Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

And once the allotted time for investigating comes to a close, those elevator doors at the end of the first-floor corridor open up; the ride down is fast, smooth, and understandably tense as far as atmosphere goes. You're down to less than half of your original number. The doors slide open and the podium circle comes into view, standing stark against the black-walled courtroom and encircling that pit in the center; Misa and Aqua have joined the ranks of the deceased, photographs in greyscale watching the proceedings from their podiums draped in black. Of course and as always, the deceased aren't the only ones watching; the Kingmaker will make his presence known once everyone has settled at their podium, his voice sounding out through the room for all to hear. "Resilient has been taken from you. Maybe this time the guilty party will actually succeed at fulfilling Rule Seven, seeing as this is the sixth try and all. Whether they manage it is up to the rest of you." Thirteen Survivors remain. However many will be down by the end of the day is up to you.

Comments

[ratingspoint]

And that's a shame for all of us, because I maintain that I couldn't have done it.

[captainobnoxious]

[Sigrun isn't leaving Mettaton's side anytime soon, and she really doesn't want to say anything, really really, especially not in front of so many people who're looking to pin the blame on someone.]

I'm not telling you anything because he didn't do it.

[Something she wants to believe so much.]

[ratingspoint]

You know, I am right here, and it's a major jerk move to make her sell me out. She can confirm or deny any actual questions you have for me.

[garudynamic]

Then if it IS because of his biology that he couldn't have done it... then this will prove that. Sigrun, please...

[captainobnoxious]

[There. See. It's fine, Sigrun, it's as warm and vibrantly white as it always was. There's no way he could've done it, and she's standing by it.]

Why do you have to be so difficult, you stupid robot? Is that what makes this interesting to you?

[captainobnoxious]

[She's mum. Talk to Mettaton, honey.]

[ratingspoint]

Something like that.

[isafraid]

Sigrun...

[Look over here at your podiummates. Hey.]

We only need to know for sure. If he's really not innocent, then lend us a hand in figuring it out.

[What else can they do?]

[cherryblooded]

...It doesn't matter.

[He lifts his head, and it's obvious he's been crying, but he manages to keep his voice from shaking too much.]

B is wrong. You've told us from day one you were awful to your family, abandoning them for personal gain - there's no way you wouldn't remember that when choosing your words. You'll drop people if you need to get ahead in life, and here that means surviving no matter what.

If Aqua attacked first, you wouldn't still care about her nearly as much as you did the minute beforehand.

Besides that, you kill people for TV. There's no way you absolutely hate someone just because you're an entertainer with a show to put on. You don't need to hate them.

[garudynamic]

Fine, then tell me how monster souls work... and what's all this about souls and changing colors for one thing.

[goodforsomething]

You can be willing to kill people you don't hate.

[notjustawriter]

....That's right.

You've told me yourself you don't like your cousin, Mettaton.

[captainobnoxious]

[Cherry, please, don't.]

You of all people are turning your back on him? Don't you have any faith at all?!

[amygdalae]

You call yourself a leader, Captain Eide, and we've trusted you to get us this far. I know this hurts, but all of us will die if he is indeed the one and gets to go away with this scott-free. As a leader, can you bear that kind of responsibility? The weight of all our lives on the line?

[She's said so many times how she's a great leader, how she can never be biased, and all that jazz.

Now is the time to walk the walk.]

We don't need anything else, just the basics. We'll figure out the rest ourselves.

[captainobnoxious]

You're a real dick.

[But she'll still fight for him.]

[ratingspoint]

[Ah- ]

Well, well, well. That was a nice try, sweetheart! It was a valiant attempt, and maybe I'll give you points for moxie.

That still doesn't negate A and C, though, which are the most important - I'd be so easily defeated it'd be pointless to even try.

[cherryblooded]

Don't you think I want so badly to be wrong right now? Don't you think I want this all to be a terrible act he's putting on?

But I have two children here. If he's innocent then he can be honest about it and we'll find out who did this, but I can't - I can't just dismiss the idea. I can't...

[ratingspoint]

She wants to be left out of this. Leave her out of it.

If this is truly about your own survival, your fight is with me. Don't try to lay some sort of stupid guilt trip on her.

[amygdalae]

And you're the one who's using their feelings for you against them! How is that any better, Mettaton?

[captainobnoxious]

[Sigrun's got no words. She knows if he's putting on this much of a show about it, the chance that it's him is... up there. But she doesn't want it to be.]

[cherryblooded]

C is irrelevant. You don't need an incentive to defend yourself, if that's what happened, and you've told me that you think about killing people even without one - if it was really impossible, would it even be under consideration?

[pokexplorer]

Soul business or not, I am having a difficult time with your claim that you would be easily defeated. You are [a Steel-type] made of metal. It is not as if one hit is going to do you in.

[ratingspoint]

Monsters are weaker than humans are, fullstop!

[And that much does seem entirely genuine and at least vaguely less...all of this.]

If a human with a strong enough will - to survive or to kill us, either/or - tries to fight me, I'll die. And if I don't want to fight them, I can't; my soul is what keeps my body functioning, it's what ties me to this world, and if it doesn't want to respond to something, I can't disobey it.

...As for colors, mine is white. If I absorbed a human's soul, which I could do if I had magic but I don't right now, it might not stay that way? I've never done it, so I wouldn't know.

...Yours is purple, by the way. It's pretty. Aqua's was yellow. If I had the soul of a human all of a sudden, mine wouldn't be white anymore, is the point.

[ratingspoint]

I haven't told them to do anything, remember. What they're doing is their own choice.

[amygdalae]

You don't have to in the first place. They love you enough to choose it themselves.

[And that by itself is enough.]