Memento Mori, Dear Guests

Occam can do little but blink owlishly as Alexandra is taken down before them... instinct tells her at first to run and intervene, but in the same breath...she recognises when someone is a lost cause. The woman didn't seem objected to her death. In fact, she readily accepted it. It made it a touch more comforting.

And yet...

There was nothing comforting about that.

Watching such brutal violence felt too real. The actress tugged at the edge of her mask absently.

And, she echoed Yuki's comment of-

"What the fuck?" In a much more winded manner. Kai...just *did* that. No prompting, no nothing. Occam certainly hadn't considered him capable before, but...

Hmm...

Now she may have to be considerably more cautious around him. It wasn't necessarily that she felt he would do it to absolutely anyone of the others around them... but she could never now remove that possibility.

In the midst of her weighing up her thoughts in her head, a new voice emerges, and quite literally descends before them.

But Morgan gets her attention almost immediately with their strong reaction. Fear is something she recognises, even on them. It feels unnatural for their face to express such emotions. As they grip onto her shoulders, Occam instinctively turns to wrap her arms around them, pulling them close to her.

"Morgan, Morgan dear..." She murmurs to them, resting her chin atop their head. "I'm here, I'm here." Her attention is divided between placating Morgan and Bea, but...

Their question is answered quickly, and yet for once in their life Morgan regrets their curiosity. A web… They take a step backwards, wide-eyed, but this time not in fascination. If there's a web, it surely stands to reason that… Morgan looks right past the woman.

There's a spider.

Fear is not an emotion any one of you could say you'd seen on their face, not throughout all the pain and death and suffering seen yet far, but now it's there on view for everyone. Morgan feels their legs freeze up, doing them no good as all they want to do is run. Wait. Occam. Occam is right here, isn't she?

Free to not come feels like a taunt, so of course Yuki does come, if only to show that they're not going to miss out on information by playing to expectations. As it turns out, it isn't just information they would've missed out on if they hadn't shown up in the Hotel Lobby after the call, and now they kind of wish they did miss it. 

At first it doesn't feel real. Maybe that's why they all just stand there and watch it happen - it's fast, sure, but it's not like everyone here is slow a slow thief is a dead thief or like they haven't all seen enough shit by now to react instead of freeze. Yuki doesn't feel frozen. They feel more like - like Kai is a Danger now, has started beeping on their Threat radar ever since the trial and the later disastrous encounter in the Kitchen and wow they've never hated being right so much. Yuki's pretty sure they could take him, but they're equally sure they don't want to get in range of someone stabbing wildly when it's obviously too late to save Alexandra anyway and it's - it's not like they even like her, they don't, they'd been planning to do some kinda prank with Morgan and huh that's not gonna happen now but even if they didn't like her, even if they'd thought about socking her in the mouth pretty frequently, this is still a whole ass murder happening in front of them.

How many times are they going to have to see someone die...? They're pretty sure they've surpassed the average Zero by a solid Three at this point. Their mother, then Souko, now Alexandra. They at least hadn't seen Vyolette die, though seeing their body so soon after the fact might count. Did it count? It still felt pretty fucking bad. Worse than this? Yeah, probably, but this also sucked.

"What the fuck...?" Yuki says slowly, and they should do something, maybe get the knife away from Kai? Or would that just be another risk? They could do it, but they might get hurt in the process, might get cut, might get an infection, and for what? Alexandra is already dead. 

Someone else is doing something now, anyway. A stranger, some creepy woman who looks like a Lord of the Rings extra with appalling vibes and fucked up eyes drops from the ceiling, of all places, and Yuki isn't scared of spiders but that silhouette looked like a really fucking big spider, so they have to take a moment to re-evaluate the situation.

Of course it hadn't worked. Not for a second did they think it would or maybe, they have to admit, they would've done it themself days (weeks?) ago. But it didn't take a genius to know it wasn't that simple, and they're less than impressed with Kai's reasoning if he really thought it was. Was this him acting out of spite? Was he just venting some rage? Or did he really believe Alexandra was the one in control and that killing her would make it all end?

Bea's introduction and her explanation of the motive are background noise that Yuki has to replay in their head, but they're not completely distracted. It's only when Bea tugs the weird Doctor guy into the Office (used to be Alexandra's but not now) that they move, to the dead body on the floor, stepping nimbly around any blood that's pooled or splattered around it and squatting down to rifle through the pockets with quick, efficient movements, hands darting to and fro as whatever items they find are swiftly transferred into their own pockets. Then they stand and move over to the webbed Kai on the floor. 

...On second thought maybe they should just leave him there. He'd just killed someone, after all, and he still had the knife. Probably he could cut himself free just fine. Yuki isn't the type to kick someone while they're down, not unless the person's been even more of an asshole than Kai's been, but they don't feel like they want to help him, either. Not anymore. And as a general rule Yuki avoids doing things they don't want to do wherever possible.

But...

But...

They're still in this together, aren't they? All of them? Trapped in this stupid 'game' and this impossible situation? You don't have to like someone to recognize when you're in the same boat with them. 

Yuki curses under their breath and whips out their pocketknife to start sawing at the silken strands, trying to cut Kai loose. 

“Anyway, On to the Motivation to get this round of the Ritual goin! The good doctor.” She Motions to the doctor who just stood there and watched Alexandra Die.

“The good Doctor has offered to Fix you all up nice ‘n pretty! Any possible cosmetic or health related issue adjusted to your exact specifications! Chronic illness gone! Never liked the way your face looks in the mirror! Your dream face could be yours! And all for the Stunningly low price of someone going to meet the inevitable end.”

She giggles once again throwing her arm around the Doctor’s shoulder like they were best friends.

[Arachnophobia warning]

Everyone’s reactions were amusing but little later than Alexandra’s body hit the floor did Kai also hit the floor. A sticky net of spiders silk descending from the roof coming down to Trap them. Following the net’s trajectory upwards reveals a blonde woman in a lovely flowing outfit slowly descending on her own strand of silk. When the woman touches the floor the silhouette of a large 8 legged creature scuttling into the shadows of the ceiling.

“Now now Darlin that simply won't do. I know Alexandra was a crotchety old bitch but did you have to go an do a murderin on her poor soul?”

She saunters up to Alexandra’s corpse, her bright pink heels getting coated in blood, She gently nudges Alexandra’s body with the toe of her shoe.

“Sweetpea.” She addresses Kai in the floor. “I haven't Decided what to do with you yet. But honey, Y’all Need someone on your side to get you through the rest of this ritual and y’all just went and stabbed the nicer woman.”

She then stands up and Addresses the group.

“Oh well never mind that... It’s a pleasure to meet you all my name is Beatrice Cromwell, but you can Call me Bea, Or Ms. Cromwell if you please. I’ll be y’alls new… Well Guide is a bit gauche but that’s about the best i have for you, before you go gettin the idea i’ll just be letting you out of the ritual just cuz you’ve gotten rid of the behodin’. No hon y’all ain’t got a choice in the matter. Hehe.”

She Giggles, like she just told a wonderful joke.

Kai is shaking. Only ever so slightly, and only really his hands. He breathes deeply, yet it feels like not enough oxygen is getting to his brain. That's it, isn't it? That should do it.

It'd felt strange. Meat giving way under metal. He's cut up meat often enough in the kitchen. He thought it would be more different. Or more the same. He does not quite know. But it doesn't matter. He knows the technical similarities between cutting a pig or a person do not matter here. It's the lifeforce attached to it that he's distinguished.

Is that really so new either...?

He supposes if it was any of them who had to do this, it might as well be him. There's no heroic sacrifice here, no delusion of grandeur in the task.When he looks down at Alexandra, all he sees is an old woman, dead by his hand. And it feels. Like Nothing. That's who he is now. He can't return like this, he thinks. But the chances of ever returning anywhere that felt real were low as it is. No, this is practical. Why use a perfectly good resource and spoil them, when you had one that was already spoiled and would do a fine job as it is. No one else needs blood on their hands if he can keep it all on his. No one else needs blood on anything anymore now. He's taken it all, and now it's drying slowly on his hands and his face, and making streaks of his hair stick together.

He removed an obstacle. There was never a way for him to... return to what he knew. After all. Now the rest of them, they can get to work to make things better. And he will just keep this off their backs, their shoulders, minds and hearts. He thinks that's fair. They can go ahead. He will just remain here, quietly staring at what he is now, what defines him now. And like so many changes he did not want in his life, he sees no choice but to accept it as reality. This was his choice. His action. His hands did this. So what else is there to do? Now everyone can move on, without him.

A progression, once again… Morgan supposes that they should not be surprised. After all, no one is yet dead (well, other than… never mind that), and, given the precedent…

They are quite happy to make their way to the lobby, as unruffled by the situation as seems to be normal for them. There’s a very slight limp to their step, but they do their best to let it blend in with their usual swaying gait. They wait patiently for the announcement, and blink curiously at Kai when his name is mentioned. What could this be?

Oh! That’s what this is. They see now!

Morgan’s hand flies to cover their mouth as they gasp. Their eyes are wide as saucers as they watch the - repeated - stabbing. Of course they can’t look away. As the carnage continues, they shiver slightly, though they don’t seem to notice. All their attention is rather taken up at the moment, after all.

Eventually, their hands fall away to show that their face has settled back into its pleasant smile, and they fold those hands over their chest, once more at peace.

Alexandra’s Expression is one of knowing as Kai Approaches. Of course she knows. She can see everything in the hotel as clearly as reading the news on the front page of the sunday paper. As Kai places a hand on her shoulder she smiles a thin smile at him and says

“I forgiv-” Her Words are cut off as the knife plunged into her stomach with force but she doesn't scream, she simply Grunts as it’s inserted and withdrawn.Several times in fact, That she hadn’t accounted for as the air leaves her lungs and blood begins to pool in her throat. This hurt but to show weakness now was….unacceptable so she continued not to scream as Kai Laid into her.

Then She was let go and She crumpled to the floor. Even if she could summon Juniper to her side She was dying. She knew that. And Quickly. Her lungs stopped inflating thanks to the puncture wounds. She knew that.

Soon her heart would stop, she knew that. Then her brain would die shortly after. That was the last thing she knew as the interior of the hotel swirled around her and her vision went dark.

Alexandra had died.

“Dear guests please at your earliest convenience make your way to the lobby. I have another motive to share with you all, of course you’re free to not come but i would recommend it.”

Alexandra Says to you all through your mind. When you arrive there’s a figure standing next to her chatting away. Some of you may recognize Dr.Bogomolov from the hospital. Once a fair number of you gather Alexandra begins.

“The good Doctor has offered….”

She stops and looks at Kai. She nods at the good Doctor who takes a step back.

“Mx.Hua… I believe you have business with me?”

Kai has just been standing there, with the others, hands in his pockets and looking neutral as ever. There’s no way of telling if he’s surprised by being called on by name or not, aside from his silence, which stretches on for a good minute, long enough to make some wonder surely if he’s just not going to do anything. Maybe something was planned and he got cold feet…? But then, he takes a step forward, then stops and closes his eyes for a moment. After he opens them again, another step follows, and he is simply, very casually, walking towards Alexandra, in fact he seems focused only on her.

Kimiko stand's close by Souko as she is taken. Her hand moving out just slightly, the temptation to touch the sludge still so strong. She often let herself indulge these days but she stops herself. It was simply not a good idea.

Lips that once carried a warmth grow cold. 

The voices startle her, for just a moment. There is a voice that is her own, or a mirror of hers. Her sister comes to mind and she swallows down a question. Let's it settle in her stomach where it will stay, a pit formed and ignored. It was not worth asking, she would likely not get an answer. Still there is something far more damaging of taking part in someone elses public execution. To be cast a tormentor, to be a tormentor again, did not sit well with her. She did not consent to that, she consented only to watch.

Watch she did, dutifully, as sad and horrible a way to die as it is. She would remember, a promise she intended to keep. Remember Souko's sad end, what had become of her in this strange impossible place. Kimiko would not both wiping her still falling tears. Opting only to press her fingers together to form her circle. She was not ashamed to cry, after all.

When it is over, she listens to their hosts, however dully. She was not particularly pleased, after all. She waits in place, because a few people do not seem like they have heard. It was alright, she because it was a hard thing to process. She offers Yuki a sympathetic look, but decides to give them space. Anger needed space to seep out. When it seems as if Kai will not be moving she nods once to herself. She suspected as much, for it to be such a hard blow.

She moves to guide him gently to the elevator, and to try and make sure he was given at least a bit of space. She could be a shield, if only temporarily. It could be so hard when you felt surrounded by all sides in this sort of state. Not as comforting as the warm pressure that had been telling them someone was near. Just as gently as she guided him in, she also guided Kai out. She felt responsible for trying to take care of him.

Perhaps she was too used to having someone to take care of.

She offers Morgan a smile when they address the group, and dips her head in acknowledgement. All this crying had left her feeling rather exhausted, and she did not feel up to verbalize. 

"Thanks." Aoíde mutters softly to Flint, lighting the offered cig.

Taking a single draw from it, before stepping back away slightly. Flint needs more space, or she needs more space. Either or, she's distracted from the scenery at hand, and what is left of her frayed nerves fray a little more. Wouldn't a musician be a non-smoker?

Yuki addresses her for a moment, and Aoíde blinks for a couple of minutes. Seems she missed that whole incident, and she opens her mouth, when something else catches her eyes and ears, and Occam gets a look. Her gaze flickers over to the other red-headed (step)child, Aoíde huffs out a bit, before lifting her left foot to her knee, where she quietly puts out the cigarette on her shoes sole without any second thoughts about it.

"... Tá brón... orm." I'm sorry, in an additional word and multiple accents, although hey - thanks, translation setup.. Aoíde addresses Morgan directly with an actual attempt at eye contact. That little bit of importance done, she glances down at what's left, before tucking it away after making sure there's not too much ash on the cig. The sludge though - Aoide squashes herself more in towards the center of the room, regardless of who is standing there. Noooo want to be by the walls, thanks.

Aoíde watches the sludge come eat Souko - quite literally, in a sense. She then follows its' climb up the wall with the fascination of someone driving past a horrific car accident and can't help but to drive reaaaaaaaalllll slow so as to rubberneck. When the light flickers on, Aoíde flinches when she recognizes the hair salon chair, followed by the shadowy hands.

The same as the nothing and everything, and Aoíde leans in, confused, until the voices trickle through, and like fire, she takes a swift step back, hands coming up to her ears. When the hands start digging in, and she can't help but watch in horrified fascination, at least until the screams start, at which point Aoíde recklessly whirls around, facing away from the view, breathing rapidly fluttering from even to wheezing in a matter of moments.

It is only when she no longer hears the screaming that her hands come down from her ears, her gaze still focused at nothing.

There are moments that the words don't reach... Aoíde's gaze goes up to the sludge and the glass, listening to no one, looking at no one in particular - barely catching Alexandra's warning about the trial room ceasing to exist. There's enough of a pause, and a considering look on her face, that really makes it seem like if she's thinking about, you know, staying in the trial room. However, she eventually ends up squashing in with the rest of the group in the elevator, probably to someone's disappointment. When there's that bit of stomach lurch from the elevator going down, Aoíde blinks.

"... Mmm. Hell."

How probably accurate of you, Ní Mhaolchatha.

As *usual?* Aoíde stares at Alexandra, her mouth opening and closing for a couple of moments, but by the time her smart-ass brain has made it to her not quite as fast mouth, the woman's wandered off, and left them off to, well, their own devices. What devices? What usual? What *normal?*

Aoíde wanders off to the rooms. She wants a nap - or a good cry.

Once the verdict, if it can be called such, is handed down, there's... not much to say, is there? Yuki has never been the quiet type, but they just don't really have any words. Anger, dismay, frustration, all the emotions are there, but what can they actually say at this point? Nothing that matters.

It sure sounds like they were right, that Souko did it, but... she's not saying anything. Not even to Kimiko or Morgan, who are bidding her perfectly civil, sympathetic farewells. Yuki thinks even if they tried to do that it would just come off sour and performative. They'd made it pretty clear what their vote was, after all, and Souko's going to die now, so even if they wanted to give her a more vocal piece of their mind, that'd feel too petty. 

When the weird sludge stuff swallows her up, and proceeds to form a screen on the wall, they're actually really glad they didn't say anything harsh. Because holy shit, no matter what she did to Vy, or what might've happened to anyone else who wandered in at the wrong time, she doesn't deserve that.

"What the fuck!?" Yuki's voice comes out high and strained and rough from shock and incredulity and fury and they slide off their podium, both feet planting firmly on the floor for stability. "Stop - stop that!" Of course it doesn't stop. It's not stopping, not until Souko is a dead lump of flesh and Yuki feels a scream clawing up their throat, or maybe that's nausea, but whatever it is they stubbornly swallow it back down and round angrily on Alexandra.

"What the fuck is wrong with ya?" They bellow, slamming their hands down onto the top of their podium. "That was sick! Ya can't just do that to people!"

Completely incensed and deeply unsatisfied by the casual reactions of Alexandra and the other 'hosts', Yuki lets out a rough shriek of frustration and kicks their podium hard enough to rattle it before they stomp over to the elevator, flushed and trembling with anger so strong it makes tears bead in their eyes. They'd thought they'd known what to expect from the end of this trial, they'd thought they'd understood what it would mean, for one of them to be executed.

With Occam’s mask concealing their face, Morgan’s expressions are hidden, and there’s no way to tell what they’re thinking of this execution. Their only visible reaction comes when they recognise what the voices are. Upon hearing their own, their usual slight swaying stops, and they straighten up. Standing still like that, they stay until quite a while after the screen has stopped showing Souko’s demise. Eventually, they seem to come out of it, though it’s a slow thing rather than a sudden snap. They’re murmuring to themself, muffled further by that mask.

“...Ah. I should have… asked about whether she wanted a funeral… mm. Not that it matters, I suppose…”

It seems things are moving on, though, and their head tilts a little as they observe the interactions between their hosts. Now what on Earth could that all mean?

As they are all left in the lobby, they carefully take Occam’s mask off and hand it back to her with a graceful nod. Hoping people will not be in too much of a rush to depart, they clear their throat until they feel fit to talk. Addressing the room at once, their voice is soft and sombre.

“I… realise that many of you… may not be familiar, comfortable, with death as I am…” Here, they cast a few sympathetic glances at those who had seemed most distressed. “If it would please you, should you need someone to speak with… mm, I can fill that role. I am but a humble undertaker, and I do not claim to be able to do much good, but I should hope I could at least… be someone you can speak to. To vent or cry as you wish.”

“In fact - I shall knock on your doors, in the coming days… Do feel free to shoo me away, mhm, I am… just…” They shake their head and smile, hiding their exasperation at their own failure to find the words for how they’re feeling.. “I worry for the living, more than the dead, here.”

As the Execution ends the sludge falls down the wall and the glass above you all seems to seep inward as if it were made of a clear molasses.

"We never did get this part quite right did we?" Luca questioned as the room dissolved.

"Dear Guests. I'd explain what was happening but the short version is that the trial room will cease to exist so if you'd like to exist past the next five minutes, Get on the elevator. " Alexandra called the elevator and the doors slid open. she entered with expedience. Holding the door open so that her guests could follow her. Cody waved from beyond his podium.

Is it cowardice to cover his ears?

The moment the killer was... announced, Kai has gripped onto his headphones and put them on, pushing them tight over his ears. He's closed his eyes tight, ground his teeth, and just waited in the dark, trying to hear and feel only his own breath, not the nausea and confusion and lightheadedness. He knows very well he is breathing, so why does it feel like he's not getting enough air...?

Panic, right...? He thinks it's panic, even if he should be calm, basically alone as he is. But he knows what is happening, and... and he hears her. He can hear her scream, as if from far away, muffled, and he only pushes down harder on his headphones, squeezes his eyes shut more tightly, and when that is not enough, he starts humming to himself. If he focuses on the song, and his breath, and the slight pain pushing so hard on his headphones gives him, it'll be fine. Things will be over.

Things... being....

He can't think about that. He can't do it or he will pass out. He just has to make it through this, and go back to his room....

The Black tar like substance surrounds Souko's podium and in an instant encases the nail artist and as the substance sinks into the floor you think of how impossible it would be for Souko to have disappeared yet when the sludge clears she is nowhere to be seen.

The sludge climbs the wall and forms into a screen in which you could see Souko in a room. Alone.

Statement begins..... The lights flicker off, just for a moment. A dimmer light is turned on pretty quickly, revealing Souko sitting in a chair that wasn't there before.

It’s the same style of chair one would find in a hair salon, and the source of the light is a vanity mirror.

From the darkness around her, shadowy hands reach forward, holding Souko down in the chair, claws digging into her skin. The material of the hands hardly seems to be tangible, but they're real enough to draw blood from the places they're grabbing Souko.

“Sit still, darling!” A voice hisses from within the darkness. “We're gonna make you look real nice.”

There's a cacophony of giggles that follows, and some of the voices sound a bit familiar.

She's yanked back by her hair, and some strands are ripped out. The voices in the darkness chatter to themselves in amusement at her pain, and it's easier to tell why some of the voices are familiar - it's your voices, all of yours.

More hands reach out from the darkness, ripping into her arms and legs, drawing even more blood. Souko whimpers and bites her lip, the first reaction she's given in a while.

The hands continue to claw at her, scratching up her arms and torso. It certainly looks painful, but isn't until a hand grabs at her face that tears form in her eyes.

“No, not - ”

[CW Gore]

Her protestations are cut off by a hand covering her mouth, then gripping into her cheek and pulling at her skin. The rest begin to follow suit, going from scratching at her skin to ripping at it, skinning her alive.

[End CW]

The pain is too much for even her to ignore, and she finally screams. She screams and screams and she doesn't stop, not until her throat is too sore for her to scream anymore.

Not until the blood loss and the shock from the pain is too much, and her life fades away.