Hostile Action Trial

[mockmods]

[As you all finish investigating, an electric chime rings out across the PA system.]

I believe that should be sufficient time for you all to prepare. Assistant, please escort everyone to the trial room.

[Penny emerges from the Security office again, head down, and slowly collects everyone; she leads you all to the east side of the common room, to the short hallway between dorms B1 and A2, that’s dead ended through your entire time here. As your group approaches, the wall seamlessly slides up to reveal a hidden doorway. Passing through leads to another short hallway and a small, round room, just big enough to hold all of you. Penny passes her ID over a small pad near the doorway, and it blinks green before the room lurches slightly beneath you; an elevator going down.]

[A short trip down leads you to a larger chamber, with a series of twenty-two podiums set up in a ring; in the center is a column of computer stations with large monitors, behind a set of thick metal beams with occasional faint flashes of energy arcing between them and a constant, low hum.]

Welcome to your first trial, Participants. You will use this time to determine which among your number killed the Legendary Bassist, and send them to justice. Failure to choose the correct culprit will have dire consequences for you all.

[Trial: commence.]

Comments

[clandestineideals]

And I'm not saying that you are.

[ ... ]

But, doing this will help narrow down to who is; there really isn't a reason not to follow along.

[ Unless someone can't write but she didn't seem like a person who couldn't to him. ]

[aragona]

[Ugh.]

Fine. Give me something to write with.

[mightdoriya]

[Izuku tears another page from his notebook and hands it over, along with the pen he'd been using.]

[aragona]

[She snatches the pen and taps on the paper a few times while recalling the phrase to copy. She calmly writes "hence I have henceforth decided" in a few seconds, folds the sheet of paper, and hands it over to Veronica.]

And if it's forged, then how does it tell us how the boy was killed?

[canbebeautiful]

It narrows the suspect list down. Right now, everybody but Hal over there is a suspect so knowing who we should be focusing on is pretty important.

[This is all said while she's comparing the writing Sonia's handed her to the note. What's it look like?]

[mockmods]

[It's actually a pretty good match!]

[canbebeautiful]

[Well that's unfortunate.]

. . . and apparently we should be focusing on you. [She looks up from the papers in front of her.] This is a near-perfect match.

[aragona]

[Staring at the ceiling.]

You're comparing my handwriting to one that is supposed to resemble the boy's. That's hardly conclusive.

[mightdoriya]

I asked you about the wine bottle full of blood earlier. Wouldn't you have a reason to want to bottle blood like that, especially a lot of it? [And boy, there was a lot of blood. They haven't found any reason for that bottle otherwise yet, so...]

[aragona]

I need it to live, obviously. But why would I go through all the risk of obtaining and drinking the blood of a supernatural?

[scratchitti]

... putting the blood in a bottle to save then just... leaving it sounds almost too obvious, honestly.

[Neku isn't saying she's innocent, just that they can't go with JUST this]

[canbebeautiful]

She could have been trying to turn him into a vampire. That's how it happens in the movies, anyway.

[scratchitti]

... well shit.

[doppelanger]

He was special?

[aragona]

His profile states he isn't human. I have never heard of anything like him, but there's always the possibility of negative effects when the blood has magical properties.

[doppelanger]

How negative? I want to understand why beheading was necessary. Maybe, at first, the killer doesn't know that he is really dead. A stake is too obvious and burning would wake us. So, this.

[aragona]

Drinking the blood of another vampire binds us to them. You can safely assume any other supernatural blood deters us.

Though you bring up a good point - perhaps he was beheaded in case that was the single way to ensure his death.

[in4apounding]

Everyone's special! ...Oh, though, I think she means-

[She mimes fox ears with two fingers.]

-he wasn't. You know. Human.

[doppelanger]

I know he was not human, half-beast. But not what it means for his blood.

[in4apounding]

That his blood wasn't human either?

[mightdoriya]

[Izuku blinks, his brows furrowing.] Does the blood make a difference? And, I mean...I don't think you would have done all of this just for his blood, no. But if you had been intending to get out of here by whatever means necessary, having blood readily available like that would be hard to pass up. [And he was just talking to her about escaping. He knows it's on her mind.]

[aragona]

I'm not in the mood to explain the details of Feeding. [Unless he'd like to learn all about vampires.]

I do want to escape, but I didn't kill him.

[mightdoriya]

Can you tell us what you were doing last night, then? You must have an alibi at least. [He wants to believe it's not true, too, so might as well cover all their bases.]

[aragona]

I was investigating the computer lab. Training. Sleeping.

[windowsexplorer]

Why does your handwriting match the note, then?