clue

[vivariummods]

One whole day after the second group’s arrival (along with one whole day since the dead body’s discovery...), some sort of activity in the warehouse begins. Early in the morning, there is an abrupt squawk of microphone feedback over the loudspeakers (and since when were there loudspeakers?), before a screechy voice makes a terse announcement: “Ahem, ahem, testing. One, two, three, testing! Ooookay, looks like this is up and running. So, you pesky test subjects, what a mess you’ve made! I take my eyes off you for just a moment and this is what happens. You really are a terrible bunch, aren’t you?” The “voice” clicks its tongue three times, letting out a heavy sigh, before continuing. “Anyway, let’s get this all sorted out! Know those elevators back out in the lobby? Well, first of all, they’re not elevators. They’re called Ambidex Rooms, so get it right, but second of all, why don’t you all make yourselves useful for once and step into them? Only one test subject per room, though! You can try to go in with someone else, but we just don’t start. What is that? You don’t want to go in? Then we can do this aaaaaaaaall day, I’m a very patient mouse, I’ll let you know!” And with that, the mysterious announcer goes silent. In fact, they’ll stay quiet until all the test subjects finally enter one of the AB Rooms, no matter how long it take. Once inside, the doors shut close, trapping them all inside..

Comments

[fushuuu]

I only saw their legs. They were too small to be mine.

[indeed, his calf muscles are considerable]

[hisokathemagician]

"It's quite possible that no one here did it ♥," said Hisoka, which was his way of agreeing with her.

"The problem is that we've been told to vote for someone. So will you try to abstain? If you do, your vote may be for yourself by default."

[hisokathemagician]

"Hoping it was someone in particular?" He just... can't resist asking....

[elliexir]

[ Well... That does seem really suspicious. Considering the situation they have, it'd be hard to say that didn't seem like damning evidence... ]

Yeah, but... how do we even know how old that video is? It might have been taken days ago.

[elliexir]

Oh man, that doesn't sound good. Was the body... you know?

[ "Dead"?? She's guessing Rio couldn't really tell if the angle was low but might as well ask and be sure. ]

[elliexir]

Someone in a suit washing something out... I think that was one guy with the grey hair.

[ She doesn't sound completely sure, however. The video was grainy and low quality enough that she wasn't too sure, but there's no one else around here wearing a suit like that... ]

[elliexir]

Ughhhh, don't smile, that did not make her feel any better about the whole thing.

"I guess, but you seem to be taking this really well. You don't even seem to be fazed." Trying to flip this so the point of focus goes on him, like dude, you were acting all normal, smiling like there wasn't a dead girl yesterday.

RESULTS

[vivariummods]

The AB Room doors open, releasing everyone into the lobby. Projected onto the far wall are the results:

WINNER : HISOKA

A scratchy sound comes over the loudspeakers--perhaps the voice from before, chuckling.

"You people aren't very decisive! That was way too close! This mouse was afraid you'd allllll have to take the fall..."

A pause, then,

"Anyways, I've done enough of the work already. I'll leave the punishment up to all of you."

The room goes silent.

[hisokathemagician]

On the plus side, Hisoka didn't seem too broken up by the result? In fact, he was kind of... smiling?

He put a hand on one hip. "So ♥? What punishment have you come up with?"

[1st_response_is_anger]

Damned if I know. If this is some weird science experiment, I'm going to find them and punch all of them in the face. *And then kick them in the groin. Among other things.*

[1st_response_is_anger]

I suppose it'd be too casual for anyone to randomly move a body. *An accomplice though? There was a thought.*

[1st_response_is_anger]

So you saw that guy with the grey hair, someone else saw something completely different...man. I swear, we're all being tricked.

[toybombs]

Uuuu...

[Her legs, bruised as they are, definitely look closer to the spindly side. Her skirt definitely does nothing to hide that, nor do the slender knee-high socks.]

B-but how could I chase anyone? I don't think I could keep up, even if I tried-!

[...She is rather short, after all.]

[toybombs]

"Eh-- o-of course not...!" Why would she think that way? "But... If it really was someone, I don't want to just wait until they decide to do something again, either... what if it's even worse than this?" Just. The situation in general, apparently.

[toybombs]

Not for sure, but... if they were being dragged like that, they couldn't be conscious anymore.

Did you know? It takes a lot of trauma to knock someone unconscious. Movies always make it seem easy, but if someone gets knocked out, the damage is usually pretty severe. It's rare for someone to fall unconscious for very long without sustaining any brain damage.

Other than that... if they passed out from pain or bloodloss, I don't think it's likely that they would have survived unless someone treated them. So whether or not they were alive during the video...

I-I don't think they could still be alive now.

[Is she being helpful yet?]

[toybombs]

We can only vote for one person, right...? So it would be strange if there was an accomplice.

[hisokathemagician]

"Worse how, do you think? After all, someone's already dead." What were you thinking, Rio, did you want two people to be dead next time?

[toybombs]

Ohhh, she knew it! With a faint squeak of terror, she quickly scrambles behind the nearest person, peering nervously at Hisoka from their side.

"Wh-what should we do...?"

[toybombs]

Maybe if one of them were you, Hisoka.

"B-but the rest of us are still alive... and we're trying to figure out who did it." That's a pretty good motivation to kill again.

[hisokathemagician]

THEN YOU COULD JOIN HIM, RIO. WHAT FUN.

Actually, it wouldn't be all that fun, he'd rather die with Ellie or Maria. "That is a problem, isn't it? But there's no guarantee it was any of us. It might have even been more than one of us. We're all a bit bloodied, after all."

[1st_response_is_anger]

So we have to figure out from what we see, who would most likely have killed that girl, hunh? *If the killer had an accomplice, they'd only be able to guess one of them, not both.*

[1st_response_is_anger]

*She hated to admit it but he had a point.* I don't really want to pin myself as a murderer...damn. It's like we've been given a scenario and no matter what we do, something bad is going to happen.

[hisokathemagician]

"Well..." said Hisoka, tapping a finger against his chin. "Something bad already did. But I understand what you mean ♦."

"If you like, you can vote for me."

[hisokathemagician]

"Is that so? ♦" Hisoka put a hand on one hip and smiled as though she'd given him some kind of compliment.

"I guess I just have one of those faces. Besides, isn't that what our host wants? To jar us?" Like... that's what Hisoka would want if he was running this game.

[toybombs]

Denied, she's going to survive this thing, dammit.

"There's only one vote, though... If there was an accomplice, wouldn't we have to be able to vote for more than one person? Otherwise it isn't fair."