FINAL TRIAL

[whimsicalism]

[Alice eventually in, her own stilted way, tells everyone they should head to the elevator. The Storyteller was waiting for them.

How the teacup actually gets to the court room this time is up to anyone's guess but there's a slight difference now. All of the podiums are blank. You can stand where you'd like.

Maybe she just thought you'd all die from the monsters. Nursery Rhyme doesn't look happy when you arrive, either.]

Just what were you doing in there?! Well, I suppose that can be this trial. Discuss what you found first. Then we can see what the outcome of this round is.

Comments

EVIDENCE

[whimsicalism]

[There's a lot this time, isn't there?]

[imozon]

I found some newspapers in the library. They all had articles about people who were all unconscious for a while, then got jealous about something, then disappeared mysteriously. One of them was about the prom girl from the mirror. It sounded like she got turned into someone else like Lena.

[She still doesn't know what a prom is!]

There was also an office where it looked like someone had been trying to learn how to bring back dead people because they had a lot of papers about it. This book was in there too--I went in there because I heard it suddenly fall down. It's about Alice and the Storyteller.

[She has A Story for Somebody's Sake, Volume 1 here for anyone who wants to take a look.]

[ballooncaged]

There was another one about this football guy. The library wasn't just small, it had lots of Japanese style books even though the people in all these articles obviously speak English. On the computer was more of that Apple Court Kids book about the power of belief and how many strong King monsters are ruining Closetland.

Courtyard Hidden Passageway Evidence Part I

[golden_king]

Well, I guess it can't hurt to cover some of the things we found...

First, we managed to go down a hidden passageway in the courtyard, and found some copies of Alice in her doll form. Three of them to be exact! Though only one of them was fully put together.

Two of the others were broken; one of them being the one Oriko had done in for sure. There was also a magical blueprint for making her doll form, it looks like.

[ He brought it with him! ]

Oh and there was a hidden elevator, which allowed us to go into some room where we found what remained of Alice.

Also, there happened to be IVs where we could hear everyone who died talking...though they didn't seem to be able to hear me.

[ Gil will then hold up a book. "A Story for Somebody's Sake Volume 3 of 3." ]

Lastly, I found this. Nothing much has been written in it except boring stuff about us just having arrived, I guess.

[imozon]

[A collection of Alices... even if they were broken/incomplete and therefore probably a little creepy, that sounds really cute.]

Was that were you were when we were all talking on the radio?

Courtyard Hidden Passageway Evidence Part II + Some more

[xxxx_me]

((cw: assisted suicide mention))

[He nods along with Gilgamesh's explanation.]

When we first entered, it was a room full of sewing machines and that... dust. That's what she was using to make the dolls. I found a scrap of paper that said "Another Queen maybe? It worked better that way." After that we walked into an elevator with Storyteller's crest on it, and the room after that is where we found the real Alice in bed with IVs. She talked to us through a radio with a recording of the Storyteller telling a story.

...When we met with her, she said it hurt a lot, and Storyteller wouldn't listen. So that's why she asked me to kill her. But after talking with everyone on the radio, we decided not to.

[He then levels his gaze over to the Storyteller herself.]

Storyteller told me she was doing the things that Alice wanted... except to stop killing us. Because the Storyteller thinks that killing us will make her happy, even if Alice doesn't agree. The dolls are copies the Storyteller made for her, and she was planning to keep making them for the all the other rounds, over and over again. The real Alice can remember what happened to the copies, but the copies couldn't remember what happened to the other copies, so that's why Queen Alice couldn't remember what happened to Alice the Dreaming Doll.

Storyteller's determined to make her happy even if she kills us. She said she needed it for some reason. But I don't think real Alice agrees with that at all.

[twinverses]

[She glares in Allen's direction.]

So what if she doesn't? I know that it's for the best.

[battlestations]

I explored some of the ruins with Amdi. What we found there was a secret room... it looked like another audience hall. There was a chair and blank portraits. The portraits all had weird names that I'm not going to bother trying to pronounce, but the chair had 'Invidia' on it and it looked small. Apparently this is where the Storyteller reads her mail, because there were letters to and from her just thrown about. Get a trash can, you animal. [He says that while glancing aside at the former cat... and then he places the letters on his podium for the grabbing.]

ANYWAY. It turns out my enemies, the Delightful Children, are out there in Closetland and trying to trade souls with the Storyteller. It's likely they have the Apple Court kids. They were saying they'd be helpful for Alice, but she was ignoring them. They also wanted to transfer a bunch of people to the "Ira Academy", which we can guess meant me and the rest of you. It's worth noting that Ira was one of the names of the portraits, and that they wanted to 're-educate' us. Storyteller was about to tell them to stay off her territory and that the "King of Wrath" should mind his own business, but for some reason she didn't send it yet. Too busy unleashing monsters on the castle, I suppose. Obviously, we can't deal with that until we actually get out of here.

Which brings me to the last thing I found. A document, A Story for Somebody's Sake Volume 2 out of 3. It's a record of what happened the last time this death game happened, and Nursery Rhyme cheating her butt off. Strangely, the papers are numbered in backwards order, the last part of the chapters is 0/32, and then there's the unlabeled epilogue which is just the Storyteller freaking out for like a hundred pages in red ink.

[whimsicalism]

[Hey, Nigel? Where are you standing?]

[imozon]

What was with the library? It was all huge on the outside but then the inside was tiny.

[ballooncaged]

Do you think that...... it was someone's memory? Like the vending machine items on a bigger scale...

[imozon]

I guess it might be. That would be a weird memory, though. Why was it so small?

BOOK FIGHT

[twinverses]

[Now that the Storyteller has a new shape she's planning on taking back the book by force. Maybe you should stop her.]

[nothingposh]

[Right. That excavation tool? Later is now, and Gavroche is just gonna straight up throw it like a javelin at the Storyteller.

We have pretty good aim and a lot of belief in impossible shit. It's fine.]

WONDERLAND

[twinverses]

[Time for... poetry reading?]

Re: WONDERLAND

[imozon]

[Continuing from where she left off...]

The clouds floating there in the sky look like candy!
Your sparkling eyes illuminate the world before you.

Goodbye there, to you who dreamt.
Look upon me with those old eyes.
The whole world is clear, yet the whole world is cruel, everyone has become tired like you.
Even candy has become tasteless!
The sparkling world is what awakens those eyes.

Wonderland is a land of fairy-tales.
Rhymes are the lullaby for dreams...
Not even worth one shilling.
Not guaranteed to last even ten years.
Eventually those sweet memories will fade.
But sweet pain is needed.

[TAKE IT HOME, EVERYONE!]

Even if you forget about the book, please don't forget what was hidden between the pages.

VOTING. ...by voting I mean. BELIEVING

[whimsicalism]

[Okay, so. I guess you haul the Alice doll to the hidden room.

Now. The question is. Do you BELIEVE?]

[octopups]

[EIGHT DOGS BELIEVE VERY STRONGLY]

[xxxx_me]

[I believe I believe with all my heart...]

[ballooncaged]

[Yeah this literally happened before, to Mizuki it checks out]

[imozon]

[Dark Dream believes! Then again she would probably believe the sky was fluorescent pink if someone stated it confidently enough.]

I GUESS

[battlestations]

Hmm. I definitely believe you COULD do that. Are you sure you don't want to take your chances in the outside world though? Someone could probably make a robot exoskeleton...

[But she looked pretty close to death so maybe they'd have to come here first and that's just a lot of variables.

Look, he invited her to his sector, he wants to help.]

Re: VOTING. ...by voting I mean. BELIEVING

[golden_king]

[ Sure because it'll get em out of this mess. ]

[nothingposh]

[I do believe in fairies, I do, I do.]

EXECUTION...of *DEATH*. AKA REVIVAL: I Believe In Dolls

[whimsicalism]

[The Alice doll begins to stir. She stands up, straightens her skirt and smiles at everyone with a curtsy. While the Apple Court kids didn't believe enough to bring Alice back from nothing, believing in someone you know being able to live in a body made for them was, well.

In the realm of belief, really.

As she stands up...your memories begin to return. Whatever bond that brought her back as the Queen gave her the power to keep the castle around without the need for the Nameless Forest.]

Thank you, my friends.

[

She takes the book back before turning to the IV stands. She glances at the bed before pulling up the cover entirely. There's nothing under there anymore but she doesn't want to think about it.]

Now, for the rest of our friends.

[Without ceremony she just. Pushes over the now un-tethered IV stands.

They crash and their colorful contents flow all over the floor. It's kind of gross! As is the flood of over forty voices coming from them. Some you recognize, some you don't. Soon the liquid vanishes as a whole group of friends and strangers show up in the foyer. Uh. Better go down to them before they start rioting.]