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

[garudynamic]

Shit. I'm sorry Sigrun but I need to know everything you can tell me about how monsters work.

[amygdalae]

[THIS IS BRUCE LISTENING IN.

He only knows bits and pieces but they're going to know the whole picture here.]

[pokexplorer]

[Ditto here.

It's...probably going to be needed in order to proceed.]

[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.]

[garudynamic]

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

[captainobnoxious]

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

[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?]

[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.

[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?

[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.]

[ratingspoint]

And that? Is hardly my fault. I've openly discouraged Cherryblod from doing it, even.

[amygdalae]

You know how much it'd hurt them - you know very well. But yet...

[Just trails off with a pained expression. Just why, Mettaton, why are you putting them through all this.]

[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]

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

[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.

[garudynamic]

I remember you saying you could burst us all out if you had the power to do so...

Would... would the chance to get out and save-

[Sigrun]

-those of us that are left... would that be enough for you to be able to hurt someone?

[ratingspoint]

I wouldn't have waited this long to do it, if that were the case.

I would have tried to save all of you at my first given opportunity, if I thought I could, and the reason why is another reason I couldn't have killed Aqua - I love humans. If I were to try to actually kill anyone here, I wouldn't have killed her.

[cherryblooded]

...The only other option here who isn't human is me, you know.

[That actually gets a bit of a wry smile.]

You don't have a wide selection.

[ratingspoint]

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered!

[...jesus, mettaton- ]

But that was a long time ago, before I liked you. You were my most likely choice at the start, but I couldn't do that to you now.

[cherryblooded]

...Thank you.

[And that's genuine.]

I'm sorry for all this. I really am.

[garudynamic]

Actually, how far out does that reach anyways? I mean, like, if you say, set up a bomb or something and she blew up would that still be affected by your limits?

[...no there's no reason to think this is anything like that, he's just actually legit curious]

[ratingspoint]

[...Huh.]

Oooh, that is...an impressively morbid question, I love it.

[BUDDY- ]

Bombs are fair game. It's really just an issue in close combat.

[garudynamic]

So say if you just CAUSED her death but didn't actually lay hands on her, it could work?