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]

[Ngh, as much as Luigi hated to admit it, Yomiel was right. He still didn't have conclusive evidence that he did it and, well, as tiny of the chance is, one could argue that there is another student who really likes Rube Goldbergs and would have the motive.

If the murder weapon wasn't to obviously a Rube Goldberg, he kind of wished he could go back and see how everyone understands Rube Goldburg.

Maybe if he just... keeps asking questions the answer will present itself.]

But why wouldn't we understand, Yomiel? You can't just-a say things like that

1/2

[theothersissel]

Oh, why wouldn't you understand, huh? Why not, I wonder? Yes, because...because explaining that for the last ten years, I was...

[He slams his hand into the podium, letting out a frustrated noise. He can no longer restrain himself. He feels trapped, stuck, and gods, at this point, he no longer cares. He sees where this is going.]

I was dead. Not for good. I was stuck...I couldn't move on. Do you know what that's like? Do you know how that feels?! No. Of course you wouldn't. None of you would!

2/2

[theothersissel]

[He suddenly slumps onto the podium, covering his face. There's a very long pause before he speaks, his voice quiet, emotionless. Almost dead.]

Just kill me now. Just...honestly, just do it. It's too obvious to go back, okay? And...and maybe a part of me always wanted this to happen.

[superstylishschism]

[He snorts and shakes his head.]

Dead for ten years? That's your secret? I was dead for two-thousand years, trapped in a sword so that I couldn't even choose the fate of my own soul.

You really think I can't understand being stuck between life and death?

[theothersissel]

Oh, poor you. A sword.

[He laughs, his voice on the edge of cracking.]

My fiancee, she...she decided to take her own life because she thought I was dead for good, did you know that? Huh? And after that, I had no one! No one even cared! No one REMEMBERED! And you have the damn right to even compare yourself to me...!

[He shakes. His hands tighten into fists.]

Shut your damn mouth, Alastor, before I go and shut it for you.

[shslancer]

Don't ya dare threaten him, or anyone else here.

[There's steel to that sweet voice. You just pushed a button, Yomiel. Despite it, there's also a calm...like that before a storm.]

There's been 'nuff pain already for everyone here. Ah won't let ya hurt anyone else.

[theothersissel]

[He smiles. It's incredibly fake.]

Well, I'm already going to die, so really, at this point I wouldn't care if you beat me up or not.

Don't worry, though. I'm not going to hurt him.

[green_mario]

Guys!

[That came out louder than he intended.]

Just... please, lets-a stop threatening each other, okay? It's what Monobear wants.

[shslancer]

...You're right, Sir Luigi.

[She tugs her helmet down a little in shame, the air around her nervous again. What is this place doing to her?]

Ah'm...sorry. 'Bout all ya went through...an' that it's come to this.

[superstylishschism]

Tch...you're just determined to think of yourself as alone and unsympathetic, aren't you? At least you had enough freedom to know what happened. Try being an inanimate object locked away in an evil castle.

But, whatever. I tried to offer a hand of friendship to everyone who was left yesterday. You're the one who decided you would obviously be excluded if we knew you died and someone loved you so much it broke her heart.

Maybe you're right, we're not the same. I actually got over myself when I realized the thought of scaring away the first people to try to reach out actually terrified me. You just stuck your head in the sand and refused to see what was right in front of you.

[theothersissel]

I killed people, you know. That Rube Goldberg machine I mentioned? I controlled it with some abilities I gained after my death. I killed a mother of a young child. And everyone that was involved in my "death", I killed.

[He stares at Alastor, his expression cold.]

If I had told you that, yesterday, would you have extended a hand of friendship to me, then? I bet the answer would be "no".

I'm a terrible person. There's no getting around it. I wasn't just hiding the fact I was dead. I was also hiding the fact that my hands are stained red.

No one would trust a murderer.

[shslancer]

Ah've killed so many folks in the wars Ah lost count. Nobody hated me for sayin' that.

[theothersissel]

Yeah, but that's war. These were personal. I murdered innocent people who had no chance to defend themselves.

["just hate me, just hate me, you know you hate me", he almost seems to be saying".]

It felt good, at the time. But that doesn't change the fact that I did it entirely out of spite.

[superstylishschism]

And mine aren't? Do you know what my name means, Yomiel? "Alastor", Greek for "one who avenges." A demons name is its purpose and its nature. I was created as a tool of vengeance, nothing more and nothing less. I've killed people I didn't even know, because they offended my creator.

And did you forget what I said yesterday? The only reason I didn't kill Joe, Silvia, Blue Jr....that's because my boss interrupted right as I was trying to strike the killing blow against Joe. The other two, I nearly crushed because I wasn't even paying attention to them anymore.

My hands are stained with the blood of two-thousand three-hundred years' worth of living as a devil, and you think I'm going to judge you for taking bloody revenge against the people involved in your death?

[chaoscontrol]

You're wrong. You're hardly the only person here with blood on your hands, you damned fool. And we all had our reasons. Some noble, some not so much. But I meant what I said on Tuesday; anyone who went for this motive is a moron.

[green_mario]

[Luigi's face softens, almost saddened after hearing that. So Yomiel was a ghost this whole time? Honestly, at this point after how draining that interrogation was and watching how defeated Yomiel is, he couldn't find himself caring.]

Yo... Yomiel...

I'm so sorry...

[shslancer]

[Nephenee watches the whole thing with sadness, but feels like something's missing.]

...So is there a second person? Or is that a ruse?

[She's not sure what to think anymore.]

[green_mario]

A-actually I was-a starting to think that the Walkie Talkie was so that Yomiel could hear when the Rube Goldberg was working. Since he wasn't at the scene of the crime.

[theothersissel]

That, and to talk to Ashley and keep her in place. I couldn't kill her if she moved.

[sunflowerfields]

[Hinawa winces at the mention of Ashley.]

Why her? Why Ashley?

[theothersissel]

[He doesn't even look up.]

I don't need your "sorrys".

Just let me die.

[tsungeonsanddragons]

Just let you die...?

[Throughout the entire ordeal, Clair was silent. It was the kind of silence often caused by disbelief. Yomiel kill someone? That was insane. He'd made it this far without snapping. Hell, she'd lost it more times than he had. She slammed Ashley against the wall. She almost murdered Betrayus. And during the week of the first motive, she'd almost considered going along with it. But she didn't. And Yomiel didn't. He was one of the strongest people she knew. Oh sure, he was obviously smart enough to pull it off, and yeah he had a lot of secrets, but all that was true for the entirety of this past month and yet nothing came of it.

...so why? Why now? Why when she finally started caring about him, did he have to cave in? Why? WhywhywhywhwhywhywhywhyWHY????

There are no tears. Not yet, at least. But they were coming. Every inch of her face gave that away. She didn't care that he'd killed people in his past. Maybe she should have, but....right now, all she can think of is this very moment. What he'd done to her, Ashley, and everyone else.]

You think that's easy?

[Her hands grip the podium like its Monobear's neck; tightly and as if she was trying to choke it. Of course, her hands wouldn't be shaking nearly this much.]

Let me let you in on a little something, Yomiel. Even if you did kill people, even if you were dead, and even if you make yourself look like some mustache-twirling villain...do you honestly think that's going to change how I feel? That it's just going make me suddenly okay with killing you? Because if so, then let me make things perfectly clear...

[Her hand slams down on the podium hard, enough to injure her hand. But the tears streaming down her face aren't from the pain. At least, not the pain caused from that.]

IT WON'T.

[theothersissel]

[He can't look at her.]

[The others, he could care less about. But Clair? He can't look her in the eye, confront her, try to explain things. He's surprised to hear what she's saying, because he honestly thought that this would be the moment where she would spit on his name, tell him that she should've never kissed him or danced with him. But she didn't, and he's confused.]

Y-You would've hated me, Clair. And even if you didn't, I...I don't deserve someone like you.

[He shakes his head, taking in a deep breath.]

You're too good for me.

[tsungeonsanddragons]

DON'T TELL ME WHAT I WOULD DO!

[Her head tilts downward, tears staining the top of her podium. There's so much running through her head right now. So much emotion bubbling inside her that she feels like a pressure cooker ready to explode. None of this makes sense. None of this is fair. Every single trial she's ever been a part of has stolen someone she loved away from her. Mac. Callie. And now Yomiel? And she just has to keep going? Until it finally ends or they all die?]

You... [A pause. Trying not to get choked up.] You're the one who doesn't understand. I love you. Don't you get it? There's a reason I told you not to die. So what if you did horrible things? We all have blood on our hands! You could have talked to me about it! Even if I couldn't understand, I'd still support you! I...er...you... We...we...

...

...we could have been happy together.

[lavenza]

...So like a form of purgatory. Only alone.

I am sorry, I don't know how that feels, no. There are a lot of things the rest of us wouldn't understand about one another...

...But I'm sure we all would have listened, anyway.