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

[canreallymove]

...

I dunno if its that simple, Dyl. She's like an alien, and just locking her up isn't gonna help. She could just break out and do this all over again. And yeah, we could keep tryin' to seal her away, but.

What happens when we're gone for real?

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

I don't-

[He can't say he doesn't care, because he does care, he does not want this to ever be repeated.

But still...]

Sonic, I am-I will not just let her-let her get away with all of this-I know what it is like TO DIE because of this doll! And I'm just...

I'm expected to give it mercy?

[What is this? What is this?!]

[temmapathy]

DON'T CALL HER "IT"!!!

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

I DIED IN PART BECAUSE OF THAT FOCKIN' DOLL! I CAN CALL HER WHATEVER I BLOODY WELL PLEASE!

[oh, anger unlocked British accent mode.]

[temmapathy]

[Thwacks him on the nose. With the flat of her hand, of course, just in case her karate powers are still active.]

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[Flinching back, squeaking and grabbing at his nose.]

What-what fockin' next-expect me to just-apologize to Jeanne? Say she had every right to kill me? Pretend like everything was just okay in the end?!

[temmapathy]

I'm not asking you to apologize to ANYONE! All I want is for you to not treat her like she's not a living person worthy of basic respect! You're not calling Jeanne "it" after all! And she's the one who actually killed you! Not for Kakuya's motive, either!

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

Has she been treating us like we were living people?! Or were just TOYS to her?! Respect comes with equal respect!

And-what are you even talking about?! Why ELSE would she want to kill me!?

[temmapathy]

At least she's been using the right pronouns for us!

I mean that WASN'T Kakuya's motive! It was FATHER'S!

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

So-[Manic laughter for a moment]-so I'm right? She's seen as toys-dolls for her amusement-this whole time?!

We've just been PLAYTHINGS FOR HER!

[temmapathy]

It's the only way she knows-she knew-only way she could-just dolls, always-

[Okay, Emma's hands are just shaking now. She might be about to break down as well.]

Don't want-more pain, more forever hurt-for ANYONE!

[Yeah-she's just going to...stumble off into a corner and cry for a bit. Actually, no, she's going to cry a LOT, just letting out all that excess energy she couldn't bleed off because she needed to stay clear-eyed to understand everyone and talk to them.]

NOT A GAG TAG ANYMORE

[lets_dewey_it]

You are misconstruing the point and putting words in our mouths. Please. Please. _{[He's shaking at this point.]}

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

What...what. Am I. supposed. To expect.

Some of the people I am closest to here are telling me we shouldn't punish the doll that put us through Hell. That when someone is the reason over half of us died...she can just...get away with it...

[He feels pained as he says it.

This can't be happening. Stop doing this.

Please. Please.]

[lets_dewey_it]

...I don't agree with just letting her roam free from the outset either. But she isn't getting away with it either.

This isn't a lack of a punishment. She's being forced into a state where she's powerless. Where she controls nothing. Where she can die forever.

I'm in favor of a compromise. She should face some reprucusions. She should probably be... taught a lesson that what she did wasn't okay. Maybe some kind of prison for spirits being turned human. But being forced to be human is one of those consequences.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

A compromise for you. A compromise for the doll.

A compromise none of us had a say in.

Why...why is this the one we have to go with? When she could've just-used us all, could've killed us all-and never have a second thought about it?

CW: Implied Mao Mao Spoilers

[violence_ensues]

Dylan... I never told you what happened to my mommy...

[Adorabat hugs Slimy close.]

There's... there aren't any good monsters back at Pure Heart Valley.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[That...that gets some pause, from his ranting. As Dylan looks to Adorabat, and...Slimy.]

I...no, you...I don't think you did.

What...what's this about?

CW: Mao Mao Spoilers

[violence_ensues]

I... Remember the Badge-a-Fire story when I said that Badgerclops invented a monster translator to prove that monsters were all bad...? I... I just got so angry when you died that I wanted the monster who did it to die... Because I thought all monsters everywhere were bad. Because I didn't take the time to understand the monsters here.

[Adorabat starts to form tears in her eyes.]

And... a monster k- ...made-... W-well... My mommy's... gone... And I miss her every day...

...But I started to believe it was Sonic that killed you, that he was a monster and everyone started yelling at me to stop being mean...

...And then I met Slimy and she can think and talk to us, which is something the monsters back at Pure Heart Valley couldn't ever do...

Kust because a monster is a monster, it doesn't mean it's a bad monster. Sometimes, to be a hero, you just need to listen to the other person's heart.

[Adorabat pets Slimy.]

...'n that's what I did... for Slimy and for Kakuya...

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...he does remember that story. The translator sounded cool. Like something he could ask about. See if the badger could do something for dog-to-human translation. And...hearing more of it...

He feels himself shaking. His legs. His head. His entire body. As the explanation goes on, he's not sure if it's fear, rage, despair, relief, or a combination of all four. When he died, his sister accused his brother of killing him. His sister lost her mother in a way that affected her for so much of her life so far. His little sister managed to accept a blood slime and a sociopathic haunted doll as friends, despite being literal monsters. And somehow-somehow-despite it all, they were able to take down the doll and find a way back to them. To finally, finally make things okay again.

And now...all she's asking of him is this...]

...how?

[And he still can't do it...]

[violence_ensues]

[Woah, now, who said Adorabat is FRIENDS with Kakuya? She's only giving her another chance. Enjoy a nice bat hug (and possibly slime hug if Slimy joins in) to help stoop the shaking.]

Big bro... I just listened to what everyone else had to say, so I listened to Kakuya. I know she's not my friend, but if I can assept that some monsters are good, can't you assept some people can get second chances?

[canreallymove]

...I'm not askin' you to forgive her. Heck, I wouldn't say I'm all that happy about this whole thing.

But that's the thing. You know what it's like to...to die. You know how much it hurts. We know how much it hurts even if we weren't the ones who died. But-she doesn't understand. Not the way we do. It's like-

[How does he explain?]

A spirit like her...it's like dealin' with an alien. What they know is right and stuff, it's nothin' like what we think. And...and because of that she doesn't know why we cry when one of her toys dies. She doesn't know why we get upset when she talks about going back and forth from the living and the dead like it's no biggie. And she can't understand that she shouldn't, like, think of us like her toys because she. She can't change. As a spirit she's not capable of understanding or changin'. It's not like Buttnik who's still just a dude and who could stop bein' evil and instead reverse all the stuff he did, but he doesn't because he really just doesn't care. Same with Father, I think.

[He looks away, trying to find the words.]

But I don't think making her like us is a mercy? If anything, for all we know, she might hate it and think it's worse than death because...it is different for us. So it'll be different for her. Because she'll be powerless. And she'll have no other choice but to live like that. And then maybe she can listen and to learn what we've been trying to tell her since the beginning. And if she doesn't...then.

Well. Then we gotta stop her if after that it was for nothing anyways. It's the least we can do.

CW: Talking about what it's like to die, children being tortured

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...]

...the pain wasn't even the worst part. Not for me, anyway.

The worst part...was when I had trouble seeing.

It got blurry. It got dark. I could barely keep my eyes open.

And I knew it was going to happen. I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do about it.

[A shaky breath in.]

And we're hoping that a doll, who saw this happen to all of us, as well as four girls we never knew, who were mutilated and tortured, and the oldest was only twelve...will suddenly learn empathy, just because she has a pulse?

[The doubt is clear enough in his tone, but he continues onward anyway.]

What are we supposed to do if it doesn't work? What if she never, ever changes?

1/2

[canreallymove]

[That...that does sound awful. To know you're going to die, and to be powerless. And man. Sonic hate being powerless while being alive.

He can't imagine what it's like to be in that moment, in a position where he knew he wouldn't live, no matter what happened. Where the moment it went dark, it meant the end. That was it.

And then someone would find him dead, and they would be just as helpless.]

2/2

[canreallymove]

...Then we do what we gotta.

[A deep breath.]

If it means ending her, then...we do it. We owe you and everyone else that much.

[canismajorcontrolfreak]

[...they're listening...they're really, really listening...

It's not full on, bursting into tears this time. But they still show up. And he still jumps forward to hug the hedgehog.

Hug his brother.]