[@Mateotis] [@Majoras End] [@FamishedPants] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ddgI5Qg.gif[/img][/center] Noel’s armor was stained with blood, as was everyone else in close proximity to where Bliss’s head use to be. Emily was still screaming, and Lucy was the first to snap out of it and guide her over to the sink. Out of everyone, she had gotten sprayed with the most blood. “I-It’s okay Emily!” Lucy said with a stutter. Emily was starting to calm down, but her wide eyed expression let everyone know she was still in shock. Just about everyone was. Even Ice was too shocked to say anything. They had witnessed the carnage sisters hunt and kill them before, but this was the first time they witnessed a human committing this kind of brutality. It was one thing to watch a robot do it, or witness it after the fact. But watching Noel do it without hesitation… Noel seemed to ignored the Masson siblings, instead choosing to examine the gun in her right hand. Even when Daimyon spoke up, she avoided making eye contact with him. But once he was done speaking, Noel’s head turned towards him. “I’ve seen the end to more of these games than anyone else here. I know exactly what I’m doing.” She placed the gun on the table and turned her body towards Daimyon. “I removed another twisted murderer from the world. I’ve given closure to the victims of the families. In choosing to commit murder in front of all of you, I’ve deprived the bear of a good show.” Noel smiled rather proudly as she declared this. “This is suppose to be the murder that sets Parker free. The fifth and final act in a story that has never been told. And it will be told without drama or suspense.” [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/385033360633757696/390291506373853184/monokuma.gif[/img] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SnbZq-UpQg&list=PLU4ktq2pWONvsyBd_LrTVX8Et-gp0th4a&index=22[/youtube][/center] While Noel was droning on, Monokuma rose up from the floor. He looked frustrated, and was scrolling through his handbook. [color=Magenta]”I must admit, Noel’s actions have given me claws.”[/color] He tossed the handbook into the air. [color=Magenta]”Claws to rip you all to shreads!”[/color] “You’re not scaring anyone, ya wanker!” Ice shouted. Monokuma placed a paw on his chin. [color=Magenta]”Well, you sound like you’ve collected all the evidence you need. Just be at the court before long, okay kids?”[/color] And with that, Monokuma dove into the fridge where he promptly disappeared. Cyrus looked like he wanted to speak, but he turned away. Maybe he was saving it for the trial? [hr] While the other infinites were bombarding Noel with questions, Zachary found that he was being pulled towards the hallway. He might have been tempted to resist, but it was Jezebel that was pulling him along. As soon as they got out the door, she slammed it shut before turning towards the one-eyed archer. [color=#bd71e8]“Take a chill pill!”[/color] She folded her arms, looking none too pleased. [color=#bd71e8]“Like-”[/color] she sighed, and her expression softened. [color=#bd71e8]“Zachary, what’s going on?”[/color] Zachary, despite his earlier apathy, clearly couldn't look Jezebel in the face. He did not regret his earlier outburst as a whole, though snapping at her ate at him. But after he took a minute or two, he eventually regained the ability to speak with her properly, albeit with obvious difficulty.  [color=0076a3]"...I've just had enough,"[/color] he told her, his expression betraying his exhaustion. [color=0076a3]"It isn't ending, and I don't think it ever will."[/color] Jezebel closed her eyes and tipped her head towards the ground. [color=#bd71e8]“Like, he did say it was an infinite killing game. I’ve seen a lot of people die. At first I just tuned it out and junk, but it got harder to do.”[/color] She lifted her head back up and opened her eyes. [color=#bd71e8]“But like, it hasn’t been all bad right? I got to meet Krista, Faith, and Baldwin number one.”[/color] [color=0076a3]"But I don’t remember ever asking to be a part of it. I just want it to end, but I know he won’t stop. They won’t stop. I can’t deal with that."[/color] he pouted. His eyes trailed off at the mention of the other Infinites. He thought about how they weren't here anymore. Their futures were stolen from them, like so many other Infinites. Zach looked to Jez. [color=0076a3]"Seeing things in a positive light... it's impossible for me now. Not when they're gone. And not when tomorrow isn't guaranteed."[/color]  [color=#bd71e8]“Oh my god Zachary! Seriously?”[/color] Jezebel wrinkled her nose. [color=#bd71e8]“I’m not asking you to ‘look at things in a positive light!’ My best friend died yesterday, and like, we already have another death. You’ve lost your eye, it’s been a very grody last few weeks and it’s totally okay to think everything sucks and junk.”[/color] She pulled herself closer. [color=#bd71e8]“Zachary Ackerson, we may not have a tomorrow, but we have today, and that’s a lot more than twenty-something other people have. We have each other, and everyone else. It’s one thing to be sad, but taking it out on everyone else isn’t fair.”[/color] [color=0076a3]"Eh? O-oh."[/color] Zachary almost jumped. He wasn't expecting Jez to suddenly get even more heated like that, and the small distance between them wasn't helping him think either. [color=0076a3]"I guess I made the wrong assumption there, sorry."[/color] he was a bit embarrassed about that. Seemed death games don't make people any better at speaking, who'd've thunk?  As Jezebel continued, there was a small, throbbing sensation in his chest when she mentioned a best friend dying, which wasn't him. It was immediately followed by intense disgust at himself. What a sick person he was, to be like that. Could he get any pettier? It was surprising even to him someone as terrible as that hadn't been an active part of this killing game.  But ignoring this sense of self-loathing for a moment, he tried to properly hold eye contact with the woman who was reprimanding him for acting like a child. And he certainly was. This, in turn, made him feel all the more disappointed in himself. [color=0076a3]"I-I'm aware of that, I really am. There are only a few things I want less than to make a scene like that, but I'm so frustrated that I just suddenly exploded when I heard Alice."[/color] he sighed. [color=0076a3]"I mean I can't even seem to look at a cup of coffee anymore without getting so incredibly anxious and upset that I burn myself."[/color] [color=#bd71e8]“And that, is understandable.”[/color] Her face started to relax. [color=#bd71e8]“Like, Max took something that we both enjoyed and used it as a tool for murder. Totally uncool. I was going to skip coffee entirely.”[/color] Jezebel gave Zachary a hug. [color=#bd71e8]“But it’s gunna pass.”[/color] She took a step back. [color=#bd71e8]“But it’s not gunna pass soon.”[/color] Jezebel poked Zachary’s chest. It was weak, and the way her hand was shaped it was clear the intent was to point. [color=#bd71e8]“You can’t throw yourself away.”[/color] She crossed her arms. Zachary wasn't used to much physical contact, but Jezebel's warmth was appreciated. He was glad, at least, that she sympathized with the ordeal with coffee. [color=0076a3]"I still don't know about that."[/color] he admitted. Even if it was her, this thing gripping his heart, this terrible feeling of helplessness and resignation... it wasn't going away. It was corroding at him. He even took Bliss' brutal death with a straight face. That wasn't normal. [color=0076a3]"But I know that I shouldn't be letting it get to me as hard as it is."[/color]  He paused. Wasn't he being selfish? Jezebel did engage the conversation wanting to address his behavior, but it wasn't like she was completely fine herself. [color=0076a3]"So,"[/color] he began. Her poke, if you could call that, didn't sit well with him. [color=0076a3]"More importantly, what about you?"[/color] he asked. [color=0076a3]"How are you holding up?"[/color]  [color=#bd71e8]“I’ve been better.”[/color] Jezebel’s arms slid up until she was hugging herself. [color=#bd71e8]“Like, I knew faith longer than anyone else here, and she’s gone. Dunno how to feel about Bliss. What she did was grody, but she totally didn’t have to die like that.”[/color] Her fingers dug into her shoulders. [color=#bd71e8]“But as long as you, like, don’t do what Krista did, I’ll be okay and junk.”[/color] Zachary nodded. [color=0076a3]"I'm going to be honest: It's hard for me to trust the words of an Iron Man who comes into a room full of people and murders someone."[/color] he looked towards the Break Room. [color=0076a3]"So I don't know if she did something terrible like that, but you're right. That was... not the way someone should go, and it wasn't the time for it, either."[/color] Listening further, the archer seemed bewildered by Jez bringing up Krista for a moment. Then it finally hit him. He frowned. [color=0076a3]"That... won't happen. I would never do that. I can't. I'm too much of a coward, anyway."[/color] he assured her. [color=0076a3]"And, of course, I'm sure you wouldn't, either."[/color]  Jezebel smiled and unfolded her arms, but there was a twitch in the corner of her lip. [color=#bd71e8]“Yea.”[/color] She looked back at the door to the break room. [color=#bd71e8]“I guess, like, I should probably be in there. Just in case.”[/color] Jezebel walked towards the door. [color=#bd71e8]“Like we’re all going to have to go to the trial anyway. Kinda sucks, but it beats the alternative.”[/color] He had heard what he wanted to, at least. Zachary couldn't begin to say what he'd do if he found out Jezebel had done something like that. But that wouldn't matter. Because without Jezebel...  [color=0076a3]"It's almost laughable how there's still a trial after that. If the culprit isn't Noel, then I'd honestly almost say whoever it was deserves to escape. I'm quite convinced I just watched Noel do it."[/color] he said. [color=0076a3]"It's redundant. But I guess that doesn't mean anything."[/color] he sighed. [color=0076a3]"Well, I'd love to join you, but I think the others would rather I not. I'll just take a walk and clear my head instead."[/color] he waved to Jezebel and jogged off. [hr] [hr][center][h3][i]TRIAL IS IN SESSION[/i][/h3][h1][i]A L L R I S E[/i][/h1][/center][hr] No matter how many times they took the coaster, the sense of vertigo never seemed to go away. All of them felt like they were being plunged straight into hell. But at least they all knew who the killer was this time. [color=Magenta]”Blah blah blah, blackened will be punished, blah blah blah, everyone else will be punished. Blah blah blah, give it your best.”[/color] Monokuma was reclining in his seat, with a leg up on one armrest. [color=Magenta]”Voting is still locked for now, so no lever pulling.”[/color] Cyrus was furious, but he knew Bliss wouldn’t want him to explode in front of everyone. That didn’t mean the anger wasn’t there however. It had only been five minutes and he had already broken six pairs of glasses. He had bitten his lip to the pint of bleeding, but he cleaned the wound with his tongue. Cyrus had questions, and he couldn’t ask them if he was spouting venom at Noel. “You joined the killing game after Justiciar’s first appearance.” “Correct.” Noel nodded. “But my role in the game was different than the rest of you.” She laid her hands on her podium. “I’m sure you’ve seen the carnage sisters and Monokuma make use of secret doors. My role in this game was to act as a sort of traitor that would influence the game the way Davis wanted me to. This includes capturing Calvin and stealing Krista’s phone call. The battle suit was hidden in such a space, and access to these passages let me traverse the hospital much faster than the rest of you.” Dennis was holding the sides of his head. “Justiciar talked to you. How that happen!?!?” “For that little illusion I needed to call a friend.” Noel’s smile curled into a full on smirk. “I recruited Geina. I had spotted her doting over Felix’s unconscious body and threatened to make her love public unless she helped me. Geina might seem like an odd choice, but she was willing to help Felix that night while I worked with the rest of you to attack Nariko’s carnage class chassis.” She giggled. “And before you ask, her guns do pop off. I was surprised by this, and I’m sure someone else was as well.” [quote=the best post in history] [url][color=999999]https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/157933-danganronpa-tower-of-carnage/ic?page=23#post-4632253[/color][/url] [b]”They scare you? They should!”[/b] The carnage sister looked away [b]”B-but I guess I can take them off. Just because you admitted they scared you.”[/b] With a pop, the mini guns split in half and fell off of her arms. [b]”I bet you're going to complain you're the only one undressing. So you know what?”[/b] she started unbuttoning her shirt. [b]”I'm going to beat you to it, fucker!”[/b] [/quote] Lucy folded her arms. “Why did you start helping us? Since I arrived in the game, Justiciar was protecting people.” Noel closed her eyes. “Typically Davis calls me in for one specific task or another and I’m requested to leave the game not much later. But the the more time I spent in this game, the more attached I got to everyone.” [color=red]“How unfortunate that you didn’t kill yourself first then.”[/color] Cyrus’s glasses were breaking apart as he spoke. [color=red]“Politicians have pretty big egos, but how full of yourself do you have to be to masquerade as a hero who does Davis’s bidding? Your head is as empty as that suit when no one’s wearing it.”[/color] Noel shrugged her shoulders. “Bliss confessed to her crimes. Is everyone really okay with letting a child murderer not being punished?”