Take Responsibility.

[transmittable]

The past several weekends have been an unrelenting barrage of death in particularly disturbing manners; either the method or the number of people, sometimes both, have been particularly extreme. This week has seen fewer dead than the last; however, the way that that one kill seems to have happened... It's not a particularly good tradeoff. Either way, however, expectations still need to be met and investigations still need to be carried out; once the allotted time has passed, those doors in the center of the second corridor slide open once again, the sight managing to be at the same time familiar and unwelcoming. The fluorescent overhead lights of the operating theater beam down, flooding the room with bright and steady light as soon as the first person walks in; the seats surrounding the podium circle in the center of the room remain as empty as ever. Four more are gone, their absence notated by their portraits joining the others in watching the proceedings through greyed-out and unseeing eyes, Kogami, Madison, Sakura Matou, and Osomatsu's podiums all draped in black. Once everyone has found their place in the circle, the public-address system comes to life once again in a light crackle of static; the Transmitter can be heard throughout the room shortly thereafter. "Fraternal is dead. You guys...you know what to do. Put together what you've found and try to seek out the guilty. You know what'll happen if you can't. Good luck." Eleven Patients remain. We'll see how many leave at the end of the day.

Comments

[preciousking]

[ That's. Quite the speech. ]

Just shut up already, will ya?

[crywiththesaints]

Dr. Dickens, throwing blame about after accusing us of the same isn't very therapist-like of you.

[doctorize]

... I am human, after all. I have my moments of particularly strong emotions too. And being accused of murder is a reasonable explanation for being angry.

[ossifragant]

What the hell does being human have to do with emotions?

[doctorize]

It's what I tell my patients back home: while things are different here, sure, everyone there is only human after all, so it's something that is often found to be comforting to hear during sessions.

[ossifragant]

And you're saying this to justify yourself to the nonhumans because...?

[journalname]

...Doctor.

[Asgore folds his paws in a conciliatory gesture, but he does not move from where he's standing.]

You must understand what it makes you look like, to refuse the same test that everyone else took.

[positivespin]

And if it doesn't work, we can follow a different line of discussion. So no reason not to.

[doctorize]

[Despite everything, Asgore is the only person he's willing to open one eye and look at here for a moment before he finally speaks.]

I'm sorry. I don't wish to be that person, but when you spend a life around people that look for any excuse to judge or hurt you... when people you were starting to put a little of your faith in suddenly turn on you with the flimsiest excuses, it's not particularly a good feeling, after everything else that came before.

[He crosses his arms here.]

I'll let you do that check, but only after I'm given a reason to have any sort of trust in that all of you are not going to just let the Risen get away with this insipid game of theirs.

[dangerousfool]

[A reason, okay, let's think. Nope, can't think of something, so Wheatley blurts something he thinks is obvious yet clever]

...because if we don't catch them then we'll all die and nobody here wants to die so we're going to do it no matter what?

[Self-preservation instinct, in other words]

[cadmiums]

I promised her that we would both escape from here, that everyone would get to have a new beginning. I'm not going to let them keep using her, using us, like they have.

[ossifragant]

....I'm with Mikoto.

[doctorize]

I'd be happy to, once we actually start solving this case instead of allowing the killer to get off scot-free here.

[preciousking]

[ With that, Mikoto pulls out a pack of those spinel brand cigarettes. He takes a cigarette out, puts it in his mouth, and uses his lighter to light it up.

There's nothing left for him to say. ]

[positivespin]

Mm, think we might need him to pull a Gant to finish this.

[ That turn of phrase should be right, from what she remembers Her saying... Anyway, she's going to down a lot of water after saying that, because damn, she needs a drink. ]

[doctorize]

... "A Gant"?

[The fuck are you talking about QQ]

1/2

[positivespin]

Like, that thing he did where he went, ahem.

N...

sorry for your ears

[positivespin]

NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[doctorize]

[... umm??]

Why are you shouting?

[preciousking]

Be my guest.

[ Gant was so long ago and went on so long Mikoto started to zone out but he's going along with QQ anyway. ]

[positivespin]

Will try!

[ She's getting flashbacks to him and his conclusive evidence shtick, so it's worth a shot! ...Except she's pretty sure they badgered him until it happened?

So, uh, badgering time? ]

[preciousking]

I'll be rootin' for ya.

[ You know. Right here, right now, QQ might just be his favorite person here. Here's lookin' at you, kid. ]

[ossifragant]

Sure. You got any ideas?

[He thinks he knows what she's saying, at least.]

[positivespin]

Am this close to tackling him and letting everyone sniff him. We're enough of a circus already, so why not?

[ossifragant]

Sounds like a party.

[You've got the thumbs up from Greed!]