Take Responsibility.

[kingmakereffect]

The allotted time for investigating comes to an end, and those elevator doors slide open at the end of the first-floor corridor; it's a bit of a walk down from the fifth floor, but at least the ride down is swift and smooth. To say nothing of spacious. Your numbers are running low. The podium circle, as always, stands out against the black-walled courtroom where it's encircling that pit in the center; Mettaton and Shirazu have joined the ranks of the deceased, photographs in greyscale watching the proceedings from their podiums draped in black. The Kingmaker, too, is watching all of you; as always, it isn't until everyone has settled at their podium that he speaks, his voice sounding out through the room for all to hear. "Sacrificial has been taken from you. Maybe this time the guilty party is going to actually succeed at Rule Seven - but of course, whether they manage it is still up to the rest of you." Eleven Survivors remain. How many are still standing by the end of the day is up to you.

Comments

[captainobnoxious]

[It isn't easy to keep her eyes off the space where Mettaton would've lounged, but she's had a week to steel herself for and she manages. She's also about four inches taller with the most bitchin' stiletto heels this side of the vault.

(She's never regretted anything more in her entire life.)]

Riiiight, so, where do we begin. Because Stan and I can say with total certainty that whatever went down started in the arcade. And whoever did it had the mind to clean up, too, 'cause it smelled like vinegar and apparently you can use that to clean bloodstains.

[You learn something new every time someone dies.

... There's also the strange, metal electronic device that has seen better days, but you know. If she's learned anything it's that putting too much forward only convolutes things.]

[notjustawriter]

...Vinegar? That's kind of a strange thing to try to clean up blood with. Guess it was all the murderer was able to find.

paging mods

[cherryblooded]

[She may not be bringing it up, but Cherryblod is literally right next to her, and he's got (damp) largish pieces of an electronic thing that he doesn't recognize, so don't mind if he swipes the electronic from her podium to compare to his pieces.

Do they look like they're from the same thing?]

[sleepingkogoro]

If the victim died in the Arcade then it is doubtful Shirazu-kun was killed with the bomb. Speedwagon-san and I found pieces of a machine of sorts - I think it is a machine - which seems to be the cause of the haze and the explosion, and that can only have happened in the sauna.

Any ideas what the real cause of death could be, anyone?

[captainobnoxious]

I'd agree, but I don't know how many of us carry it on hand for one and two, there's cleaning supplies on the way up. Why not just take one of those? It wouldn't have made much difference though, both stink.

[notjustawriter]

I have an idea. I found this in the chapel, taped up under one of the pews.

[It's a bloody knife. The blood on the blade is dried, but it sure looks like it could be the murder weapon.]

[cherryblooded]

At least we're getting slightly more creative about disposing of evidence.

[isafraid]

It's bloody something! Whatever it was, it was crackling and popping like mad. Released some more purple smoke, too.

[penduli]

Cleaning up might explain the towels missing from the first floor storage room.

[ Black... also has about four more inches of height today.

Because he's also wearing bitchin' stiletto heels LOOK, SIGRUN ASKED HIM TO, HE CAN'T SAY NO TO HER.

Um, but that aside— ]

I don't suppose anyone found those?

[amygdalae]

[If Bruce is that kind of guy he would be flipping the bird at the Kingmaker for his words, but there are more important things at hand compared to indulging in petty revenge. Bruce takes his podium again, tries to ignore how--empty they are now compared to where they were at the start. Eleven of them now...

And only ten were going to walk out of here.

He's about to start with his report on the body, but before he can begin Mouri's words beside him catch his attention, and Bruce goes to respond to that first.]

No--the cause of death is most likely the bomb. The other wounds he had on him had nothing to indicate that it was fatal.

[Unless, of course, the bomb itself was to hide any wound that had been in the area that was, ah, exploded.]

[garudynamic]

[Why tho, why you do this]

[captainobnoxious]

[Solidarity, Black. Solidarity. She appreciates it.]

I didn't. But that'd explain those.

[captainobnoxious]

[because hes fuckin whipped enjoy the show you bisexual mess]

[amygdalae]

The body had a stab wound on the right shoulder. That's probably where the knife comes into play.

[WITH THAT SAID...]

The wound itself, however, was not fatal. It didn't hit any major areas of the body, or any important vessels and nerves.

[isafraid]

Hang on... you're saying that the bits and pieces lying around there were part of a bomb?

[....And. And he almost touched it.

Hoo body there's that cold sweat. Thanks for this trial, Kingmaker.]

[captainobnoxious]

So more like to disable, then? Or stun.

[... Though she doesn't see why, if there's a goddamn bomb in play.]

[trustharder]

[Yes!]

[penduli]

[ look we're like.... height buddies now... almost... ]

[captainobnoxious]

You almost touched it, didn't you.

[No judgement here, buddy. None.

(Maybe a little.)]

[cherryblooded]

[Progress!

Also, there weren't any buttons on the device itself. Are there buttons on his pieces? 'Cause usually electronics have some way to control them.]

[trustharder]

[They normally do, yes, but there aren't any buttons on your pieces either.]

[isafraid]

I only thought it would be important evidence.

[So he tried to pick it up.

Please don't judge him, podium neighbor.]

[garudynamic]

[Ha ha yer short]

[cherryblooded]

[Huh, okay. He'll return the larger electronic to Sigrun's podium until he can think of something else to inspect it for.]

Found some pieces of your whatever this is. In the water tank of a toilet.

[garudynamic]

[Sigrun is pretty damn distracting too tbh]