Third Trial

[yourghosthost]

[Today, the Ghost Host seems eerily quiet as you descend the stretching room, not even doing his usual speech. The Usual 25 tombstones are there, but with three new epitaphs for Tadashi, Wander, and Sylvia.

Noticeably, Wander and Sylvia’s are identical, except the names are reversed for Sylvia’s tombstone.

Here lies Tadashi Hamada
Tried to save his brother with a wire
But got trapped and burned in a fire

Here lies Wander and Sylvia
Best friends and heroes from the stars
Were never able to recover from their scars

There’s no turning back now, is there? Be wary. Trust no one.]

You know what you have to do.

Comments

[capulion]

[Kiara slinks in, low to the ground and drooping everywhere. She looks like a camel with a broken back.

She looks up at Ghost Host, thinking hard, and her ear flicks. He's off of it, too, and that has to mean something.]

Wander was right. You don't like this at all either, do you?

[wannagetsmote]

[This much gets Maui's attention. He tilted his head in her direction, listening quietly he waited for the Host's response. It wasn't an incorrect assumption -- the host had seemed more than a little off.

But he'd wait -- let someone a little more gentle do the talking]

[yourghosthost]

I enjoyed Wander's company.

Your task is to find the culprit regardless.

[terribibble]

[Fiddleford looks and feels like shit. He spent the entirety of the investigation in his room with his hands clamped over his mouth trying not to have a complete breakdown and now here he is, forcing himself to stand here like he's not about to break under the weight of everything. His tombstone is even more or less across from Sylvia's so he can't look ahead, only straight down. His hands grip the sides of the stone very, tightly. He has to keep himself upright. He can't break down out here. It won't help. It won't help, it won't help, it won't help.]

We have to... where do we start?

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip looks tired, too.] Why were there so many knives? [She caught a glimpse of Julia's knife-bundle, at least.]

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford finds himself keeping one eye on Fiddleford at all times, or trying to. He's worried; he knows how hard this is on him, and he's privately afraid of what'll happen to Fiddleford if this keeps happening. What will happen to his already fragile state of mind.]

I found a few things. In the men's restroom.

[As long as they can just act normal, they can get through this.]

[arpeggiositar]

I dunno how useful this'll be, but looks like the killer went from the study to the conservatory, left the mansion, did...something out there, returned to the conservatory and left through the weird magic mirror.

[Demyx shrugs]

So...maybe we can start there? What happened outside?

[capulion]

I... [It's hard to get it out, and she swallows a few times.]

I think the way their... they were when they died is important.

[Staring at the ground, digging a paw into the dirt.]

Sylvia had been crying. Wander was clinging to her... and he... crawled over to her across the room as... he was bleeding.

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy's not looking much better either. Her hairs an tussled mess, clothed ruffled. A sign of both laziness and her rush they had getting up this morning. Still, she tries to stay prudent as she approaches her tombstone. Have to keep going. That's how it is, how it's always been. She stays cool in awful situations.

Slowly, she produces Wander's hat, reaching inside.]

I uh, found this stuff in the study. [And carefully, she places the bottle, and Wander's smartphone on her tombstone.] The smartphone is Wanders, it's got a bunch of photos on it. Apparently Wander and Sylvia were outside last night.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Ford is unusually quiet today; his heart is very heavy as he looks around at their dwindling numbers. It's beginning to seem inevitable that people will die, and he hates looking around and wondering: which one of us is the traitor? Something he'd been so hesitant to believe, but now...

His palm smacks flat atop his own tombstone, something else that's been weighing heavy on his mind. The thought of it always seems to be in his periphery. When he speaks, it's slowly and with gravity.]

It is very disturbing to me that we're out here for a third time.

[capulion]

No kidding.

[And that's just the beginning of what's disturbing her.]

[strangerslikeme]

Disturbing.

[ilovepuppies]

None of this should've happened.

[Star's voice comes from behind her tombstone. She's hunched down, knees drawn up to her chest and wearing Sophie's sun hat to hide her face. It's clear she doesn't want to be here.]

[kindaruledatit]

[Wendy's sitting atop her own tombstone, legs hanging loosely off of it. But she looks anything but comfortable.]

It doesn't get any better the third time.

[trashcubes]

[WALL-E makes a quiet noise of distress in agreement to this from where the robot is glancing over at Wander's tombstone. Why did this have to happen?]

[whistlenotchirp]

[Jiminy's just kind of quietly considering this hellish situation.]

...I remember, some years ago in some village I was passing through, there was this local boy who. Well. Didn't think he should be alive anymore. And when he was gone, some other folk around town who thought "if he can get away from it all, maybe I should too".

I think desperation and despair is contagious. And we're all sick and dying.

[wannagetsmote]

[Maui was slow to arrive, having been a bit distracted telling stories to someone in the hopes that he would be alright. Really, a punch to the face normally wasn't fatal, but he'd seen such a wound, at just the right angle, could be dangerous.

But eventually he arrived, oar in hand and eerily quiet for once. It's been a bad morning.]

[capulion]

[She doesn't like you much, dude, but she knows you're helping take care of Lefou, and that makes you an ally. She holds herself entirely non-confrontational.]

How is he doing?

[pardonmylanguage]

[Oh, and by the way, Tip has brought a plate of fruit-and-nut cookies to the trial.] ...this was mostly Wander's idea. I'm sure he'd be glad to know we were enjoying them...

[terribibble]

... Oh. Well that's. That's awful thoughtful.

[He takes one. He does not eat it. His appetite has once again swung around to being nonexistent. It's just he can't not take one, for reasons that ought to be obvious.]

[strangerslikeme]

Wander's idea?

IT'S TIME FOR A CATHERD

[amadeusrockette]

Um. I really think we should -

[There's a lot of crosstalk, and Julia's not an aggressive person at the best of times, but!! She needs everyone's attention, so she resorts to playing the one chord Nick taught her on guitar really badly on the banjo and as many times as it takes for her to get everyone's attention. When she has it, she takes a deep breath.]

We know I found a lot of knives, which Lea discovered were missing from the kitchen. I also found the remains of a picnic, which Wander and Sylvia were definitly at according to Wander's selfies. Mr. Pines found the bathroom had been used and a small amount of something that might be pocket lint. Wander and Sylvia died together and Lefou was attacked at some point. Also every ghost is accounted for.

What . . . Did anyone find something they haven't brought up yet?

[wannagetsmote]

A spirit has to possess someone for a day before it can leave. Just... in case that might be important.

[strangerslikeme]

[Tarzan slams his hands down. Furiously. Hard. His hands bloody on his tombstone.]

I DID NOT DO THIS! I don't - why has this turned towards me?! Just because I forget a...stupid title or....Tarzan does something wrong.

Tarzan is innocent!

[It's time.]

[wannagetsmote]

If you didn't do it, then why are you acting so odd?

[theyouisee]

That's - enough of this!

[he recognizes when things aren't going his way. there are about 20 people about ready to lynch him. so...

from tarzan's now-torn and ripped jacket (dont even think about asking about the vest's condition, lawrence pulls something. namely, what looks to be some sort of detonator, hovering his finger over the button. he begins to back up.]

Not another word! No more questions! If any of you move, you're as good as gone!

[wannagetsmote]

[Maui rolls his eyes and picks up the oar. He's pretty sure that with a good throw, he could knock the thing clean but... he hesitates nonetheless.]