Chapter 3: Sums For Our Fallen Grace (Deadly Life #03)
Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggi- Wait. You're dead now. Meaning there are no sexual innuendos!... Maybe! Hooray!), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!
With that said, please enjoy!
Barracuda firmly crossed his arms, leaning against the broken hole in the wall that was to lead to the different Cell Blocks.
"The bitch doesn't want to talk to you," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "With any luck, the moment you come closer, she'll be leaving."
Maggie didn't want to talk to him? That can't be right. He knew he messed up, but even then, they still had to talk at some point, right? He clenched his fist.
He still had to find her.
He had to apologize.
Make things right with her.
What was Cassandra talking about? She was still his friend! Yeah, that's right! They both messed up with each other but they could still make things work right? Barracuda held out to that hope. The hope that they would still be able to…
Barracuda sighed.
Even if he did want to find her, he wouldn't know where he would have to look first. She didn't have a unique area she'd like to hang out in. Usually it was sometimes his Ultimate Cell, but he doubted that she would want to step inside the Cell that reminded her too much of what he did.
Maybe she was still in her room?
Barracuda wasn't sure.
But what he did know was that he was going to try his best to try and search for her. With a firm nod, Barracuda turned toward the wall that had access to all of the Cell Blocks and–
Huh?
Barracuda hid behind the wall as he heard something. No, not only that, he saw it too! He waited for a few moments, letting his ears take in the sound of something struggling to move.
"Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…"
What was that?!
Slowly, he peeked around the corner, widening his eyes slightly. Because there he saw it, plain as day. Robo Justice was moving up the stairs and heading straight toward the upper Cell Blocks. He shivered. His legs shook.
What was that thing…?
How could that thing…?
That thing… that robot thing… it was moving. It was…
He turned back around his corner, taking in deep breaths. He had to calm himself down. He had no idea what he had just seen. But what he did know was that thing had to be the most suspicious thing he's ever seen. He had to tell the others—
He paused.
If he tried to do that, whatever Robo Justice was planning…
His eyes widened as his thoughts went straight to Maggie.
C-Could it be?
Could Robo Justice really be?
…
There was no time to warn anyone. He had to stop it. He had to stop it from potentially hurting Maggie or anyone else for that! So he charged forward and jogged up the stairs with only two things on his mind now:
Saving Maggie.
And a simple question…
Why was it always him that's seeing these things?!
TRIAL RECONVENE
"The one who moved the Robo Justice suit. The culprit of this entire case...
...
...
...
It was Robo Justice himself!"
"What?"
Haruto had spoken for everyone when he questioned Barracuda in absolute dumbstruck confusion. He reckoned he should give this big himbo the benefit of the doubt as he wasn't even here for the majority of Trial Part 1. But now that he was here in Trial Part 2 spouting some nonsensical cliffhanger bullshit, it was very much warranted for him to say…
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Haruto's determined face changed into more of an irritation. "How the fuck can Robo Justice have been the one to move himself to the fucking crime scene?!"
"Robo Justice moved to the crime scene?!" Barracuda exclaimed, coughing out blood. "S-So that's where he went!"
"Um, seriously Barracuda, you need to get rest," Zuri told him with a concerned expression. "Can we please postpone the Trial just so we can get Barracuda to-"
"Not so fast!" Arthur pounded his fist onto the podium with an icy cold stare. "Were you the one who stuffed my half-sister in that suit?!"
"W-What?" Barracuda blinked before shaking his head. "N-No! Of course not! I would never do that! That Robo Justice suit looks uncomfortable as heck! And also, why would I even let your half-sister out? She tried to kill you!"
"Then what about the anesthetic that Cassandra found by you?" Arthur glared at Barracuda. "You had to have used that to knock my sister unconscious!"
"I– I didn't!" Barracuda shook his head, raising his beefy arms up in defense. "I… I'm not even a doctor! I don't know how to inject stuff! I don't even know where the anesthetic came from..."
"Stop your incessant lying!" Arthur ordered. "I demand you tell me the truth, or I swear by the name of Kingston, you will pay for what you did to my half-sister!"
"H-Hey man, I just came down here to try to help," Barracuda looked very intimidated by that threat. "I didn't do anything to Ina. I promise! I just wanted to know who the hell killed Maggie! And then when I finally arrived, I heard you guys mention the Robo Justice suit and that's when I…"
"I don't even believe this," Arthur gritted his teeth. "You are a criminal mastermind. So easy to hide your innocence behind sheep's clothing when you're no more dangerous than a wolf!"
"C-Come on Arthur, knock it off," Mimi frowned. "Barracuda's not some Chapter 3 type Killer, alright?"
"Chapter what now?" Haruto turned to Mimi, confused.
"Half-brother, please, settle down," Ina sighed, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she had to be the one to calm her older half-brother down. "You are embarrassing me and your status as a Kingston. I am more curious as to what he means by saying the Robo Justice suit was the one who moved me to the crime scene."
"Huh?" Barracuda blinked toward Ina. "Moved you?"
"...I was in the Robo Justice suit," Ina explained, rubbing her arm. "Did you not know that?"
"Oh, er, that's kind of awkward," Barracuda rubbed the back of his neck.
"What's so awkward about that?" Arthur snapped his fingers, impatiently. "Go on. Spit it out."
"Well, I… I saw Robo Justice…" Barracuda rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw him twice actually. Once was, when he was climbing the stairs from Cell Block S to Cell Block C..."
Slowly, he peeked around the corner, widening his eyes slightly. Because there he saw it, plain as day. Robo Justice was moving up the stairs and heading straight toward the upper Cell Blocks. He shivered. His legs shook.
What was that thing…?
How could that thing…?
That thing… that robot thing… it was moving. It was…
"And then again at the hospital bed..." Barracuda continued.
Barracuda opened his eyes slightly. He was half-asleep. His mind was blank for a moment. He let his own foggy eyes wander. Something was moving in front of him. Why was something moving in front of him? Ah. It was because he was on the medical bed facing the Infirmary's window. But wait, did that mean there was someone at the windo–
Moving past the window was Robo Justice pushing a shopping cart.
Barracuda groggily blinked.
Ah.
He must be dreaming.
"He went from I think the Therapy Room to… I guess the crime scene!" Barracuda revealed.
Another silence.
This revelation of facts certainly cleared things up.
Not without putting this whole Trial in disorder though…
"Y-You what?" Jared raised an eyebrow. The man was a little too serious now to be jumping around in shock over some of these revelations. Three cases of this nonsense can be enough for one man.
"Y-You saw Robo Justice?!" Zuri exclaimed. "So, then that means, all this time, there really was someone who saw Robo Justice being moved around!"
"...The only reason no one said anything was because the only witness to it was hospitalized at the Infirmary…" Holland bit his lip. "What are the chances of that?"
"I don't believe any of that," Arthur narrowed his eyes toward Barracuda. "If you saw Robo Justice moving, then you're suggesting that my half-sister kidnapped herself and started playing Hide and Seek with the rest of us worried prisoners."
"'Worried' wouldn't be the word I would use," Mimi pointed out. "More like 'concerned she was going to attack people'... Wait! But if that's the case, then… Barracuda! When you saw Robo Justice moving for the first time from Cell Block S to Cell Block C, what did you do after?"
"What any confused and curious person would do!" Barracuda answered, coughing up blood. "I followed him!"
"You wouldn't have happened to follow Robo Justice into the Therapy Room, would you?" Zuri looked kind of squeamish.
"Hey, I guess I kinda did!" Barracuda smiled innocently. "And after that… Er, well, everything went black."
Barracuda scratched his head.
"That would've been the moment Cassandra shot him," Abigail noted.
"Huh?!" Barracuda turned to Cassandra with a shocked expression. "Y-You're the one who shot me?!"
"...Whoops?" Cassandra feigned an apologetic look.
"Y-You almost killed me!" Barracuda raised his fist in the air with a disappointed look.
"Hey, you're alive now, aren't you?" Cassandra scoffed.
"But wait… this whole thing doesn't make any sense," Holland may have been emotionless, but his face also read signs of confusion. "If Robo Justice moved on its own into the Therapy Room and Barracuda followed behind, then how does Cassandra shooting Barracuda fit now?"
"A contradiction has been born, has it?" Arthur asked.
"...Before, we concluded that Cassandra shot Barracuda by accident," Holland noted. "But if Robo Justice arrived first, then theoretically she should've shot Robo Justice. But… why didn't she?"
"Well, Cassandra?" Arthur turned to the Ultimate Bitch as he narrowed his eyes. "Why didn't you shoot Robo Justice?"
"What, am I supposed to answer all your questions?" Cassandra rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "You're a big boy. You can figure it out yourself."
"Well, it would be a lot easier if you just went ahead and told us!" Haruto narrowed his eyes toward Cassandra. "Your life is on the fucking line too, y'know!"
"The reason why Cassandra didn't shoot Robo Justice," Zuri tapped her chin in thought. She had to think long and hard about this.
Based on Barracuda's testimony, Robo Justice was seen moving from Cell Block S to Cell Block C. Different issues there but after that, he followed Robo Justice to the Therapy Room. As soon as Barracuda entered, he was shot in the chest and blacked out. That was the testimony and yet there was something wrong with it. What could've been so wrong that could also tie Cassandra's shooting into the whole–
"H-Hang on, I think I got it!" Zuri widened her eyes. "Arthur! You said that it was weird for Robo Justice to be moving by itself."
"Yes, because again, that would mean that Ina would have been the one who quote-on-quote 'kidnapped herself'," Arthur stated. "And we know that theory is ridiculous!"
"Besides, the suit itself was not built for its wearer to move properly," Ina pointed out. "So, it would be difficult, or just impossible for Robo Justice to move on its own."
"She's got a point there," Jared nodded in agreement.
"So, can you move?" Mimi asked as she watched him struggle to put the pieces of the suit on.
"I'm literally off-balance," Jared grunted. "You really can't move in a suit like this. Damn! What kind of idiot would design a suit that's entirely immobile?!"
"Yeah, which is why I think what Barracuda may have seen didn't match the reality of the situation!" Zuri exclaimed, suddenly feeling as smart as Holland. "Barracuda didn't see Robo Justice moving to Cell Block C. What he saw was most probably someone escorting Robo Justice to Cell Block C!"
"That seems much more likely," Arthur nodded. "And whoever that someone is, had to only have been the one who kidnapped my half-sister!"
"And if Barracuda followed them to the Therapy Room and then got shot then that would mean that Ina's kidnapper was actually…" Abigail widened her eyes before turning to the culprit at hand. "I can't believe it… Actually, I can, but…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
…It's you, again? Cassandra?!"
Cassandra barely reacted to that tidbit. She folded her arms with sigh. Shaking her head, her displeased look turned into a smirk.
"So, you finally figured it out," Cassandra stated. "Then, yeah. I guess you caught me. I was not only the one who shot Barracuda but I was also the one who kidnapped Ina. Congratulations! You got me good!"
"So, no defense?" Jared pointed a look toward Cassandra. "You're just admitting it?"
"Bitch, if only you actually killed one of these fuckers!" Haruto grumbled. "Then we can stop wasting time and finally vote your ass outta this prison!"
"You realize you've basically wished for her to die, right?" Abigail retorted toward her closest ally in the game.
"Urk!" Haruto realized his mistake and rubbed the back of his head. "G-Gah. My bad. That came out harsher than it should've…"
"Enough of this idle chatter!" Arthur declared before giving Cassandra the coldest glare he's ever had the pleasure of giving. "What game do you think you were playing, messing with a member of the Kingston family like that?! I shall have your head for this!"
"Oh wow, I'm so scared," Cassandra seemed to care little for Arthur's threats. "Look man, it wasn't anything personal. I just thought Ina would be the perfect scapegoat. Attempted murderer and all. My entire plan revolved around pinning her as the culprit of my murder but obviously, the moment this big dumbass stepped in, I panicked and let my speargun slip."
"And you probably already planned to hide the Robo Justice suit from us from the very beginning, right?" Jared asked.
"Well, duh," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Once I had my chance, I was going to reuse that suit for when I took out a target with one million over their heads!"
"Meaning, you really were the one who planted the anesthetic on Barracuda," Zuri narrowed her eyes toward the bitch.
"Give this girl a medal, she figured it out," Cassandra muttered. "I'm just pissed that someone took out the target I was going to get."
"You mean, Maggie?" Abigail looked especially disappointed in Cassandra's lack of remorse for pretty much everything she's done.
"Y-You were planning to kill Maggie?!" Barracuda clenched his fist as he growled. "I… I…"
"Yeah, but since I was the one who ended up attacking you, it was obviously not me who ended up killing her," Cassandra rolled her eyes.
The lack of remorse. The lack of sympathy. The lack of guilt. Cassandra's peers knew she was one heck of a character, but they never would've known she would be this cruel to her fellow prisoners. Was this really the real Cassandra that had been hiding amongst them?
"H-How could you?" Mimi's mouth quivered. "H-How could you say all of those things and not even feel a single sense of regret?! Do the lives of other people, our friends, really not matter to you?!"
"Hmph, you guys really don't get it, do you?" Cassandra's glare toward Mimi shifted to everyone else. "This is a prison. We are prisoners. As I've said plenty of times before, none of us are really 'friends'. That's just a lie you guys made up to convince yourselves not to play along with this stupid game. So, while the rest of you were too busy fucking around with whatever, I was the only who had the balls to do what was necessary for my own survival. The money was just an added bonus."
"But you were also someone who insisted that you would never play along with this Killing Game," Arthur frowned. "As well as the fact that everyone who did was moronic."
"And what did you say in your convoluted speech again?" Cassandra's expression was never changing. She just stared at her nails without much care in the world.
"Oh please," Arthur interrupted, giving Mimi a cold scowl. "Yuumi was innocent? How could I do anything to her? We're in a game of life and death. Not only that, but we were also all chosen for a reason that White Collar himself deems to be sinful. None of us are exactly innocent. We are all guilty of something. To be placed in an environment like this means we clearly did something wrong in White Collar's eyes. In any case, all I did was protect myself from a note I knew for a fact was suspicious. It was Yuumi's own fault for being naive enough to trust a random note given to her. It was her own fault for deciding to enter that Cell in the first place! If she was truly smart, she would have crumbled the note up and threw it away, but instead she chose to follow its directions. How is that my fault?!"
"I guess the Kingstons really are as hypocritical as you say," Cassandra smirked.
"W-Why you–" Arthur coldly glared at Cassandra.
"In fact, I'm willing to bet that if that psychopath over there wasn't revealed to be your long-lost sister, you probably would've agreed with everything I've done to a tee," Cassandra accused. "But nope. Suddenly, Arthur Kingston discovered empathy and now wants to play the friendship game with everyone."
Jared glanced at Cassandra.
He had a lot of to think about at the moment. Things that didn't relate to the actual Trial at hand. He knew Cassandra had a plan up her sleeve. Plan B. He knew of it. But what was this? This wasn't Plan B? Did he entrust his will to the wrong person? After all, Cassandra has just been indicted for two crimes now:
The presumably accidental attack on Barracuda.
And the kidnapping of Ina.
Something was off. After all, why did Cassandra do all that? She said she was doing it for the money but was that really true? Of the times he talked to Cassandra, he knew she was crafty. Smart and cunning. He had his doubts. These mistakes that Cassandra was making were truly out of character to the Cassandra that he knew. He knew firsthand that Cassandra wasn't the type to afford to make mistakes...
But what did it mean?
"So, to continue this Trial…" Holland rubbed his chin. "I suppose we've figured out that Cassandra was Ina's kidnapper. But then, that just leaves the question of the culprit who moved the Robo Justice suit to the crime scene…"
"Yes, the culprit who moved the suit had to have been the culprit behind Maggie and Carter's murder," Arthur nodded, still feeling a little miffed by Cassandra's little villainous monologue. "They are the only plausible person who could have moved Ina to where we found her."
"But how did they find the suit in the first place?" Mimi asked. "Oh, and more importantly, Barracuda also mentioned that the Robo Justice suit moved to the crime scene by themselves, remember?"
"Balderdash," Arthur frowned. "If he failed to see someone carry the actual suit up a flight of stairs, then he obviously would've missed the someone that transported the suit to the crime scene."
"Hey, Barracuda," Zuri felt a little determined to solve this portion of the puzzle. "Where exactly did you see Robo Justice move to the crime scene?"
"The Infirmary of course!" Barracuda exclaimed.
"That fact should've been obvious…" Cassandra yawned.
"Sh-Shut up Cassandra," Zuri gave the bitch a negative look. "I just wanted to be thorough."
Jared raised an eyebrow. Just like him? Hmph, alright there...
"But if he saw Robo Justice moving from the Infirmary, then he would've seen it through the window," Abigail deduced. "Hey big guy. Think you can give us specifics on how the suit was moving past the Infirmary?"
"Yeah!" Barracuda beamed with a smile, coughing up blood and then replacing that smile with a more sheepish one. "Er, okay. So, this was after everyone left, I think, and the only person with me was Mimi!"
"Yeah, and I fell asleep," Mimi tapped her two index fingers together, embarrassed. "I wanted to be by Barracuda's side, plus I was really tired after talking to him and waiting for everyone."
"So, this was shortly after everyone left to go look for me," Ina nodded.
"Yeah," Barracuda nodded. "I just woke up and then, there I saw it. It was Robo Justice! And he moved past the window while pushing I guess a shopping cart or something. But I swear, he was there, moving past the Infirmary!"
"And if he was found at the crime scene, then we can safely assume that Robo Justice went to the crime scene," Ina nodded.
"Er, Ina, you were Robo Justice at the time," Jared deadpanned.
"Y-Yes, I know, but I was not in control!" Ina exclaimed. "I was knocked out. Double that with how the suit functions and it would have been impossible for me to move!"
"Or push a 'shopping cart' for that matter," Arthur narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are we really supposed to believe this? For all we know, it could've been his injury messing with his mind!"
"...But that has to be what happened," Holland noted. "The trolley wheels and the skid marks connection prove it."
"So, the 'shopping cart' that Barracuda mentioned was the trolley!" Haruto exclaimed before grinning. "Eureka! Now we're getting somewhere!"
"But if Ina couldn't move in the suit and the suit was supposedly moving the trolley then… how was the illusion of Robo Justice moving even pulled off?" Jared asked.
"Maybe someone angled themselves side-by-side against Robo Justice and then moved the suit and the trolley past the Infirmary!" Mimi raised her hand. "Like Hole in the Wall!"
"No one here would even be remotely good at Hole in the Wall," Abigail pointed out. "I'll dump that theory in the gutter."
"Aw man," Mimi pouted. "I thought I came up with a genius idea!"
"...Maybe the culprit simply pushed Robo Justice and the trolley past the Infirmary window?" Holland suggested.
"Nah, with a large suit like Robo Justice, and the fact that the Infirmary window is fucking long as hell, the trolley would only make it to the middle of the window view," Haruto noted. "No one here would have been strong enough to push a suit, a living person in the suit, and a trolley past a long window without shit actually happening."
"Y-Yeah, and from what I saw, Robo Justice was definitely moving just fine!" Barracuda nodded.
"Okay, then how was the illusion pulled off?" Jared asked.
How was the illusion pulled off? That was the next question at hand. If what Barracuda saw was true, then Robo Justice had to have been moved alongside the trolley past his viewpoint, the Infirmary window, without much trouble. But how?
"Hey, I think I got an idea," Haruto grinned. "It might've been entirely possible that what the culprit used to move the suit and the trolley to fool Barracuda is a simple system."
"Ah, here we go," Arthur noted. "Another one of Haruto's science fair projects."
"Bitch, the last one turned out to be right on the fucking money!" Haruto glared. "You should be glad to hear whatever I got to say!"
"...What kind of simple system, then?" Holland prepared to shamelessly ask, "Like putting railroad tracks on the ground and pushing a minecart across to get it to move?"
"The fuck?" Haruto raised his eyebrow before shaking his head. "Hell no. I ain't talking about that. I'm talking about using a leash!"
"A leash?" Arthur deadpanned. He clearly was already unfond of this theory. "Like a dog."
"Just hear me out," Haruto looked ready to shoot a hoop. "If I tied a rope to a trolley and set myself up somewhere, all I really gotta do is just slowly pull the rope and the trolley will come over at a steady pace with no trouble at all."
"So, kind of like hand-fishing!" Abigail blinked.
"Fish," Mimi looked down. This sounded a little too familiar to what happened to Yuumi.
"Exactly!" Haruto grinned. "If you tie Robo Justice to the trolley and then set yourself up, let's say, around the corner of Cell Block C, you can just easily move both items at the same time undetected."
"Which would give off the illusion that Robo Justice was pushing a trolley cart," Jared nodded. "But here's the thing. There was no rope at the crime scene. And I don't think we have any evidence of anything like that on the suit or the trolley."
"Well, rope was just a theoretical use," Haruto clarified. "It doesn't have to be a rope. It could literally be anything you can tie Robo Justice to a trolley cart firmly."
"But if you tie Robo Justice to a trolley cart, won't Robo Justice's feet slide across the ground?" Mimi blinked.
"Yes, Mimi's correct," Arthur nodded. "The suit would certainly drag on the floor, and I hope you haven't forgotten that Barracuda's blood was all over Cassandra's crime scene."
"So?" Haruto blinked.
"...So, there was no blood anywhere on Robo Justice," Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Gah!" Haruto was hit on the head by a random basketball. "The fuck?! Who threw that at me?!"
"Well, I guess we can toss that theory out the window," Cassandra shrugged. "Thanks a lot Haruto for wasting our time."
"Hey, fuck you!" Haruto growled at Cassandra.
"...No, I don't think we can denounce this theory just yet," Holland shook his head. "It has potential. We just need to fix the image of how we think Robo Justice was probably secured to the trolley."
"Yes, because if Robo Justice was just tied to the trolley while standing…" Zuri noted. "The feet would drag on the floor."
"But if you set both feet onto the trolley and tie the body to the trolley handlebars to prevent the upper body from falling…" Holland rubbed his chin. "You could move the suit without having the suit drag on the floor as much."
"So, in other words," Jared reached his conclusion based on the deduction that Haruto and Holland both made. "Robo Justice wasn't actually pushing the trolley. He was riding it!"
"Precisely!" Haruto grinned. "Meaning, my theory still has a chance! Take that bitch!"
"Alright, cockface," Cassandra glared at Haruto. "If you're so smart, then answer this. What exactly did the culprit use to tie the suit to the trolley? Because remember what Jared said, there was no rope found anywhere at the crime scene."
"Ack!" Haruto yelped in surprise before a bouncing basketball smacked him across the face. "Double ack!"
At this point in time, if this were a true Danganronpa game, someone would be scrolling through their available evidence to find which one would most strongly substitute for a rope. And the conclusion they would find would be the most peculiar!
And it was Abigail who figured it out as her face leveled in confusion.
"I doubt the culprit would have any time to grab rope from elsewhere and bring it back," Abigail hummed tiredly. "So, if we're looking for a substitution for rope, I think I might have an idea. But…"
"But what?" Arthur asked, impatiently.
Abigail blinked once. Then twice. What did this mean then? The only thing that most closely resembled rope was that piece of evidence. And yet, showing it and putting it forward for all to see. It could literally and figuratively change everything in this Trial...
"I... I don't know," Abigail shook her head. "But the closest thing I can think of that could have been used as a rope…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
…was the speargun."
"The speargun?" Zuri blinked. "But… wasn't that–"
"Grk," Cassandra looked away, gritting her teeth slightly for some reason.
Lo and behold, though, it wasn't her that had to intervene against Abigail's statement. That honor went to:
"Don't play games with me," Holland declared, his heterochromatic eyes flaming. "...No. I'm sorry Abigail, but the speargun? That doesn't make any sense at all."
"But it's the only thing that could've been used," Abigail pointed out. "If you pull out the speargun's spear, then, you have your substitute for rope. The speargun's chain."
"...While possible, I don't believe it," Holland shook his head. "Because the person in possession of the speargun at the time was Cassandra. By claiming that the speargun was used, you're claiming that Cassandra was the one who moved the Robo Justice suit and thus, is Maggie and Carter's killer. But we already proved that Cassandra was Ina's kidnapper and Barracuda's attacker."
"I'm with Holland on this one," Zuri seemed unconvinced. "If this is true, Cassandra would've been responsible for every crime in this case. But that in itself is impossible because of the time between the murders and the attack."
"Exactly," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Here we go again. Abbygail spitting out illogical reasonings out of her ass."
"But what if Holland was wrong?" Abigail frowned toward Cassandra and Zuri.
"...W-Wrong?" Holland's stoic face showed slight surprise. He was never wrong before. He was supposed to be the Trial MVP! He can't be wrong! "A-About what?"
"About Cassandra being the one who attacked Barracuda," Abigail challenged. "Because if I'm right, then this could very well mean that Cassandra has been our culprit this entire time."
"Hey, but didn't Cassandra already admit to attacking Barracuda?" Mimi blinked. "We had like 5000 words of this story written just solely on her confession!"
"What?" Haruto glanced at Mimi in confusion.
"But at the same time, you could also say that she was lying," Abigail narrowed her eyes toward the said 'culprit' of Barracuda's attack. "That her entire confession was nothing more than a false confession."
"Ha!" Cassandra mocked Abigail, her eye twitching. "As if! You seem really certain that the speargun I had was used for the trolley illusion. Let's see some evidence then! What proves that the speargun was used for the trolley?"
Abigail went quiet. She wasn't the one who had this evidence. No, that honor would have to go to the people who actually investigated the trolley: Mimi and Jared.
"Ah!" Mimi blinked. "Wait! Jared! Wasn't there an imprint on the trolley handle?"
The first nook and cranny he found was on the handle of the trolley. Upon closer inspection, there was a bloody imprint on one of the sides of the handlebars. Though whatever pattern the imprint was, Jared couldn't tell.
"There's a bloody imprint here," Jared narrowed his eyes.
"What is that?" Mimi blinked. "What kind of imprint would leave like this… strange, oval, semi-circle mark?"
"Yeah, there was," Jared responded. "We… couldn't make out what the imprint was but I guess if we can compare the speargun chain to that handle imprint…"
"We can see once and for all whether or not that speargun was really used for the illusion!" Abigail declared.
"Gnk!" Cassandra felt a coarse wind slap her across the face. Rubbing her cheek, she glared hatefully at Abigail. "G-Go ahead! I have nothing to be scared of! Oh! But Monohebi must be really tired of all the Trial Recesses we've been getting to check stuff we should've checked during the Investigation! Right?"
"As a matter of fact, I am," Monohebi tipped her head as a nod.
"Now what?" Mimi blinked.
"Hey, you two remember what the imprint looked like right?" Haruto asked Mimi. "Because if your photographic memory ain't shit, we can just use the real thing for comparison."
Haruto pulled out the speargun he had confiscated from Cassandra in the last Trial part. And as soon as he pulled it out, Barracuda shifted away in fear while Cassandra felt another slap smack against her other cheek.
"Ooh, good idea!" Mimi smiled. "My photographic memory is good! Comes from all the magic books I studied as a baby!"
"I'm gonna assume you meant coloring books, but sure," Haruto shrugged before gently pulling the bloodied spear out of the gun itself. Then he kept pulling and pulling until he reached the limit of how much of the chain he could take out. "There. Does any part of the chain look familiar to you?"
"Oh!" Mimi gasped. "Yes, yes! This looks really similar to the imprint both Jared and I saw! Don't you think Jared? This semi-circle oval-thing."
"Yeah," Jared nodded. "No doubt when it was used to pull the suit and the trolley, this bloodied part of the chain rubbed off on the handle."
"Meaning this speargun had to have been used for the moving of Ina to the crime scene!" Abigail nodded in satisfaction.
"Gnk!" Cassandra gritted her teeth, feeling yet another slap run across her cheek. "Gah!"
"...Th-Then that means," Holland couldn't believe. Even if his face was emotionless, he still couldn't believe he had been so off-track about something. Or rather, accuse someone who wasn't even guilty for the crime he accused them of. "I was wrong… I… I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it Holland," Zuri looked at him sweetly. "You made a mistake. Everyone's prone to do so."
"But what I don't get is the fact that Cassandra admitted to hurting Barracuda!" Mimi blinked. "Was it really all a false confession?! And also, why would she falsely confess over something like this?!"
"Why would she falsely confess?" Arthur scoffed. "The answer's simple. Which crime would have been worse? The attempted murder of Barracuda? Or the murder of both Maggie and Carter?"
"The– Ah, no way," Mimi gasped.
"...I… That must be why Cassandra confessed a little more easily than expected when she was accused of the attack," Holland bit his lip. "Or why she has been accepting everything we've been saying up to this point so easily as well. She already knew we were off-track…"
"Not only that, but she purposefully admitted to being the perpetrator of someone else's crime," Arthur narrowed his eyes. "All to escape being found out as the true blackened of this case."
"Grk!" Cassandra rubbed her cheek furiously.
"If I remember correctly, there were something she mentioned before that seemed relatively off," Abigail frowned.
"Hmph, you guys really don't get it, do you?" Cassandra's glare toward Mimi shifted to everyone else. "This is a prison. We are prisoners. As I've said plenty of times before, none of us are really 'friends'. That's just a lie you guys made up to convince yourselves not to play along with this stupid game. So, while the rest of you were too busy fucking around with whatever, I was the only who had the balls to do what was necessary for my own survival. The money was just an added bonus."
"The money," Zuri noted. "She wouldn't have gotten money unless she really did…"
"Cassandra!" Barracuda yelled, blood seeping from his mouth with every yell and cough. He jabbed his finger toward the unknown talent's direction. "Is this true?! Did you really–"
"I… I…" Cassandra clenched her fist. Her eyes twitched. "F-Fuck no! I was the one who shot you! Remember?!"
"But you had the speargun that was used to move the trolley and the suit," Abigail frowned.
"Please!" Cassandra scoffed. "There could have been another speargun lying around for all I care. Or maybe just another chain was used! After all, you guys can't actually confirm that it was the speargun's chain that was used."
"But the power of my photographic memory magic holds 150 mana points!" Mimi pouted.
"Yeah, yeah, and we're in a prison," Cassandra crossed her arms. "You can literally find a chain anywhere if you look hard enough."
"Poor defense," Arthur retorted.
"Shut up!" Cassandra growled. "I didn't kill anybody! Least of all, that shithead Maggie! And unless you have evidence proving otherwise, you can't one hundred percent clear me as the prime culprit, just yet!"
"Fuck you!" Haruto roared. "Let's fucking vote this bitch!"
"...But she's right," Holland looked down, still slightly disappointed over accusing the wrong person. "We don't have evidence to prove that it could only have been Cassandra who killed Maggie."
"Hey, crime scene nerds," Haruto turned to glance toward Mimi, Jared, Arthur, and Ina. "You guys had the chance to check out the bodies, right? We need info on Maggie's."
"Well, I did mention that Maggie's body was colder than Carter's, proving that she had to have died first," Jared shrugged.
Truthfully though, his mind had wandered to what had been revealed now. His doubts were right on the money. No wonder it felt so strange. If this was all true, then Cassandra has certainly tried to pull the wool over their eyes by admitting to an entirely different crime. That was well-played on her part. But he had to wonder...
...What was the point of killing Maggie and Carter if this was supposed to relate to Plan B...?
If she was ever going to go through with Plan B...
"Maggie's body was cold and her hair was wet too!" Mimi nodded, repeating the first part of what Jared said. "That's pretty much it!"
"Damn it!" Haruto slapped himself on the side of his head in disappointment. "That ain't gonna help us with anything!"
"...No, actually I think it will," Holland firmly stated, feeling the resolve of wanting to make up for his earlier mistake. "The fact that Maggie's hair was wet. Why is that?"
"Perhaps she just took a shower before getting murdered?" Arthur suggested.
"Now that you mention it," Jared rubbed his chin as he remembered the state of Maggie's crime scene.
Maggie was wet.
Her hair was wet, though drying, and the area surrounding her body had an unpatterned array of water puddles. Small yet visible. So in short, Maggie was wet. And not in the way you think…
Oh, and of course, she too had a hammer that was found right next to her body.
"There's a lot of water puddles where Maggie was killed," Mimi noted.
"Some are close to drying up, so they've obviously been there for a while," Jared nodded in agreement. "Same with her hair."
"The area around Maggie had some small puddles of water," Jared nodded upon remembering.
"Did anything in the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell have water-related items?" Zuri asked.
"Not that we know of," Mimi shook her head.
"Maybe Maggie went skinny-dipping or something and didn't get a chance to clean herself," Haruto grumbled.
"I really hope you're joking about that one," Abigail blankly stared at the former basketball player.
"Man, where did the water come from?!" Barracuda clutched his head. "And why was Maggie wet?! What could get Maggie wet and leave water without a trace?!"
Before anyone goes and says, "That's what she said", Barracuda asked the correct question. Why was Maggie wet? What could get Maggie wet? And well, how did Maggie get wet in the first place? How could it have left water without a trace?
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"Ah, of course," Arthur had figured out the answer with a smirk. "This is an all-too-common riddle in many murder mystery scenarios. Something that could be used and yet disappear with the only traces left behind being water: Ice."
"Ice?" Mimi blinked. "Wait! I get it! Because if you cover Maggie with ice, the ice will melt!"
"And what would be left behind?" Arthur asked with a smirk.
"Water puddles," Jared crossed his arms with a nod. "But unfortunately, the closest way to get ice is the Freezer in the Kitchen. You really think the culprit would've gone to the Frrezer in Cell Block A just to get ice, run all the way back up to Cell Block C to literally the furthest part of the Block and then dump ice all over a corpse?"
"Or kill Maggie in Cell Block C, carry her down to the Freezer, and then bring her back up?" Zuri raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that is a little much," Zuri nodded in agreement. "Even if the culprit didn't do it specifically like that it sounds too much for anyone."
"That's true, but the Freezer isn't the only place to get ice," Abigail pointed out. "The Infirmary has ice packs in the mini fridge."
"So childish," Abigail shook her head, but this time in slight amusement. She dug even further into the mini fridge noting the freezer component installed inside the fridge:
Ice packs.
As a mini-fridge's freezer component would usually have. So, nothing suspicious here!
"Hey, yeah," Haruto scratched his head. "When Abigail and I checked that trash can with the empty blood packet in it, there were a bunch of water packets inside it! So in reality, that must have been what they were! Melted ice packs!"
"So, the culprit took the ice out of the ice packs and covered Maggie with it?" Mimi blinked.
"No, there would be no need to do that…" Holland rubbed his chin. "If anything, the ice packs were the ice in this case."
"But if the ice inside the packet melts, won't the water be contained in the packets?" Mimi blinked.
"Not if you know basic chemistry," Arthur folded his arms. "If you leave ice packets long enough in the warmth, it'll undergo condensation, which will turn the cold vapor gained from the freezer into water droplets."
"So, the water puddles came from…" Barracuda wiped his mouth of any blood. "...Condom sensation?"
"Condensation you bloody buffoon!" Arthur narrowed his eyes toward the larger male.
"...And I think that's exactly what happened," Holland nodded in agreement. "The ice packets underwent condensation, which was why Maggie's body was both cold and wet. And at some point, most probably after moving the Robo Justice suit to the Right Pawnbroker Cell, the culprit took the time to remove the melted ice packets…
...Huh."
"What's wrong, Holland?" Zuri blinked.
"...Something is off about what I just said," Holland noted, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah, because you never answered the most important question!" Mimi nodded her head, albeit slightly excitedly. "Why were the ice packets even used in the first place? Everything you guys just said made a lot of sense! But what doesn't is why the culprit needed to use it!"
"Mimi, that is actually a really good point," Abigail looked pretty impressed by Mimi's logical questioning. "What was the point of the ice packets? It seems like a random thing the culprit would do."
Abigail pointed a stare toward Cassandra, challenging her to answer the question to her supposed crime.
"Oh please, Abbygail," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Who knows what madmen do what they do. If I was the killer, I wouldn't have gone the extra degree of placing ice packets over a corpse."
"Cassandra is unfortunately right," Zuri looked down. "It makes no sense why they would do that."
"...But the thing is, that is exactly what the culprit did," Holland noted. "We just need to figure out why…"
What was the point of using ice packets? Why would they go the extra mile just to bury Maggie's body in ice packets? No one seemed to know the answer… or at least, it had to take them a while to give this a little thought.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"I can only think of one reason for the ice packs," Jared lowered his hat as he decided to showcase his deductions. "One reason why anyone would attempt to put cold ice packs on a corpse, and it's probably to try to mess with the time of death."
"Mess with the time of death?" Cassandra started to laugh. "I don't know if you know this, but we already have a time of death. It was 6:00 PM. For Victims #1 and #2!"
"Approximately," Monohebi felt the need to clarify.
"True, we do have a time of death," Jared had to concur with Cassandra. "But I think you forgot something with that logic, Cassandra."
"Oh yeah?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"The reward," Jared answered.
"Very well," Monohebi nodded. "As you wish. Your reward will come in the form of Autopsy Reports."
"That's the reward?" Haruto deadpanned. "Just stuff you were going to give us anyway?"
"Actually, one of these Autopsy Reports is updated," Monohebi explained. "There was an error in determining the time of death for one of the victims, which I'm sure you all are very used to at this point. Fortunately for you, with this reward, that should solve one mystery out of the many mysteries you have to solve."
"Finally, a working time of death," Abigail sighed in relief. "For both victims no doubt, I bet."
"Ah yes, that is correct," Arthur noted. "Originally, the Autopsy Report wasn't supposed to give us a time of death. But with the reward, Monohebi explicitly updated the Autopsy Report to reflect that."
"Exactly," Jared nodded. "Meaning, at the time, the culprit thought they could easily hide the Time of Death with ice packs. But after Monohebi gifted us the reward, that plan was thrown right out the window."
Cassandra clenched her fist.
The culprit tried to mess with the time of death. And right at the moment, everyone thought that the culprit of this case was her. She couldn't let this happen. She bit her lip. She needed an argument. An argument fast.
"Okay, but so what?" Cassandra pounded her fist onto the podium. "So, the culprit tried to bury the body in ice packs. What difference does it make now? I mean, you guys now have the time of death, and it says it right there! Maggie died at 6 PM. She died at the same time Carter was killed today! I fail to see how any of this relatively proves that it was me who killed them."
This time, it was Arthur's turn to frown.
This attitude of Cassandra's was getting worse and worse. But sadly, she was right. What difference does any of this make? The ice pack was used to try to hide the time of death but thanks to the reward, it says plain as day: 6:00 PM.
Then he blinked.
What did Cassandra just say?
…
Could it be?
Could she have accidentally given herself away with such a subtle detail?
Because if this is true, this would be an important reason for why the culprit truly did use ice packs. Why they were so important. Why only Maggie had the ice packs...
His lips slowly creaked into a smirk.
"Hmph," Arthur tapped his forehead. "I have to say, you are correct. At first glance, it may seem that the ice packs were useless. The culprit had to have used them with the purpose of concealing the time of death but in the end, thanks to the reward, that plan was thwarted. There is truly no problem with that..."
"Thank you," Cassandra smirked, finally content that someone was coming to his so-called senses.
"...Until you consider the question of why Maggie was the only person who even was covered in ice packs," Arthur smirked. "Because if you all remember the states the bodies were in..."
Maggie's body had rested near Carter's but there were some key differences between the two corpses. For starters and most simply put, Maggie's body was resting on the cold hard floor and not on the blue tarp like Carter was. However, most importantly though, she was… wet. Before you say, "That's what she said", I meant what I said.
Maggie was wet.
Her hair was wet, though drying, and the area surrounding her body had an unpatterned array of water puddles. Small yet visible. So in short, Maggie was wet. And not in the way you think…
"...Only Maggie was wet," Arthur stated. That's what she said. Ahem. "And Carter was not. And if she was the only one who was wet, then that means that only Maggie was covered in ice packs."
"O-Okay, and?" Cassandra asked, confused.
"Do you not see the problem with that?" Arthur asked. "Let me spell it out for you. If the ice packs were used to alter time of death and they were only used for Maggie, why would the Autopsy Reports still say that both Maggie and Carter died at the exact same time?"
"Enlighten me," Cassandra rolled her eyes, trying to see where Arthur was going with this.
"It's simple really," Arthur shook his head with a smirk. "I believe that is what the culprit wants us to believe."
"Huh?" Barracuda blinked. "I'm confused. What the hell are you saying? What does this even mean for Maggie? Why was she covered in ice packs?!"
"What if instead of Maggie and Carter dying at the exact same time, Maggie instead died sooner than we had originally believed?" Arthur suggested.
"Oh, come on," Cassandra slammed her fist on the podium. "The Autopsy Report is as clear as day! Maggie died at 6 PM! What? Are you saying Monohebi was lying or making a mistake?"
"Not at all," Arthur shook his head as he coldly glanced at the main suspect at hand. Everything was coming together as he prepared to reveal a twist that would turn this case upside-down. "In fact, I think Monohebi was simply twisting the truth a bit with that reward. I think you only have yourself to blame because you had unknowingly outed the answer right before this topic of discussion."
"Okay, but so what?" Cassandra pounded her fist onto the podium. "So, the culprit tried to bury the body in ice packs. What difference does it make now? I mean, you guys now have the time of death, and it says it right there! Maggie died at 6 PM. She died at the same time Carter was killed today! I fail to see how any of this relatively proves that it was me who killed them."
"Wait..." Zuri was starting to understand.
"Yes, you said it yourself," Arthur smirked, tapping his forehead. He had the answer. The answer that was going to destroy everything they had built up this entire Trial and change everything. "Maggie did in fact die at 6 PM, but she didn't die at 6 PM today…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
…She died at 6 PM yesterday!"
"What?!" Haruto exclaimed.
"She died– Yesterday?!" Zuri gasped in shock.
"Maggie…?" Barracuda looked slightly heartbroken at the reveal. "F-For that long…?"
"Do you understand now?" Arthur asked. "The reason behind the ice packs truly were to hide the time of death. The time was important to the culprit, and they needed to cover that up no matter what the cost was. That is why Maggie had to have her time of death altered!"
"W-Wait, but what was so important about the timing?" Mimi blinked.
"If Maggie died at 6 PM yesterday, then let me ask you something," Arthur began to explain. "What event occurred yesterday at 6 PM?"
"W-Whoa w-whoa, c-calm down Jared!"
"Is that gun actually loaded?!"
"P-Please don't shoot!"
"Me," Jared answered, lowering his hat as he glanced away. "My decision to try to kill White Collar. That happened yesterday at 6 PM."
"And remind me again, who was there when that occurred?" Arthur smirked.
"P-Please don't shoot!"
It was already 6:00 PM by the time Zuri and Holland arrived with Haruto and the Auditorium was already thrown into madness and disarray. Almost everyone was there at the scene, with the only ones not there being Cassandra, Ina, and Maggie, all for equally understandable reasons.
"All of us except for three people," Abigail grimaced. The answer was right in front of them this whole time.
"Me, because I was still locked away in my Cell," Ina nodded. "As well as…"
"Maggie… and…" Zuri widened her eyes before turning to the culprit. "Cassandra!"
"GRK!" Cassandra felt a stronger slap run across her cheeks. "FUCK!"
"You know how this works now," Arthur narrowed his cold stare even further. "Where were you and what were you doing at 6 PM yesterday while the rest of us were tending to Jared's little trigger-happy problem?"
"I– I– I–," Cassandra widened her eyes. She rubbed her cheek furiously. "I wasn't fucking doing anything! And I definitely didn't see that bitch, Maggie, at all either yesterday! I was in my room! That's all!"
"So, you have no alibi?" Arthur clenched his fist. "Then I suppose we have no choice but to vote for you."
"H-Hey, you can't fucking do that!" Cassandra yelled. "I… I didn't kill anyone! You don't even have a shred of evidence tying me to anything!"
"Oh, and I suppose at 6 PM yesterday, Ina escaped Cell #66 and killed Maggie?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"N-No, but but," Cassandra clenched her fist. "Still! It's too early for a vote!"
"That's rich, coming from the person who likes to rush everyone to fucking vote," Haruto folded his arms. "We got enough evidence pointing to you as the culprit. You moved the Robo Justice suit to your crime scene. You were the only one who could've possibly killed Maggie yesterday. And not only that, but let's all think back to that time she got to the Infirmary to check on Barracuda "late"."
The door to the Infirmary opened. All eyes (except for Abigail who was working on patching up Barracuda and Barracuda himself) turned to the culprit who opened the door. That's right, it was Cassandra, who entered the room a little later than the others.
"How is he?" Cassandra frowned, tossing some things into the trash can. She cleaned her hand in slight disgust. The blood on her hands from Barracuda was now dry and sticky. Never thought she would go so far as to even touch blood but here she was!
"Ah!" Zuri gasped. "She… Were those?"
"Those had to be," Haruto nodded. "The empty blood packet and the ice packs used for her crime! She tossed those away right in front of us!
"So, what must have happened overall was…" Ina frowned. "Yesterday at 6 PM, Cassandra killed Maggie at the Right Pawnbroker's Cell. Then, the next day, once she realized no one had yet to discover the body, she would have returned to the crime scene to apply the ice packs. After they had melted, Cassandra must have then headed off to dispose of the empty blood packet and ice packs… but instead, she stumbled onto the aftermath of Barracuda's attack. She must have seen me in the suit and decided to frame me for her crime, so she would have hidden me in the side room alongside the trolley."
"...Yes, and the reason she wanted to fumble with the speargun in this scenario was so she could use it later to transport you to the crime scene, undetected from whoever would be at the Infirmary," Holland nodded. "Which was why, after Barracuda was sent to the Infirmary, she was left behind to tie the chain to you and the trolley."
"And once the coast was clear and everyone had gone off to search for Ina, Cassandra used the speargun to reel you with the trolley to the Right Pawnbroker's Cell," Arthur deduced as he turned to who he believed the culprit of this case to be. "Does that sound about right, Cassandra?"
Cassandra remained silent. Her face was covered by a shadow. Her mouth biting her own lip. She was not happy, not in the slightest.
"Does that sound about right?" Cassandra repeated Arthur's question before slamming her fist onto her podium. "Fuck no it doesn't! You're fucking wrong! All of you are wrong! I didn't kill anybody!"
"But aside a few details, this is the most plausible scenario," Zuri frowned. "What counterargument do you have now?"
"Plausible but not the truth!" Cassandra's eyes twitched. "You would all dare to fucking accuse me of something just because of a few minor inconsistencies?! It made more sense for me to have been Barracuda's attacker and Ina's kidnapper. Not Maggie's fucking killer! You guys are spinning your narrative into the fucking grave and you guys are going to be the death of me if I don't say something soon!"
"Then say it," Arthur was notably impatient by Cassandra's outburst. "What is so wrong with everything we said?"
Cassandra remained silent for a few moments before her lips curled into a smirk, a clear indication that she still had some fight left in her.
"Carter," Cassandra tried to smirk and act confident, but the truth was, she was fuming and shaking. She wasn't going to lose. Not like this. "Carter is what's wrong with your theory."
"W-What about Carter?" Mimi blinked.
"You guys mentioned nothing about Victim #2 in your scenario!" Cassandra tried to laugh, but it was painful to hear, even to her. "Carter has to be in it because, remind me again. Your original scenario was that the killer killed Maggie and Carter stumbled onto the crime scene and because of that, he got killed. But if Maggie was killed yesterday, then let me ask you this. When was Carter killed?"
"Tch, using my scenario against me?" Arthur muttered. He had forgotten about the scenario that he himself had come up with. He straightened out his composure and gave it a thought. "Well played I suppose."
"Well, you could have killed him yesterday too!" Mimi raised her hand with a determined look.
"No, Carter was with us at 6 PM yesterday," Zuri corrected Mimi. "And besides, if he was killed yesterday, he would have been buried in ice packs too."
"But he wasn't," Abigail frowned. "Which means… Carter was killed today. At 6 PM."
"Two incidents occurring at different locations," Jared clutched his head, before clenching his fist. "Two deaths occurring on different days. All happening at 6 PM. What are the odds of that happening?"
"I got it!" Haruto exclaimed. "The bastard fucking saw you trying to clean up the ice packs at 6 PM! And since he's smart, he must've figured out that you were the killer. So, you bashed his head in!"
"Ha!" Cassandra's smirk grew more in power. She felt a little stronger on the offense now. "Why the fuck would that have happened? Do you know how long it takes ice packs to melt? Here's the answer: Almost an hour. I would've gone to work in the morning and by the time everything melted I would've disposed of everything before 6! By the time Carter would've arrived to 'discover' me doing shady things to Maggie's corpse, I could've just joined him and acted like I had just discovered it too! There was no reason to kill him!"
"...She's right," Holland noted. "There really would have been no reason to kill Carter in that case…"
"And yet, Carter was found dead at the crime scene alongside Maggie," Cassandra smirked. "He had no bounty on his head. He's a fucking twerp. Killing him would have been a waste of time unless he really did stumble onto something he shouldn't have seen: the culprit killing Maggie!"
Cassandra was right. With Carter there, it would be nearly impossible to prove that Cassandra really did kill Maggie. His mere existence at the crime scene was one big hindrance and contradiction to the facts.
"B-But I really thought we got her," Mimi murmured, glancing toward her peers.
"Yes, but with Carter in the picture, her argument stands firm," Ina frowned.
"God damn it, Carter!" Haruto exclaimed. "Why the fuck did you have to exist?!"
Abigail gave him a direct and pointed look.
"Too far?" Haruto blinked before submitting with a sigh. "Too far."
"If Cassandra is going to use Carter as her main argument, then I suppose we have no choice but to figure out the events leading up to Carter's death," Arthur stated.
"Ha!" Cassandra laughed. "What's there to figure out? Carter died because he stumbled onto the killer's crime. You literally can't piece anything together with minimal evidence like that!"
"So, are you just going to denounce this whole thing about Maggie being covered in ice packs?" Abigail frowned. "Denounce pretty much everything we've been saying?"
"Pretty much, because it's all wrong!" Cassandra was putting up a dangerous fight. "Who the hell knows why Maggie's hair was wet? You all don't have anything on me to correctly identify me as the killer! Not until you guys figure out how Carter can even fit into all this without it being that simple scenario!"
"This fucking bitch," Haruto grumbled to himself.
"Enough," Ina narrowed her eyes toward Cassandra and her peers. "We are wasting time with this back-and-forth. What is important now is that we try to find something that could give us a clue to anything regarding Carter's demise. Jared. Mimi. Surely you both have found something in your investigation with Carter."
"With Carter?" Jared frowned before thinking back to the crime scene.
Now that it was mentioned, there was one thing that was strange. One thing that they had yet to acknowledge and discuss. Could this be useful in determining how exactly Carter's demise occurred?
"There was… one thing," Jared rubbed his chin.
When Jared continued to examine the body, his attention was attuned to the blue tarp that Carter's body had been laying on. Or rather, it was kind of like a tarp. Maybe more of a cloth. Cotton-based material if he had to guess. But in either case, the tarp itself was larger than Carter. Maybe as tall as Arthur and probably as wide as the muscular Barracuda.
The police officer's eyes trailed to Mimi, who seemed to stare at it rather intently.
"Something wrong?" Jared raised an eyebrow.
"I… I don't know," Mimi blinked.
"What do you mean?" Jared asked.
"...I feel like I've seen this somewhere before," Mimi tapped her chin. "It's on the tip of my hat but it's just so familiar!"
"Oh yeah!" Mimi blinked. "Carter's body was on this big, blue cloth!"
"Blue cloth?" Haruto blinked. "Was that originally in the Right Pawnbroker's Cell?"
"Not that I was aware of, no," Jared shook his head. "His corpse was found lying on top of it, but if it wasn't originally from the Right Cell, then it's possible it was brought in from elsewhere. In fact, Mimi, during the investigation, you said it looked familiar. Does it ring any bells now?"
"Huh?" Mimi blinked before rubbing her chin. "Um… hmm… Big, blue cloth. Big, blue cloth."
It took a moment's notice for Mimi to continuously repeat those three words: big, blue cloth. She knew she had to have seen it somewhere. She channeled her mind. She used 18 Mana Points. And finally, she opened her eyes.
"W-Wait!" Mimi gasped. "I remember now! That big, blue cloth! That's no ordinary cloth! That's a sailcloth! From Yuumi's Cell!"
"A sailcloth?" Abigail blinked, tiredly. "Why the hell would there be a sailcloth from an entirely different Cell Block at the crime scene? And more importantly, why would Carter be laying on top of it?"
"...Because that sailcloth was needed," Holland rubbed his chin. "I think… I think I know what that sailcloth might have been used for."
"Alright, Holland!" Haruto grinned. "Tell us what you've got!"
"A sailcloth that big could have only been used to hide something," Holland noted. "In fact, how big would you say the sailcloth is in comparison to Carter?"
"So much bigger than him!" Mimi declared. "But he is a very small person so…"
"Then it could be that the sailcloth was used to hide Carter's body," Holland deduced. "Given how big it was, the sailcloth could have been used to wrap up the corpse."
"And then what?" Cassandra scoffed. "Hide the body? How does that relate to the fact that Carter was killed after stumbling onto whatever the fuck the real killer did?"
"...Because if we are going with the idea that Maggie was killed yesterday, I think it would make the most sense if Carter wasn't killed at the crime scene," Holland explained. "I think he was killed elsewhere and then moved to the crime scene…"
"That's gotta be the most stup–" Cassandra was about to say before she was ultimately cut off by:
"You need to cool down," Arthur interjected, his icy stare directed strictly toward Holland. "Think before you speak. How could Carter not have been killed at the crime scene? Because of his body being found there, it would make more sense for him to have been killed there than moved."
"...Originally, it did," Holland nodded. "But after we discovered that Maggie was killed yesterday, that throws that scenario out of proportion. It's as Cassandra said. It makes no sense for Carter to be killed at the crime scene if he had just discovered Maggie's body. That'd be like killing Abigail and Haruto for being the first ones to come across Maggie and Carter's corpse."
"That's not a scenario I'm comfortable picturing in my mind, thank you very much," Abigail remarked.
"Uh, ditto," Haruto nodded.
"But given the fact that Carter had no motive to get killed, it only makes sense that Carter was killed for something he shouldn't have seen," Arthur frowned.
Arthur and Holland made solid points. Carter couldn't have been killed for witnessing Maggie's crime as she had died yesterday. If he really did witness Maggie's death, Carter should've been killed yesterday too. But at the same time, Carter also had no motive for anyone to really want him dead. So, it made sense that the only reason he was killed was because he had seen something he wasn't supposed to–
Holland blinked upon realization.
"Besides, if you do say that he was killed elsewhere, then please, by all means," Arthur challenged with dangerous icy eyes. "Let us know where exactly he was killed."
Holland thought to himself. The idea came to his mind all too suddenly. But it made perfect sense with everything they had talked about so far. Holland's idea that Carter had to be moved as well as Arthur's idea that Carter still should've been killed for seeing something he shouldn't have seen.
"...Okay, I'll tell you," Holland nodded. "Carter died in…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
…The Therapy Room."
"Th-The Therapy Room?!" Zuri gasped.
"The Therapy Room?!" Arthur's left eye twitched. "What are you going on about now? That was the room where Barracuda got attacked!"
"...And that's exactly it," Holland nodded. "This is the answer that fits both of our points correctly."
"But how?" Mimi blinked.
"...Arthur insists that Carter could have only been killed if he saw something that he shouldn't have seen," Holland rubbed his chin.
"Maggie was killed yesterday, so there was no way he could have witnessed that when he was with us at the time," Jared nodded.
"...Exactly, which only leaves one other crime for Carter to 'witness'," Holland nodded. "The attack on Barracuda's life!"
"W-Wait, so then that means, Carter died by the hands of the person who tried to kill me," Barracuda blinked. "But wait. I didn't die. So why kill Carter?"
"Because big guy, if you shot someone in the chest, what would your immediate assumption be?" Haruto questioned.
"Th-That I… killed him," Barracuda blinked. "A-Ah! No way!"
"...And that's why Carter had to be killed," Holland nodded. "My guess is that everything we accused Cassandra of doing regarding the attack on your life happened with the culprit. They shot you accidentally and when Carter found them…"
"They had no choice but to kill him too," Ina looked away.
"I admit, that does sound plausible now," Arthur grimaced. "But what about your idea now? You claim that Carter was moved to Maggie's crime scene. But how could they have done that?"
"...Simple, with the trolley method we established," Holland answered.
"Ah, so that means that Ina in the Robo Justice suit wasn't the only thing that was moved from the Therapy Room," Zuri widened her eyes. "Carter was too, and on the same trolley no less!"
"And with the blue sailcloth, they could've easily wrapped up his body to hide it from anyone else," Jared nodded. "And then reeled the trolley carrying both Ina and Carter to the crime scene."
"S-So the scene I saw outside the Infirmary window..." Barracuda's eyes widened. "I was witnessing Ina and Carter's body being moved to the crime scene! Th-That's creepy as hell, man!"
"...And finally, all they had to do was place Ina and Carter at the crime scene," Holland nodded. "Exactly as we discovered them."
"Oh, and let me guess, you're going to bring this back against me on how I was the one who moved Ina and Carter at the crime scene because I had the speargun," Cassandra shrugged. "I'll admit. You made a nice narrative, but do you have evidence that I did all this? Because remember, in a court of law, no evidence equals no case!"
"But the speargun is the evidence," Holland pointed out. "Only the speargun could have been used for the trolley. And you had the speargun on your person this entire time…"
Cassandra was still valiant in her efforts to fight back. She wasn't backing down. Not one moment. With a spat on the ground, she clenched her fist.
"Ha ha, and so what?" Cassandra smirked. "You think that's all it will take to take me down?"
"Bitch, you had no alibi at the time of Maggie's death!" Haruto pointed out. "Not only that, as we said before, you had the speargun, you came in late to prepare all this 'moving the body' shit, and you were witnessed throwing away pieces of evidence from that ice pack trick. And we also explained how Carter was killed and where. He wasn't killed at the crime scene, and you know that! Meaning, only you can be the only one who killed Maggie! Give it up. It's over!"
"N-No, it's not," Cassandra, being the stubborn bitch that she was, wasn't going to relent. Not this easy. Not as easy as being falsely accused of attacking Barracuda. "It's not over until I say it's over!"
Cassandra was cornered now. But she was still resisting. Her way of using Carter's death to shield her guilt was evident and everything was pieced together nearly perfectly. So why was she resisting? What else did she have up her sleeve?
"What more do you have to say now?" Ina narrowed her eyes.
"Heh, if I really was the culprit who tried to make it look like Carter and Maggie killed themselves, then tell me one thing," Cassandra smirked.
"S-She really does have more to say," Abigail yawned. "Man, this is so exhausting."
"Tell me one thing!" Cassandra was trying hard not to break. Trying hard to keep things under control. "One thing only! How did I know about the hammers?"
"What?" Haruto blinked before glaring. "Bitch, whatchu talkin about?"
"You heard me," Cassandra gritted her teeth. "You really think I'm a stupid culprit? Remember what weapon the culprit used to kill Maggie."
"Justice Hammer #4," Jared answered. "What about it?"
"If I was the culprit and I attacked Maggie in the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell, then why use Justice Hammer #4?" Cassandra smirked. "Why not use Justice Hammer #1, Justice Hammer #2, or Justice #3? There were weapons there all for the culprit to use. Why not those?"
"H-Hey, isn't that my argument from before?" Abigail narrowed her tired eyes.
"Yes, it was, and we have already explained that the culprit could not have used those because the hammers were fragile," Ina stated.
"One use and it would break," Mimi nodded. "And none of the hammers were broken until I tried to use one, so that's proof that the killer never used it!"
"Exactly, but how on Earth did the real killer know that?" Cassandra smirked. "If I was the real culprit, I would've totally used those hammers on the wall, not knowing they were fragile. But instead, the killer brought a hammer from an entirely different Cell. As if they knew the hammers on the wall were fragile!"
So that was Cassandra's argument now. If Cassandra was the culprit, there was no way she would have known about the hammers in the Right Cell being useless. But the supposed real culprit did, to the point they brought their own weapon…
"If you can't figure that out, then I obviously can't be the culprit!" Cassandra laughed. "That's just how the game works!"
"She's right," Monohebi nodded. "Statistics show that participants of a Killing Game lose brain cells when they are about to pin down an obvious culprit by failing to answer questions, thus leading to them voting for a protagonist character."
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Haruto yelled. "Stay out of this!"
"...Well, you investigated the Right Cell with Jared, didn't you?" Holland told the rather confident bitch. "You both knew the items there were fragile. It's not hard to assume the hammers wouldn't work either."
"True, I knew the items on display were fragile, but how could I know that about the hammers?" Cassandra smirked. "I never actually tried to use them, now did I?"
"Maybe you tried it out in your free time!" Mimi frowned.
"Even if she did, the hammers can't be put back together again, remember?" Arthur shook his head. "And none of the Justice Hammers in the Right Cell were broken until you broke one."
"Aww, you're right," Mimi pouted.
"Ha!" Cassandra laughed. "You see?! I can't be the culprit because I didn't know about the hammer's fragility! So, there's no way to indict me for anything when the killer used a real hammer to do the killing!"
Cassandra gained more composure. She was met with glares and frustrated looks. Cassandra held the fact that she was innocent, and no one was happy about that. As long as the point stands that the killer used a hammer that worked and knew that the hammers in the Right Cell couldn't work beforehand… Cassandra was a free woman, no matter how hard people wanted to vote for her.
But how did the killer know that the hammers in the Right Cell couldn't work without testing it? How? No. That's not the question. The question is, why did the killer know that hammers in the Right Cell wouldn't work? Why?
…
A thought came to, not Holland, but Arthur's mind now. He furrowed his brow. Why did the killer know that the hammer wouldn't work? Could it be?
The answer was simple.
"The killer just did," Arthur said upon realization.
"What?" Haruto blinked.
"The killer knew," Arthur rubbed his chin. "The killer knew the hammers wouldn't work because they just did."
"Oh, what are you talking about now?" Cassandra rolled her eyes impatiently.
"I figured it out," Arthur pointed a cold stare at Cassandra. "I figured out why the killer knew the hammers wouldn't work without testing them. Why they knew to bring Justice Hammer #4."
"Oh really," Cassandra snorted, deciding to humor the snowboarder. "Then, tell us. Why did the killer know?"
"I see it now," Arthur smirked as he began to explain. He couldn't believe it. All this time, the answer to one of their biggest questions had been staring right back at them, face-to-face. The answer to a question that they never even thought about. "Yes. The answer to why Cell Block C was structured this way. And I think the killer knew all this time... the secret behind why Kane had two Ultimate Cells!"
"What?!" Mimi gasped. "You figured that out Arthur?! But how does this relate to...?"
"It's simple really," Arthur explained. "This is why the killer knew about the hammers. Because they knew the answer to one of our big questions. The secret behind Kane's Ultimate Cells. Specifically, the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell. They understood that the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell was never Kane's Cell…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
…It was theirs. It was the killer's Ultimate Cell."
"Kane's Right Cell was... the killer's?!" Barracuda exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, but then, what Cell is it?" Zuri asked, unsure on how the author was going to label that Cell now. "Whose Cell was it?!"
Arthur pointed a look toward Cassandra.
"It's yours, isn't it?" Arthur figured it out. After all this time, he figured it out. One of the biggest questions, finally revealed. "That Cell... It belongs to you. It's Cassandra's Cell."
"W-What?" Cassandra recoiled in shock. Did he?
"Your Ultimate talent," Arthur smirked. "If that Cell is your Cell, then you could only really be one thing after careful consideration...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...You're the Ultimate Scam Artist, aren't you?"
"H-Huh?" Cassandra blinked. "N-No way. Why would you even fucking say that?"
"We never did figure out what Cassandra's Ultimate talent was," Abigail noted. "Or rather, she wouldn't tell us."
"How did you figure out that was her Ultimate talent, specifically?" Jared asked Arthur, curiously.
"I believe you can figure out the answer to that," Arthur smirked. "After all, it makes sense now, doesn't it? Why the Right Cell functioned how it always did?"
"Looks like a camera for 12-year old girls," Jared answered honestly. "And it's… 4000 dollars?! For a cheap-looking camera like that?!"
Cassandra tossed the camera down onto the ground. As soon as she did, the camera, along with the girl this belonged to's dreams, shattered into pieces.
"Yep, cheap," Cassandra muttered. "What a ripoff."
"Ripoff?" Jared frowned. "More like a scam if I'm being honest."
"Hm, I wonder," Cassandra rubbed her chin curiously. She walked up to the Robo Justice suit and eyed it cautiously. At first glance, it looked pretty heavy. And not only that, the price tag suggested this be 10000 dollars.
Rolling her eyes, Cassandra pushed the Robo Justice in this Ultimate carbon copy Cell onto the side. Almost instantly, once it hit the ground, Robo Justice dismantled itself into nothing but cardboard and dried up glue.
"…10000 dollars my ass, they're all ripoffs," Cassandra narrowed her eyes.
"What does this even mean though?" Jared rubbed his chin, trying to grasp the information. "If this is Kane's Ultimate Cell, then why the overcharged price tags?"
"No clue," Cassandra looked elsewhere. "But you want to check how much of a ripoff those items are?"
"Ah, I get it, the reason the items were so overpriced," Jared noted, looking away. "The reason all of them were cheaply made. It's because every single object in that Cell are scams. Objects with less monetary value than they were originally shown to be. All used to represent the Ultimate Scam Artist."
"And there is only one person who has yet to reveal their talent to us," Zuri looked at Cassandra, disappointedly. "Is that really you, Cassandra? Are you really the Ultimate Scammer?"
"I… I…" Cassandra felt a slap smack her across the cheek. "ACK! N-No. You're wrong. All of you are wrong!"
"So, the reason that Cassandra knew to bring Justice Hammer #4 was because she could already tell that every object in the Scam Artist's Cell was a fraud," Arthur noted. "That is how Cassandra understood that the hammers in her Cell would not work."
"H-Hey, you're already saying it like it's fact," Cassandra clenched her fist. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but I'm not the Ultimate Scam Artist!"
"Give it up, we got you now, bitch," Haruto glared toward Cassandra.
"N-No you don't," Cassandra was still fighting this. She glared at Haruto and the rest of her peers. "Proof! Y-yeah, that's right! Where's your proof?!"
"You want proof?" Arthur was done with this. This was already over for Cassandra, and everyone knew it, including her. He slammed his hands on his desk before pointing his finger. "How about this? Show us your eHandbook right now and prove us wrong. Show us, what is really your Ultimate Talent?!"
"N-No!" Cassandra felt another slap across her cheek. She rubbed her reddened face immediately. "Y-You can't make me!"
"Then I suppose we have no choice but to indict you as Maggie's killer," Arthur smirked. "Game over, Cassandra. You lose."
"N-No!" Cassandra screamed, as another gust of wind slapped her across her other cheek. "I- I- can't lose! I'm a fucking winner damn it!"
Another wind swooped by to slap her across the face once again.
"I– I– I– I–" Cassandra stammered. She tried to think of an excuse. But each excuse that popped into her head would instantly shatter into nothingness. This was really it. She had lost the game. "N-No… N-No… N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Cassandra shrieked loudly into the air as more gusts of wind blew toward her, slapping her across the cheek from left to right. Left to right. Left to right. Left to right. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.
"AGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cassandra held her right side of her face in anguish before one final smack rang out across the Trial room.
One final slap across the left side of her cheek, leaving a red hand mark that would probably take a couple of hours to heal. Nevertheless, her face was stinging red, which is what happens when you slapped across the face a little too much.
And slowly, she collapsed toward the ground, hardly any emotion in her eyes.
Cassandra had lost.
…
Or did she?
Cassandra slowly got back up to the podium. Her face was noticeably red from whatever outside force had ended up slapping her across the cheek. She looked faint, but she had some strength left to fight. But at the moment, she was more so disappointed in herself for letting her get found out this way.
Found out for both her crime and for the Ultimate she truly was:
Cassandra Mura.
The Ultimate Scam Artist.
"Congrats," Cassandra muttered. "You guys win. It was me. I was the one who killed Maggie. And just like you guys said, I killed her yesterday, when the rest of you were fucking around with Jared's plan."
"S-So it really was!" Barracuda looked visibly angry. "You really did– W-Why did you do it?! Why did you kill Maggie?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Cassandra looked up, a distasteful look reflecting back toward Barracuda's distraught face. "For the money. She had the one million dollar bounty on her head. And she's done nothing but piss me off the entire time she was here. Why shouldn't I be the one to kill her?"
"Do you really feel no regret for what you did?" Zuri looked flabbergasted by just how honest Cassandra was being. "Maggie was a human being like the rest of us. To say something like that. It's… It's immoral!"
"Is it immoral?" Cassandra scoffed. "Is it really? As far as I'm concerned, the rules of morality are different here than it is in the outside world. Here, it's encouraged that we go around killing each other. But at what price?"
Cassandra shook her head.
"I may have taken a life, but at the same time, I did it for a worthy and selfish cause," Cassandra explained.
"How is killing Maggie a worthy cause?" Abigail frowned.
"Why should I tell you?" Cassandra stretched out her limbs. "I have my own reasons for doing what I do. It's not my place to say anything and have you judge me for it. So yeah, make me an outcast. Kick me out of your friendship group. Lock me up. Whatever the case is, one thing is for certain... I'm surviving this Killing Game. Whether you guys like it or not."
"Yeah right, bitch," Haruto clenched his fist. "Right after we vote for you, you're going to get an execution to wipe that sick smile off your fucking face!"
"Ha," Cassandra smirked. "You're hilarious. I'm not getting executed. If anything, I'm going to get away with murder."
"What do you mean?" Ina narrowed her eyes.
Was this Trial seriously not over? But they found the killer right? The killer that killed Maggie. It was Cassandra. She even admitted to it.
"I have to admit, so much stress has been taken off for trying to hide things," Cassandra seemed much more confident now. "You really want me to tell you straight up?"
Holland already had an idea for what was going to happen now. That idea had just come up in his mind, and although his face was stoic, his silent mumbles said anything but that.
"You guys have proven that I was the one who killed Maggie," Cassandra explained. "I killed her yesterday. Buried her in ice packs so that she would seem like a fresher kill. Truth be told, I was a little worried when Monohebi mentioned the reward was a working Time of Death, but she still kinda helped me out by twisting the truth a bit. The next day, I find whatever happened with Barracuda and use everything to my advantage to hide my own crime. How? You guessed it, the trolley and speargun method. Kudos to you guys for figuring that out."
"Wait, I don't get it," Mimi blinked. "How is Cassandra not getting executed?"
"...It's because we were wrong from the very beginning," Holland's stoic face expressed a slight frown. "I see what she's referring to... This entire time, we were trying to solve the crime for the wrong body."
"Huh?" Mimi blinked.
"...Remember the rules behind this Killing Game," Holland turned to Mimi.
"Precisely," Monohebi tipped her head forward with a nod. "The rules of the Double Murder Case are as follows: Your goal is to figure out who killed the first victim of this case. The second victim is entirely optional and up to you to solve if you feel like it. But please, don't waste too much time figuring out who the killer for the second victim is. Killers of any secondary victim will not be executed in these Trials."
"So, to sum it up briefly, only the murderer of the victim who died first truly matters," Arthur summarized.
"Correction," Monohebi interrupted. "The murderer of the victim who was discovered first truly matters. Whether the victim died later than the second or not doesn't matter. We just want whoever the Body Discovery Announcement was played for first."
"...The murderer of the victim who was discovered first truly matters," Zuri repeated before realizing what Holland meant. "Ah! But that means…"
"...Yes, we were wrong," Holland nodded. "All this time, we assumed this was the truth because of a faulty scenario but now we know for certain… The reason Cassandra can't be executed for Maggie's murder is because…
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
...
...
...
…Maggie was not the one who was discovered first. Carter was."
"Wait, what?!" Haruto widened his eyes before seeing Cassandra's smirk widened.
"That's right," Cassandra leaned against her podium, a confident smirk plastered on her face. "I was the one who killed Maggie. But, all this time, you guys were supposed to solve the murder of Carter instead! All that time trying to pursue me, and it was all wasted!"
"N-No way!" Abigail looked shocked. "H-How was Carter discovered first?!"
"I see," even Arthur was displeased by this outcome. "It was because of the attack on Barracuda. Remember, who was it that found Barracuda injured first?"
"Cassandra was…" Abigail grimaced.
"And therefore, if she was the one who found Barracuda's body in the aftermath of the attack, what would she find alongside him?" Arthur continued.
"Carter…" Mimi gasped. "Then that means, Cassandra was the first person who discovered Carter's body! She initiated the three-person criteria for his body!"
"Precisely, and after she had moved Carter's body to the crime scene," Arthur frowned. "Abigail and Haruto stumbled onto the scene. But since Cassandra had discovered Carter's body, that would mean…"
"That the three-person criteria played for Carter, not Maggie," Zuri widened her eyes. "N-No way. So… we've been solving for the wrong person this entire time!"
"Oh?" Monohebi perked her head on that big throne of hers. "Have you figured something else out regarding who you are trying to solve for? Then I suppose I shall change the direction this Trial should be heading. Who is it that killed Carter Franklin? That is the question."
"Fuck me!" Haruto groaned. "Carter was the first victim discovered this entire time! Goddamn it!"
"H-Hey wait, wouldn't it still be Cassandra?" Mimi asked. "I mean, maybe killing Maggie wasn't enough so she–"
"Attacked two more people?" Cassandra looked at her fingernails. "Both of whom had no monetary value under their heads. And more importantly, risk breaking Rule #6?"
"R-Rule #6?" Mimi blinked.
Rule #6: The blackened is only allowed to kill a max of two people. Any more will result in immediate punishment.
"Rule #6," Jared frowned. "Yeah. She killed Maggie. She got her money. There is no reason for her to risk anything else afterwards."
"Exactly," Cassandra confidently smirked. "I'm the killer behind Maggie's demise. But now, you have to find out who killed Carter. Because guess what?...
…
…
…
…
…
…
...
...
...
…We had two killers in this case, the entire time!"
"T-Two killers," Zuri breathlessly mouthed. "B-But where do we even get started for Carter's death? We thought he died in the crime scene where Maggie died. I… I–"
"Calm down," Arthur sighed. "Just think for one second. We have already concluded that Carter was killed in the Therapy Room, around the same time as when Barracuda was attacked. Meaning, whoever attacked Barracuda and kidnapped my dear half-sister, was also the one who killed Carter."
"But how exactly do we figure that out?" Abigail frowned. "The culprit for that attack covered their tracks way too well compared to Cassandra."
"I think I'll take offense to that," Cassandra returned the displeased look toward the equestrian.
"...There is a way to figure that out I think," Holland rubbed his chin. "We just need to piece together what the killer would have needed to prepare before the attack. Because, as far as I'm concerned, this was definitely a premeditated murder gone wrong."
"First, they would have needed the speargun," Jared suggested. "It's the chosen murder weapon the culprit needed. And because I locked it away in the Evidence Room, they would've needed to gain access to the Evidence Room for it, by using my eHandbook."
"Which means, none of the people who already had access to the Evidence Room could be the ones to do it," Haruto grinned. "Which is me and Abigail."
"As well as me," Arthur folded his arms.
"Nor me," Jared said. "And of course, not Ina either."
"Unless you take into account that they took Jared's eHandbook just to avoid getting spotted on the Evidence Room Entry log," Abigail pointed out.
"Abs, you trying to get us back on the suspect list?" Haruto groaned.
"Just stating facts," Abigail shrugged. "The point still stands though. When Haruto and I checked the entry log for the Evidence Room, only Jared's name appeared on it. So, there's your confirmation for that."
"...They would have also needed to prepare the Robo Justice suit," Holland pointed out. "Cassandra mentioned that it was gone since the morning. But, given what we have proven with her, that could already have been a lie."
"Out of everything I lied about, that was not a lie," Cassandra folded her arms. "I checked up on the body and revisited Kane's Cell for a bit and saw that it was missing. Didn't leave much of an impression until we got here."
"They also needed the trolley," Mimi noted. "To carry Ina in the Robo Justice suit."
"Anesthetics and the syringe," Abigail nodded. "To kidnap Ina."
"And the key to Cell #66…" Zuri trailed off. "Which had to be used to kidnap Ina. But that doesn't mean it was me! I somehow lost the key!"
"Alright, but is there anything else we missed?" Barracuda asked.
"Yes, what about the blue sailcloth?" Arthur asked. "Out of every item that was needed to capture Ina and prepare a murder plot, what exactly was the sailcloth used for?"
What was the sailcloth used for? It was the only item on the list that seemed really out of place. Yet, as it was found at the crime scene and was used to hide Carter's body when moving the body from the Therapy Room, it had to also have been there before the attack as well! It was an item that was found in a Cell Block across!
"...I think the culprit used the sailcloth to hide their appearance," Holland rubbed his chin. "Like a cloak."
"But when would they have needed to use that?" Mimi blinked.
"When transporting Robo Justice up the stairs," Jared understood what Holland meant. "Yeah. That makes sense. Because Barracuda, you mentioned that Robo Justice was moving up the stairs, but you never actually saw anyone carry them."
"Yeah, exactly!" Barracuda nodded. "I thought that was suspicious! So, I followed Robo Justice! But I guess now, it was more like, I was following someone carrying Robo Justice..."
"Yeah, in reality, Barracuda just failed to see who it was that was carrying Robo Justice because of the cloak they wore," Abigail noted.
"...Exactly, which is why the sailcloth had to have been used as a way to hide their appearance," Holland nodded. "But after shooting and killing the wrong guys, I guess they ditched the sailcloth."
"Maybe, but you also gotta realize that this amount of prep work is a lot," Haruto frowned. "I mean, someone was bound to see the culprit carrying at least one of those objects, right?"
"Wait a minute," Abigail widened her eyes. "Someone did carry the sailcloth. And I saw it…"
"Huh?" Haruto turned to Abigail, flabbergasted. "Who? Who was it?!"
"It was…" Abigail remembered it as clearly as day now.
The person who had the sailcloth...
"H-Hey, what are you doing?"
Abigail jumped and turned to see Carter, a blue tarp folded and neatly draped over his shoulder. Turns out, he probably woke up much earlier than she did. He pointed toward Jared's eHandbook in her hands.
"I-Is that…" Carter was about to ask before Abigail hurried up and sighed.
...
...
...
"...Carter."
The name that Abigail had stated made everything sound sane. The flashback was as true as it could be. It was Carter. Carter had the blue sailcloth but what did it mean?
What on Earth did it…?
"Wait, Carter?!" Mimi exclaimed. "H-He took Yuumi's sailcloth?!"
"What the fuck Carter?!" Haruto blinked. "How did–"
"...Shortly after I talked with Haruto at my Ultimate Cell, I bumped into Carter," Abigail frowned. "I didn't think much of it before, but he was wearing the blue sailcloth over his shoulders. He said he was cold. But what does this…?"
Abigail tried to make a lick of sense from what she had remembered. But all that was piling onto her ever-growing pile of theories were much more serious and negative than the last. Because now, this points to one thing and one thing only…
"It means that this entire time," Arthur grimaced. "The one who committed the kidnapping and shot Barracuda... They were done by him...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...By Carter."
"What?" Mimi blinked. "The victim was the culprit this entire time?! Wait, but if that's true, then, he would've also been the one who stole the key to Cell #66! How did he pull that off?!"
"A-Ah!" Zuri felt faint. "O-Of course! So that's how he–"
"A-Ah, a-anyone gonna help me on the ground?" Carter groaned on the ground, clutching his stomach.
Oh yeah, Carter. Jared really did a number with that strong elbow thrust to his gut.
He reached out his hand toward the closest person, Zuri, who returned it by helping him up. Allowing him to lean on her shoulder, Carter gave her a small grateful smile.
"Th-Thanks," Carter thanked.
"No problem," Zuri smiled. "Do you need to go to the Infirmary?"
"J-Just an elbow thrust," Carter sighed. "I think I can s-sleep it off."
Zuri nodded in understanding and helped walk Carter to the direction of the Prison Rooms.
"I'll help Carter to his room," Zuri called out. "You guys get Jared to his and have Arthur watch him inside."
"I helped him to his room," Zuri looked completely shocked. "He reached out for specifically me. Not because I was the closest…"
"But because you had the key to Cell #66," Arthur coldly glanced away. "By helping him, you gave him an opening to pickpocket the key from your person. By the next day, he was free to do whatever he wanted with your key and Jared's eHandbook lost in the Auditorium."
"There's no doubt about it," Haruto clenched his fist. "Carter wasn't the type to try to join into conflict like that. He must've done it with the purpose of getting hurt in order to trick Zuri."
"Or he did it to try to get my eHandbook," Jared frowned. "It was probably because of his interference that my eHandbook got left in the Auditorium like that."
"W-Wait, but none of that can be true!" Barracuda exclaimed. "Carter wanted to be stronger to try to fight White Collar! That must be why he joined the conflict. So, he could test his strength…?"
Even Barracuda wasn't so convinced with what he suggested. Because it was slowly starting to make sense. Stealing the key. Using Jared's eHandbook. His actions. The blue sailcloth. Being at the scene of Barracuda's attack. This was the answer that made the most sense.
Carter was the culprit behind Barracuda's attack.
"Even you know that isn't true, big guy," Abigail sighed, tiredly. "Carter was the one who kidnapped Ina with the full intention of framing her for whatever crime he was about to commit."
"But he was stopped by Barracuda," Mimi looked at Barracuda with a small appreciative smile. "Who followed him and got shot in return because of it."
"But there is only one problem now," Barracuda rubbed his chin. "If Carter was the one who kidnapped Ina and shot me, then who was it that killed him? I mean, could there have been a fourth party no one knew about?"
Could there have been a fourth party? It was quite the solid question. But there was no evidence of a fourth party member in this long string of attacks and killings. The only fourth party member that could be considered was Cassandra, but she found the bodies after the events occurred.
Carter kidnapped Ina.
Carter shot Barracuda.
But who killed Carter?
The question was quickly answered in Arthur's mind. He hadn't considered this in the slightest. And what a shock and twist this would be if this was true. He narrowed his cold glance toward his peers. He figured it out.
Carter kidnapped Ina.
Carter shot Barracuda.
And this person killed Carter.
This was the only person that could have killed Carter. The only person.
"There was no fourth party," Arthur frowned. "I know all too well who the killer is now."
"Huh, so Kingston's got this all figured out," Haruto challenged. "Let's hear it then. Who killed Carter?"
"The killer of Carter," Arthur sighed. "There is only one person that could have done this. And that person is none other than…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…Barracuda."
"E-Eh?" Mimi widened her eyes. "B-Barracuda? What? Is this some kind of joke? Didn't we prove Barracuda to be innocent? The victim of Carter's crime?"
"H-Hey, what's this about?" Barracuda was surprised that Arthur would accuse him like this. "Me? The killer? Th-There's no way I would do that. I mean, look. I have a hole in my chest! I can take off my bandages for you to–"
"No one wants to be scarred for life in this Class Trial, Mister Marakovich," Monohebi shook her head. "That comes later."
"You really think the guy who got shot is the true culprit of this crime?" Cassandra seemed unconvinced, but mostly satisfied with how safe she felt from the next execution. "Why?"
"Because of all the people that were at the Therapy Room, it only made sense that it would be Barracuda," Arthur stated. "Ina was stuck in the Robo Justice suit. She's out. And this was no suicide. So, the only other person left at the Therapy Room who could've done this was…"
"The injured one?" Abigail deadpanned. "The one who almost died? That sounds ridiculous."
"Nothing is ridiculous when it comes to Barracuda," Arthur folded his arms. "After all, he stands before us. Alive and somewhat well. Isn't he?"
"N-No," Barracuda widened his eyes as he took in what Arthur was saying.
"B-But why would Barracuda kill Carter?" Mimi pouted. "He would never… hurt anyone… like that."
"I will admit," Arthur sighed. "Barracuda would never have killed anyone with intent. I know that all too well now. But you also have to remember that Barracuda is human like the rest of us, no matter how pure and innocent he is. If he was threatened into a corner like an animal, he would bite back."
"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "You mean?"
"...The reason Barracuda killed Carter is simple," Arthur frowned. "He killed him in self-defense. If anyone was shot like that and still lived to breathe, they would do anything it would take to make sure their attacker didn't pull a finishing blow. He would have killed Carter just to survive."
"N-No… N-No way," Barracuda softly muttered to himself. His eyes continued to widen as Arthur explained how this crime was pulled off, via simply. "I… I killed… Carter? I'm... I'm not a killer. No... No..."
"Barracuda," Zuri looked toward the larger male, who was in disbelief over what he was hearing. He had been hospitalized for the first half of the Trial. And after figuring out who killed his best friend, now he found himself in the hot seat.
A hot seat for something he didn't even remember himself doing.
"...I suppose you really are as pure and innocent as they say," Arthur looked away. "You never meant to kill him, did you? You only acted because he was going to kill you."
"I… I… don't remember," Barracuda stared at his hands. "I'm a killer? N-No… N-No…"
"Dream on!" Mimi declared, her witch's hat floating in the air as it looked like she was ready to cast a spell on Arthur, himself. "I… I won't believe it! I won't believe that it was Barracuda that killed Carter. He would never! Accident or not! He would never kill anyone!"
"But he is the only suspect that makes sense," Arthur sighed. "I don't like this anymore than you do, but the fact stands that he has to have been the one who killed Carter!"
"L-Lies!" Mimi exclaimed. "Carter tried to kill Barracuda! Maybe someone saw this, came along, and saved him!"
"And who exactly would that have been?" Arthur frowned.
"I… C-Cassandra maybe!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Whoa, whoa," Cassandra jumped in with a raised eyebrow. "Why the fuck would I kill to save someone else's life? Especially if they have no money on their heads."
"Cassandra discovered Carter's body," Arthur remarked. "There is no way it could have been her who killed him."
"O-Okay, then, then answer me this!" Mimi jabbed her finger toward Arthur like a wand. "If Barracuda is the killer, then what exactly did he use to kill Carter?"
"I–" Arthur blinked. Shit. That was a good point.
"If Barracuda killed him in self-defense, then in normal circumstances, he had to use something around him as the murder weapon!" Mimi exclaimed. "Like a book or a lamp! But Holland, Zuri, and Cassandra didn't find anything like that! Or at least, they didn't mention anything of the sort!"
"Can confirm," Cassandra folded her arms. "Nothing in the Therapy Room was used as the weapon."
"S-So there you go!" Mimi looked pretty proud of herself for coming up with that one. "As long as there is no weapon at the crime scene, Barracuda can't have been the one who killed Carter!"
"Then what do you suggest happened?" Arthur frowned.
"Simple!" Mimi pouted. "Barracuda was shot. Then the real killer came in carrying a weapon of their own, probably one of the hammers, and then BAM! Carter died!"
That was the most ridiculous leap in logic Arthur truly did not want to consider. If that was really how Carter died, then may God rest all of their souls. Besides, Arthur didn't believe this bullshit. There was a weapon at the Therapy Room that could have been used to kill Carter. Yes. It could only be that…
"As exciting as your fantasies are, that is not what happened," Arthur tapped the side of his head with a smirk. "Barracuda is indeed the killer. And the weapon he used is simple to figure out."
"H-Huh?" Mimi stumbled back, her witch's hat slowly sliding off her head.
"I suggest that the weapon Barracuda used to kill Carter is something you know well..." Arthur began to say before pointing his finger toward Mimi. "The weapon...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...was the speargun!"
"Th-The speargun?!" Mimi exclaimed. "N-No! B-But how?!"
"Haruto, please, present the speargun so we can examine it thoroughly," Arthur ordered.
"Uh, sure," Haruto blinked before taking out the speargun and presenting toward his peers. "You're talking about all the blood, right? There's Barracuda's blood on the actual spear."
"Yes, but what about the grip of the gun?" Arthur seemed much more confident in his deductions now.
"The grip," Haruto glanced at the grip before jumping in surprise. "H-Hey, yeah! There's blood on this too! But isn't that Barracuda's–?"
"Not at all," Arthur shook his head. "Given the circumstances that we found Barracuda in at the time, it was easy to assume that. But after Cassandra moved everything into the side room, including Carter's body, we can now thoroughly assume that the blood on the grip of the speargun belongs to Carter."
"Sh-Shit man," Haruto widened his eyes. "So, you mean to say that Barracuda whacked him on the side of the head with the weapon that shot him?"
"What other choice did he have?" Arthur shrugged.
"N-No, I don't believe you!" Mimi exclaimed. "Barracuda would never– Proof! Yes! That's right! You need evidence! Where's the evidence that Barracuda used the speargun to hit Carter?!"
"The evidence?" Arthur surmised.
He had to think closely. He had to think back. Because of Cassandra hiding the real murder weapon all this time, there was no time to thoroughly examine the speargun. But he remembered all too well the image of the speargun when it was first taken out of Barracuda's body. And now that they have the speargun, all that was needed is to compare…
"...The evidence is on the speargun," Arthur nodded. "Yes… Because if memory serves correctly…"
Holland was joined by the rather depressed Arthur, who examined the speargun intensively, and by golly was there some stuff on that speargun that should be examined. By stuff, I mean blood. Because that speargun was almost nearly covered in blood.
There was blood on the grip of the speargun. Following the chain connected to the spear lodged inside of Barracuda, halfway through it was yet another bloodstain. And finally, the spear itself, which was completely covered in blood, most definitely because of it being lodged inside of Barracuda.
"Ack, i-it hurts–" Barracuda groaned miserably.
"There should be blood on the middle part of the speargun's long chain!" Arthur declared.
"...There's only one way to find out," Holland turned to Haruto. "Stretch out the chain, Haruto. And let's see for ourselves."
Haruto nodded in return and did as he was told. The moment he reeled out the chain slowly, the prisoners gasped. Arthur's memory was correct. There was indeed blood in the middle of the chain, with every other part of the chain being as clean as a whistle.
"W-Wait, what does this mean?" Mimi stuttered. "I mean! So, there's blood! That's not Carter's blood!"
"You're right," Arthur nodded. "It's not. It's Barracuda's."
"B-Barracuda's?" Mimi covered her mouth. "But how did it get there? Why are the other parts of the chain clean?"
"That's simple," Arthur smirked, ready to destroy Mimi's counterargument once and for all. "Because in order to use the speargun to kill Carter, he had to do one thing first. He had to take the speargun away from Carter."
"I see," Jared understood now. "So, the blood on the chain was actually from his hand…"
…The Therapy Room was… clean. Not too messy. Nothing really out of the ordinary. That is, until the smell of blood drifted into the air. The smell of blood radiating from a body that Cassandra was currently tending to at the doorway of the Therapy Room. In fact, this was the first thing anyone should have seen when they stumbled through the Therapy Room's doorway:
The sight of Cassandra tending to a fallen Barracuda. There was blood seeping from his chest. The palm of his hands was also coated with blood as he groaned and coughed out blood. And most horrifying of all was the weapon that was used.
A spear.
The spear that was attached to the speargun.
Essentially, the speargun had been shot and lodged into Barracuda.
"...His hand was bloodied," Jared stated. "Probably to stop the bleeding."
"And by using that hand, he grabbed the middle of the chain, and pulled the speargun away from Carter's hand," Arthur deduced. "That is how he later came to be in possession of the weapon."
"And because Barracuda was much stronger than pretty much all of us, it would have been easy for him to steal the gun," Haruto nodded in agreement.
"And with that, what happened next is what we know all too well," Arthur nodded. "With the last of his strength, Barracuda swung the speargun... and hit Carter on the side of the head with the grip of the speargun! Convinced now?!"
"N-No!" Mimi gasped. She thrusted her hands toward Arthur in desperation. "U-Uh, A-Abracadabra! A-Alakazam! Bibbidi-bobbidi! T-Time reversal spell! S-Stupidity spell! I… I… N-None of my magic is working! B-Barracuda is innocent! I-Innocence spell!"
"Cast as many magic spells as you like," Arthur slammed his hand on his podium. "But none of them can hide the truth: Barracuda is the one who killed Carter and therefore, the true blackened of this case!"
"N-N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mimi shrieked as her witch's hat exploded with flowers, water, a white rabbit and a white dove.
Mimi just stood there, dumbfounded as the white rabbit sniffed around her podium. The white dove on the other hand flew a little too close to Monohebi, who in turn snatched it out of the air, swallowing it with pride.
"Mmm, dinner," Monohebi stated.
"...W-Where the fuck did…" Haruto was about to say before shaking his head. Weird things happen in these Trials all the time.
…
"S-So, I'm really the killer?" Barracuda asked, somberly. He had listened to everything intently. He couldn't believe it himself. By the time he had gotten shot, he didn't remember a thing. This was… almost like a sick joke.
After everything.
After everything.
After his moment of trying to help his friends... trying to find out how Maggie died... In the end...
He got caught up in a plot. Found out his best friend died. And now, he's finding himself being convicted of a crime he didn't know he even committed. A sick crime in which he himself was going to be executed for.
"...I… I…" Barracuda stared at his hands. "I… I can't believe it… I'm the killer."
He clenched his hands into fists.
And he looked down, his eyes beginning to water.
He really was a disappointment...
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
Act 1: This case actually began yesterday, at 6:00 PM, when Jared had planned to shoot White Collar. As that was going on, our first culprit, Cassandra, met up with our first victim, Maggie, in the Right Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell, with the intention of killing her to claim the one million dollar bounty on her head.
Act 2: To prepare for this, Cassandra had grabbed the murder weapon from the Left Ultimate Pawnbroker's Cell, Justice Hammer #4. The reason for this is because she figured out the secret behind the Right Cell's true identity: It was her cell. A cell belonging to the Ultimate Scam Artist.
Act 3: Once she met up with Maggie, Cassandra killed her, hitting on top of her head with Justice Hammer #4. By the time she finished, Cassandra was left to rejoin the group, who were preoccupied with Jared. The mess that was left behind in her Cell was really just the aftermath of what Jared and she did when investigating.
Act 4: Speaking of Jared, this was when our second victim made his move, with the full intent of becoming the culprit of this case. During the tussle, our second victim, Carter, was knocked to the ground and called for Zuri to help him up. That was how he got his chance to begin his crime: stealing the key to Cell #66.
Act #5: By the next day, Carter got to work with preparing all the materials needed for his murder attempt. First thing he needed to do was find a murder weapon. Thanks to the fight between Jared and everyone else the day prior, Jared had dropped his eHandbook and left it behind in the Auditorium overnight. Borrowing the eHandbook, Carter retrieved the weapon from the Evidence Room. That weapon was the speargun. It was probably around this time that Arthur tried to retrieve the eHandbook for Jared and thought it was missing…
Act #6: At the same time, Cassandra, realizing that no one had yet found Maggie's body, decided to use this to her advantage. That was why she headed into Cell Block C's Infirmary and gathered up ice packs. Once she had a good amount, she returned to the scene of the crime and buried Maggie in ice packs, with the hopes of hiding the time of death. If people found out Maggie died yesterday, Cassandra knew she would be found out.
Act #7: Carter, meanwhile, had returned the eHandbook to the Auditorium before heading toward the Ultimate Sailor's Cell in order to retrieve a next important piece for his crime: a blue sailcloth.
Act #8: Then Carter moved toward Cell Block C to gather up more of what he needed for the crime: the Robo Justice suit and the trolley from Kane's Ultimate Cell and the syringe and anesthetic from the Infirmary. Once he retrieved those materials, he got to work with his crime. But he wasn't ready to kill anyone just yet.
Act #9: Because his crime needed one last material: a scapegoat by the name of Ina Hamamura. Hauling all pieces of the Robo Justice suit down to Cell Block S, Carter used the key to Cell #66 to free Ina. Confused, Ina had wandered out only to get injected with a knockout drug.
Act #10: After knocking out Ina, Carter placed her into the Robo Justice suit. Then, in order to move her up to Cell Block C, Carter used the blue sailcloth to disguise himself and carried Ina inside the suit. However, during this, he was caught by one unsuspecting witness: the culprit of this entire case.
Act #11: The culprit thought that Robo Justice was moving around and sought to investigate this. Following them, they were led into the Therapy Room, where the culprit caught Carter in the act. Flustered, this was when Carter shot the culprit with the speargun.
Act #12: Shot and injured, the culprit used the last of their strength to fight back against Carter. Grabbing the middle of the speargun's chain, thanks to how strong they were, the culprit easily pulled the speargun and Carter closer to them. Now that they were the one with the weapon, all the culprit had to do was swing…
Act #13: That itself was the killing blow, and Carter died from a single blow to the side of his head. And due to the mortal wound of Carter's attack, the culprit themselves became dazed and passed out.
Act #14: But the case doesn't end there. Cassandra, who had returned to the crime scene to clean up the melted ice packs, leaving Maggie's corpse to be cold and wet, ended up being the first to discover the gruesome aftermath between the culprit and Carter. After realizing what Carter had planned, Cassandra thought of a heinous plan…
Act #15: The first thing that Cassandra did was hide the Robo Justice suit, the trolley, and Carter inside the Therapy Room's side room. This was all done just to show that Barracuda was attacked by some lone attacker. Then she called for help in order to remove an instrument that would greatly help her in her next plan.
Act #16: Once everyone else arrived, everyone played straight into Cassandra's plan: removing the speargun. Now that the speargun was removed from the body and Barracuda's condition was stable, Cassandra stayed behind the Infirmary and headed into the side room.
Act #17: It was here that Cassandra placed Carter's corpse onto the trolley, wrapping it with the blue sailcloth. Then Cassandra placed Ina, inside the Robo Justice suit, onto the trolley as well, tying the speargun's chain to keep everything attached. Once she finished, she was free to rejoin the others in the Infirmary, where all she had left to do was dispose of the ice packs.
Act #18: By the time everyone separated to search for Ina, this became Cassandra's chance to move everything to her crime scene. Cassandra used the speargun and reeled in the trolley with Ina in the Robo Justice suit and Carter's corpse. This was noticed by of course, the culprit, who was dozing on and off in the Infirmary. To them, it looked as if Robo Justice was pushing a shopping cart.
Act #19: Once she successfully brought everything back to her crime scene, Cassandra kept the speargun and got to work, unwrapping Carter onto the ground next to Maggie. Then, she planted the Robo Justice suit in the room as well. All that was left was one last thing: making it seem like Carter and Maggie killed each other.
Act #20: In order to do that, Cassandra took Justice Hammer #1 from her Ultimate Cell and planted it next to Carter. The scene was set and all that was left was for people to discover the bodies. However, because Cassandra discovered Carter's corpse first, the three-person criteria was fulfilled for Carter and only Carter first. That meant that the true culprit was the one who killed Carter.
And the one who killed Carter was none other than the person who was shot by him in the first place. I'm sorry, but that's you, Victor "Barracuda" Marakovich, the Ultimate Fitness Trainer!
And finally, Trial Part 2 has ended with a big revelation! We had two killers: Cassandra and Barracuda! What a surprise! Am I right?! :D Also, this Closing Argument is much longer than the last Chapter's! An extra 6 Acts! Holy moly, but after editing and rereading multiple times, I'm actually really proud of this Trial ;)
There is a lot of stuff I want to say about this Trial but so far, I think this Trial has my proudest and most favorite twists ever! :D I was a little worried that this Trial might get Chapter 3 Syndrome but from how concise everything seems so far... it might actually be really good, and I really hope you all like it as much as I did reading and writing it!
Gonna be a little tough on myself cause I'm a perfectionist, but maybe the Barracuda accusations could be longer. But it could be fine for all I know! Just a little small thing! Execution could be good. Execution could be a little faulty.
Really, it all comes down to you guys and what you think :D
Let me know what you guys thought of the overall Trial! Love it? Hate it? Better than the previous Chapters? Midtier? Worst. Let me know! (But if it's the worst, let me down easy ;-;) Next chapter is the official end of Chapter 3 and the gateway to Chapter 4! Ahhhh, feels so good to complete a Chapter :D
Prisoners Remaining: 10
Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular) [0]
Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7) [1,000,000]
Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate Scam Artist (ExtraMeme) [500,000]
Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101) [0]
Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi) [1,000,000]
Ina (Hamamura) Kingston - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping) [0]
Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay) [500,000]
Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan) [0]
Victor "Barracuda" Marakovich - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro) [0]
Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45) [1,000,000]