Trial 2

[jinglehellmods]

WHO KILLED CHRISTMAS?

Four hours pass yet again. Thug Dangerzone and Brasco move all the tables together (with no help from Starshine), and once again the dining room becomes a makeshift trial center. Poor Diana's body is carefully laid out on one of the tables. She's covered by a sheet, because frankly her corpse looks a little nauseating, but she's there if anyone needs to look at her.

On each spot at the table is a some cookies and apple cider, and that basket sits remains cheery and present at the center of the tavle. Next to the food is a pen and a small notebook, like the kind they use on police procedural.

After everyone is seated, or at least standing awkwardly around, Brasco stands up on a chair. "I gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed in you all," he says, and you get the sense he honestly means it. "This is way, way more murders than we wanted here! By a significant margin! But at least justice can be served a little. Me and Princess and Thug were looking around some after you guys finished, and we narrowed it down to five different suspects. So figure it out! You've got all day. Go vote when you're sure, and remember: this isn't a joke. Make sure you get it right. When we've got a majority vote, or when it gets too late, we'll decide.

Ready? Start!"

 

19 GUESTS REMAIN

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Comments

[originallutece]

[Oh hell no-- Rosalind jerks back, quick but not quick enough. The punch clips her, turning her head and leaving her jaw sore and reddened.]

Christ--

[Fucking hell, she bit her tongue; now there's blood at her lips.]

And here I thought you were one of the good ones. Or is violence excused so long as it's against someone you deem morally in the wrong?

[letstrythatagain]

Good isn't always nice, luv. Nor is 'good' a sign of being a doormat. I'm a soldier, not a pacifist. I'd prefer a peaceful solution, but even I know when words aren't reaching someone.

When you show that you're honestly sorry for what you did, then we can talk about morals. Until then, you get no say in such matters.

[originallutece]

Then by all means, shoot me now. You'd be saving me time and effort waiting for my execution.

[commemoration]

P--Please don't say such things. This is not the proper way of dealing with this matter...

[you're making Yumemi so uncomfortable here Rosalind]

[originallutece]

Would you prefer I be killed in a day or so by one of our hosts?

[commemoration]

I don't think they would do that. What happened to Miss Ries... it wasn't their fault or anyone else here, I'm sure of it...

[acherontiastyx]

They're not exactly doing much to stop it, either.

[commemoration]

They are only three people, after all. [...Ah] Not to doubt your skills or professionalism, I mean--oh no, I'm sorry, I should not have said something so rude.

[This is directed to the hosts before she continues.]

Perhaps this matter would be solved if all of us found a way to work together here to prevent it from happening again?

[thatdarkmage]

Three people who had a hand in bringing all of us here!

[ He'll smile brightly as he says this. Don't mind his interruption and sneaking into here. ]

I don't really care about what they're trying to do here, but I think it might be a big mistake to think they're powerless or that they couldn't do anything about it if they wanted, if you know what I mean?

[commemoration]

Didn't they say that our being here was an accident?

[Or maybe she's remembering it wrong... oh gosh, she hopes that's not the case--]

[thatdarkmage]

[ He might've been born at night but he wasn't born last night.

Well, maybe that's not the case for some others. ]

Hmmm, maybe!

Doesn't mean I believe them, though.

[acherontiastyx]

Yeah, I'm never not gonna stop thinking they're extremely shady. Shadier than my house. Which is extremely shady.

[letstrythatagain]

No.

Because even if you're a despicable person, even you deserve a proper trial and jail time. And I'm going to do my best to make sure you survive that long.

[originallutece]

You know . . . I think that's almost crueler. But if it satisfies your moral heart, by all means. Leave me trapped in a box to be killed in a day or so.

[letstrythatagain]

It's not just that. If I do kill you, I'll be the next one on the chopping block. Not only do I not want to put Shin through that, but I do have to get back to my own world. The people there need me, and I don't think Emily would forgive me if I killed someone in cold blood.

[originallutece]

[She takes that in, going silent for a few seconds. Then:]

Indulge me in a few personal questions, if you will. For the sake of curiosity.

Emily . . . is she important to you?

[letstrythatagain]

Yes, of course she is. She's my girlfriend.

[originallutece]

[There's just a moment of surprise, but soon she nods.

(In some other world, they'd talk about that, because Rosalind has a thousand questions and a lot of them are personally related; who knew you could have a girlfriend if you were a woman? Who knew you could say that? But that's neither here nor there).]

I can assume, then, that you love her.

If it was her at stake-- if you knew it was a choice between murder and saving her from a fate like this-- what would you do?

[This isn't meant as a trap or a baiting question. She really is curious.]

[letstrythatagain]

[Lena is tempted to give a non-answer, or even to just say 'of course not', because Rosalind has already proven to be a rather horrible person. But at the same time, she thinks that maybe this will get through to her.]

Honestly, I can't really say. I want to have faith in Emily, she's really smart and could probably take care of herself. But she's not a soldier like I am. She's not trained to defend herself. So I would worry, and I would be tempted to do anything to protect her.

But that's understandable, you know? I don't fault you for wanting to protect someone you love. But if I killed someone to protect Emily, I would confess to it right away. Taking one life to save another is one thing, but allowing an innocent person to be blamed for something I did is inexcusable.

[originallutece]

[HEY, THAT'S . . . fair, actually, carry on.

In any case: for better or worse, Rosalind seems as though she's giving all that consideration. Truthfully, she knows well she doesn't understand normal people, and so this is a chance for her to compare and contrast feelings.

For all the good it will do her.]

Even knowing what it would do to Emily to see you blamed for such an action?

[thatdarkmage]

Wow! You're good at bringing up good points, aren't you?

[ Well. ]

If she really wants, I guess I could go ahead and kill her instead.

[letstrythatagain]

No.

[thatdarkmage]

Aww, what a shame.