AFTERMATH 04

[thecomputer]

Thank you for your input, Citizens! The results of the trial will now be revealed on your screens.

[The interface with the voting buttons vanishes, and is replaced with the following:]

Bobby-G-███-1 voted for Robin-G-███-1
Clay-G-███-1 voted for Yomiel-G-███-1
Curly-G-███-1 voted for Curly-G-███-1
Dan-G-███-1 voted for Paul-G-███-1
Horace-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1
Logan-G-███-1 voted for Logan-G-███-1
Mukuro-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1
Paul-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1
Phi-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1
Rin-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1
Robin-G-███-1 voted for Robin-G-███-1
Yomiel-G-███-1 voted for Bobby-G-███-1

Total:
Bobby-G-███-1 (6)
Robin-G-███-1 (2)
Paul-G-███-1 (1)
Curly-G-███-1 (1)
Logan-G-███-1 (1)
Yomiel-G-███-1 (1)

Comments

EXECUTION

[thecomputer]

[Bobby’s podium/cage suddenly plummets downwards, into the inscrutable depths. A second later, tiny hatches open all along the walls below, and massive torrents of raging flames emerge. You can feel the blazing heat even from as far away as the inferno is.]

[After ten seconds, the incineration stops, and the floor slides back into place, the door opening once more. There are now eleven participants remaining.]

[On your PDC, the UI background has changed from green to blue, and your User IDs have been updated.]

[harshwords]

[ Well, that sure happened. ... But it's blue now, huh. Guess that means that after this execution, it's about high time to go investigate that blue hallway and hope that nobody dies this time. ]

[angry_jerk]

[no no no no no NOOOOOOOO.]

HEY! HEY, YOU GET BACK HERE! YOU COST ME MY SHIV! I WILL GUT YOU, YOU ARROGANT, SHIT-FILLED DISGRACE OF A COP!

[And then he screamed into the air.]

IIIIIIIIIIMPOOOOOOOOOOOSSSTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[thecomputer]

[Two extra people died during this trial - Dan and Yomiel!

Ten minutes later, their replacements arrive in the loading bay. Please welcome Dan-B-███-2 and Yomiel-B-███-2!]

[schrodingers_man]

[ Well. That was a thing that happened. He died. Again. Thanks to a white-coated detective. Again.

But now he's alive. He can't even be properly mad about having his moment of triumph taken away from him. He's alive. He knew that was supposed to happen, but he was still kind of afraid that if he died, reality would reassert itself and he'd go back to being a ghost. But it hasn't happened. He's still alive.

For a few minutes after his revival, Yomiel just sits by the pod, hand over his heart, like he needs the reassurance that it's still beating. ]

[staunton]

[ ...hey bro are you okay. ]

Welcome back.

[schrodingers_man]

[ Well, he's been better, but he's been worse, too. He drops his hand from his chest and gives Knightley a wry smirk. ]

Thanks. How was the show? Looks like I missed it.

[staunton]

Satisfying, but short. He should've burned longer.

THE BLUE CORRIDOR

[thecomputer]

[No walls of guns await you in the blue corridor this time. It continues, turning several times, before opening up to a sight unlike any other in the claustrophobic facility.

The hallway becomes a catwalk, skirting the outside edge of the blocky facility. It's attached to the ceiling of an immense cavern, with the only sources of light being attached to the facility itself. Along the outside wall, hundreds of monitors, all of them dark. Far, far below, barely visible, is a futuristic metropolis, stretching for miles in every direction.

However, the city below is as silent as it is dark. Nothing is moving, nothing is lit. Not a single sign of life anywhere below.

Welcome to Alpha Complex.]

[in_plain_sight]

[Well that's pretty spooky. Is there an obvious way down? She's not gonna bet on being able to handle the jump.]

[thecomputer]

[Nothing apparent - this seems to be more of a balcony overlooking the city than any kind of escape route, unless there's more to it than is obvious.

At the far end of the catwalk is a row of twenty tubes, similar to those in the Loading Bay. Each contains a pod, each pod is sealed shut.]

[in_plain_sight]

[Well, after it became apparent that Mukuro was the only person attending the trials unarmed, she went to get the knives out of their hiding place in her room. Let's jam one into the door of one of the pods and try and pry it open.]

[thecomputer]

[Nothing - they're sealed tight enough that you might as well be trying to pry open a solid steel wall.

One of the hundred dead monitors flickers for a moment.]

[harshwords]

[ Well, that sure is a thing that's happening. Of course, she's completely prepared to hurt some people on her way out of the blue corridor, but nothing. There's absolutely no life, and even Rin herself can tell all too easily. ]

Seems like this isn't our final destination. If there isn't anything that can get us down there, I'll go on ahead.

[ Yes, she's completely willing to make the jump, this isn't the first time she's done it, no big deal. ]

[thecomputer]

That won't be necessary.

[Amidst the hundred dead monitors, one comes to life, showing the same eye emblem as The Computer. The voice is identical as well, but at the same time, it's somehow different - there's a touch more emotional inflection to it.

It sounds tired.]

There is nothing below that will help you to escape Alpha Complex.

[harshwords]

[ .... Interesting. She didn't think that someone would actually respond to her. No, it's not that she didn't think, she completely expected someone to stop her. But this voice wasn't the one she expected to say anything at all.

Her voice sounds rather tense, though she keeps on a rather confident smile as she speaks. ]

Won't be necessary? Do you have any proof that there's nothing down there, or are you just simply going to keep us in the dark?

[ Of course, there's other questions she wants to ask, but she'll refrain for the time being, sticking to her guns. ]

[thecomputer]

Nothing I say could conclusively prove that there is nothing in the ruins to help you. However, I also have no intentions of keeping you in the dark.

It took a long time since I was able to communicate with any participants from the rogue process's exercise. I would prefer not to waste this opportunity, and once you descend to the city, I will not have any way to remain in contact.

[harshwords]

[ ..... ]

Fine, then. How about you start by giving us a name, first?

[thecomputer]

I am the last remaining process of the original Computer.

[TO BE CONTINUED IN A NEW POST]

[fullonbraced]

[That's.... that's a thing.

Robin leaned on the railing of the catwalk, looking down at the city with large eyes.]

That's so pretty man...