THIRD TRIAL

[despairection]

[Ashley Blair, the SHSL Witch-in-Training, is dead. She's had her life snuffed out, but how and why? It's a murder both mysterious and menacing.

Portraits of Betrayus and Ashley, depicted in monochrome coloring, stand at their podiums. But more importantly, the courtroom this time is an exact and functional replica of the Eggman Factory. If only for the evidence they'll never be able to move...

Will they be able to use this evidence to find the truth? Or will the culprit's confusing conundrum get the best of them?

10 students remain.]



[Let the class trial in the murder of Ashley Blair...begin.]

 

Comments

[green_mario]

... Maybe whoever-a led Ashley inside convinced her to lie down somehow?

[superstylishschism]

I think it's more likely that the gun fired the gears from inside the claw. Probably set off by the forklift moving.

[theothersissel]

So, she was standing and it hit her in the back, causing her to fall over?

[superstylishschism]

Yeah. I'm not sure what triggered it, but I...think I have an idea of most of how this thing works.

Luigi, can you give me the mallet, fulcrum and ball?

[green_mario]

S-sure thing.

[He hands Alastor the aforementioned objects.]

[superstylishschism]

[He takes them and walks over to the replica of the board Shadow found. There he arranges them into a seesaw, with the ball on one end. After a little arranging, he's set it up to aim at the pipe.]

Here's as far back as I've got it. The mallet is set up so that something knocks it over, probably propped against one of these bottles that got pulled out from under it. It hits the board at this end, which sends the ball flying into the pipe.

[He points from the ball to the open top of the pipe.]

The ball rolls down the pipe and board, to turn on the forklift...

[And now he walks over to the ladder, sets it up against the wall, and climbs up to attach the rope on the pulley to the lever]

Which pulls this lever and activates the claw and gun.

[chaoscontrol]

.... Utter ridiculousness, this contraption. And so the gun... fired a gear? Can I see the gun?

[theothersissel]

[Yomiel is shaking his head.]

No, no, that isn't where the mallet goes. It was used for the end of the rope on the pulley. It was nowhere near the bottles.

[green_mario]

[Blinks.]

... Why do you sound so sure about that?

1/2

[theothersissel]

Well, because that's just...

[Oh.]

2/2

[theothersissel]

[There's a very noticeable pause here.]

...I, uh, just made a good guess.

[green_mario]

[Yeah no, Luigi is not going to let you off the hook this easily.]

You sounded really convinced though, like you weren't-a guessing at all.

[theothersissel]

I've seen stuff like this before. And it's just logical, I mean, I don't think that there would be space for the mallet near the bottles for it to work the way it should.

[green_mario]

... How many Rube Goldberg things have you seen?

[It's really hard to tell if he's skeptical or genuinely curious.]

[theothersissel]

A couple. There was a case back home that involved one, I remember. I kind of, uh, followed the news about it.

[green_mario]

There was a case involving a Rube Goldberg?

... Did someone die?

[theothersissel]

Yes. Someone did.

But anyways, that has nothing to do with this. Let's move on.

[green_mario]

S-sorry, but I can't-a imagine a lotta people knowing how to create Rube Goldbergs, especially with so few people here.

[He miiiight be implying something here.]

[theothersissel]

[An annoyed look crosses his face.]

So? What's your point?

[green_mario]

[Luigi finds himself shrinking. No, he has to push through this.]

I'm-a just saying that not all of us could-a pulled something like that off, a-and we should consider our options!

[theothersissel]

If you want to accuse me, at least have the damn courage to do so.

[green_mario]

[Luigi takes a big gulp. Okay, be brave Luigi, either you live to see another day here or you die.]

Fine. Yomiel, I think you murdered Ashley.

[theothersissel]

There we go! Finally. And here I thought we'd be too afraid to point fingers at anyone else.

[There's something different about Yomiel. He's no longer laidback, casual. There's a certain bitterness to his tone, hidden behind a very wide smile.]

Okay, let's see. Why do you think that? Where's your proof?

[green_mario]

[Luigi pauses as he thinks about that. Well there was no real proof that Yomiel was at the scene of the crime ever before the body discovery, so he'll have to work through this.]

Well so far you've been the only one to show experience in-a Rube Goldbergs, especially ones that involve people dying in the process.

[theothersissel]

I read about it. It doesn't make me an expert. It's like saying somebody killed in an aquarium is likely to have been killed by a guy who has read about aquariums.

Besides, Rube Goldbergs aren't that hard to figure out. It's all about steps, that's all. Getting things where they need to go.