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]

It was a lucky shot.

[She grabs the winged shell pendant she's wearing again.]

It might've been heavy, but even I could throw it a short distance if she was down there too. Even if going for the pearl is unforgivable, she wouldn't even bleed, what else was I supposed to do?

[garudynamic]

At that point even if you stopped, she wouldn't have. There was no going back...

[lackinginfaith]

There shouldn't have been. I couldn't do anything but try and escape. Just like then... Even if it would take all of you down, at least I could save one person! That's more than enough, isn't it?

[garudynamic]

I... don't agree. But I understand.

[Maybe he's the weird one. After Mettaton, Black... now Caren. Maybe he's weak for wishing he had died right along with his world instead of having the balls to try and save someone important]

[lackinginfaith]

My country was attacked a year ago. By this person, this self-proclaimed boy-king trying to revive a nation that's been sealed out of the world for a thousand years and his little sea witch harem, they're after people like me to try and summon a goddess and get her power under their control. They've got my sister.

I couldn't depend on anyone else to fix it.

[goingdigital]

Older or younger?

[lackinginfaith]

Older, slightly. We're twins.

[garudynamic]

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

[notjustawriter]

I..... I understand why you did what you did.

[lackinginfaith]

...I needed to.

[amygdalae]

And then what? Did you even consider to think how that person would feel about you sacrificing the lives of others for their sake? What would they think?

[And Bruce understands. He understands so well, but god, no. Sacrificing lives is never the answer.]

You won't be the one to carry those lives on your shoulders - that person you 'saved' would bear that responsibility instead. Could you bear to see that happen? See them shoulder that guilt that you put on them every single day? That's not saving them at all.

[penduli]

They wouldn't have to know.

[ ...SOMEONE had a chord struck in them with Caren's confession, God. ]

[prismbloom]

... Caren wouldn't have to tell them. Someone else could.

[ KINGMAKER. ]

[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]

[ ...that's true.

The Kingmaker could say something. ]

...I suppose so...

[amygdalae]

[Sorry, Black. Bruce just has a lot of feelings about things like these.]

Something like this can't be kept a secret forever.

[lackinginfaith]

...[She looks up at him.]

I don't know. But it's better than always running away. I followed rumours for a year and got that radar by chance, and now...

[She gestures to a broken radar that fell on the floor after Yousuke's Wet T-Shirt Contest Adventure.]

It came out of the machine broken and unusable. I can't even track the moving castle with that, and that means I can't find Noel on my own, even if I did go back. But with the incentive, the Kingmaker could have found Noel.

Even if it were a trap, even if it would hurt, what else could I do? Tell me that. Who else could I honestly believe?

[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.

[happysweets]

Caren...

[ God. She knows how she feels. And she knows what she's talking about, too.

But murder is murder. ]

I was wrong about you.

[lackinginfaith]

So was I.

[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.

[devastation]

Caren-san...

[Once again, it's yet another trial where Megumi really doesn't know what she should say and do at these things, but...]

I wish you had trusted us more here... I'm sorry that you weren't able to...

[lackinginfaith]

Maybe it might've been fun to be like all of you. But I haven't stopped thinking about how to save everyone who was hurt by Gackt.

[the panthalassa have a music theme i'm very sorry about this canon]

Even if it were just my own people, or just Noel.