Chapter 6: Granite Part 3

12:10 P.M. Day Two

Mausoleum

Trial Room

Jibo sat down upon the raised seat overlooking the rest of the room. "I suppose it would be best to begin with an explanation of how this trial shall function." He declared. "You shall spend an admittedly arbitrary amount of time debating amongst yourselves as to who the Ultimate Gargoyle's murderer was. Once you've come to a conclusion, or if I decide to call time, you shall then vote on the culprit. If the killer gets the majority of the votes, they shall be executed. If they are not found out, however, they shall be allowed to escape, alongside the rest of their half of the 'class', while the other half shall be executed. If there are no questions, let the trial commence."

Everyone looked around, unsure of where to begin. Finally, Gary decided to speak up. "So, did anyone find anything useful outside of the Foyer? Cuz honestly, I at least didn't really find anything out of the ordinary." Noises of begrudging agreement filled the room, courtesy of most of the people who'd searched the rest of the floor.

"W-Well," Kelley responded, "we did manage ta confirm that the mace used was from one o' suits in the Common Hall. So there's tha'at least."

"Indeed," Alexis added, "specifically, it was from a suit of armor next to Shawn's room." She turned her gaze to the Scarecrow. "And Shawn, you said that you were in your room alone the whole time, right? No witnesses to your actions of any sort?"

"H-Hey, what are you suggesting?!" Shawn asked, suddenly defensive. "I had nothing to do with this, alright?!"

"You say that, and yet…" the Brazilian trailed off.

"What?! What do you want me to say, huh!? I didn't do shit!" He was getting angry now.

"Enough!" Victoria called out, halting the proceedings before they could escalate further. "Just because the armor was nearest to his room doesn't make him the killer. Besides, there's no way he's strong enough to lift that mace."

"Unless he's stronger than he looks." Teresa countered, eyeing up the literal straw man. "He could have gotten an increase in strength with his new form."

"Hey, this is all just straw now, alright?!" He announced gesturing to his arms. "I'm surprised that I can even stand up or open doors most of the time. I can't lift something that heavy!"

"Really?" Adrien commented, skeptically. "You could be lying and have hidden this strength for just this sort of purpose."

"Wait! The Scarecrow's right." Clarisse interrupted. "While we were investigating, Shawn couldn't even lift a wooden chair. There's no way he could've lifted a large metal weapon like that mace."

"You sure he wasn't just faking it?" Alexis questioned.

"He would've had no reason to at the time, as he'd had no reason to think he was being suspected of anything then, and more to the point, I'd have noticed if he'd been faking or lying, trust me on that." The Markswoman's tone offered no room for argument.

Victoria cut back in. "So again, Shawn is not strong enough to lift that mace, none of us are!"

"… Some of us are, clearly." Eric noted, hand on chin thoughtfully, "At least one I can think of for sure that's still alive." He looked over to the Ultimate Golem, standing silently at his podium with his arms still crossed. "What do you think, Logan?"

The Golem looked surprised at suddenly being addressed. "w-What do you mean? I was alone in the Dining Hall, I never even heard what was going on."

"That's something I've been wondering, actually," Eric countered, eyes not leaving the Golem, "the Dining Hall's pretty close to the Foyer, and there had to've been more than one swing given the injuries. How could you miss the sounds of a stone head getting smashed to pieces?"

"w-Well, I was caught up in my own thoughts at the time. I'm sorta surprised I even heard that scream from Kelley."

"There's something else, though." Sabishī broke in, eyes also on Logan, "One of the wounds wasn't consistent with the rest of the mace-induced injuries. In fact, if I had to guess based on the shape, I think what might've caused it was … a fist." Her gaze was directly on the Golem's still-crossed arms and hands, as were several others now.

"w-Well, you were probably just mistaken." The Golem was looking visibly nervous now, and probably would've been sweating if he could. "I-I mean, your skill's just about burying bodies not examining them right? I mean, really ... a-and why are we listening to those two, huh?" he glanced around the room, gesturing in Eric and Sabishī's directions with one arm. "Either of them could've just lied about what their actual talent is and-"

"Except," Elle interrupted, "even ignoring if they had the strength to kill anyone with that mace, Sabishī was with Brooke and Kelley up to when the scream occurred. And Eric was in the library the whole time, like they both already mentioned when we all went over our alibis back in the Foyer."

"I and my companions can confirm the Cryptozoologist's whereabouts." Saino commented (no one chose to ask about the 'companions' comment).

"And I can confirm that everyone here has told the truth about what their talents are!" Kinsei spoke up, looking ... actually, about as smug as usual, but it seemed more malicious now.

The Mastermind, Kuuma, and most of the staff glared at the Alchemist's interruption, but otherwise remained silent as the trial continued.

Logan was visibly shaking now, hands clenching and unclenching as his nerves continued to show. "w-w-Well, e-even so, there's still -"

"Why are you crossing you arms?"

Everyone turned to the interrupting voice, Brooke. Her eyes were on Logan rather intently. "Ever since this trial started, heck every time I've seen you since Kelley screamed, you've had at least one arm crossed over your chest. Why?"

The Golem's glowing eyes were wide and on the verge of panic. "I … I …"

"Logan," Victoria spoke up, looking bitterly resigned at what they seemed to be discovering, "uncross your arms now, please."

Logan was silent for a moment, before a sigh of resignation escaped him. "I guess that's the end of the line, huh?"

He lowered his arms.

And revealed the claw marks carved into his chest. Claws matching those on the hands of the late Ultimate Gargoyle.

Kelley let out a gasp as she took the sight in, a hand coming up near her mouth. "Ya - ya actually did kill 'im, Logan?" She asked, fearfully.

"… not by choice."

Flashback

Logan gazed at the barrier, checking to see if they'd missed any possible edge or weak spot. So far, he saw nothing.

"Got some assistance." Ryan called from behind him. Turning, he saw the Gargoyle was holding one of the maces from the Common Hall on his shoulder. "Thought maybe we could get an extra 'oomph' from some solid steel." He lifted the mace off his shoulder, adjusting his grip for a swinging motion. "I'd stand back if I were you."

Obliging, the Golem stood back as Ryan took a deep breath (was that even needed anymore in his state?), before rushing forward and striking the barrier.

CLANG

No apparent effect.

"Son of a…" the Gargoyle muttered under his breath. He turned to Logan, holding out the mace. "Here, you give it a go. Better cover all our bases and what not."

"Uh, sure, if you think it might help." The Golem commented as he took up the mace. Stepping into position, he lined up for a strike.

"Hey, Logan," Ryan spoke up behind him. Turning, he noticed the gargoyle looked somewhat hesitant. "Y-you haven't given any thought to that, y'know, 'killing' BS, right?"

"w- Of course not!" Logan responded, shocked. "No matter how much I want to be human again, I'm not gonna kill half this group just to make it happen!"

Ryan seemed to smile slightly at that. "Hmph. Good to hear, then." He gestured back to the door. "You were swinging?"

Nodding, Logan turned back and swung with all his might.

CLANG

"Grr, still nothing," Ryan growled. He held his hand out. "Let me have another go, just to be sure."

Stepping aside, Logan handed the mace back as the Gargoyle stepped up again. He lined up his shot before slowly moving the mace back, like a batter about to swing.

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"You seem like a good kid." Mace still at the ready, he turned to look at the Golem, expression oddly somber. "I'm sorry."

He swung the mace at Logan's head.

On sheer reflex only Logan managed to dodge back, the mace narrowly missing. "What the heck?!" he cried, incredulous.

"Nothing personal," The Gargoyle said, swinging the mace again (another miss), "but I'm getting out of here, which means someone hasta die!" Another swing. "And you're the only one I know of," swing "who's out" swing " and about" swing "and alone right now," swing "and I ain't stayin' a frickin' stone any longer than I have to!" SWING

"Ryan stop!"

"I'M GETTIN' CURED, DAMMIT!" The Gargoyle raised the mace above his head with both hands and struck down.

CLANG

Just barely, Logan had caught the mace handle just below the head. The stone men wrestled for a greater grip, shuffling back and forth until the Gargoyle had been pushed back against the barrier. The Golem may have been shorter, but he had better leverage for stopping a downward swipe.

Still, it was going nowhere. In desperation, Logan freed up one of his hands and threw a punch at the Gargoyle's torso as hard as he could.

CRACK

"ARGH!" The Gargoyle yelled as his rocky flesh cracked, his grip on the mace gone. Desperate and determined, he lashed out with his claws at the retreating Golem, rending huge claw marks in Logan's chest.

Panicked, Logan responded the only way he could think to: he swung the mace, catching his fellow in the head.

CRACK

Again.

CRACK

Again.

CRACK

Again.

CRACK

Again!

CRACK

When the blind panic the injury had caused finally faded from Logan's mind, he finally registered what he'd just done. The state Ryan's head had been reduced to.

That he had just become a killer.

Dropping the mace (and ignoring the building sounds of a wailing scream rising from within the halls of the mansion), he turned and ran. He just ran.

Present

"I ran off into the Dining Hall after that, managing to calm down before Victoria and Alexis showed up. I just bluffed my way from there, hoping I could keep my arms crossed the whole time until something else came along." He looked down upon the scratch marks on his chest, sighing bitterly as he ran a hand over the injuries. "I probably shouldn't've even bothered."

"So, the Gargoyle tried to kill you, and you ended up killing him in panic and self-defense." Alexis summarized. "A rather tragic fate for all involved, it seems."

There was chuckling from the staff ring. The Ultimate Alchemist seemed to be enjoying the proceedings. "Well, I think conversation is winding down." He turned to the mastermind's seat. "Dad, you think we should call it now?"

"Indeed." The Biologist declared as touchpads on the podiums lit up. "Everyone, cast your votes for who you think the killer is. Not voting is a punishable offense."

One by one, and with varying degrees of reluctance, the fourteen remaining participants each cast their vote.

Shiro was getting excited. "Oh boy oh boy, I finally get to perform an execution!"

"Now, now, dear," Mackenzie said, her sketchpad out, "let's wait for the votes to finish first."

"And the votes are finished." Jibo declared. He looked down upon the group. "And it seems, unsurprisingly, that you have voted correctly. Logan Acker, you have been found guilty of Ryan York's murder, and so now shall be punished. Any last words?"

The young man-turned-creature looked around the group. He'd be crying if he still could. "I'm so sorry everyone. I really am." With this having been said, a trap door opened under Logan, sending the Golem down a chute. The Executioner was already cartwheeling away somewhere.

Suddenly, a giant screen appeared from the ceiling, and live footage began to play.

Kuuma giggled. "Enjoy the show, y'all. I know that some of us certainly will."

12:40 P.M. Day Two

Mausoleum

Punishment Chamber

Logan Acker landed in a large room. Everything was flat and featureless, the floor made of solid concrete, with a cloudy fog hanging above his head blocking the ceiling from view.

Suddenly, the Executioner's voice called out. "I call this little number: Gravel Collecting!"

Out of nowhere, a large wrecking ball came swinging out of the mist.

Logan barely jumped out of the way, only to have to roll to the side as an anvil also crashed to the ground, horn impaling where he would've been. However, he didn't have time to relax before needing to move again, another anvil falling from the sky onto where he'd been.

Logan started aimlessly running, dodging the raining anvils and the constantly swinging wrecking ball. He didn't know where to go, but he hoped that maybe he could find an exit somewhere, maybe a chance to escape the execution and-

The horn of an anvil crashed into his right upper-back.

Caught off-guard, he crashed forward onto the ground. As he tried to regain his senses, another anvil pulverized his left foot. Yelling, he forced himself to stand up all the same.

Giving the wrecking ball ample time to crash into him, sending him flying.

Injured, but still alive, Logan again tried to climb to his feet. What that got him was a anvil shearing off part of his left arm. This was shortly followed by another strike from the wrecking ball, again sending him flying.

He ended up on his back (initial anvil thankfully dislodged by this point), cracks starting to appear on his body. He hurt, all over, more than he'd thought possible in a body of stone.

Another anvil crashed into him, horn piercing the center of his chest. He barely reacted despite the pain.

Why? he wondered. Why him? He'd just wanted something that might get him out of that rotted orphanage, why'd he have to get stuck in a killing game? Why'd he have to kill or be killed? Why?!

A shadow passed over him. He saw the wrecking ball swinging over head, directly above him.

At its apex, the line holding the ball disconnected. The wrecking ball dropped like a stone.

Logan barely made a sound as the giant solid ball crashed into him, smashing his body utterly underneath it.

The Ultimate Golem was reduced to rubble.

12:44 P.M. Day Two

Mausoleum

Trial Room

Everyone was left in varying degrees of shock, surprise, and horror at what they had witnessed. The sheer drawn out nature of the execution was almost as excruciating to the audience as it was to the victim.

Mackenzie just sighed dreamily as she sketched in preparation for her later painting spree. "Wow. Shiro is just so amazing when he pulls off this stuff, y'know?"

"Why?" Victoria spoke up, sounding pained. She looked up at the Mastermind, tears at the corners of her enraged eyes. "Why did that have to be so cruel? Why are you doing this to us? What do you gain?! Answer me!"

It was Kinsei who answered. "We don't need to tell you squat, little miss test subject. All you need to know is this game's happening, and it's not gonna stop until we say so."

"And so the trial has been concluded." Jibo announced, finally speaking up. He checked his watch. "I should think that shall likely be all for today. I ask that you all assemble in the Foyer tomorrow and 8 am, after breakfast. I shall have an announcement for you then." He stood up, pocketing the watch. "One better given closer to sunrise than sunset, I should think." Coughing slightly, he brusquely made his way back to the mansion tunnel.

Slowly, everyone else began to move way from the podiums and back down the hall as well. They'd survived one trial, and lost two of their number with it, with a third on the side.

How many more would they lose before the end?

[13 participants remain]

A/N: So, that trial might've been a little on the short side, but all the same, that's the first case over and done with, and the killing game ball has officially started rolling (unlike the now-stationary wrecking ball). Check back next chapter for the cast getting a rude awakening when the doors finally open. :)