present than there were last week – Kamui and Pearl have joined those with podiums draped in black, their framed profile portraits watching the proceedings in shades of grey. It's still impossible to tell exactly where the Kingmaker is watching the proceedings from, though it's obvious that he is; he'll wait until everyone is settled before he speaks, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "Devoted has been taken from you. All of you know what the stakes are now, but this happened anyway – looks like someone's determined. Whether they succeed or not is up to you." Twenty-four Survivors remain. We'll see how many are still standing by the end of the day.

Comments

[lackinginfaith]

...I needed to.

[lackinginfaith]

So was I.

[goingdigital]

Or he would just make it a condition to return to the world.

[isafraid]

He would. He'd make sure of it.

[speedwagon's shaking a bit. It's rage, mostly.]

[penduli]

You'd be surprised how long you can keep a secret, Mr. Banner, especially when it concerns someone you love's opinion.

[lackinginfaith]

Maybe it doesn't matter now.

[goingdigital]

Older or younger?

[penduli]

[ ...that's true.

The Kingmaker could say something. ]

...I suppose so...

[garudynamic]

[He just silently nods. Yeah, no what else could any of them expect?]

[lackinginfaith]

I guessed. Because for me, it's my soul.

[isafraid]

[Just. He drags his hands down his face.]

Bloody hell, to all of this...

[amygdalae]

I'm not a stranger to that - but it never ends well.

[He knows that for a fact.]

[lackinginfaith]

She did. It would've been obvious, wouldn't it?

[lackinginfaith]

Older, slightly. We're twins.

[prismbloom]

And your guess was right. Wasn't it, Caren? That's why we couldn't find a body.

[lackinginfaith]

There's always a twist, isn't there? I thought it was worth it.

[amygdalae]

Even if you can't bring yourself to believe in the people here, murder is never the answer to anything.

[He may not know Pearl well, but she was still here, trapped just as all of them. All of them thrown into this terrible situation - and look what's happening now. It's probably everything the Kingmaker wanted.]

There is always another way, Caren. You know we would have been more than willing to try and help you if you let us.

[cherryblooded]

[He could say 'you could have believed us' but it's too late at this point. But, even so...]

There was always something else you could do.

No one made you make this choice. It's not like the Kingmaker's trials where you're guaranteed to die if you don't condemn someone to death. You could have tried to escape with the rest of us, found out if there was a way from any of our worlds to find a missing person. You had a decision, and this is what you settled on.

It's not one I don't sympathize with. Far from it. But you did have the choice.

[lackinginfaith]

I know I couldn't have -- I shouldn't have, when it was someone just like me. But there's no one at home I can count on. The other free princesses in hiding are just kids, they looked like they didn't even care what was happening. Even that girl from the North Atlantic, who was the last person to see Noel!

[pokexplorer]

A mermaid...

[Possibly another humanoid ocean dweller then, from what he's gathering. And she had to hide this fact? But as he starts pondering this, he sighs.]

As much as I wish we could be having this conversation elsewhere, that is unfortunately not the case. You've made it clear yourself that you were involved in this murder. I only wish it was for a reason I could understand.

[He had feared others with loved ones would be enticed by that incentive. But for some reason he was under the impression from past conversations that Caren would've tried to find a way out through other means than this.]

[penduli]

[ ...what is it with this place and twins. ]

Just like Kamui.

[lackinginfaith]

I couldn't. I know you were all just trying to keep your happiness afloat, but I just saw people ignoring the issues. And even if I did ignore the incentive, where would that leave Noel?

[prismbloom]

You were desperate. The Kingmaker offered you something you couldn't refuse.

[ She understands. She does. Aqua knows the incentive hit a lot of people hard. But she still can't imagine doing anything like that. ]

... Even if you had to resort to murder, it was the only way to make sure you saw things through.

[happysweets]

I know why you did it. But what you did was hardly justice. Not for your people or your sister or for anyone.

You're just a murderer now. And you're one who killed for nothing with this. And one who's gonna die for nothing too. So...

I can't forgive you.

[lackinginfaith]

Noel is the only family I have. If I couldn't save my own people and I couldn't trust my own kind or the other captives in here, then maybe I could take a chance on the incentive and maybe that could at least save her.