Trial 2-5: Turnabout Desserts
The last person to be in this situation was Ava. Then, she had been intensely regretful of JJ's murder, and we had all tearfully watched her be executed.
This time…
"Yep. That's pretty much it."
Tien had both hands at her waist, staring at us all with a look of absolute apathy. "Congratulations. You solved Xiang's murder. Whoopee."
Nobody felt like celebrating. Or pitying her, for that matter.
"Ms. Phuong...What was your real secret?" Faen ventured.
She sighed. "Do you really want to know that badly? I mean, come on. I'm about to be executed for the wondrous enjoyment of those two despots-"
"Hey!"
"-But it appears as if you all want me to humiliate myself even further." Tien crossed her arms and frowned. "Why should I tell you?"
"So we can know why you did it!" Nico was practically crying. "Tien, we can't let you die without at least knowing why you're gonna die!"
"It's only fair to poor Xiang," Hideki added. "The severity of your secret...How bad could it have been to drive you to murder?"
Silence followed, before the long, drawn-out sigh, indicated Tien's willingness to respond.
"I wasn't lying about the secret the first time I told you guys - I really did burn down quite a few laboratories, mostly by accident. I did actually burn down one on purpose, though...What's-his-name."
"What's-his-name?" I questioned.
She shrugged. "I saw no need to remember his name. All I did was burn down his entire laboratory - after taking his papers on how to prototype the Toyota Valflame, of course."
A shocked gasp echoed throughout the courtroom.
"Zhat would mean…" Lucille was slack-jawed. "You didn't actually invent zhat marvelous car?"
"Not necessarily, no." she adjusted her glasses. "I merely built upon the existing foundations of his design and patented the creation before anyone could figure out."
"So she's a thief and a fake." Maya drawled. "What else is new?"
"I'm an actual Scientist, Maya," Tien retorted. "Unlike your lousy excuse for a title."
"You're getting executed and I'm not. I wouldn't be so smug."
She grinded her teeth so hard, I swore I could hear one of them crack. "In any case, that's it. That's the secret I killed Xiang for."
"You killed Xiang just because you stole a bunch of fucking designs?" Johan yelled. "Are you seriously mad, woman?"
"The alternative is getting stripped of my scientific credibility forever and being labeled a common criminal!" Tien fumed. "Do you know how much I've worked to get where I am? If this secret were to get out to the world, I'd never be able to show my face again!"
"Oh, by the way, toots, did we forget to mention?"
Monokuma was practically giggling. "This trial is live! We're broadcasting every single juicy detail to the denizens of the internet!"
Beat.
"Well, fuck me sideways." Tien muttered, slumping on her podium. "Just...go ahead and execute me already. I don't care anymore."
"Meh. Alright then, it's voting time!"
Our Electro-IDs all beeped in sync again, as it automatically opened the 'Vote' application for us.
"You know the drill. Tap once to vote on which of your classmates is the culprit, and tap again to confirm! The person with the most votes will be considered the accused party in this act!"
I'm ashamed to admit there was only the barest hint of reluctance when I located Tien's portrait, which had her putting on a nervous grin. It zoomed in, such that her picture filled up most of the screen, and I only hesitated slightly before tapping 'Vote'.
Definitely not one of my stronger moments...For those of you fans watching me out there, and the girls as well, I'm sorry I had to be so heartless.
For a split-second after I touched the 'Vote' button, Tien's portrait turned a familiar black-and-white with a bloody cross superimposed onto it à la the others, before returning to normal. The application logged itself out after that, before signalling with a beep that I had voted.
A few seconds later, Monokuma came bounding down from his throne onto the roulette, producing another roulette ball. "Nice job voting so fast - I was despairing having to come back out here and do the same shit I did last Act, but hey, you people are smarter than you look!"
The hologram shut off, and our trial table reformed back into the actual roulette. Placing the ball on the dais of the roulette, he grabbed one side of it, and swung.
*whirr-rrrr-rrrr-rrrr*
The last of the fighter planes disappeared into the horizon as we rose up. Xiang's statue was poised towards us, and I heard Tien audibly gulp, knowing what was coming for her.
The moment our courtroom stopped its ascent the roulette began to slow in speed.
VOTE
*whirr*
*whirr*
*whirr*
*brrk-ding-ding-ding*
...
Phuong Tien Lam
...
Guilty!
"Well, that was pretty obvious. Indeed, the murderer of Xiang Li was none other than Phoung Tien Lam, the Super High School Level Scientist!"
Monokuma pointed his claw at her. "And this time, the vote was completely unanimous! Congratulations on being completely heartless bastards to this completely heartless girl!"
Her response was a middle finger.
"Wow. Rude much? Anyways, you got a little time for your last words, so make it snappy!"
"Urgh, fine."
Tien lifted her head up, before looking directly at Eric. "I apologize for the animosity we had during the week we spent on board. To be fair, though, you were a really interesting test subject."
"Aw, just go to hell, you murderer!" he groaned. "I don't wanna hear your sob stories and have to feel guilty about convicting you!"
"Fair enough." She turned to Hideki. "It was a pleasure being your colleague. I'm sorry we had to end our partnership like this, but I daresay I did mildly enjoy working with you. Sorry for the whole frame-up act, by the way."
He stayed silent, glaring at the ground.
"Ignore me then, fine." Tien turned to Sasha. "I'm curious - how did it feel when you thought you were to suffer my fate?"
Sasha stared Tien right into the eyes. "Like I was trapped in a frozen lake underneath a layer of ice so thick no light shone through."
Tien frowned. "Rather poetic, aren't you?" She shook her head. "I feel the same, but with...something else. Something even more soul-crushing than that. A frozen lake doesn't even begin to describe it. Perhaps by the time I figure out how to word it, it will be too late." She shook her head once more. "What am I talking about? It's already too late for me."
She then turned to me. With finality, she bowed. "I mean this one completely sincerely. Congratulations, Ashley, for the faith you have in your friends. If only I had so much faith in myself as you had in me, maybe I wouldn't have killed anyone."
I didn't want to look at her, but my conscience willed it. "...Sorry it had to end like this."
"Nah, don't be. I brought this upon myself, and now I'm paying the price." She shrugged. "Karma's a bitch, huh?"
"As much as I'd love to hear you despair even further, we're running out of patience. Xiang, take it away!"
*whirrrrrrrrr-click*
*clank*
The Xiang automaton began to step off its pedestal. Holding one arm forward, I expected the chain to come out.
But to my surprise, its hand curled, like it was beckoning Tien to come to him instead.
"Heh. So even in death you're still a pacifist?" she mused, as she walked towards him, and took his shoulder.
The statue gave no sign that it had heard her.
Tien smiled. "Might as well. Take me away, I guess."
Xiang remained immobile, before his head whirred and clicked, and his arm moved towards Sasha's direction.
His hand shot out swiftly on a chain, and reached down and plucked the scarf from around their neck.
"Hey!" They shrieked, looking like they were about to lose it. "I wanted to keep that as a memento!"
"Too fucking bad, Comrade," cackled Yukari. "Time to find a new love interest!"
"I didn't have any romantic feelings for him," said Sasha nonchalantly. They didn't seem to be lying. "I just...friends are rare enough for me."
"All in favour of them fibbing, say 'Aye'."
"Aye." Eric raised a hand, before a bowl impacted his face.
"Nay. Shut your face, Andrews."
The rest of the courtroom remained silent. Somehow, I didn't think Sasha was lying. If anything, it wasn't hard to believe they had so little friends that their idea of friendship would seem romantic to others.
"Huh. Shame. I did think you two would have made a good couple." Tien shrugged, before patting the statue's shoulder. "Too bad 'bout that."
"Well, since I guess the blackened's already accepted her fate... it's punishment time!"With that, Monokuma proceeded to take out a small hammer and slam the big red button. The world once again went black right after.
GAME OVER
Phuong Tien Lam has been found guilty
Commencing Execution
Switching POV to 3rd accordingly
Tien didn't know where she was.
All she could feel was the cool, smooth surface of whatever it was she was leaning on. She was standing up, and the cylindrical surface meant she couldn't really bend her legs any more than she could see them in this darkness.
Knocking on the surface with a fist produced a 'THONK!' sound, while adjusting her feet to fit the contours of whatever she had been trapped in led to a spherical bottom.
"Figures," she said to herself, "I'm trapped in a giant test tube. How predictable."
Suddenly, she heard the sound of sloshing water - or liquid, considering she didn't know what it was, and wasn't one to assume without proof.
It was coming from both above and below her, and the trickling sound did nothing to alleviate her fears.
Drip.
The first, well, drop, landed on her shoulder. She couldn't detect any scent nor heat from it, so she assumed it was just water-
"Gyah!"
She recoiled in pain. The second drop had landed on her face - and it burned.
LAB RAT
Super High-School Level Scientist Phuong Tien Lam's Punishment
She banged on the boiling tube fruitlessly, as the drops of what she now figured was an acid of some kind began to pool up beneath her.
"Get! Me! Out of here!" She screamed, though if anyone was listening, they didn't respond.
Her cheek felt completely raw now - the area where the second droplet of the mystery corrosive had touched her had the first layer of her skin all but burned off, though she was not able to see it.
Slowly, but surely, the level of liquid was quickly catching up. She could feel it begin to disassemble her Mary Janes from the soles up. And that wasn't counting the numerous drops of liquid that were burning every inch of exposed skin on her, or eating away at her layers of clothing.
Gritting her teeth, she searched every nook and cranny, to no avail. There was no way out of her glass prison.
Unless…Well, it was glass.
She jumped, and slammed her feet straight down, hoping to shatter the test tube at its most vulnerable point. As she did so, however, the acid sloshed into her shoes, burning through her socks and splashing onto her feet, making her wince in pain.
A small price to pay for a chance to escape.
Again and again, she brought her foot down, subjecting herself to the pain in order to force the glass to shatterpoint. Evidently, whoever was pouring the acid noticed, because the amount of acid being dripped into the tube increased in magnitude, until the level was now at her ankles.
Her feet had already gone numb quite some time ago.
But just as she was about to give up-
Crick!
That sound sparked hope. She was close! "Come on!"
Tien leapt up, and shot down with one final, gargantuan effort.
CRASH!
The glass shattered.
Tien felt weightless as she plummeted through the air. But who cared? She was free! Free-
Splash!
Until she landed in the beaker of hydrochloric acid.
She didn't even have time to scream before the liquid completely engulfed her, dissolving her vocal cords before further invading the rest of her body.
In the end, nothing was left except for her glasses, floating on the now dark, murky liquid, before they too dissolved.
Phuong Tien Lam - the Super High School Level Scientist - has been executed.
…
Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick.
"Dude! That is messed up!" Eric yelled, before realizing he dropped his accent once again. "No seriously, what the bloody bugger was that?!"
I could see Nico shaking, before losing her balance. Lucille, nearly in tears herself, allowed Nico to lean on her shoulder, but to no avail as she fainted onto the casino floor.
Unlike last time, Matthew wasn't crying. Instead he was staring straight forward, his glasses having fallen off of his face. A crying Jackie had stepped on them, but neither seemed to even notice.
Faen was holding onto Johan for support - he was shivering badly, and Johan didn't look very well either.
Sasha looked around, before sighing deeply.
I myself stumbled into Hideki's arms, and held onto him for support.
Then I figured. Wait, he tried to kill me.
Awkwardly, I got off him, and apparently, the sentiment was shared, because Hideki also pushed me away with a nervous laugh.
We averted our eyes. There was still a lot of explaining to be done.
Maya was the only one who seemed completely unaffected by the turn of events - then again, this was Maya.
Then she broke off into a sprint, and raced out of the casino.
Trial 2-5 FIN
11 Students Remaining
A/N:
SSBFreak: Similar names...now there's a reason to suspect someone.
(Well, I mean, Act Three of the first game…Yasuhiro, anyone?) Yep. We baited and switched you into thinking we'd pull a bait-and-switch.
klarkiscool: Thanks so much! I'm always happy to see new reviewers!
dashunterman: Yeah, I mean...if she wasn't fictional I'd marry Tien. She's really cute and easily my favorite character in AFoFD. I'm rather sad to see her go.
This guy chapter: Thank you so much for the kind words!
CaptainQuackin: Thanks.
Random Stranger: *laughs maniacally*
Asujoll: I know, right? I just want a non-despair AU where me and my wife, Tien, can be happy.
SomeSnappyName: Well, did you enjoy it?
ezmonee6: Did this chapter satisfy?
A Dingus With Sweet Shades: Nice.
HeroinOfDarkness: ...not much of poor Tien left to shoot, is there?
So anyways, SD here. Interesting news afoot!
Six of us here at the AFoFD headquarters have accepted to do the 30-day OTP challenge for the month of August! That's right, six of us will be doing pairings related to AFoFD (and in two cases, our 'sister' story, Dawn Rider)!
The writers and pairings are as follows:
SDproductions (yours truly): Mile High Club [Ataru Inoue (Supporter) x Yukari Nishiyima (Pilot)]
Limeade Space Dorito: Ghostbusters [Ayumu Umemoto (Inventor) x Rin Kazehaya (Paranormal Investigator)] - Found on Dawn Rider
CrimsonSkyTamer: Amnesiacs [Ayumu Umemoto (Inventor) x Nicol di Avantia (Agent)] - Found on Dawn Rider as well]
Penumbro: Service Soldiers [Faen Skylark (Butler) x Xiang Li (Soldier)]
CaptainQuackin: Hidekash [Hideki Kenta (Surgeon) x Ashley Jubilee Jung (K-Pop Idol)]
A Dingus With Sweet Shades: Tessa [Matthew Tanner (Mathematician) x Jackie Ressa (Lolita Model)]
Look forward to seeing them in due time on this site. Cheers!