WEEK 2 TRIAL

[foundationmods]

It was noon on Saturday.

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing...the moment the chimes rang out through the hall, they felt a change.

The world...began to expand, as they felt themselves leaving the world they were on, and towards another, much larger world...🗈

This new world looked like...the inside of an ornate courtroom, like something that wouldn't be too far from some kind of grand fantasy novel. The audience was full of people with Goat Heads...like some kind of bizzare trial proceedings.

The Witch - Yuuko - was there, sitting in the most important place, smiling in her mysterious way at everyone. There was no music to be heard, but... perhaps on another plane, in another place, someone else heard music as they gazed upon the proceedings.

Again, their forms had changed - perhaps into something different than last time, but...still a change, no matter how dramatic or inconsequential it was.

...There was a deep silence in the room, one that no one wanted to break. It was the faint tension in the air, like the moments before a race or a competition begins.

The conclusion to the last trial hung in the air - deep and forboding.

It was due to their own mistakes that an innocent person had been executed, last time. Would such a horrible end happen this time? Would they be able to find the culprit?

...

No one knew.

Comments

FANTASY RETELLING

[lutea]

The night was calm, and quiet.
Watanuki had no cause to suspect someone was after his life - after all, while this was a dangerous time, he should be safe….right?

...unfortunately, he should have known.
He belonged to a Witch as her Furniture, and could be discarded as easily as one would throw out a chair…

There was a minor heat, no warmer than the temperature outside. He would be forgiven for not noticing it, except that it rose higher and higher in temperature.
And then -

With a rush of black flames, she appeared, her hair swirling around her as she smiled at his flabbergasted face.

“Hello, Watanuki.”

Watanuki, both startled by her appearance and unsettled by her closeness, took a couple steps back to put distance between them.
“What do you want?”

The Witch smiled, enigmatically. “Can’t I come to visit you at night? How cold, my dear furniture.”

While walking backwards he bumped into his bed, but managed to keep his balance.
Keeping distance between the both of them was important, but so was voicing his displeasure - even going so far as to be flippant with her.

“Well whatever it is you want, just say it and be gone!”

“Hm...Well, I will leave...but only after things have finished.”

Pointing directly at his face, there was a strange glint in her eye as she continued speaking.

“....Watanuki Kimihiro. Tonight, you have been chosen as my victim.”

“That’s impossible,” he spat out, though in his heart he knew it wasn’t.
“I’m your furniture, it’s too early to be discarded!”

She didn’t speak, for a long moment. “...Do you know what Furniture is, Kimihiro? It is...ultimately expendable. Much like a broken chair...or a sagging couch...it can be thrown away as the owner desires.”

Quietly, she walked towards him - placing a hand on his face before smiling down at him, soft and gentle.

“And I have no more use for you.”

And with that, she pushed him back - letting him fall easily down where he would.
He couldn’t even say anything in response, much less fight back or stand back up.
He just sat there, stunned by both her words and her actions.

Paying no attention to his incredulity, she spoke.

“Come to me, O Vinea. Come to me, your summoner!”

On the ground...an ominous magical circle suddenly appeared, glowing a bright red...and then, as if swimming into the air, she appeared.
Blue hair and red eyes surveyed everything, as one of the 72 pillars of hell came forth, staring down impassively at her soon to be victim…!

“Honestly, I’d expected to work together with you,” Vinea said.
“I suppose not, though. Thank you for the cake.”
With that, she turned toward the Witch, not sparing him another thought.
“Milady, your instructions?”

“Simple, Vinea. Take one of my weapons from my room, and kill Kimihiro. Something that would be easy enough for my opponent’s pieces to understand, if you would.”

“Something like a gun, perhaps? I think even Wheatley could understand those.”

“How about you don’t talk about killing me in front of me?”
It was phrased as a question - but given the annoyance present on Watanuki’s face, it was clear that he meant it more as a statement.

Unfortunately, he was ignored - one would not hesitate to speak about disposing broken furniture in front of it, after all.

Yuuko nodded. “A gun sounds fine - I believe there is a handgun that should suit your purposes. Take whatever one you would like.”

“All right.” Vinea nodded, opened the door, and was gone in a flash, moving faster than any human. In mere moments she was back, carrying a glock pistol.

Yuuko smiled - and stepped back.

“Then you may begin, my Furniture.”

“Yes, milady.”

Vinea raised the gun… and carefully removed the ammunition clip from it.
Counting out six bullets, she effortlessly pulled them out...and cradled them in her hands, like they were some kind of precious treasure.

Replacing the clip back into the gun, she held a single bullet inbetween her thumb and index finger...and pointed it downward.
An orb of water appeared in the palm of her hand - as impossible as it was - and quickly grew to the size of a large tennis ball, whirling turbulently.

The effect...was as if she had contained a small river there, containing the same amount of force a normal river would have.
Then, with no warning - the water suddenly shot out - propelling the bullet into Watanuki’s foot as if it’d been fired from a gun…!

Watanuki pitched forward, hissing in pain as he fell off the bed and to the ground.
Pain, however, was not the only reason for his collapse.
While Vinea and Yuuko had been so brazenly discussing his death right in front of him, he had been preparing for his counter attack…!

And in that moment, when he had fallen to his hands and knees, he reached out to grab Vinea’s leg.
He would not go down without a fight, it seemed.
...But, of course, she herself would not stand and wait for him,

The demon scoffed, and raised the gun she was still holding in her other hand, harshly bringing it down upon his skull.
Watanuki let go, stumbling back while holding his head -

“That’s enough.”

The two froze, at the sound of her voice.
They felt like they could not move - for their master was addressing them both, telling them to stop their foolishness…

“...I am tired of watching this play out. It is time for you to sleep, Watanuki.”

Much like in the past, how she’d ordered him to make her snacks...Watanuki immediately collapsed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep...
...a sleep he would never again wake from.

Yuuko looked at her demon, her eyes almost giving the command before she said it.

“...Kill him quickly, Vinea. Neatly. Even if I am discarding him, I will let him meet his end with the dignity one of my own deserve.”

Vinea nodded solemnly, and held another bullet between her fingers, resting the tip against Watanuki’s head. She closed her eyes as water built up in her hand again, until it suddenly shot the second bullet into his head.

Blood soaked the carpet under his body.
With that one, single action, his life...stopped.
Now on the floor, he resembled a doll that had been thrown to the ground by careless hands, as if by a child who had gotten bored of playing..

The Witch watched with impassive eyes, and then sighed.

“...No, this won’t do.”

“Milady?”

“They’ll surely complain if this is the only twist in this tale...ah. I have an idea.”

Pointing her hands at the floor, magic flowed from her wrists to the ground - and Watanuki’s blood became the medium for a new summoning circle, trembling with the force of energy being pushed through it.

“Come! I summon you! One of the 72 pillars of hell itself...Come forth, Gaap! Respond to my call, the call of your summoner!”

A bright, red light...came forth, and floated in the air...and slowly but surely, became young woman, in a strange red dress, with wickedly pointed red heels…

“...Gaap,” Vinea said with a tone of acknowledgement, trying for a moment to make eye contact instead of looking up and down the newcomer’s form, then giving up and fixing her eyes on Yuuko instead.

Gaap grinned at the reaction, floating over and poking Vinea’s cheek. “Still just as cute as ever, huh Viney~? I like the new look, you know!”

Vinea’s cheeks flushed as her eyes inevitably drifted back over to Gaap. “Thank you. --That is. Milady didn’t summon you here just to tease me.”

“*Giggle* Hm, you’re right….still, I had to see that cute blush of yours.”

With that, Gaap stretched - working out all of the apparent kinks in her body.

“Phew….been a while since I was summoned to the material world. Ah, but it’s just as a blood stained place as normal...have I been summoned to clean up this mess, Witch of Dimensions?”

Though her tone was casual, it was clear Gaap was ready to move at any time.

“Ah, no. Actually, could you bring one of the sleeping guests here?”

“Oh ho. A set up, hm? Sure. ...Of course, I’ll charge my usual price.”

Yuuko nodded, and then turned to Vinea.

“Vinea. Sit in the chair on the desk and shoot the remains four times.”

Shrugging, the demon did as she was told - her magic making water appear as she prepared to shoot it out at the corpse at lightning speed.

…

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK.

In no time at all, it was done...And as Vinea got off of the chair, Gaap seemed to make a decision, snapping her fingers.

Before her, the ground warped and opened, glowing a deep, bright red...and then suddenly, there was a loud noise in the bathroom, like a body had fallen in the tub.

“...What?!”

Whirling around, Gaap used magic to open the bathroom door...and saw the sleeping man she’d summoned.

“Ugh, really?! Does he have something on him that messed up my gaps that badly?! Just- get in here already!”

Groaning, she lifted his body through magic - though in her haste, she let his shoes drag across the floor - and floated him above the blood, sitting him down in the chair, sighing as his head tilted forward.

“There. Man...how embarrassing. I really must be rusty, or maybe I’m coming down with a cold? ...Sorry, Witch of Dimensions. I’ll be going back now, so don’t worry about a cost - since I messed up, we’ll call it a freebie. “

Without much else, Gaap snapped her fingers - and fell quickly into one of her own holes, as if to hide her mortification at screwing up such a simple job.
Yuuko merely shrugged with a laugh - directing Vinea to place the gun next to Ruler, the man Gaap had chosen.
With a wave of her hand, she made it that gunpowder bloomed like flowers on his gloves…

“You may go now, Vinea. Thank you for your service on this night.”


“You’re very welcome, milady. It’s always nice to be able to make use of my talents.”
With that, Vinea disappeared in much the same way she’d appeared.

...Finally, Yuuko was alone - and as she floated above the body of Watanuki, she gazed down at him with a gentle, almost motherly look.


“...Thank you, Kimihiro. You...have also served me well. Such a shame...that it was you that was chosen.

...I will miss your snacks.”

And with that...she burnt away in those same black flames, leaving nothing behind…
Nothing, save a sleeping man, and the corpse of an unlucky teenager...

THE WITCH

[lutea]

[After the retelling fades, Yuuko merely steps forward.]

...I believe none of you need a refresher on how the game is played - therefore, I shall get right into it.

You may admit that I did this, and submit to me.

You may look among yourselves, and find the human Culprit, and prove your theory to me that only a human could have done this.

....As before, you have six hours to figure out who did it. If there is no Blue Truth that I accept within that time, then I will win this trial.

You showed that you all were, indeed, only human last trial. I...would like to see what you can do, this time...and if you can truly reach the truth this time, or condemn another innocent person to death.

[...Her hand....trembles when she says that.]

....Tell me, O pieces.

Was Kimihiro's death a Mystery, or a fantasy?

???

[foundationmods]

Code for blue truth:

<font color=#000099><b>TEXTHERE</b></font>

As a reminder, Blue Truth is meant for theorycrafting - so while you can ask for information normally, Blue Truth is meant as a counterattack against the witch.

Going up against her and getting hit multiple times will require you to step away, though there's no imposed time limit. We just ask that you have your character back off.

[excavated]

[ Syaoran is here, and he's in something completely different this time in comparison to the last. When he watches the retelling, he finds himself frowning even deeper at a particular line, hands clenching into tighter fists by his sides, but he doesn't speak in the slightest bit, instead just shooting a glare at the fake Yuuko. What a mockery of his death. He's. Pissed. ]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[Ruler's form from last week has not changed, though there seems to be a subtle change, a sharper gleam in his eyes, and in addition to the magnifying lens, he now held a cane in his off-hand.

His lips twitch in irritation at the display, being lugged around like a ragdoll even in the fantasy telling]

[literalidiotball]

[Wheatley's trial appearance had not changed since last time.

But who really cared about that? Rule- Holmes had been framed, Sayoran was really upset, and Wheatley really didn't want to see what would happen if they got it wrong again...

All nerve wracking things to think of.]

So... Uh. We know that this Gaap lady was probably not involved in the murder. I mean, shouldn't she be getting that dress fixed?

[kiddatheart]

It's really messed up what they're trying to do to you.

[aleph_armed]

[Gebura herself is largely unchanged from her previous trial form. At the very least the scars that showed up towards the end are once again gone.]

...Okay, so... the claim is that he was shot in the foot first, then killed by a gunshot to the head, then shot four times. After that, Ruler was framed.

...Isn't this... too easy?

[oceanicbutterfly]

[boooo!]

[chaoscontrol]

[ Shadow, too, is here. But unlike last week, he does look a bit... different. He keeps his golden bracelets, but his gloves and shoes are gone, and his hands and feet have a reptilian quality to them. The stripes on his arms and legs seem to be made of glimmering, blood red scales set into his fur. His tail is longer, thicker, more like a lizard than a hedgehog. And his eyes have yellowed sclera and sharp, slitted pupils. There’s also a weird slit on his forehead? Hmmm. Very different from last week.

But if it bothers Shadow, he makes no indication.

He rolls his eyes at the witch’s retelling]

Nonsense. Again.

[aleph_armed]

[...Gebura hard agrees with the other robot here: Your taste is terrible, Vinea.]

[literalidiotball]

But what if it is? Maybe we'll have more time to figure out whodunnit if that's true.

You know what, I'm gonna go make a blue truth of that to see if it is.

[anonnomnomnom]

Hey, Syaoran! You look all... dark and moody and ready for vengeance. It's a pretty good look! [Anon the same ol' furry blob is here to give him a skeleton thumbs up.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[she'll have you know that is considered very fashionable in hell]

[anonnomnomnom]

Well, she is a demon. Maybe it's a dress for use against other demons? [Casually drags Vinea while he's here I guess.]

[aleph_armed]

That's true, but...

[After last time this just kind of makes her more wary.]

Well, it's worth a try. Just don't push yourself too hard, this stuff is pretty nasty when it backfires.

[improbablenotimpossible]

And so clumsily.

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard's appearance is largely the same as before, only now the blood staining his gloves and sleeves has spread further up his arms, and a matching stain inching its way up from the bottom hem of his robes.]

... it's a mockery of a life, and a senseless death. We have to get it right this time.

[sotoshini]

Guess demons are terrible at cooking if she can't just make one of her new additions take over as patisserie. [ Either that or she's really impatient having to go without snacks for a few days. Shrugging, in his new leather getup unimpressed. You really can't expect him to wear the same thing to every trial, can you? No hat though, because he's finally realized it's summer not winter maybe. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

Hey. Yuuko.

[Before Joey does anything else, she calls out, staring down at the floor in front of her at first.]

I just want to clear something up. You aren't Watanuki's friend at all, are you?

[She pitches her head up and glares at Yuuko, putting the force of all her pent-up anger behind the words and daring Yuuko to hit her back with a Red Truth, as a blue spotlight tries to shine into the witch's eyes.]

[goldenmaniac]

[Takumi still looks the same as last trial]

We already know the basics of what happened- we should really focus on the who... and also what they did to make Ru- Holmes-san so disoriented.

[lutea]

[She just waves a hand, letting the blue bounce off of her.]

I hardly see where that's relevant to this case.

[anonnomnomnom]

Ehh, did everyone evolve? [Anon more or less looks the same. Big, floffy, super boned. Edgehog has digivolved to... Edgierhog!]

[aleph_armed]

[Oh please, my closet has better fashion than that, and I don't even wear clothes.

...Lobotomy Hell is very fashionable, to be honest. Free suits for everyone!]

[kiddatheart]

Definitely. [ knows a little something about getting framed ]

But they really messed up by deciding to do it to you.