#ds ch3

After a very long day of investigation and designing, Katahiko finally dared to approach the infirmary. Since Emilia knew he was doing this, it was probably best to get some actual measurements instead of all estimations. And maybe ask what she actually wanted. But it was obvious, right? If it would work, he wasn’t sure—he’d have to use materials he hadn’t already used for the other one, but there were more materials to access now—but she already had a nice cane so it would be fine? Or it was all an exercise in futility because he was not even remotely certified for this and he didn’t even know if Yuri had ever even tried hers and she probably had and just didn’t mention that it didn’t work at all because she was a nice enough person and what was he doing.

He stopped for some deep breaths before entering. Romeo had been moved a bit farther, it seemed, so he could come in far enough to talk with her, right? Well, all circumstances considered he actually needed to be in the same partition for her to “hear” him today, so hopefully he could get there. He hadn’t tried to bring his laptop, because he pretty much had all the confirmation he could ask for that she knew sign language.

It was a little hard to do so on the curtains, so he knocked on part of his arm before attempting to step into her Zone. 

Katahiko honestly wasn't sure what he was doing. Would this help? Was it worth taking a break from all the other urgent matters? But he hadn't done anything for François... well, ever, but especially not since the whole face-bashed-in thing, and he couldn't quite remember the reason he hadn't tried to deliver this already. It seemed like a good time, if the dancer needed to rest... Right?

And that’s it. There’s no one to announce the end or dismiss you, but this isn’t the first time that’s been the case. The wall closes behind Max and Kazuya, and opens on the other side of the room - a plate sliding out of place to allow you all to leave. It’s the same walk back, through to the familiar hallway in the Second Ring. There’s no point in lingering, nothing for you in that room but the echoes of screams and the smell of blood, the sight of it everywhere, still…

But it’s done. The trial is over, and you’re all free to… well, free perhaps is the wrong word. The Dome remains your prison, and if the pattern holds the next ring won’t open until tomorrow. The rest of the day, evening now, is yours to process. Mariko’s body is gone, should any of you bother to go back to the Ballpit to check. The trap she’d built is gone as well, no cardboard cutout there, no bloody garden shears.

Everything has been put back as it was before the murder, as if one had never occurred. But Mariko is gone, and the Infirmary is locked to allow Sorrel to perform the necessary surgery on two of your number who are newly in need of it.

The trial is over… but the game is far from it.

Once the initial shock of the gunshot and everything careening off the rails seems to be settling, it’s a relief to see most people returning to some form of sense. In the heat of the moment it had looked like there was a real chance of the trial exploding into a bloodbath or free-for-all, weapons everywhere... but the gun is confiscated, people are moving to comfort one another, and as things calm it becomes a little more clear. Only Haia and Ha-Neul had actually pulled knives out, and both had done it defensively. No one else got stabbed or cut, Haia willingly put her blade away again and went to vote and tend to her boyfriend, Dai and Francois were taking care of Maxim, Teddi was sitting, Yuu is handling Romeo and everyone else was looking after someone or voting or both. While several of the class are understandably still shaken and it will probably take a while for the adrenaline rush and the aftershocks of panic attacks to really fade, the danger appears to be over, the situation is under control.

Kazuya lets out a breath they hadn’t fully realized they were holding. Maxim was injured, but it didn’t look serious, and no one else had been hurt. No one else had died.

Yet.

After several undoubtedly still tense minutes, Kazuya speaks.

"So, uh... I'm being told voting is closing. Or, closed, apparently. Sorry I guess they don't believe in a ten minute warning or anything, um. Or things just got a bit hectic... anyway. The results are... fifteen votes, and it's unanimous. They're all for François Bouchard. Which is... Correct."

"Fran... killed Mariko Tomomi. I-it was an accident, he- he didn't mean to kill-” Kazuya is cut off, as if interrupted, and they bite their lip for a moment, then continue. "Anyway, um, your screens should have a new option on them."

Sure enough for those of you who voted, the touch screens on the tops of your podiums now have two options, tapping will allow you to select between:

SPIN or EXECUTE

"So you can choose one of those, as long as you voted, if - if you didn't your screen would be dark but there are fifteen of you so..." Kazuya trails off, a frown on their face - and then their eyes widen. "What? No that's not- but there were- what?" They press a hand to their ear for a moment, the one with the transmitter in it, as if that would allow them better understanding of what they're being told. Their eyes widen and they look up suddenly, their demeanor borderline frantic.

"Oh fuck, oh- y-you forgot, someone... someone used a Vote Card to make their votes count twice that's why the numbers looked right but... Krupin-san, you... didn't vote."

Cold seems to descend over the trial room for a moment. It makes sense, though. In all the excitement that had broken out, and what with being shot, even if it was only a graze, voting was probably the last thing on Max's mind.

"I'm sorry, I... that means you'll have to spin. I'm really sorry. It- it'll come after... after Fran goes."

Assuming the majority truly did decide not to execute him. Would the earlier merciful sentiment remain the same after what had just taken place? We'll have to wait and see.

--

[Please either send another Ask into the blog, or DM me to let me know if your OC is choosing SPIN or EXECUTE for Fran. If you already indicated their choice in their first vote then you don't need to worry about it now. This part is also not mandatory, if you don't choose then you won't be required to spin, but you cannot change your choice once it's made.

Final Vote will close on Friday morning at 9am PST. The Execution and/or Wheel Spin posts will go up on Saturday at the usual 1pm PST time. Chapter 4 start will begin at 1pm PST on Sunday so we’ll be back to the regular schedule from there!]

Three hours is a long time, though it may seem a lot less when taking into account the size of the Dome. Even with most of the 1st Ring areas closed off for investigations, searching is a somewhat daunting task. Yet the majority of you have made an admirable go of it - you’ve all likely passed one another a few times in your explorations. As reluctant as you may all be to move forward with what will undoubtedly be a farce of a trial, many of you must feel somewhat hopeful that at least you’ll have something to say. 

And so when your ElectroIDs buzz again, giving you a message that instructs you to meet in the hall between Rooms 2F and 2G, you assemble with trepidation. Kazuya is there to meet you, and to lead you once again through a sliding metal plate in the wall, down through the dark passages to the Wheel Room... although now it has another purpose at last. The Podiums are all lit up, screens on the front showing the name of the subject meant to stand at each, all around the Trial Room. The podiums evidently meant for the dead students all glow an ominous red, while the others are lit up with the familiar yellow-magenta-cyan color scheme.

Once everyone has taken their places - with Romeo being rolled up to his in a wheelchair pushed by Sorrel, who then quickly departs the room - Kazuya clears their throat somewhat awkwardly, and speaks.

“Um, so basically... you all have a few hours to discuss what you found and... stuff. I, uh, don’t really... I’m not supposed to participate, or vote. But you can all... select a name on your podium when you’re ready to choose someone.”

Sure enough, there are touch screens on each of your podiums, embedded in the tops, where you can select the name of one of your fellow subjects from the drop down. Kazuya, Yuri, and Moko are not listed as options.

“S-so, yeah. That’s... pretty self-explanatory, right...? Just... talk to each other and come to a decision. Um. The rest of the rules are on your ElectroIDs and... I’ll try to answer questions, if I can.”

That’s all they have to say, so it would appear that the rest is up to you.

Who Killed Mariko Tomomi...?

[Trial START]

--

[Please post trial responses in the Trial Thread on the Forum!]

The past few days had been rough, really rough, but it was almost over. After all, it was day five, so the next suffering game was fast approaching. Between that and the loss of Moko and Yuri... a murder was the last thing on Honey’s mind.

When his ElectroID beeped, he was confused but didn’t think much of it. That is, until he read the words on the screen.

Come to the Ballpit. A murder has occurred.

Without a single thought as to what was happening, Honey made a beeline toward the ballpit. It was as if every cell of his body was overridden, dedicated to a single purpose:

Find the body

Before he knew it, he was running, sprinting toward the scene of the crime. “W-Who is it? Who... w-who died?” Honey called out as soon as he arrived. At first, he thought his question was answered in the form of Katahiko’s body on the floor.

“KATAHIKO?” Honey screamed, rushing over to his friend’s side. Falling down on his knees, he wrapped his fingers around Katahiko’s wrist to check the man’s pulse, just like Sorrel taught him. Almost immediately, Honey found what he was looking for.

“T-thank god... then wh-“ His eyes slid around the room soon landing on Mariko. Unlike Katahiko, there was no question that she was no longer with them. Despite how awful she had been to everyone, it was still hard to find her body lying there, completely lifeless.

For the most part, Emilia had been spending the day trying to distract herself from the suffering game set to occur in just a little bit. Rolling around from place to place, maybe looking for Katahiko to check if her leg was done yet

Either way, she froze immediately at the announcement. Someone was murdered? No, that wasn't right.

That meant someone amongst them was a murderer, naturally.

She slowly began to move towards the ballpit, thinking of who seemed likely to kill amongst them. Mariko, obviously, she was pretty sure she remembered Dai actually killing someone…

Eventually, she made it to the ballpit, only to see Katahiko's unconscious form. Of course, the last person from her upinvestigation team. She wasn't allowed to have anyone, was she? Welp, based on that pattern, she was next, so that was fun

A sigh escaped her as she heard the new notification. Another body?

Oh wait, no, it was telling her Kat wasn't the body. Crisis averted. Still, Emilia did lightly kick him for giving her a heart attack. Seeing who the actual victim was, Emilia rolled past him into the actual room

She wasn't sure how to feel about seeing Mariko there. She always wanted to be friends with her; to understand her the way Ha-Neul did, but that was never bound to happen, was it? Was this ..was this revenge for what happened just a few days ago? Emilia wanted to think so; Mariko had indirectly killed two of her friends, and showed absolutely no guilt for her actions

At the end of the day though, no one deserved to die here.

She rolled away from the body a little and sighed yet again. She...she was gonna have to investigate this, with her team gone forever. She was always down for a little exploring, but this... this felt lonely

Day Five... when was day five? When was-- no, Haia is pretty sure she remembers day three. Katahiko, then Archie, then the two late deaths to the motive... Haia shudders as she thinks about it. No, the beginning to day three was far sweeter than the way it ended. However, day three bled into day four... did she *do* anything day four? Time is going away in ways that would make-- Sorrel. No, yes, Sorrel. She had ran into the good doctor on day four. She's pretty sure, at least.

Some days she's as bad as Katahiko is.

No wonder they get along so well.

Pulled out of her consideration of what she's been doing for the past few days, Haia nearly jumps out of her own skin when her ElectroID goes off. Her heart hammering in her chest, she fumbles at the screen, looking at the message. She looks at the message, and sways on her feet. She was right to fear the ballpit. Thank god she and Katahiko never got to check on it. Katahiko... Ha-Neul. Mio... A dozen faces swirl across her mental image, and she staggers, slamming herself into the nearest wall as a result.

"Please don't leave me alone." She whispers. "Please. It's so damn cold here. You guys are my only warmth I've had in so long."

What the hell does that even mean?

Haia stumbles over her feet as she recovers, but then she breaks into a run from -- well, not even she's sure where she is, but arrive at the Ball-Pit she does, stopping ever so briefly once inside the door as her gaze fixes up on the living, oh thank god, the breath blue-haired Ha-Neul. Okay. That's good. One down on the mental list of panic. There's-- there's a seco- WHY IS KATAHIKO ON THE FLOOR.

Haia squeaks in fear.

"Um." Haia gives her roommate a nod before she darts over to the Announcer, panic visible as she leans down and gently looks for a pulse which, which, is there. Okay. She was a concern. She is a concern. She twitches slightly before she crawls over to the nearest wall, pulling herself back up. "Okay, then who--" There's a third person, in the ball pit. She could have warned any of you that was a bad idea.

Do not go into the ball-pit! There are dangers down there, especially if you are a small!

Her ElectroID goes off again and Haia does go a good half a foot in the air, leaning against the wall, nauseated as she looks at the new file, with the picture, with the details, with a -- she sighs. "Oh, Mariko." She says, tiredly. "You may have deserved the dislike, but..." Haia's chin wobbles.

"No one deserves to die."