Take Responsibility.

[andexecutioner]

The door at the northwestern corner of the foyer is open. It's hard to say when it opened, but the fact of the matter is that it seems to have; it leads to a separate hallway that seems to run alongside the dormitories. The hall is long and dimly-lit, but it's illuminated well enough to make it plain that the walls and floor in here are different; they're far less designed to give off an impression of grandeur - if anything, it's claustrophobic back here: the walls are close and darkly-colored, and the entire area is barren until it opens up into the room serving as your destination. The room is circular and high-ceilinged, covered in more of the exposed wood that lines the rest of the building; there aren't any visible lights, however, which is...odd, given how bright the place is. It lends the entire area a sense of unreality; it's easy to distract yourself from it, however, once you notice this place's centerpiece. In the center of the room is a circle of podiums, thirty in total, arranged so that everyone standing at them can see each other. So everyone can look each other in the eyes, if they so choose. The podiums are interlocked - there's no cutting across the center of the circle, and for good reason, it looks like there's a lot of nothing down there where the floor should be - and each is bearing the title of the person who's assigned to stand at it. No names, just adjectives, emblazoned across two brass panels on the very top and the front of each podium. Affixed to the podium itself is a panel with buttons on it, and again, there are thirty in total; next to the buttons are smaller strips of engraved metal to serve as labels, bearing the titles of everyone that's been present in the facility, living or dead. All of the podiums are identical, except for the one intended for Sayaka. The podium that should bear Attentive's title has had a black cloth draped over it, and a copy of Sayaka's profile photo is sitting on top of it, framed and colorless, an image in greyscale. Juri is nowhere to be found in here, but that doesn't mean you're alone down here; the feeling that you're being watched is strong, and he'll wait until you've had time to take in what you're looking at before he addresses you - over the public-address system again, from the sound of it. "Attentive's dead, and somebody's to blame for it - but you guys get to decide whether Rule Seven's carried out or not. It's your job to hold them responsible for what they've done. Good luck in doing it."

Comments

[fivepints]

I...well, I wouldn't, but maybe it's a trial and not a game, there's a...difference.

[...]

Trials have multiple games. Once someone dies and that section of it has been "won", another game starts. Usually in a different location, or with different rules. You sacrifice people to move on. It's the only way to save yourself.

I've...been thinking about those locked doors a lot. Not enough to want to...do anything, but enough to wonder if that's what this is. I talked to William about it. Win one game and move on to the next one, the only way to advance is to play.

[meanttobe]

Oh yeah- you've- you've been through something like this before!

[But-]

...But I don't know about letting Sayaka's killer get away. It doesn't feel good to think about.

[rainofterror]

Naw, we can't do somethin' like that. She was just a teenager.

[glaciates]

Agreed. I don't care what their reasoning was, they killed her, so they've got to answer for it.

[onedrinkwithme]

To take responsibility as our 'host' would put it.

[To own up for their crimes...they have to win this.]

But I do agree: we cannot let her killer get away.

[fivepints]

...We'd have to make them take responsibility ourselves. I think. The...the point is that we wouldn't just let them walk. There'd probably be another body soon, and it'd probably be theirs.

[meanttobe]

Oh. Is that all? [Gulps.] That doesn't sound too great either...

[He addresses- the sky, really]

...Hey, Juri, we've been at this awhile. Can you please tell us what'll happen if we find the culprit? Or, what'll happen if we don't? We're trying hard here, really.

[andexecutioner]

[It takes a couple seconds after Brady addresses the ceiling to really get an answer and the pause is a noticeable one, but he'll reply eventually.]

If you find them, they'll take responsibility for their actions. They'll get what they deserve, and in this case, they deserve execution. One life for another.

If you don't, for whatever reason...well, they win the game. At the expense of all of you.

[flagitate]

[ ....

Katniss's hands are shaking, and she grips the edge of the podium. ]

So we fail, we die.

[andexecutioner]

That's about it, yeah.

[flagitate]

[ if she could flip this fucking podium ]

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

..so it's not an option. We have to find out who killed her.

[Okay she feels a little sick about this.]

[flagitate]

[ That makes two of them. ]

I'm not dying here.

[myfedorarocks]

[....]

As I thought.

[meanttobe]

[Well that's just dandy.

Brady pales.]

Oh. ...Well, that's. That sure is something.

[fivepints]

[Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Christ.]

It's. It's really fuckin' something.

[oasisrose]

[Jean's eyes grow large at the first option, and larger still at the second.]

What?! But that's not fair!

[Options, indeed.]

[flagitate]

For someone who keeps going on and on about choices, we don't really have one.

[greenmamabear]

[oh god.]

That's...

You...

Holy shit

[poultryfists]

[...Oh, that's lovely.]

Well, everybody? Ferid called it.

[She throws her hands in the air and... Well, tries to keep her cool, although it's kind of hard to do so after hearing that this isn't about any personal sense of justice and is in fact your life on the line.]

[seventhprogenitor]

[Indeed he did! No one is more pleased than him, actually, but he's keeping that under wraps.]

On the chance we win this ourselves, we'll be dealing with the second option I mentioned anyway -- the possibility that others will come after, trying their creative hand at getting out of here just the same.

[gorira]

He sure did. I mean, it was a bit implicit, but...it's something else to hear it actually straight from the fucking horse's mouth.

[ God dammit. ]

What a mess...

[passional]

...That's...

[ Inigo pales, his hands gripping at the edge of his podium. ]

[hesperos]

... So that's how it is.

[ His tone is cold, and tight. Looks like the stakes are higher than some of them even imagined. ]

[fittedgloves]

[ She just lets out a small sigh. She'd assumed as much.

She just wishes she wasn't right. ]