FINAL TRIAL

[whimsicalism]

FINAL TRIAL

THE ABANDONED ACADEMY

It's time to run.

Armed with whatever they've managed to accumulate to defend themselves (or whatever they've might use to go on the offensive), as well as any information they've collected, the students can regroup after their final escalation and begin their descent back down into the school, accompanied by the sound of klaxon.

Near the fourth floor, a bloody trail follows you. The eager young slime that Adorabat befriended joins you on your flight. What use the creature might be is up to debate yet her presence is proof that at least not all monsters are hungry for your destruction.

By the time everyone reaches the third floor, however, their path is suddenly blocked. The already sporadic lights flicker once, then go off completely, and the hallways fill completely with purple mist that swirls apart as Kakuya, in her kitsune doll form, appears in the shadow of the hallway. The wall panels that once peeled away to allow access up from the lower floors slam shut again.

Being cut off from the lower floors might allow the students more of a chance to confront their captor face-to-face, for better or for worse. As the blaring sirens and shaking infrastructure demonstrate, there are hungry, desperate things eager to make their way through the entire school and devour everything in their paths.

"...Do you think you're clever?"

The doll speaks and her voice echoes in your mind. Her lips, as always, never move. Their constant painted smile betrays the seething anger emanating from her. As she speaks, it becomes difficult to even move. Kakuya is no longer above showing how strong she is. "Do you... think... you're smarter than Kakuya?" Two solid thuds collide with the floor as she moves closer. "Do...you think you're better than... the ice woman who strayed from her... path?" The cold autumn wind swirls the mist around as she walks forward. "Perhaps you... think you're stronger... than the stone lion? More quick witted than... the young samurai with his sickle? More righteous than... than the deluded martyr? More cunning than the... apprentice siren?"

Kakuya's smile looks more like a sneer as she looks at everyone before her, unable to move. The lights of her fox fire lighting up the fog swirling around."The laughing game... the defeat the oni game... tag... the keeping your balance game... the get away game... All five... failed and disappeared... Kakuya doubts you will have better luck. Now... Let's play... for the last time."

As soon as she speaks, she lets her grip on everyone loosen. You may finally act. The fox-like game master wills it to be so. One way or another, there's no going back to the status quo of this game. The semester is about to end, and only one questions remains:

What will be your final move?

OOC NOTES

Welcome to your final "trial" for Round 2! Today, characters will go through their last confrontation with Kakuya in their final attempt to escape from Ira Academy. This will happen in two phases. One, is the first confrontation with Kakuya and trying to figure out how to escape her or calm her down. Two, is the final confrontation that will finally decide the fate of the game.

Since characters have uncovered the power of belief as a weapon to be used against the horrors of Closetland, this power may be tapped into during a time of great need during this final trial. We would like all players to have the option to use this power equally if desired and to make the most room for a collaborative experience where everyone can shine as possible. Please ping the mods directly if you plan to invoke the power of belief so we everyone can work together on this finale!

As a note, even though they weren't mentioned any pets obtained during the game are safe. They will be returned after the finale.

Comments

NG REVEAL

[holyironmade]

[Jeanne's head pivots, with an enormous swish of hair. She points at the unconscious doll.]

NAGOSHI! NO! GI!

[She points at each character in the title page before she rapidly passes around the pages to whoever wants to see them.]

There may be an alternative to sacrificing a child! A doll will suffice if we find enough pages to learn how! We do not have to wait for her to decide she does not want to consume children anymore as she has continued to do!

[temmapathy]

It was some other guy giving her children to eat! It was always supposed to be dolls!

[holyironmade]

So if it was always supposed to be dolls, then why did she not object when she received multiple humans? What are we to her if we had nothing to do with this ritual? Why did she rise up and tell us to break Father's school so he would throw us into her origami correspondence course?

[temmapathy]

Because she didn't understand the difference! It was all she'd ever known!

[holyironmade]

Yes. Sometimes we do not know better. Sometimes we make mistakes because of the way we are raised. Our families. Our fathers.

But does she know better now?

[keyringwitness]

If you were passed dolls through a mirror for most of your life, would you think that something that's sent to you the same way that still looks mostly like a doll was anything but one of your regular toys? And that the things that lay outside that looked like those dolls were also anything different?

[panglici]

Something that looks the same?

Something that looks -

Are you being deliberately stupid or is this what "being in love" does to people?

[noblesnow]

Everybody calm down so we can discuss this properly!

[And yet, Reika is the least calm she's been for the entire time anyone here has known her.]

[holyironmade]

[Jeanne's mouth forms into a thin wobbling line. It seems like a kind of unusual expression that she only made in a specific situation.]

I was given enemies to judge and allies to revive. I did exactly as I was always ordered. And you did not trust me that my plan would work out well.

That is my sin to bear.

What is her plan? What is her promise? What are her, as Sonic says, ideas?

[keyringwitness]

...Jeanne.

If you want to seal Kakuya again, if you want to put her in a dark, lonely hell like that again... you're going to have to go through me. [Yasu's voice is like carbon: hard, icy, but brittle. She's not really sure what she can do right now.]

Besides. I, um. Have an alternative solution.

[lets_dewey_it]

_{[He's not blocking the way to Kakuya but he's going to loom near Yasu and look at Jeanne with sad eyes to try and get her to listen to the alternate solution.]}

[copycut]

Great. [ Despite... everything, her tone of voice is dry. ] Do you think we can find them in the next five minutes?

[ In other words, she doesn't know if this is a viable plan even if they wanted to do that. ]

[holyironmade]

Perhaps we can if we believe!

[But she also raises up her hands a bit helplessly. It's pretty nervewracking not having a more specific phrase like GRIND THE ACORN UNDER THE FULL MOON to work with.]

[canreallymove]

...Oh right, uh. You don't know, do you.

[holyironmade]

I had known that Yasu was looking for an alternate solution. Kakuya threw us into the middle of nowhere like trash and now you are here as well?

[canreallymove]

We didn't know that! C'mon, man!

Besides, it's not like Kakuya herself didn't give us some ideas that might work!

[holyironmade]

Ideas? Does she want to give back through charity?

[shinedsobright]

Jeannie?! What do you mean, are those gonna...?

[He'd take a page, but then he immediately gets distracted.]

Oh! And Shamash! He's been hanging around being all judgy at me for some reason! And our powers work if we believe!

[Oops should he have told Jeanne that, he just kind of blurted it out]

[holyironmade]

[Jeanne extends her arms beatifically.]

SHAMASH, YOU MAY SHOW YOUR TRUE FORM!

[shinedsobright]

True form!?

[Boy he sure hopes his mouth running off the adrenaline of dropping a giant flame meteor on a monster doesn't cause problems with this!!]

[holyironmade]

Yes... yes! Your love will embrace us all!

[Shamash is a twenty-foot-tall humanoid. He is eerily silent and glass-eyed and completely intangible as well, pretty much just looming behind Jeanne out of intimidation, but she is so happy.]

[noblesnow]

[SURE, WHY NOT THIS TOO]

[shinedsobright]

That's a big embrace!

[curdle]

[ OH, BLACK PHILLIP, WE'RE REALLY IN IT NOW ]

[cellpreservation]

[OH OKAY COOL.]