FINAL TRIAL

[foundationmods]

...Finally, it was time to begin.

The unlit pyre rose before them, tall and massive.
The smell of smoke wafted around them, as the Witch stood before them - flanked by all her demons and her servants.
The Pieces she had taken.🗈

There was no audience, no trial.

It was just them...and the Witch.

The Witch who stood before the pyre, as if accepting her fate.


In this, this final hour... Music could be heard by both the pieces and those that looked on from another plane.

Their forms were changed again, for the final time - to those of the trial.

A trial that could easily turn into an execution...or a redemption.

But it still had to happen.
If something heals improperly, you must cause pain and reopen the wounds to make it heal correctly.
But.
There was always the risk of infection...

....Would this end....in a happy ending...?

...Nothing was certain.

Nothing, except the knowledge in their own hearts and minds.

Comments

[youkaiwatch]

That's what every side always thinks, Karen. Are your beliefs worth more than anyone else's?

[oceanicbutterfly]

I'm not just fighting for my beliefs, though. My friends are standing behind me.

And as traditional as it would be to make a long speech about it, they probably want me to just get on with it.

[incrediblystressedout]

Yeah we are on a time limit. You can declaim for me later, if you want.

[Joey that's not even flirting. It's barely cheerleading.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

You always know just what to say.

[That's flirting, but it's also incredibly silly.]

and here it comes! heavenly blue truth at last!

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen holds up her hand, and the blue truth takes the form of water swirling around her.]

Kino Emi planned to kill Furudo Erika. To this end, she took a stake and some insecticide from the garden shed, then soaked a washcloth in the poison and sneaked into Furudo-san's room, hiding in the bathroom. Her intention was to disable her with the insecticide, then stab her.

She got as far as using the washcloth, but Furudo-san chose to cooperate with her! She returned to her bed, and showed Kino-san where to stab her and how to protect her clothes from blood! In exchange, since Furudo-san didn't like her choice of murder weapon, Kino-san used a knife instead of the stake she'd brought. She taped Furudo-san's mouth closed with the duct tape, covered her clothes using plastic bags, then stabbed her in the kidney! She hid the bags under the bed, and escaped through the window with none the wiser!



[Pretty Cure Aqua Stream!]

[youkaiwatch]

[ UGH. Some of that definitely hits, with a sizzling sound and some rising steam. But she's going to be ultra fucking pedantic about this so she can at least get a strike back. ]

The poison wasn't opened before Erika was in the room, and the killer didn't change the weapon because of Erika's preference.

[ Somehow this fire actually works against water, imagine that.

Also......... a charm around her wrist might have just started glowing red at some point during that sentence, whoops. ]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Hm. Karen's not a fan of anything that just happened, but she's not letting that stop her.]

So Furudo-san is not only an idiot, but a liar, too. [Actually it's probably more like a technicality, but Karen counts it.]

It wasn't Furudo-san's preference, per se, but her advice! She told Kino-san the knife was a better option!

[Another stream of water rushes Amy's way.]

[youkaiwatch]

[ That one doesn't hit at all, and Karen gets a fireball for her efforts. ]

The killer didn't agree to use the knife because of anything Erika said. Who would care about the opinion of someone like that anyway?

[ Emi's demeanor was always too gentle and reserved for anything like this, but Amy's going to give a quality oneesan laugh here. ]

You know you're only in this situation because you tried to be so specific. No one likes a know-it-all.

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Karen attempts to tank the fireball and immediately regrets it. Right, she isn't actually Cure Aqua right now, she should be more careful about remembering that.

That is in fact the only reason that this even slows her down. It's sword time.]

Kino-san decided the knife would be more effective! Furudo-san had an opinion but nobody cares about it!

[youkaiwatch]

[ There you go, that absolutely hits. ]

That took long enough. No wonder you all failed the first time.

[ There's a lot more sizzling and steam this time, and she gives her last words in a much stronger voice than Emi ever used with anyone here -- less a threat than a prediction. ]

If you don't save our lady, you'll all regret it.

[ ...And melts and fizzles away. Ding dong, the witch is dead. ]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[.........hmph.

Karen waits until she's gone, then addresses the empty space where Amy was.]

I didn't need you to tell me that.