THIRD TRIAL

[keyofimagination]

[This is all becoming routine now, to the point that maybe the thought of the elevator dropping suddenly doesn’t bother you. Or maybe you’re just so numb to four people dying already that the thought of dropping isn’t as bad.

Or heck, maybe you’re still dreading the drop, who knows?]

Submitted for your approval, Amanda and Thalia. Two girls who deal daily outside the normal world. They’ve dealt daily with fighting dangerous beings, only to have been struck down suddenly by the mortal coil. For even experience with these terrors couldn’t prepare these two young warriors for the kind of terror one finds… The Twilight Zone.

[And there’s the drop again. At least this is the norm now, and at least once it’s finally done you get access to that sweet open bar.

The Tip Top Club, is, like, usual, the same except the new grayscale pictures of Goofy, Roxanne, Stitch, Amanda, and Thalia. The Narrator is in his usual spot, but it seems like he’s spacing out a little. He does acknowledge the guests once they enter, at least.]

Take as much time as you need. I’ll be quiet this week.

[Have fun, everyone.]

Comments

[coulombslaw]

Let's get into this already.

[Virgil seems especially interested in this trial. Two people he liked a lot were killed, of course he'd get into this]

I only saw Thalia's...dead body. [He winces, it feels horrible to have to refer to her as a dead body] She was in the entrance of the chapel, so I went inside. Some of the pews were askewed, so I think Thalia may have fought with her killer inside the chapel before she died. There's no way she would go down without a fight!

Also...I dunno how this fits, but there also was lantern oil missing, like a lot. I didn't find any of it anywhere in the chapel.

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Belle finds it hard to muster any enthusiasm, even though she's determined to find the person who killed her friend. It hurts, knowing Thalia is gone, seeing Amanda's empty seat across from her...which is why she goes over and sits in Thalia's seat near Reyna instead. At least they can be sad together.

She sets Dipper's bload-soaked hat and the knife on the table, wrapped in a cloth napkin, and unfolds the cloth to reveal both.]

I found these by Thalia. [She refuses to say 'body'.] The knife...it seems to be what killed her. And the hat is completely soaked in blood.

[nocasetoobig]

I don't think she fought back. I mean, other than her neck, she didn't seem hurt. Even if she had a lot of blood on her shirt, I'm...not sure that was all from her.

[forgottenfounder]

[Oswald looks around him, brow creasing as he takes in just how many of the chairs in here are empty. It just happened out of the blue, but why...?]

Okay. I went off to investigate, and... I found Amanda's door unlocked. It's probably unlikely that she went to her room last night.

[...He hesitates, then starts pulling things out and placing them on the table.]

I also found some things in her room... a note, her journal, and a fountain pen.

[The less said about the black candle, the better.]

[theduck]

Another note? Was this one about the motive, too?

[anasty]

A pen, you say?

[ Ursula draws closer, leaning over the table to inspect the items. That fountain pen... that must be the key to solving the riddle. ]

Oswald, you wouldn't be a member of the "Keepers", would you?

[ Amanda and Oswald shared one aspect she knew of - they both knew who she was. Perhaps they worked for the same organization. ]

let's do the catherd again!

[forgottenfounder]

[...Alright, they've all been talking for a while, checking out a few things, but ti seems like they've hit a wall now. It bothers Oswald, for no small part that the dead were some of his best friends in this place.

Time for Oswald to step up then. And by that, he steps onto his table and clinks a fork against a glass.]

Hey! Everyone! [And hopefully, everyone's eyes are on him. He's gotta do leader stuff.] It feels like we're kind of going in circles, so let's try and piece everything together.

Let's see... Thalia was found in the chapel with some askew pews. She might have died from a cut on her neck from a knife that was found at the scene. [he winces a little.] And when Amanda was found, she apparently died from a snapped neck but was also covered in oil that could probably be the missing lantern oil from the chapel. She also had blood on her clothes despite having no wounds besides the broken neck. Thalia had oil on her too.

[He rubs his own neck, tenderly.] There was also... a burned sandwich? [He looks at Sally. Is... is that right?]

Right now, I think it might help if we tried to make some kind of timeline out of all this.

[audentiae]

A timeline sounds like a good place to start. Who do we think died first?

[audentiae]

[ Reyna suddenly sort of... snaps out of her distracted state. Rises up from her chair, and stands shoulders squared looking at the room around her. ]

You have questions for me? Bring them on, but know this:

[ She sighs, eyes closing. Breathes. Swallows. ]

I am Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona and praetor of the New Roman Legion. I do not expect to leave this room alive, but I did not kill Thalia Grace.

Ask away.

[ ONAGER COLOQUII PROELIVM, INCIPE ]

[hallotween]

... So, you killed Amanda, right?

[greatwidesomewhere]

[What the fuck, Reyna, she came and sat by you to avoid drama.]

Who killed Thalia?

VOTING TIME

[keyofimagination]

[Rod folds his arms, somehow looking even more tired than when the trial started.]

I guess it's time to vote, then. Remember it's majority rules and a wrong vote counts as a vote for yourself.

[darthfanboy]

What if we were to write down your name.

[darnsitall]

[politely folds her hands in her lap.]

I don't want to play this game anymore.

[theduck]

[Just. Crosses arms stubbornly and slouches down as far as he can at his table.]

No.

[audentiae]

Listen to me, all of you. This isn't going to stop unless you all make it stop. Please, if this... if our deaths teach you anything, let it be that you have to work together to leave this place. I've seen mortal enemies come together to fight greater enemies on a greater scale than this. Break this cycle. I believe in all of you.

[ She picks up her pen and paper, writes on it: ]

REYNA RAMIREZ-ARELLANO

Don't let this happen again, alright? Stay safe, and stay alive. And for the gods' sake, don't get yourselves killed for me. If you need help voting, I'll offer you my courage.

[ And, a little later: ]

Narrator?

[hallotween]

... Next time, I'm locking all you jerks in a closet.

[Reyna]

[tadaishi]

[Tadashi's not joining this riot. They don't have any advantage and it's mostly a lot of pointless arguing, so he's just staying out of most of it.]

REYNA RAMIREZ-ARELLANO

[Fite him.]

[greatwidesomewhere]

[As much as she wants to fight this, tooth and nail...she knows Reyna is right. They can't all die. They have to try to fight this, but now is not the time. She bows her head and writes:]

Reyna.

[A couple of alligator tears drop to the paper, blurring the ink, but the deed is done.]

[forgottenfounder]

[....Oswald's so tired. He has no energy to argue, not that he would. It's all just silly rules. They have to play by the rules, or accept whatever consequences that would come with disobeying.

It burned in the pit of his stomach like a hot rock, but... at least, out of everyone, Reyna wanted to remain strong.]

Reyna.

[That much they should be able to do for her.]

...I'm sorry we can't give you some of our courage, Reyna.

[anasty]

[ And to think she was actually considering offering up her life up this time to call a bluff. Well, she's not going down without the pack of you risking it all too.

She doesn't look at her notebook, instead bottoming up her drink as she writes: ]

Reyna.

[geomanctic]

[She can't make eye contact with anyone. She keeps her head bowed- scrawling:

Reyna]

[stenchus_rodentus]

[Ratigan is just here for a laugh but if you losers don't wanna kill yourselves while he attempts to bargain out of it fine.

Ratigan rolls his eyes as he slurps down the rest of his drink.]

Reyna.

Bad luck for both of them, really.

[lusito]

Reyna

[A pause, and then]

Now if you children are finished pointing fingers and yelling over nothing, can we move on already? I'd like to get this over with soon.

EXECUTION: One For The Angels

[keyofimagination]

...Your votes have been tallied.

[The Narrator's tone is much more solemn than normal, and he watches as Roman Architecture appears all around the stage. A fitting place for Reyna's end. Reyna herself appears moments later, surprisingly calm and prepared. Just as the Narrator promised her, her sword is on her and she has it at the ready. If nothing else, at least she'll have that in her final moments. She'll go down fighting. But what is she to go up against, exactly?

Rod appears once more, silently walking across stage, carrying a spear. Though some of you might hope he's about to fight Reyna, that doesn't look to be the case. He drives the spear down into a patch of bare ground, symbolizing the start of war. He walks away, and once he does, Reyna has her answer. It comes with the sound of large footsteps from just offstage. The sound of steam fills the air, as Reyna's opponent marches on to the stage and makes itself known.

It is a large lion, the Nemean Lion of Greek mythology. Though, looking at it from here, it most definitely doesn't look real. The texture of the thing shines to the point where it almost starts to resemble plastic, appearing to resemble something like a parade float. It's robotic, for sure, and fake looking. But it moves like a lion, and when it exposes a set of metal teeth and roars like one, well, there is no mistaking it as a threat.

Reyna is the first to strike, charging into battle with all the ambition and strength of a warrior. She instantly recognizes how this thing can be taken down, even if the death here seems inevitable. She avoids the swipe of a giant paw and goes for its front legs, swiping at them, and hacking one apart. It leans slightly on that side, exposing gears and wiring, obviously crippled due to it's lack of mobility.

However, that doesn't stop the lion in it's attack. Though slower, it continues to move at Reyna, attempting to pin her down underneath its massive size. Reyna continues to evade it's strikes, countering with her own at every turn. The robotic lion is fairly wounded, and almost looks as though it's going to go down for the count. But just as Reyna is about to strike at it's other leg, it leans forward just so, and gets her between its teeth.

Reyna's expression turns to that of horror as the lion bites into her, feeling her own insides being crushed and shredded to bits as it grinds it's metallic teeth into her. She continues to swing and swing at the lion, hoping to hit something to make this pain stop. It keeps hacking at the things nose, practically flailing as blood practically pours out of her. Until finally, in her last moments of life, Reyna throws her sword.

The sword hits it's mark, piercing the lion's eye. The lion, now malfunctioning to the point of no return, finally gives in and collapses. However, Reyna still lies between in it's closed mouth, stuck between two teeth. She remains conscious for another few seconds, showing incredible signs of battle damage, but lives to see that her last battle was one that she had conquered. It is with this small comfort that she passes on within it's teeth.

The Narrator walks back on stage, surveying the destruction, and the two limp bodies that have captivated the entire area with their battle. With a solemn nod of respect, he reaches for the spear, pulling it out of the ground.

There is a pause, before the Narrator turns to address the audience.]

[keyofimagination]

[...When The Narrator finally speaks, his voice is somehow more monotone than normal, and he seems more interested in the floor than looking at any of the guests.]

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano… a warrior to her core. All she wanted was to protect those she held dear, and even when she found her partner dead, at the end of the day she tried to talk her down rather than resort to violence. But despite her best efforts, she couldn’t save either of them, and because of that she is gone too.

… In The Twilight Zone.

[And with that, he vanishes.]