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

[prismbloom]

[ There's so much wrong with this. All of it. ]

... Caren, where did you get that cut on your arm?

[lackinginfaith]

...She wanted to get out of here, too, didn't she?

[prismbloom]

...

Her title was Devoted. It must have been that person...

[lackinginfaith]

That's one thing we had in common. The other was the pearl, and knowing just what that meant.

[prismbloom]

[ ...? ]

What the pearl meant? Can you tell me? Please.

[lackinginfaith]

[Caren's hand goes to her winged shell pendant again. She snaps it open.

Inside is a purple pearl, accompanied by one of the smaller shards of white pearl from the laundry room, wedged into the shell.]

I didn't want to go for the pearl, because then there couldn't be a new life reborn from it, but I couldn't get her any other way.

[prismbloom]

[ There's a lump in her throat, and Aqua's heart sinks. ]

Her pearl was her weakness, then. How did you find out?

[lackinginfaith]

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

[prismbloom]

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

[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!

[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.

[lackinginfaith]

The radar's broken. And even if our worlds weren't destroyed, that still wouldn't do Noel any favours.

[prismbloom]

Is Noel the person you wanted to see?

[ The answer's pretty obvious, but she says it softly, more curious than anything. ]

[lackinginfaith]

My sister. I heard she was captured trying to escape, that another target was with her, but she got free and just let Noel be taken.

[prismbloom]

And you couldn't sit idly by with that knowledge.

[lackinginfaith]

It was up to me and no one else. There's no one I could trust. Not here or in my own world.

...I'm sorry.

[prismbloom]

...

[ Murder is unforgivable. Aqua knows it, everyone does. That's why they're doing this, right? To make the guilty take responsibility. It's harder, when it's a friend...

She pulls her wayfinder from her pocket. ]

I'm glad we met, Caren. Even if it ends like this.

[lackinginfaith]

...

[Caren touches her pendant again and looks away.]

Get everyone out of here, Aqua. I know you believe in them.

[prismbloom]

I promise I'll do my best.