Class Trial
All Rise!
As the elevator grinded to a halt, the five student; Memory, Toxic, Pure, Paint, and Bright all strode off into the trial room. The decor this time had been changed to sixteen different colours of stripes as wallpaper, clearly being used to symbolise the sixteen rooms used to represent the students in the maze. The five took their places at the circle of podiums, looking at the two new additions to the portraits of the dead students. Rip had the normal cross like victim's always had, whilst Bud' portrait had a smiling face over her, though since the blood was running it made it look like it was crying.
"Hey...how come Monomi isn't here?" Paint observed, pointing to the area next to Monokuma's throne where Monomi would usually be hanging. "Is she still out of order?"
"Yeah, I still haven't quite forgiven her for bashing up my Monobeasts so she won't be attending this trial. Must suck not being in this entire chapter at all, eh? Then again, so have a lot of your friends..." Monokuma mumbled the last sentence. "Anyway! Let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial! You're votes will determine the outcome of this, you will debate on a variety of topics regarding the murder and then try to identify 'whodunit'. If you can correctly guess the culprit then the culprit will be punished...but if you guess the wrong one. I'll punish everyone besides the culprit!"
"We already know who the culprit is!" Toxic yelled out suddenly. "The killer...is Memory Lapse!" He pointed at the therapist angrily. "He's defiantly the one that killed Rip!"
"Toxic..." Paint started slowly. "Don't you think you're putting your emotions before actual logic? What evidence do you have to say that implicates Memory?"
"Evidence...? I...I don't have evidence. But Rip did! She had a motive for him in her possession!" Toxic argued. "It's because of that...because of that, Rip's dead...and that bastard is the one responsible for it!"
Non-Stop Debate
Evidence Bullets:
-Paint's Account
-Memory's Account
-Rubber Gloves
-Generator
-Monokuma File 4Toxic- The one that killed Rip...It was Memory!
Pure- It's the start of the trial, Toxic! Should you really be throwing around accusations so quickly?
Toxic- Geez, don't you get it? He's the only one with a motive!
Memory- Ah yes, the motive. You seem to be lacking in actual evidence of its existing which is a tad convenient.
Paint- Unfortunately, for Toxic's case. Memory can't be the killer!
Toxic- Are you fucking kidding me right now?! When did you all shift to Memory's side?!
Memory- Actually, this is just you acting hastily...
I guess I should try Techno's approach to this and only object to things...now, there was something that was rather interesting just said, wasn't there?
Affirmative!
"Yes...Paint is very much correct in saying that Memory can't be the killer." Bright folded her arms, her book tucked under her right arm. "You see, when Paint was talking to me about her encounter with whoever had assaulted everyone, she had mentioned that Memory was attacked first out of her, Techno and Memory. It's unlikely that Memory would have been attacked if he was the killer. The obvious explanation is that the person responsible for the attacks is also the one who killed Rip, ergo, not Memory!"
"A-ah..." Toxic rubbed the back of his head. "But, Bright! You know he has motive to do this!"
"Yes, I do...but only according to your words. That's not enough in this trial, by now you should have learned that." Bright argued. "For now, we should save our accusations until we actually have had time to figure a few things out within the case."
"Now, let's get back to the actual case, yes?" Memory changed the subject. "Let's see...well, according to the Monokuma File, Rip died at 9:45pm. So, she died before the night-time announcement. First of all, let's discuss the cause of death."
Finally getting back to basics...the cause of death, easy.
Non-Stop Debate
Evidence Bullets
-Rubber Gloves
-Generator
-Jumper Cables
-Paint's Account
-Monokuma File 4Memory- Rip's body...was covered in a series of burns...there's a finite amount of causes for that.
Pure- Well, the most simple explanation is that she was burned!
Toxic- Maybe...but then again, there were no signs of a fire taking place.
Pure- Then...maybe they were burns from chemicals!
Paint- Those were all the way in Toxic's room though.
Pure- Well maybe if you guys would decide to help me!
I know that Rip didn't earn those burns in the conventional way...how to prove that though...
Incorrect!
"Sorry, Pure. I think you'll find that Rip didn't earn those burns from actually being burned alive. You see, in the Monokuma File, the diagram of Rip's body shows splotches all over her body, which match up with the burn marks on her body. If she really was burned alive, then her entire body would have been burned up, rather than just random sections of it." Bright looked over at the prosecutor. "Does that answer satisfy you?"
Objection!
"No way! If she didn't get burned alive then how did she die?! C'mon, isn't it obvious? Rip's burns were from a fire!" Pure insisted, much to Bright's annoyance.
"Fine...you want to continue down this road, then I'll just have to keep refuting your arguments until you accept this!" Bright pushed her glasses up.
Rebuttal Showdown
Evidence Blades
-Rubber Gloves
-Paint's Account
-Pool Bucket and Brush
-Cake Tester
-GeneratorPure- The killer had to burn Rip alive! The reason she didn't have burn marks all over her body is because her wetsuit would have blocked most of the flames! Besides, there isn't any other way to cause those burns! You're just gonna prolong the trial and force us to go around in circles at this rate!
Bright- Parts of the wetsuit would have burned up as well if Rip was truly set on fire. You should know how that works, Pure!
Pure- Then...what about chemical burns? The killer could have went to Toxic's room...grabbed some of the chemicals laying around...and leave Rip with the burns that way! There wasn't any other method of burning her in the maze! Why don't you give up?!
She's rather heated when she argues...fits her well, I suppose...though, I find it strange she'd ever have contradictions in her arguments
I overthrow your claim!
"Apologies, Pure. I shouldn't be harsh about this since you were watching over the crime scene for the whole investigation. However, when I was looking in Techno's room, Paint pointed out a generator in the back corner..."
"Generator...?" Pure frowned as realisation filled her expression. "Y-you're not gonna say that Rip was electrocuted, are you...?"
"I am. The burned areas are too precise for it to have been a fire, and chemical burns would have left some kind of sign of being used. Electrocution is the only option left." Bright explained.
"Do you actually have evidence to back that up...?" Toxic asked, doubtfully. "I know what generator you mean and that model will electrocute anyone that touches it carelessly. The killer must have took precautions, not that that's the only issue."
"Of course the killer took precautions. We found those during the investigation." Yes...this was simple enough to figure out...
Here's the evidence!
"There were a pair of rubber gloves found when searching the maze. I presume that these were used when handling the generator. That way, they could electrocute Rip without endangering themselves. I also presume that they used the jumper cables that Pure found in the chamber to circulate the move the electricity into her body."
"That's not enough!" Toxic objected. "Like I said, there are a few issues with that claim. The generator can only put a fatal output of electricity if a good conductor is used. Jumper cables aren't gonna cut it, no matter how many times you blast it into her."
"You seem to know a lot about this generator, if I may say." Memory observed. "Any particular reason as to why that is?"
"I...had the same model back in my old lab. It was a piece of junk that one was in a much better condition though. Even at that, the voltage isn't high enough to kill a person without a conductor." Toxic reverted back to his point. "There's no way that the generator could have been used to kill Rip."
"Um..." Pure thought for a moment. "Actually...there may have been something useable at the crime scene...but...it seems unlikely to me."
Hmm...Something unlikely to be used to conduct the electricity...I suppose there was only one thing at the crime scene that fits that description...
Eureka!
"I believe Pure is referring to the chamber key that was found in the wetsuit sleeve. It was matched up perfectly with the harshest burn to her body. If the killer connected the jumper cables to the key, it would have sent enough volts into Rip's body to kill her." Bright folded her arms.
"But why zap her so many times? You saw the Monokuma File. She had burns everywhere." Memory asked.
"Probably just overkill." Paint guessed. "When they realised that the generator wasn't working by itself, they probably tried to increase the voltage with a conductor. That's where the key came in."
"So, why did we find the key in Rip's wetsuit later on? The killer would have needed it to get back into the chamber with Rip's body." Pure asked. "Somebody needs to stand in the doorway to make sure it doesn't close again."
"Rip's body was pretty deep in the chamber, wasn't it? Then...how did the killer get it back into her wet suit?" Toxic pondered. "Well...they could have stood at the door with Rip's body and slid the body into the chamber from the door. That way the key would be inside the room whilst they were able to escape."
"Then we're at an agreement, right?" Bright asked. "Well then, that's good. Then that's how Rip got electrocuted and ended up in the chamber. Simple."
It's still not enough!
"I'm not finished, Bright. There are still reasons to doubt the electrocution method. Namely, the route the killer had to take to actually get to and from the chamber." Toxic objected once again.
"So, you really wish to push this as far as you can...?" Bright asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Toxic placed his hands in his lab coat pockets. "I'm simply pointing out the issues in your argument. Maybe if it was Techno, we would have found the killer already." To that, Bright had nothing to say.
"I may not be Techno...but know this. I am just as capable of solving this case!"
"Heh..." Toxic grinned. "That fire I saw in you when you declared yourself as leader...let me see it again."
Rebuttal Showdown
Evidence Blades
-Rubber Gloves
-Cake Tester
-Luminol Test Results
-Monokuma File 4
-Chamber KeyToxic- Unfortunately for your theory. You still lack all of the points needed to make it complete. How on earth would the killer have made it from the chamber to Techno's room and back to chamber again? We have no legitimate evidence to show how the killer got from A to B.
Bright- How can you say we have no evidence? We'd need to take the time to fully analyse the evidence before coming to such a conclusion!
Toxic- I was pretty thorough in my search for evidence. Not only is there no evidence for the route, we also don't know if they had enough keys! And if that's an issue...then we can say that Electrocution isn't the method of killing!
I won't allow him to tear this down when it's already went this far...think, Bright...isn't there anything to provide the route the killer took...?
I overthrow your claim!
"You say there's no evidence to show the route the killer took...but you yourself provided the evidence to show us the route!" Bright pointed at the chemist.
"What?!" Toxic yelled back angrily. "What the hell are...you..." His eyes slowly widened with realisation. "The luminol tests...! Goddammit, I totally forgot about that!"
"Right. Paint and I started from Techno's room, where we found traces of blood on pieces of metal, we then followed it around to where it ended."
"Yes, it seemed to go around Enterna and my room." Paint recalled. "A rather long route, don't you think...?"
"That's such a long route to take though. Why didn't they just go through Enterna's room?" Memory asked.
"Obviously, they didn't have the key." Pure folded her arms. "I'm pretty sure Techno was the one with Enterna's room key."
"But where did the blood come from...? And how did they clean it up?" Toxic asked. "Unless you wanna tell me that there was a massive blood trail that we missed?"
"Obviously, it had to be cleaned up..." Bright rolled her eyes. "Did you actually investigate at all?" If he did then he would know that that is the easiest questions to answer. Ever.
Here's the evidence!
"There was a bucket and brush in Rip's room. The bucket had shown signs of recently containing water. The most likely explanation is that the killer used the bucket and brush to clean away the blood and dumped the water somewhere else. They couldn't really do that in the pool, the blood would show up in the water." Bright adjusted her glasses. "Satisfactory?"
"Not quite." Paint shook her head. "I think it's time we discussed one of the most suspicious parts of this case, and probably the most complicated."
The most complicated part of the case...
Eureka!
"Ah..." Bright closed her eyes, holding her chin between her index finger and thumb. "You mean the numerous amount of assaults that took place...yes, I also wonder how they're connected to all this."
"Well...we should discuss those that were attacked, shouldn't we...?" Paint proposed.
Non-Stop Debate
Evidence Bullets
-Paint's Account
-Memory's Account
-Cake Tester
-Chamber Key
-Toxic's Account
-Maze WallsPaint- Those that were assaulted were myself, Memory, Techno
Pure- Also Laser and Quick...right?
Toxic- Right. Now...what's the connection between all of them...? What led to them having to be assaulted?
Memory- Maybe it had to something to do with their keys? Or perhaps their locations?
Pure- Even at that, majority were moved to the chamber after being knocked out. But why?
Toxic- Maybe they were in the killer's way...or the killer needed them in the chamber...?
Pure- Urgh! There's too much to consider...at this rate...we won't figure anything out!
Paint- Bit of an overreaction...
There's a lot to consider when it comes to the assaults...I should clear my mind and just listen out for any possible contradictions, or points to go on...
Affirmative!
"I think Memory's right in saying that their location in the maze had something to do with the assaults. Think about it, when we take a look at the map Paint drew up. We find that there were three survivor rooms, excluding the one that Rip was in. Not to mention that the killer had to go to Rip's room to get the pool bucket and brush. We already know that Paint and Techno were in there. That means that four rooms were used and five people were assaulted."
"But...then where did the killer come from...? Everybody in those rooms got assaulted, that eliminates them, right?" Pure frowned. "So that would just leave...me, you and Toxic..."
"Tch!" Toxic clicked his tongue with a disgusted look on his face. "I can't believe you're actually putting me on the chopping block again."
"Well, you have been the most suspicious the whole trip..." Memory shrugged. "It's to be expected."
"No...Toxic couldn't be the killer. Something was preventing him from leaving his room after all..."
Here's the evidence!
"Toxic told me something very interesting...about the events that took place last night..."
"Well, you know how everyone started off with a key to a room? I started off with the key for Aqua's room, which was right next to Quick's room, which is where I started. Problem is, before I really got a chance to investigate that room, my key went missing. I looked everywhere for it, but it's like it vanished into thin air. Got any ideas what happened?"
He wants to hear a theory...? Bright pursed her lips for a moment. "I'm not sure where your key went...when did it go missing?"
"I suppose it must have been yesterday...? I had on the first day but when I woke up on day two, it was gone." Toxic shoved his hands in his lab coat pockets. "Because of that, I wasn't able to go anywhere..."
"You...lost your key in the middle of the night then? That shouldn't be possible. We couldn't move about at night." Bright thumbed over the pages in her book.
"Wait, you think somebody stole it from me?" Toxic raised an eyebrow.
"Well, if you has simply dropped it somewhere then you should have found it by now, don't you think? The only explanation for it is that somebody must have took it whilst you were sleeping. You didn't sleep past the morning announcement, did you?"
"No, have you heard how loud those are?" He scratched behind his ear and frowned. "I woke up in the middle of the announcement and when I checked my pocket, the key was gone."
"This means that Toxic couldn't move about at all, let alone getting to Rip and killing her. Only to then go and assault everyone he sees. It's not possible."
"Yeah...I suppose it would have been impossible for an earth pony to get around the maze..." Memory mumbled. Paint raised an eyebrow, throwing a side-glace at him. "Then...you're saying that the killer is Pure?"
"W-what?! Me?!" Pure cried. "It wasn't me, I swear! Remember, I was with Paint and Techno! Then I left to do more investigating of the rooms! I couldn't get back into Rip's room, I didn't have the key!"
"Oh..." Memory smirked. "Well...that just leaves one suspect, doesn't it...Bright Mind?!" He pointed at the theorist.
"Give me a break." Bright huffed. "I'm not the killer."
"Sorry, a little impossible, isn't it? You just said so yourself. Toxic isn't the killer, and it was impossible for Pure to be the killer. Everybody else was assaulted...expect you. A coincidence? No way. You are the killer!"
"No she's not." Paint negated.
"Hmph...Do you like getting in the way? Or do you do it by accident?" Memory growled. "The only one that could have killed Rip was Bright!"
"Actually...there is one other suspect amongst the group that could have killed Rip and assaulted everyone..." Paint smirked.
Another suspect...? I suppose that's true...there is somebody...
Obviously it's you!
"Ah yes...you mean Memory...obviously, you're suspicious!" Bright glared at the therapist.
"Hah...trying to shift the blame onto someone else?!" Memory grinned. "Nice try!"
"Actually...you are suspicious. For several reasons." Paint contradicted. "You see, I've been wondering this for a while and you still haven't answered me: how did you get into Rip's room? Techno had the key after all."
"Hm?" Memory raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't recall. After all, everything that occurred in the room is now just a blur after I was knocked out. Remember that? How could I be the killer when I was the one knocked out? In fact...why haven't you said anything? You saw the face of the killer since you were still conscious when I was attacked."
"Because...my memory is blurry...I can remember the outline of the assailant but that's about it..." Paint tapped her pencil on the stand in front of her. "But...Memory has to be the killer. He's the most suspicious out of all of us."
"Then explain the assault." Memory challenged.
"Well...somebody else could have saw you kill Rip and decide to pay you back for it. So they attacked you in the pool. The only reason Techno and I were attacked is because we were there at the scene."
"What about Quick and Laser then?"
"You must have knocked those two out yourself." Paint folded her arms.
"Then who knocked me out? Toxic couldn't leave his room, Pure was away investigating and Celestia knows what Bright was doing at the time!" Memory began yelling.
"U-ur..." Paint actually gritted her teeth in frustration.
This...is so unlike these two...Memory...he's started yelling and accusing people left and right when's supposed to be on the neutral field all the time. Meanwhile, Paint hasn't been thinking straight at all, she's been grasping at straws for a way to accuse Memory...but why...? What happened between these two...?
"You are the killer!" Paint yelled.
"You have no evidence! Quit trying to throw this onto me!" Memory retorted.
The only way I can solve this...is by disproving one of their arguments!
Contradiction Conversation
Evidence Bullets
-Paint's Account
-Monokuma File 4
-Basic Spells
-Cake Tester
-Memory's AccountMemory- I am not the killer...how many times do I have to tell you that?!
Paint- You can say it all you want but it isn't true. You killed Rip!
Memory- So you say...yet you've not provided a single shred of evidence. Evidence that probably doesn't exist!
Paint- There is evidence! I...just don't know where it fits in...
Memory- Tch! You're the most suspicious out of us two anyway...after all, I know you were knocked out last and yet you conveniently can't remember the face of our killer?! Who's to say you aren't working with an accomplice?!
Paint- Accomplices have nothing to gain from this! I couldn't have done anything like that!
These two...I swear...there's only one way to break through their arguments...and that's to have hard hitting evidence.
Everything is clear!
"Memory...you've been lying to us, haven't you...?" Bright asked with a hollow tone. "You said that you were the first to be attacked so you fell unconscious right away...but just now you stated that Paint was the last to be attacked."
"Uh..." A bead of cold sweat rolled down his head.
"If you truly were knocked out when you said you were...how do you know the events that took place afterwards?!" Bright pointed decisively at him. "You still have a lot of explaining to do!"
Memory put his hands in his pockets and stayed silent for a while as he looked at the four in the room. Eventually, he let out a sigh and massaged his forehead with one of his hands. "I...really was hoping it wouldn't have come to this...I really wanted to see if you could figure it out yourselves...but you leave me no choice..." His hand drew across his eyelids and returned to his side, his gaze how seemed much more...threatening. His eyes seemed empty and his expression was stern. "I'll tell you what you want to know...but are you sure you're ready to listen?"
"Just tell us already, you crazy bastard!" Toxic growled.
"Fine. You asked for it...Monokuma, can you put a projection of the crime scene up?" Memory looked at the bear.
"Sure can, bub!" Monokuma hit a button on the arm of his chair, causing a hologram of the crime scene on appear in the middle of the podiums.
"Let's see..." Memory leaned forward. "Right...there..." He pointed to one of the corners by the entrance to the chamber. "There's a hook on the wall just there...it's small so it's hard to make out. It's where I got...this." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a silver key. "This...is the Master Key to the maze. It'll unlock any door that I want it to. That's how I got into Rip's room and met up with Paint and Techno."
"So...if you had the Master Key...that means you had the ability to go and kill Rip!" Pure gasped. "So does that mean-?"
"Of course it does!" Toxic cut her off. "He would have to go through Bright's room, where Rip was to get to the Chamber! He must be the killer!"
"You'd think that..." Memory grinned. "But...that's where the beauty of this starts...the beauty...of my perfect crime!"
Memory's...perfect...crime...?
"Naturally...I mean how I bended the rules to kill Rip and escape possible execution!"
"What?!" Pure covered her mouth.
"You killed Rip! I knew it!" Toxic gritted his teeth. "You BASTARD!!!"
"Hehe...yeah, I suppose..." Memory shrugged. "Problem is...it doesn't count as my crime...it counts as somebody else's crime...since I was just the accomplice in all of this...I'm the killer's ultimate trap!" He began to laugh.
...what...did he say...? Bright's shock almost made her miss what he had said. Memory...was the accomplice...but if that's true...who killed Rip...?
Trial Suspended!