[IC] Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

[Spriggs27]

After Max had left the diner, Rika doubled back to the diner to relax without being pestered by someone else, but when she arrived back inside, she noticed a couple others and a cold draft blew through her cloak and gave the former mummy a chill between her thighs, wanting to find some clothes and knowing she didn't have any.

Rika chose to pull a 180 and turn around heading back out of the dining hall, she didn't know a place where she could get clothes, but after thinking and laying on the floor, she came up with an idea for getting some clothes or at least something to keep the area between her burned thighs warm.

She got the idea of stealing the clothes from the dead people in the morgue, she felt that with her time away from the group, someone had to die, or someone did die, there had to be some dead person in the morgue with clothes. Rika pulled up her e-handbook she kept folded up in her cloak and began right swiping away at the map so far and noticed the morgue on the second floor.

Not wasting her time to rob the corpses of the people who died during the game, Rika jogged to the second floor and after looking at the map for the second time she found the which room was the morgue, the room was tucked behind a couple other rooms and right next to the pod room, probably just in case if anyone died in the pods they wouldn't have to drag them too far.

Her burned hands met with the morgue door, she tried to push the door open and put out thoughts that Aleecia could've ended up in here if the pod didn't help her. As she pressed herself up against the door, one of the others spoke on the intercom to make an announcement, they told everyone to meet in the dining area as soon as possible, well fifteen minutes, The voice almost hurt the holes that Rika considered her ears and decided that if this thing was important then clothes could wait. She headed back downstairs jumping down the steps with her bare feet touching the tiles as she moved to the dining hall again, she pushed the doors open dramatically and held her recorder up.

" Where is the fire?!" A heavily automated voice spoke from the recorder." Something of Great importance was or is needed. So Arrival was made to... Insert location here and flip tape to the other side to continue." Her recording played out fully. All she wanted was something to wear under her cloak so drafts wouldn't chill her to the bone, now this had to happen, it had better-been something really important, or the former mummy would take the clothes off someones back.

From what it sounded like when she arrived someone left out, it turned out that the situation was a bit more important than she thought, from what Rika could tell, Alice one of the others didn't want to help in any way, Rika stepped up to them and played something on her recorder."I Will give aid, I will help with the problem." Rika stepped up to do whatever it was.

[FamishedPants]

Zachary Ackerson

---

It might be a bit disappointing to hear, but nothing too interesting happened in the time between Krista ditching him and Cyrus' call on the speakers. It was rather upsetting that Krista had ditched him for... 'that' guy. Sure, she left him with another pun, but puns don't fix everything. At least, not yet. If they could, then he'd be shooting off puns until this damned Kazoo showed up, as after looking for a while, it almost appeared as though the facility did not have one. Which was definitely strange. How could this shitty hospital dare claim it has the coolest and best gadgets when there's no kazoo?

Pathetic. I should bring this up with the man who runs this place!

...Except that the person he would need to talk to was insane and placing people in a twisted 'game' of sorts, so somehow, Zachary felt this would not achieve the intended result. Opting not to possibly incite the murderer, the Infinite Archer was just about to give up when he noticed the familiar shape of the best instrument ever created right before him, in a spot that was... actually rather obvious. The young man was a bit irritated that he hadn't noticed it before but also glad that there was even one here. Kazoos are love, kazoos are life.

Well, that's one objective complete. But now what? I guess I could practice for a bit.

And so, the man started playing the kazoo. He did so furiously, blowing up a storm and making sweet, sweet music. He was no musician himself, so he opted to simply take a song he'd heard before and replicate it as best he could on the weapon he now wielded. Honestly, it was something so beautiful, so gorgeous, that had there been any onlookers, they might have fainted from the sheer amount of awe they'd experience from witnessing the masterpiece. Fortunately, for now, at least, Zach hadn't run into anybody while he played the Kazoo. Unfortunately, however, Cyrus' voice rang out across the hospital, with some an urgency in his voice. Briefly, the archer wondered if he would have to see another body, but after thinking for a moment, he realized there was no Body Discovery Announcement, so that was unlikely. Still, nobody just shouts on these speakers unless they're a robot, so perhaps he should head over. Kazoo in the mouth, the young Infinite made his way to the rest of the group.

...

...

...

...He was just a bit behind Cyrus, as the man had begun speaking before Zach had entered the room. Still, Zach caught every important part of the situation. Krista was in trouble, and if they did not help, then she would probably die! How could he just sit idly by while his alternate self was murdered!? They hadn't even had their duet! So, with a determined spark in his eyes, he declared that he would do anything in his power to help his fellow Infinite!

At least, he tried to. While he attempted to say something akin to "I'll go!", what actually came out was...

"TOOT TOOT"

The situation was serious, his new friend was in danger and they likely would be in conflict with those killer machines again. With all of this weighing on his mind, the young Infinite had forgotten he didn't take the kazoo out of his mouth. How embarrassing! Still, this wasn't exactly a situation where silly things should happen, so he quickly removed his kazoo and clearly declared after clearing his throat:

"I'll go! We can't let anyone else die."

[Warpcircuit]

@AimeChambers

When Cyrus got on the loudspeakers, Thomas was in the physiology ward all the way in the hospital region.

“Everyone, this is Cyrus. I want to meet everyone in the dining hall within fifteen minutes. This is an emergency. I repeat: This is an emergency, meet in the dining hall.”

When he first heard the voice, his interest was caught immediately and he stopped what he was doing in the ward. Not because of what he heard, but because he had thought the speaker was a certain conqueror at first. He quickly dispelled that thought, recognizing his lack of recognition for Davis’s voice, and resumed what he was doing. It wasn’t that he wasn’t going to see what was happening in the dining room, nor that he wasn’t curious who the voices owner was, but he didn’t see it fit to drop everything and head over. Fifteen minutes was far more than enough time to get to the dining hall from where he was, he would only need five. In fact, he could leave with three minutes left and still be punctual if he rushed.

---

Thomas had been among the last infinites to finally show up in the dining hall. It wasn’t because he was late, but because he had arrived just on time. In fact, the moment he walked in was the moment that Cyrus had started talking. He had left with three minutes to spare, and he had arrived right on time. Being the Infinite Biomechanic, that wasn’t too impressive either. His arrival was just a function of his walking speed, and his walking speed was just a function of biomechanics. In fact, wouldn’t it be aloof if he were to be wrong?

It was good that Thomas had arrived late too, because his interest in this affair was quickly dwindling. If he had realized that it was Cyrus — just another one of the participants — who had gotten on the intercoms before he explained the situation, he may have just left altogether. Fortunately, at least for Thomas’s participation, this matter was sufficiently interesting to make him put his current affairs on the backburner. In fact, now was a prime opportunity to make his observations about other Infinites as most everyone (spare a few) appeared to be present. He didn’t feel comfortable taking out his notebook around so many people, so it would be back to the traditional method of mental notes. Thomas took a seat at the nearest table as he did so.

The first and most obvious infinite in this room was none other than the Infinite Politician, Thomas’s eyes settled on him as he vaguely listen to what he said. Tall, slender, and every bit as dignified as Thomas thought he’d be. There was a single word that Thomas could use to describe him; every single inch of Cyrus oozed one single thing - authority. Only Authority? No, that wasn’t right. There was a second aspect to Cyrus, plastered all over his face. It reminded Thomas of a gunpowder keg lying next to an open flame. Thomas couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Arrogance? Anger? Fear? Thomas had trouble reading Cyrus’s face. This frightened Thomas. This man… was just like a sheet of ice. Just a single wrong move could shatter it, and Thomas had no idea what he was hiding.

There were several others in the room who had caught Thomas’s interest, namely Zachary, Mercy, and Jezebel, but there wasn’t enough time for him to make a detailed analysis. Cyrus was already done speaking, and he had requested help from the individuals in the room. also known as warp doesn’t want to waste any more time on fluff.

The situation at hand sounded exactly like the type of situation that Thomas had wanted to avoid. That is to say, Thomas did not want to involve himself. What good would it serve to put himself in the type of situation where he’d be facing the carnage sister?. Not only that though, what good could he serve? He didn’t have strength, he had logic, and there was no-

“"She can just take me."”

Of course. Logic. It had averted Thomas’s mind, or more correctly, he had ignored the thought when it first appeared because it sounded morbid. Trading one for another, it was like they were some sort of human trafficker. But in this case… would it really be a travesty of logic to trade one infinite’s freedom in order for another to stay alive. In fact, by the sounds of it, it was almost as if Aleecia knew the carnage sister on a personal level. Did the robot really mean harm once Aleecia was in her possession? Thomas couldn’t answer that, but this was very cut and dry logic to Thomas. Thomas waited for Isaiah to finish speaking, and then Thomas’s thoughts developed into words in his mouth, and he slowly began to speak towards no one in particular.

“...goal. We’ve established a goal. We’re trying to minimize casualties. That’s the goal, right? Minimize casualties. So how do we go about it? In the case that we form a group and try to recapture K-” — Thomas coughed —“the Infinite Violinist, there is a great chance of casualties. Right? We could consider that great risk to our lives, since there would have to be multiple infinites taking action against the carnage sister. Let’s call this Contingency A.” Thomas looked around and stood up, resolving his words so he sounded more certain. He wasn’t sure if any of the infinites realized the direction he was taking this, and he wanted to prolong that for as long as possible. He had to hammer in his logic before making his point or else they would deny his reasoning. “Contingency A, then, is a great risk to our lives and thus a great risk to the goal, which is to minimize casualties.” Thomas took a deep breath and looked around, watching the eyes of the people around him. ”We have what we’ll call Contingency B. We do nothing. We let the carnage sister kill the violinist. This would pose a moderate, but guaranteed, loss of life. If we were presented a situation where it was guaranteed that one person would die, this might be appealing, but I don’t think that this is that type of situation.” Thomas stepped towards Aleecia, his eyes settling on her. “There is still another contingency. Let’s call this Contingency C.” Thomas took another breath. He was every bit as neutral as he typically was, but he was skeptical about how they would receive his suggestion. He understood that his logic was superior, but he also understood how they would let emotions get in their way. “Contingency C. We give the Dice Master to Nariko. The results? In a situation where a great risk to life or a guaranteed loss of life were the first two options, nobody dies.”

Thomas continued walking towards Aleecia and Ice until he was just several feet away from them. “I agree with your proposition, Dice Master. Your solution is the only logical conclusion one could make in this situation.”

[addamas]

---

Felix couldn’t believe what he was hearing, Aleecia sacrificing herself? It was preposterous, and this new kid just comes in and supports her idea, further fueling her motivation to go through with it. He would not allow it, even if he had to tie her down.

“Thomas, Aleecia. Are you two realizing what you are saying?” Max turned towards Aleecia with a face so serious, it could drain the life out of the most lively person around. “If you go to talk with Nariko, I guarantee you, she will not hesitate to drag you in to that morgue to live the rest of you and Krista’s lives in loneliness, solitude, and despair. You may think it is better than leaving Krista to die. It is not. And if you think you can reason with a robot like that, you haven’t seen her trying to kill Krista, who she so loves.”

And then he faced towards Thomas, who he should really be apologizing to because of earlier. But nobody in their right mind would apologize to someone who said such inhumane things. For this kid to talk about things the way he did, so emotionless, was he born like this? Or did something turn him into the cynic he is today? But as he noted earlier, if Max was to connect with the troubled Thomas, he would need to speak his language, the language of logic.

“So you talk of logic, and these contingencies of yours. But you’re only thinking about the numbers and statistics. We are humans, we have feelings and emotions, and you can’t apply logic to that. You say that your contingency C is the most logical solution, but you are wrong. Because by sacrificing one of ours, the next time we are given a similar situation, it will just be easier to sacrifice another, and another, and another, till there’s nobody left. Not the mention the mental trauma we would feel, the guilt, the despair. All that would remain of this group would be a broken mess, ready to kill each other, if only to escape the nightmare. Same thing goes for your plan B.”

“In my mind, there is but a single option left. We save Krista and Aleecia, or die trying. At least that way, we can still believe in ourselves, and each other.” Over the course of his ramble, Max had worked up quite a sweat, but it needed to be said.

Meanwhile Felix hadn’t even followed Max’s words, he knew that the infinite cop would get through to them, and that gave Felix the time to formulate a plan, but without more information, doing so would simply be impossible.

“Hey, so guys? What’s actually the situation? Did Nariko just lock Krista in the morgue? Is she with her in there? Or is Krista tied down or somethin." Felix’s words were obviously meant for Cyrus, who probably knew everything, but maybe others could chime in with their facts and ideas. "We need details if we are to save her!”

[BrokenPromise]

Bliss for the most part remained quiet. She was still trying to absorb what had just transpired. That, and it seemed like people were still divided on what to do. Last time not very many of them wanted to assist with Alexandria or Krista. But it seemed like this time people were a bit more vocal about what they thought they should do. She would continue to listen, but wasn't sure how much longer this conversation would remain civil.

Jezebel nodded in Felix's direction. ”Like, totally! I wanna hear the juicy gossip on this one. Like, what went down?”

”It's actually not that interesting.” Monokuma was sitting on a table, drinking soda out of a can like he had been there the entire time. ”But the point is that one of my daughters managed to get herself tangled up with another patient! And that means that I'm going to need some help talking her down, so...” The bear reached inside his mouth and pulled out a big black box and set it on the table. ”I'm willing to bust out proposition D: You pry Krista from my daughter's cold, dead hands, and I give you access to the third floor, and this beta tape player!” Dr Killgood placed his hands on top of the black box. “So let's start thinking of war strategies so that you guys can win all of these cool prizes.”

Come now, Killgood. A familiar voice poured into the room through the monitor's speakers. What type of doctor hides things from his own patients?

The bear waved his hand. ”Get lost in the woods you!” of course Davis didn't respond, and wouldn't respond to anything that was asked of him.

With a crack, the monitor sparked to life. Davis Gallo's face was up for all to see. He did not look ”Since your doctor doesn't want to tell you what happened, I'll do the honors.” Davis didn't look especially pleased to be on the screen talking, despite his smug tone. ”The reason Nariko was able to capture Krista was because she wandered into Nariko's room, and Cyrus didn't stop her. She was able to do this because Nariko gave Krista her handbook. Much like Calvin, she chose to keep this a secret from everyone, except for Cyrus. They hid something from all of you, despite the consequences this had last time. Shona died because of a secret, so did Marianne and Erin. Even Lucas's desire for escape could be seen as a sort of secret. But we're kidding ourselves if we pretend Krista and Cyrus are the only people currently hiding something. How many times are you going to make the same mistake? How long are you going to pretend you can live in harmony with each other?” Davis sighed. ”But I digress. I just appeared to inform everyone of what has transpired. Do as you will.” And with that, the monitor went dead.

Most of the infinites were recovering from Davis's sudden appearance, but Jezebel was not one of them. She looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh. ”Okay, so I've gotta ask. Are we like, totally willing to get killed for some beta tape player, a new floor, and the freedom of someone who was hiding something from us?”

Bliss was a bit shocked with Jezebel's behavior. Despite the fact that the clown looked happy, she could sense a sort of instability. ”N-now Jezebel.” Bliss raised her hands in a calming manner. ”It's not a good idea to let past grudges-”

”Past grudges? What's your damage?” Jezebel turned to face Bliss. ”We totally risked our lives so that she could call her brother. But the Noid decides to trust Bogus boy over us?” She pointed at Cyrus without looking at him. ”He didn't even show his baggable face that night!” The clown wasn't smiling anymore. Her entire body was trembling.

”It's okay to feel betrayed.” Bliss tried to close the distance between them. She was sure if she could just place her hand on Jezebel's shoulder, the trickster would start to calm down. The clown seemed to enjoy physical contact, if the group hug incident was anything to go by. ”But we also haven't been here as long as Cyrus.”

Before Bliss's hand could get too close, Jezebel smacked it away. ”Bogus!” The clown's breathing was visibly heavier. ”How I feel t-totally doesn't matter anyway. Like, why are we even arguing this?” She pointed at Aleecia with a shaking hand. ”Blind Betty is okay with it, Krista doesn't deserve a say, and as the little Baldwin said, nobody has to die.” With a shake of her head, Jezebel lowered her arm. ”I'm not going to die for some false sense of honor.” She eyed Max before folding her arms. But then her gaze shifted back onto Cyrus. ”I'm so not helping, and I don't care how pissy you get. You totally just wanna stick your podium in her violin case anyway.”

Monoikuma scratched the back of his head. ”I... Might be willing to help, if you'd have me.”

[Spriggs27]

@Warpcircuit

Ellie was caught off guard by the announcement when she and Aleecia went back to the dining hall, she was shocked at what was going on someone was captured, something that she never really thought would happen, and by a robot no less, the caretaker didn't know what to expect anymore. From the sounds of it one of the others named Krista had been taken by a robot named Nariko and the machine wanted Aleecia in exchange, Ellie remained silent as the others began coming up with ideas when Thomas joined in and began suggesting that they do nothing, Max gave his opinion on most of his suggestions. The Caretaker silently agreed with the police officer but wanted to give her own two cents to the situation.

"Thomas, everyone, we can't allow Neoslayer or Davis to get what he wants, even his machines. If they take our people then what's to stop them from just taking us one by one when we're all at our most vulnerable if they succeed in killing Krista, then they will know they can always just corner us and kill us when we are alone, if we give them Aleecia then they will know they always will have some kind of power over us when they take someone from the group." Ellie bit into her knuckle thinking about what they could do.

"This will sound stupid, but. If we want to get Krista from Nariko, then we'll need to speak to her and if we want a chance to speak to her then we'll need to bring Aleecia to the morgue but keep her from Nariko." She held the sides of her head and closed her eyes thinking of what they could do.

Then that Dreadful bear arrived out of the floorboards and began talking about,"His daughter." For the first time in forever, Ellie started to get a headache as the bear began talking about making a plan and helping if they would have him." Yes!" Ellie yelled at him." You could do something to help us." Ellie told the bear, robot, thing.

---

@AimeChambers

When Rika figured out what was going on and who was involved in the current situation, she wanted to hug Aleecia but noticed that someone beat her to it, it was Ice and he had an arm around the blind girl. Rika snuck around the blood giver and stood up on her tippy toes to blow into the back of his ear and tried to pull him away from the group to talk with him."[color=firebrick] Talk, Ice, I want.[/colo]" She played her tape and pulled on his shirt." Ice, I want to talk." The recorder sputtered.

She pulled on his clothes and tried to pull him away from Aleecia as Monokuma appeared, he had a slight argument with Davis on some speakers, Rika decided to mess with the infinite perfection by holding up her recorder and playing something she thought funny on her tape."You're not perfect." A calm voice emerged from her recorder. She didn't know if he heard her, but even if he didn't she at least got something out it. She remembered when the jerk insulted her with the C word.

While everyone wanted to continue with the idea of Monkuma helping them, Rika found the strength to pull Ice away from the group to talk with him, she didn't think she'd get another chance to talk to him." Ice, I am sorry." She touched his face again with a burned hand." Talk, I wanna." She lowered the volume of her recorder.

[Melo]

Noel had made herself comfortable against the wall of the room. With that, she was rather far away from Cyrus. The reporter visibly smirked at the call to arms. She wasn’t happy that this was happening, of course she wasn’t. However, part of her simply needed to be exciting about this story. An epic quest to save the damsel, another tale for the great reporter to tell the audience. However, this reporter was not an onlooker. Nay, this reporter would jump into the fray.

”You can count on me!”

The reporter looked around the room. Though there were some arguments to be settled, mainly caused by Davis and Jezebel, there was a buzz of positively in the room. She appreciated how actively people were discussing how to approach the issue. The story would definitely feature Aleecia, the brave maiden so willing to throw herself at the evil robot. What else was she but the great embodiment of inspiration in such a dark hour?

---

Cyrus was frankly overwhelmed with the amount of support. He wasn’t sure why, but he thought this would devolve into chaos. Of course, there were a few voices unwilling, but he expected that much. But there was, of course, one person that needed to be addressed above all others. Cyrus turned to Aleecia. He appreciated her willingness and bravery, but he could not agree with her. No, not that easily.

”You are welcome to try and talk to her, but I will not give you up as well.” He replied. Disagreeing with Thomas in the same breath and aligning himself with the cop. But Cyrus had his own thoughts to add to it. ”However, if you were to go. It’d mean nobody would die, thus we’d have additional chances to try and break both of you out. As such, I definitely would like to keep the option open. But only to buy time. I’m not going to abandon either you or Krista. Thank you, Aleecia.” His voice was steadfast, his expression determined. His brain was already trying to develop strategies, but they’d likely need more information. And there was only one that could provide it.

And speak of the (quite literal) devil, there was the monochrome bear. But of course, the other devil had to rear his ugly head as well. Cyrus reeled in his mind seeing Davis. There was some truth to his words, but they weren’t the complete truth. Something that would probably be in his best interest to point out, once the trickster was done with him.

”As well and good as sharing all our secrets sounds. There is an innate risk in that as well. I do not think I have to remind anyone that Mondatta’s death was the result of Krista telling us she had the handbook that could use the phone.” He shook his head. ”I am not trying to say that Krista was right or wrong. But do know: Revelation and secrecy both hold equal risks. Don’t dismiss transparency as the single good option. With how much shit that girl has been through after getting in here, I’m frankly surprised she told anyone at all.” He shook his head.

He then turned to specifically Jezebel. ”I believe I made myself clear. I was requesting cooperation. Nobody here is in the position to order anyone to risk their lives. Not me, not you, not anyone.” His expression then shifted to something slightly more scornful. It wasn’t a face of rage, but of contempt. ”That said, we are discussing a serious life-or-death situation. If you need to so badly, I am more than willing to talk about this grudge of yours after this is settled. I am sorry, but I simply cannot muster the energy to care for it right now.” It might’ve been blunt, but Cyrus, despite his title, wasn’t in a political mood right now.

Finally Cyrus addressed Monokuma. ”Your help would be most welcome.” He said, his tone relieved. ”I think first and foremost, you have the information we can use regarding the carnage chassis and other… obstacles. Besides that, I’d like to know what else you have to offer.” He said honestly. Cyrus wasn’t above accepting the help of his captor if it meant saving a life. ”However, I am not promising the destruction of Nariko. Our only objective here is rescuing Krista. Should we defeat Nariko and thus reap benefits, that’d be simply extra in my eyes.” He found this important to add, just to get everybody’s priorities in line.

[Aewin]

Braden had been in the dining room ever since returning from the disaster of a meeting with Parker at the library vault. After being ditched by Cyrus for his arm candy, Braden decided to give his puppets a look over to check for damages.

Soon enough, he heard the familiar voice of the politician over the speakers, urgently calling for everybody to meet at the dining hall. Well, he was already here, so why not guess what was going on?

Body discovery? Not possible. Cyrus would have called people to the site instead, plus there was no body discovery announcement like last time. Sure, he could just call for a meeting at the dining hall but that’s a stupid idea and his husbando is not stupid. Stupidly hot, sure…—

Moving on…

Maybe he found something cool? Maybe that his sexuality included men too? Okay, maybe the latter was too much of a stretch, but he could feel his puppet’s hope filling himself too.

As Braden kept himself entertained, the dining hall slowly began to pile up with many of the infinites, some even arriving moments after Cyrus. Following Cyrus’s arrival was the knowledge that a certain violinist has been kidnapped.

Oh, what a joy…

From what little he knew of the blonde musician, trouble (er, treble?) seemed to follow her everywhere. She wasn’t much use in the trial either, but neither was Braden so who was he to judge? Was it really such a bad idea to let the carnage sister off Krista and herself tonight? It would mean one less dead weight in the group, and one less carnage sister to worry about even it was possibly temporary.

It seemed as if he was in the minority here. He didn’t care much for the blind girl, but it looked like a lot of the others did. Her talent may be interesting, but a blind girl in a killing game? Easy victim. But she seems to have survived this long without being kidnapped so maybe she had some skill?

With Monokuma’s arrival came Davis very shortly after, revealing that not only did Krista hide something from the rest of the group, but she had willingly wandered into the lion’s den with Cyrus around. Oh hon, you've fucked up now…

“You’re telling us that Krista got kidnapped, yes? But didn’t we just hear that she went to Nariko’s room? And you were there?” If Erica could roll her eyes, she would have done so. “So we’re basically fixing your mistake? And for what, a violinist that can give us nada in return? I don’t know about you guys but the lives of the people in this room seem so much more valuable than that of one violinist. Especially one that likes to keep stuff from the group. If there’s no trust, how do you expect to get outta here? She blindly trusted the blackened, can’t she trust the rest of us?” Erica gave a nod in Jezabel’s direction, backing the trickster in the case for doing nothing.

Elias, who had been uncharacteristically sitting quietly on Braden’s other hand finally spoke up. “But she’s a cute damsel in distress! Didn’t momma teach us to save the princesses in the towers?”

“At least those princesses can give you a kingdom to rule. Krista doesn't even trust us so why should we care? I say we don’t risk losing the lives of the people in this room for one person.” Erica sniffed. Elias would have responded in return, however, Braden decided to push the puppet back into his pocket in an attempt to silence him. “We find another way to get to the third floor and get the tapes. We just don't have to risk our lives for nothing.”

[FamishedPants]

Zachary Ackerson

---

Up until now, Zachary never really had a reason to dislike anybody other than Cyrus, who had insulted him during the last trial, and even then, it was not as though Zachary could hold that grudge forever. It was silly, after all. During that trial, emotions and revelations ran rampant. There was almost nobody who had kept a cool head and so things had obviously gotten out of hand. The Infinite Archer could realize this much and with some talking, he was sure that he and Cyrus could return to having a neutral relationship, at the very least. Since he was the one to inform Zachary of their situation when he first arrived, Zach had a positive opinion of him initially. So there was absolutely no true dislike for the politician or anybody else alive, for that matter.

Ignoring 'friends' he made online and the various people he placated with a public face, Zachary quite honestly had only one real relationship. It was his father. The man who meant the world to him. It was only very recently that he'd made his first actual friend in Jezebel, an older woman whom he looked up to for her maturity and kindheartedness. The latter of these two traits, however, was called into question. Her response to this situation had come to Zach's surprise. Sure, he was aware that Jez may not prefer Krista's company, what with that whole deal during the trial, but he wasn't expecting this!

Zachary was almost overwhelmed by the different emotions he experienced in this moment. On one hand, an almost sick feeling took him as he saw his one friend quite obviously in emotional pain. It was clear there was more to this than just some lingering resent after the trials. However, the young man could not offer any form of support to his friend, as he also felt both disappointment as well as anger towards her for deciding that Krista should die. The best he could do was not go ballistic. At least, not yet.

It might be wise to clarify that Zach adamantly believed that offering up Aleecia to the Carnage Sister would effectively get both Krista and her killed, at the very least. If what Davis said was true, that Krista visited the Sister willingly, then it could be inferred that she was tricked and that was why she was now in this situation. Who was to say that the Sister would even keep her word, then? What if she just offed all three of them? And what would the group get in return even had she not? They would be down two people and it was always possible that the Nariko would simply ask for more and more. Currently, Max and Zachary were on the same wavelength when it came to this particular option. And with the alternatives being "Let Krista die" or "Try to save her", it became painfully obvious that anybody who was not for saving Krista was in the wrong. Leaving a fellow survivor, no matter whom it was, to this kind of fate simply was not something Zachary was capable of. He'd reach the same conclusion if it were Cyrus locked away instead.

“So we’re basically fixing your mistake? And for what, a violinist that can give us nada in return? I don’t know about you guys but the lives of the people in this room seem so much more valuable than that of one violinist."

Braden's line was what set Zachary off. Anger that had been boiling since Jez, of all people, opted out of saving a fellow member, finally reached the point where Zach could no longer remain quiet.

"How fucking ironic that the person suffering DID and disguising it with puppets is talking about how is useful and who isn't. It's also pretty fucking disgusting. Really shows what kind of character you are behind those masks. The kind I really would rather avoid if I'm alone. Remind me not to turn my back on you since I don't want to end up a victim." Zach was furious. That this guy mentioned valuing lives over another was something he could not forgive. He hated this prick, even if this was the first time they'd interacted. He hoped it'd be the last, too. "And, I can't understand why anybody actually believes the robot death machine that probably JUST lied to Krista would not go ahead and do the same to us once we hand over Aleecia. And in that case, there's only one viable course of action."

He glared at his friend but doing so probably hurt himself more than her. That he was even in such a rage and that it was partially directed towards her wasn't something he was happy about whatsoever. But still, something like this was no joke. "You can't be serious, Jez.

How can you justify throwing a life away like that?"

[ThatCharacter]

Calvin swore lightly as a small line of scarlet ran down from his index finger to the palm of his left hand. His right hand was wrapped around the pommel of what had once been a sword, and tears ran down his cheeks as he looked at it. It was still sharp, and for half a moment, he felt the familiar pride that came upon looking at any of his creations. He had some brief fancy of driving Alexandria with the twisted and shattered remains of the blade, but the fire was quickly replaced with a deep sense of fear. Calvin, for the first time since he had arrived in Axis Mundi, felt the sort of fear that cowed him from making any decision.

He kept Shona’s blade stashed under his bed, held up by some fragile wiring that made sure it wouldn’t rest on the floor. When she had died, he had been quick to scoop it up and bring it back. For a while, it leaned against his wall, but he was quick to realize that it was better kept out of sight for his own sake. He had thought his craft would be perfect for this situation. And yet—

The blade bouced loudly off the wall.
---

“We have to get her back, right?” Calvin’s voice was quiet as he spoke from the doorway. He had just recently joined the group, quietly watching from the exit, but had heard enough to be caught up. He looked around the room sheepishly, trying to avoid making eye contact with Ice. He found himself nodding along with Zach’s speech, and while he wanted to hear Jezebel’s point, he spoke up first.

“Let’s talk with her. We don’t know if this is a hostage situation or something else entirely. For all we know, this could be Nariko trying to get Krista out of here.” He paused for a moment. The look in his eyes betrayed the words. There was little faith behind his theory. “We shouldn’t – can’t fight those things. If it gets to that point, let’s just pull back and sort things out.” He took a moment to look at Aleecia. “We’re not just gonna make some sort of trade. If you’re going anywhere with that thing, it’s because we have a plan to get you out, alright?” He looked around the room with a cold glare.

“And that plan doesn’t mean setting up another fucking hit squad!” He glanced testily at Zach and the other members of the group who seemed prepared to go into another battle. “There’s other ways of dealing with this than listening to what the god-damn bear is telling us! We’re not putting Krista, or ourselves at risk because we’re itching for a fight.” He took a moment to stare directly at Monokuma before looking back down, fully aware of the implications of what he was saying. “I’m sick of it.”

[AimeChambers]

To minimize casualties, that was exactly what Aleecia wanted. Krista was in danger and she would do anything to stop it. Nariko wasn't in her right mind and needed help and guidance. Why not go help a friend?

“I agree with your proposition, Dice Master. Your solution is the only logical conclusion one could make in this situation.”

This was the most logical conclusion. It wasn't a problem to spend time with Nariko before, why would it be now? She must have been caring for Aleecia the entire time she was in the POD, how could she not care about the Blind girl?

She would be okay. She would be safe.

Ice's blood began to boil again, and this was not the time. Ice did his best to not clench up, as not only would this frighten the girl in his arms, but also worry her. He wanted to rip that little shitake a new one. He needed to get out of this situation, because he was not saying anything productive in the least. Ice bit his lip, trying not to yell out insults.

Ice stiffened at Max's look. He would have to have a talk to size him up later. Ice still had an inkling to avoid the Infinite Cop, but he knew that the man himself knew justice at the very least. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Ice's only hope was that Aleecia would listen to his logic.

"I... I can..." Aleecia's tongue was tied. How could she ask the others to help her reason with her robotic friend? How could she? After all, they had done for her... She started shaking in Ice's arms as he tightened his grip around her, making sure she was steady.

"You... can't die. None of you..." Her voice was getting quieter and quieter as a few tears ran down her face. Ice let his thumb run up and down Aleecia's shoulder, trying to silently soothe her.

Details, that was what was needed. Ice needed a plan and fast. He would need to find a smaller bandage to cover his hand so he could use it more effectively, screw the pain! Only one of the fingers was broken and as long as he held something in only his thumb against a plate of fingers he could still fight! He would need...

Alice. But-

Monokuma had appeared to his right and Ice's face was hit with bandage whiplash. The one who had started it all... That godforsaken two-toned raccoon. It was the second time Ice had gotten a motive from him. They would get the third floor, which meant more chance of an escape route and weapons, mainly creating weapons. Ice knew that even without these rewards, Nariko would not be functioning much longer. he knew

Aleecia stiffened at the sound of Monokuma's voice. Having never seen the bear in it of itself, she never knew the strange situation of a bear raining despair upon the infinites... But she could definitely imagine.

Even worse than the white and black Roosevelt, was the hairball villain himself. All this logic talk was just adding fuel to the fire. He didn't have the energy to think about this with anything else but his own emotion. "If you're so bloody logically, what's the point of watching 'conquest' instead of getting in on the action?! I humbly insist hairball!" No one listened to his ramblings, they didn't matter with Krista's life on the line anyhow.

Ice had never liked Jezebel. The clown, the folly. Every time she showed a fake smile, it ticked him off. Well, he might have not thought that at the time, but his memories were hazing over with anger. She really was the scum of the earth, wasn't she?

Aleecia stilled, not processing Davis and Monokuma and instead focusing on Jezebel. While she herself was helping Aleecia with her plight, the way she went about it was awful at best. The poor girl didn't seem to care for the sweet Violinist and it broke the Blind girl's heart.

Ice couldn't tell if his thumb strokes were for Aleecia, or for himself. His gaze shifted to Ellie as she started talking, bringing up fairly good points that Ice hoped Allie would take to heart.

A shiver ran up his spine when Rika blew in his ear, he turned his head at her and stared her down. All the anger wrapping around his heart stared Rika dead in the face. He gave her a 'I'm busy' motion and went back to staring intently at Monokuma. He flinched at the next recording he heard. Ice knew he wasn't, and that's what emptied out the hole in his heart, what continued to make him bleed through his inner organs. He tried to not glance at her again, so she wouldn't see how he affected her.

ice was shaking, why was he shaking? Aleecia turned around so her chest was against him, feeling up to his face. Ice brought his arm down to block the Blind girl's touch.

"I'm fine."

"You're not..." She mumbled.

Rika was trying to drag him away, and Ice wanted to escape Aleecia's concerned look. With one swift motion, Ice moved the chair next to them and lightly pushed the girl to make her sit down.

"Stay here... Please."

Aleecia struggled, she wanted to listen to what Rika had to say, but she needed to convince everyone that talking to Nariko was important, and only she could do it. Finally the girl gave a hesitant nod.

Ice sighed in relief before letting himself be dragged away by the witch. She pulled him away from the crowd. Her recorder made her apologize, but Ice couldn't be sure which specific thing she was apologizing for. If this had been any other situation, he would have blushed remembering, but the past memories felt like he was watching them on burned off film.

The Firebug asked to talk, so that's what he would do. "Speak, what is it?"

---

Cyrus was a no go. There was a small chance he would be willing to help her. Aleecia needed a team of people to get enough time to negotiate for Krista, but she couldn't exactly ask for it. And of course she would go! She could just... Sabotage their plan.

That would be fine. She would be safe.

People she had never met or be introduced to. They sounded fairly similar and came from the same spot, which puzzled Aleecia immensely. She thought she had heard their voices before... But the whole thing positively baffled her. The girl sounded absolutely dreadful from the way she talked about Krista, Aleecia wanted to give the girl a piece of her mind.

There was a boy that sounded like he wanted to help, but was quickly drowned out. Maybe a potential ally. Anyone for saving Krista, but not for stopping her was definitely welcome.

Another boy started to talk, this one she recognized from the previous trials. Again, she hadn't been formally introduced, but she thought she remembered Cyrus or jezebel calling him Zach or Zachary. The boy swore a bit, but seemed to geniunely care for others, or at least krista. But... He was on the stop Nariko side, maybe he wouldn't make the cut.

Calvin's voice. It was faint, but as clear as the sun was to her retinas. He didn't sound happy, but depressed and Aleecia really wanted to give him a hug. If only she hadn't agreed to Ice's stupid overprotectiveness! But it seemed like her friend had enough on his plate. If she was obedient... it would be easier to sneak away.

Calvin could help! ...Couldn't he?

---

A faint voice filled the room and the rest of the infinites quickly drew quiet. Ice finally looked up from a spot of paint peeling off the wall when he saw Calvin standing in the doorway. All the memories of the past day came flooding back, and not burned or ruined, but colored. Ice pulled off Rika's hand gently and started walking towards the door, listening to what the Metalworker was saying. The punk was refusing to look him in the eye, but Ice was okay with that. Considering Ice had to get a hold of his anger to check on his friend, he needed a second as well.

He wanted to talk to Nariko, but Ice didn't want Calvin anywhere near Nariko either. He didn't have the fighting experience to protect himself and he might have to worry about Alexandria to. Both Aleecia and Calvin couldn't be in this situation... And with Calvin sounding like he was, he should take some more time in his room. Somehow they were going to stay out of the situation. And he still needed to go find Alice...

Ice watched him as he said his spiel and then another moment, "Calvin."

Emotions raced from one side of his brain to the other, down to his heart, and into his limbs. This was far too nerve wracking for the man, actually asking for a favor.

"I need... I-I-" It wasn't like him to stutter, the bloody hell was he doing?!

"I have to go get Alice, but I can't leave Aleecia alone." His head drooped, not knowing how Calvin would answer. He was the only one Ice could count on, but he would understand if Calvin said no.

[Ariamis]

Caora was apprehensive of Bliss' departure, and bit his lip as he clutched on to her. While he did accept being alone with Mary, he still found it uncomfortable, and so he pouted, slouching over the table like a child. "Okay. See you later, Bliss."
Mary also felt awkward, and wiped her eyes as she calmed down. She finally had a chance to talk to Caora, but she had no idea what to even say; when she thought about it, despite having been after him for a while, there was very little she actually knew about Caora as a person.
"So, Caora..." She started, and noticed that Aleecia sit nearby. It looked like she wanted to talk to her, since her empty gaze landed in their direction. Caora cotninued slouching, and only gave a quick glance. Mary decided it could help if if there was another person Caora could feel safe with. "Hey Aleecia. Would you like to join our table-"

Both the Infinite Streamer and Infinite Trap were startled by the sound coming from the intercom. They recognized Cyrus' voice coming from it, and Caora shuddered. "Emergency? What happened, Fang?" He asked his doll, looking into his button eyes.
Mary felt bad that he considered her less of a person to talk to than a doll of all things, but she let it be.
"Let's wait and see, Caora," she said, and nervously twiddled her thumbs; she expected another tragedy...Another murder.

People soon gathered, and Mary held her sides, shivering in fright. Caora kept staring at the other Infinites with wide eyes, his lip trembling like a sad little thing. Then, Cyrus burst thing, and brought them up to speed. Mary gasped, and put her hands to her mouth.
"Krista?" Caora blinked, and held his doll tighter. He shook in place. "Pun lady or blind lady..." He whispered. "I don't want to lose either!" Mary was dismayed, unsure what to think. She still had her hangups over her contributing indirectly to Mondatta's death, and even if she knew it wasn't right of her to blame the Infinite Violinist, she couldn't help but be conflicted.
"Krista...Is there anything we can do? They're killer robots decked out in all those weapons. Don't you remember what happened to Shona? We'd just be slaughtered."

The Infinite Streamer gasped at Aleecia's offer. Of course the sweet angel would be willing to be a martyr, and she hated it! "Aleecia, you can't!" She felt the anxiety kick in, clawing at her from the inside. She began breathing a bit quicker, and an arm slowly slid up to her hair, as if it was something comforting for her to touch, maybe even tug on. However, she stopped herself when Thomas Herringsson began speaking. He was one of the countless of new patients that had been thrown into this sick game, to replace those that are gone. How many days has it actually been since she was locked up in there? An uneasy feeling came over her from the fact she had forgotten. Thomas used very sophisticated language, to the point the Infinite Streamer had a bit of difficulty following, but his main point did come across; either they fight, they do nothing, or give Aleecia to Nariko.

"Are you a computer?" Caora asked Thomas, and pouted. "You sound like one."
Mary sighed. She didn't know how to feel about anything being logical. "I agree with Max, we can't think in numbers. Krista's not just a statistic." Caora rocked in place, feeling like a child right in the middle of his arguing parents, shouting over him in angry voices. All this shouting caused his inner side to come out...And then it stopped, washed away by the sound of static, and a familiar voice. "Bad man..." He spoke, and now went over to Bliss to clutch at her side.
Mary was in shock at seeing Davis again. "You fucking bastard!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She took her shoe, and threw it at the monitor. It missed, hitting a wall, but she was still seething, with tears in her eyes.

Caora was frightened by the commotion around him, and buried his face into Bliss' dress. "Make it stop, Bliss!"
He pleaded. Mary took deep breaths, and went to retrieve her shoe, looking at it with a dead expression. "I...I want to see Krista again. I want to tell to her face how I feel. She's just going to give one of her awful puns, but...She won't understand if she's dead. So, I'll help. I don't know how, but I'll try." Caora slowly turned his head at Mary, and blinked. He waved, and went back to holding onto Bliss; it was clear he didn't want anything to do with the drama.

[Temporary]

~ Argumentative ~

Cyrus's sudden and impromptu entry left a lot to be desired in the eyes of Faith, lacking much of the formailty and professionalism she might have expected from the Infinite Politician. As he stormed in, letting the doors swing shut with a bang on their own, she threw him a little hello wave, seemingly and relatively oblivious to the apparent danger of the situation. Much to her dismay, he didn't return the action.

He began, and finished, quickly, laying out the events clearly, concisely, taking charge at the moments notice; no less than she expected. She reached into her pocket, withdrawing the Tome and a random coloured felt tip - yellow, this time - and flipped to around halfway, scribbling something out before writing another thing down. Cyrus was something of a disappointment, in that way, but it was all material she could work with.

Sitting, listening to everyone's discussions, arguments, about what to do and how best to go about saving Krista, or not as the case may have had it, Faith couldn't help drifting, concocting a master plan that would rival the greatest exploits in history. Everyone arguing back and forth, repeating the same points "Fight this" "Give her that" "Talk about this" had her head spinning, but not in the way a good mystery confounded her; how she longed for precognitive abilities if merely to cease the seemingly endless squabble.

Davis's abrupt appearance perked her up a little, but with more frustration than excitement than anything.
"Davis!" she exclaimed at the screen as the image of their captor winked out, no doubt attracting the odd looks from a few of the others, "Release the Magic Dampening Field at once, before I relay your machinations to The Council, Warlock! They shan't be as lenient as I!" but to no avail.

Instead, she found herself and the others face to face with their least favourite mascot, Monokuma. Faith found herself strained to stop herself demanding Davis be summoned, and instead listened in to what the bear had to say. And as much as she hated to admit it, his offer was fantastic. Much the same as with the battle against Alexandria, as Noel had informed her, they would be granted access to the next floor for destroying the Sister. It would be during the Night of Carnage, so they'd have to fight her Carnage Class Chassis, but they would be able to put it out of commission for good; the added difficulty was just a small price to pay.

Finding a pause between the constant arguments that seemed to ravage the Diner, Faith tried her best to make herself known.
"Uuuuuum, Hiya guys! I'm Faith - kinda new, Infinite Matchmaker - all that cooooool stuff." she quickly ran through her introduction, "I might not be of much help, cause somebody-" she shot a glance towards Monokuma, "-decided to set up an Anti-Magic Field, buuuuuuut we should totally fight! We've got a bunch of strong Infinites, ahem, and me, and anyways, you guys already took down one of their Chassis things before, right?"

And then, she turned to Aleecia.
"Cause y'know Aleecia... Allie. Allie? Can I call you Allie?" she paused for a second, thinking, "I'm gonna call you Allie~! Buuuuut, we can't just give you up. Didn't you hear, Nariko won't give Krista up even if you do go there, and talking isn't gonna work - if the Robots here are anything like my old game, they've got enough screws loose to make a new cabinet! Or... robot - but the point still stands! Plus you're young, I bet, and cute at that - no way can I let us waste such a prime candidate for shipping~!"

[BrokenPromise]

”Like, don't try to make this about you and me, Mr politician! Trust is something we all have.” Jezebel balled her hand into a fist. ”You're totally fooling yourself if you think we can openly trust a 'leader' who hides things from us.”

"You can't be serious, Jez. How can you justify throwing a life away like that?"

Zachary's remark had snatched Jezebel's attention away from Cyrus. ”Seriously?!” The clown turned around and marched towards the archer, with Cyrus just being an afterthought. ”Like, I didn't hear you tell anyone that when Aleecia's life was in danger. Like, is it only throwing life away when it's someone you care about? The other infinites have killed more of us than the grody robots have!”

Bliss was still undecided. She hated how some of the infinites were acting, but it was understandable that everyone would be a little rowdy. This wasn't some action flick where the good guys were fated to win. It was more like a horror, where there were no good options and they all ended in death. Bliss was snapped out of her trance when a pair of small hands latched onto her. When she looked down, she could see Caora nestling up against her, pleading to make the arguing stop. While the nanny didn't have the power to do that, she was able to decide where she stood on things.

”It's too dangerous.” She said while hugging Caora. ”We can't risk more lives to save Krista. Even if you're willing to sacrifice yourselves, think about the people who rely on you.” She looked at everyone. ”I want Krista back just as badly as everyone else. But I don't want to see anyone get hurt to do it.” Bliss covered her face with her hands. It felt awful to say, but how many more people would die if they fought the sisters tonight?

Meanwhile, Denis seemed to be oblivious to what was going on, preferring to flirt with the dice master instead of talk seriously about the situation. "Ayy baby we can't give you to them, because I will give it to you." Denis smiled to himself, unconcerned with the glares from the other infinites. "No wonder you the infinite dice master, because you rolled a ten baby." Bliss was appalled, how could anyone expect to be taken seriously talking like that? “Are you from Tennessee because you’re the only ten I see.” Wasn't he suppose to be Russian?"Hello babushka are you communist cause I make you..."

The room erupted into chaos shortly afterward. The infinites talked over one another, and no resolution could be made. Not everyone present was even talking about Krista's predicament. But the chaos was quickly drowned out when Monokuma Pulled an air horn out of his mouth and blasted it for a good five seconds. He waited for everyone to quiet down and turn towards him before speaking. ”You know what? I've recently been watching a lot more American sports. Particularly football. It's hard to not get absorbed in all the violence.” Monokuma pulled a football helmet out from behind his back and placed it on his head. Some of the infinites would remember him dawning it the night Calvin was captured. ”And they have this position called a scrum. Any time a reset in play is needed, everyone on both teams lines up in front of an opponent and pushes against each other.” The bear giggled. ”So let's restart play, shall we? Doctor's orders.”

A lever popped up beside Monokuma, and with a simple tug, the room started to transform. The chairs and tables collapsed into the floor, and a single counter that ran the length of the diner emerged. Even the ground shifted, separating everyone into teams depending on their stance on Krista's rescue. Once everyone was in position, the lights on the ceiling dimmed a bit. Even though they weren't on the roller coaster, it felt a bit like the court of carnage. ”Man, it feels like I've done something like this before... Anyway, you guys can start screaming at each other now. Hopefully you'll find doing things this way a bit more productive.” Monokuma pulled the cage over his face as everyone lined up at the counter.

[Warpcircuit]

Thomas swiftly turned around to face Max and took a step towards him. His brows were slightly furrowed, but by far the most noticeable change was in his eyes. Their unfazed focus was replaced by a storm of visceral scorn. Even further than his eyes was the change in his voice. His calm observations were replaced by vitriol that could rival the Infinite Models last words.

“I won’t acknowledge you’re slippery slope, Police Officer. Let’s focus instead, on your wise counter proposal. You want to tell me that you need to protect everyone by looking through my personal belongings, then you turn around and say that everyone needs to kill themselves trying to save an individual who you know almost nothing about. Listen here, officer. I -” Thomas raised his right hand up to his mouth so that his pointer finger was in line with his lips and sharply inhaled, then ran his hand up his face and through is hair before relaxing it. He looked around quickly and then back to Max, exhaling then continuing what he was saying.

“I have an interest in the survival of these participants for now, at least some of them. Some of them, might I add, who have volunteered to join the politicians suicide squad. As much as you are starting to make me want to look the other way, I also have an interest in your survival too. I’m not looking to hurt anyone. I’m not saying that I want to hurt the Dice Master, neither am I saying that I want to hurt the Infinites here. I am explaining the most efficient way of solving this issue is to give the Dice Master to Nariko, something that you still have not yet disproven.”

“Why must you be so pessimistic about this, I am not suggesting people to kill themselves, I am suggesting them not to give up on their friends and fight for them; and I am trying to prevent Aleecia from killing herself, and taking Krista with her.” Max took a step towards Thomas, clearly a bit annoyed by the boy’s demeanor. “If you were stuck in the morgue with Nariko, wouldn’t you want us to save you too? Damned be the risks, they’re risks after all, Not facts.”

“You’ve heard me say it, but I’ll say it again. Letting her go now will only make it easier to let others go in the future, and you know what happens when start thinking that way? You’ll end up killing the people you let go. Nine out of ten criminals convicted of murder tell me the same thing, their victims were just stepping stones for whatever greater purpose they believed in; be it revenge, jealousy, pride, or even survival.”

Thomas’s face lightened slightly, and he tread backwards. It wasn’t as if he didn’t realize the size difference between him and Max before, but when Max took a step towards him, you could say he gained a little clarity. He shifted his gaze to the left and right. If any physical altercation happened, he’d have to get out of the dining hall quickly.

“Th-That’s the-” Thomas stammered, before making a motion as if to clear his throat.

Snap out of it!

Thomas lowered his hand and continued his retort. “That’s the outside world, Cop. Things are different here. You’ve got to be kidding me if you think this trade is going to cause us to spiral into corruption. In fact Officer, is that not already the case? This group of people you’re so adamant about protecting, they’ve already killed multiple infinites haven’t they? If you take the Violinist and the Dice Master and put them in that morgue with Nariko, you’re protecting at a level you previously were incapable of. The only person they could kill in that morgue is each other, and no one outside the morgue could even touch them.”

“For once, could you stop and place yourself in their shoes? Yes Krista is safe in there. But do you know where else you’re safe? An isolation cell, but that’s no place to live and neither is that morgue. And…” As much as Max wanted to deny it, Thomas was right about one thing. People had already died, and Max didn’t protect them...But “Just because people have died, that doesn’t give you a reason to stop protecting the ones that still live. It is my duty as a law enforcer, to exterminate the corruption among us, even if that means risking my life for it!” At this point Max was basically screaming at the poor child, and as soon as he realised that, he quickly took a step back and cleared his throat, a small sign of embarrassment lingering on his face.

“If you can’t believe that we’ll pull out victorious, give me this chance, and I will show you.”

Thomas started walking backwards until he several paces away, and he looked down and around. He quickly righted himself and stepped forward towards Max. Rather than the contempt that previous adorned his face, he was back to his typical neutrality. As he began to spoke, his hands idly began to come together.

”Why are you so adamant about fighting? Are you -” Thomas looked down and back to Max, making a sound of exasperation. ”What are you trying to achieve? Aren’t you a police officer? Haven’t you had to make choices like these before? Life isn’t some book where the heroes get to save the day. You go out there, you get killed, we’re stuck in a net loss situation. There’s no logic to that, it’s just a visceral response to a situation that could’ve been solved with logic.”

“You say that like you’ve already seen our fate, but you can’t. I’m talking from experience here when I say that heroes do exist. They fight everyday so citizens like you don’t have to. Some of them may die, but if they weren’t there, you wouldn’t be either. So don’t talk to me, thinking you know what awaits us. Not even your logic is bullet-proof.”

“Even so, my point still stands. You keep going on these emotional tirades, but you’re doing nothing to support your argument! Infinite Police Officer, if you can prove to me that the risk of Contingency A is outweighed by the cost of Contingency C, then I will concede. Until then, I will continue to argue my case.”

Max was at a loss for words. Thomas was so cold and calculative, if he were to break through, he would need one hell of an argument. Failing to think of something, he scanned the room and its inhabitants, searching for something to spark his mind, to give him a clue. His eyes finally rested on Felix’s shoulder. The same shoulder that the freerunner sacrificed while trying to save Calvin. And with a new determination, he looked back onto Thomas, a mixture of hope, desperation, and annoyance all filling his face.

“Alright, how about this. We have fought the robots several times now, but only a single live has been taken. Yet until we can prove that Nariko won’t kill aleecia or Krista, we can’t say that contingency B and C prevents those two from dying. So If we apply your logic here, contingency B and C could result in a possible death, while fighting the robots could also result in a possible death. If both plans have an equal amount of loss, wouldn’t you choose the moral path?”

Max had brought up a piece of evidence that Thomas was not yet aware of. One person has died over multiple fights with the sisters. If one person had died over any number of fights greater than one, that would mean that Max actually had legitimate evidence supporting at most a fifty percent chance of an altercation resulting in a dead infinite. If there is no evidence supporting Nariko’s intentions with her hostages, then it’s only a coin toss as to whether they kill the Dice Master and Violinist. That would mean that no matter how Thomas structured his argument...

Thomas stared at Max incredulously. He honestly didn’t think that he had it in him, but what Max had just said was absolutely correct. If only one person had died in multiple previous nights of carnage, and if they couldn’t prove that Nariko wouldn’t kill the Violinist and the Dice Master once they were in their possession, then logic dictates that the risk presented by Contingency A is at the very most equal to the risk presented by Contingency C. And thus, under those conditions, there would be no way for Thomas to prove his own argument.

Thomas couldn’t help it. A snicker escaped his mouth, and then another. It just kept coming out until Thomas was laughing. Nothing was particularly funny. It was just the whole situation that came together to form this ridiculous situation where Thomas didn’t even want to argue anymore. He could think of several arguments that he could use against Max’s to continue this debate, but truth be told, he was never in this debate to prove his thesis. Just the simple fact that Max was able to rebut one of his arguments, that was enough for him. Truth be told, people were going to die anyways, so why would Thomas care how they solved this situation. He raised his hand up and rubbed it on his forehead, steadying his gaze on Max.

“Incredible. I’m impressed, and convinced.” Thomas managed to get out, finally subsiding his laughter. “You’re absolutely right. If Contingency A poses at most an equal threat to loss of life than Contingency C, then my argument is invalid. And if my argument is invalid, I don’t see why we couldn’t go with your little hero fantasy.” he said as he lowered his hand.

Max was dumbfounded. He didn’t expect his words to actually reach Thomas, much less in the way they did. He also wasn’t sure why Thomas decided to burst into laughter, was he that impressed by Max’s deduction? or perhaps it was a coping mechanism for his defeat. In any case, Max was glad to have won this argument, it gave him hope for the boys future.

”I’m glad you agree.” Max now turned towards the rest of the group. “Now if everyone else can just make up their minds, we can move on to the actual problem.”

[AimeChambers]

~ Trial in Absentia ~

Aleecia quickly stepped up from her chair as it started to lower, doing her best to ignore the newcomer's words. The blind girl back pedalled away from the mechanic sounds, only to hear the starting words of a debate between Max and the new boy Thomas. Aleecia reached around until she found her cane and moved forward. The cane came in contact with a counter, and Aleecia moved so that she was pushed up against it.

Other Infinites started arguing against each other in pairs too. Was this some kind of debating table? If so, who was she against?

"Haha! Destiny has surely smiled in my favour~!" was all Aleecia heard as her opponent stepped up to the podium. Even without seeing her face or outfit the voice was clear and true, cutting through the shouting of the other Infinites like a knife. Faith removed her book, placed it onto the counter, removed a green felt tip from its lid, and pointed it at her adversary, "My duty here is to convince you against your course, Allie~!" she exclaimed, oblivious to the obviousness of her statement, "And I dont intend to lose~"

Aleecia shook her head. She may have only just met this woman, but there was no way Faith was going to swear here, "Neither do I- L-Lose I mean." She took a long breath before bettering her resolve, crossing her arms. "While I don't doubt you may have had problems with the robots in the game you may have been in before hand, Nariko is different. I've spent time with her and she wouldn't normally kill anyone... At least right away. If I can talk her down, she'll let Krista go, because otherwise she'll anger Monokuma." The girl's face showed a small, if not forced, smile.

Faith let out a small giggle, and quickly skipped backwards a few pages into her book.
"You got to know a Carnage Sister? Impressive~" she hummed, before placing a finger on a single paragraph, "Our game's girls were just a pain; I tried to set one up with one of the patients at their behest, lemme tell you, that was a mistake~" she chirruped, and skimmed the page with her hand, "She tried to murder him on the Night of Carnage right after their first date~! Just cause you think you know how they'll act, they're all unstable. If she'll go so far as to kidnap a patient, what makes you think she wont just snap and kill her in a moments notice~?"

"B-Because she has insecurities that prevent her from doing so! She knows the rules, and she knows how she's supposed to act and it immediately hurts her if she does something wrong. She's not going to instantly kill someone and if she starts to hurt Krista, she'll know what she's doing is wrong. It's in her programming." The poor girl shuddered, "As much as I hate to say it, Nariko can't change the way she was programmed. It's not the night of carnage yet and I believe Krista will be fine until I get there. I can find out why Nariko holds her in any esteem and try to shatter whatever strong feelings Nariko feels for her. That way she'll only focus on me."

She clenched her hands into fists, "I care for her and she cares for me, that has to count for something!"

Faith didn't speak for a couple moments, running through the argument in her head, drumming her fingers lightly atop the counter she found herself stood behind. She didn't know the robot personally, hadn't seen her interact with the others, and the situations that had occurred with the Killing Game thus far. All she really had was evidence from her other game, and what she had learned from the other members.

"Isn't that the problem, though? She cares for you, after all~!" she chirruped, flicking a page forward and jotting down a quick note, "From what I've been able to ascertain, each of the sisters has their own unique, and complex, personality - how Davis did it I'll never know~! - but if Nariko is doing this, if she's kidnapping people, it must be something in her programming that causing it; some error in the sequence that Warlock used. She has all these insecurities and issues, and because she cares for you they're piling up into a conglomerate, leading to our little... predicament~!" she stopped, placed her pen down, and looked straight at her foe, "So if all of that is true, what's to say you going anywhere near her wont set off a bigger chain reaction than we're equipped to deal with~?"

"I know something is wrong with her programming or else she wouldn't do this. Doing anything to go against her father will make her feel empty and depressed..." The younger girl bit her lip. "S-She's not exactly kidnapping people! I mean, Krista came to the Morgue on her own, maybe something happened there messed with her despair programming... And um-"

Aleecia's train of thought was cut off for a moment, "Warlock?"

Faith tilted her head, looking oddly at Allie for a moment, before letting out a light giggle.
"I'm the only one who noticed~?" she smiled to herself, and drummed the counter with her fingers, before crossing her arms to recount the facts, "Weeeell, ya see, Davis is... powerful. I'm a Demigod, so I have an extreme affinity to mana, but some of the things that man can do? Even if he were alive in the times of Pure Magic, he'd be revered as a prodigy. The Carnage Sister's are souls artificially implanted into mechanical bodies, and he's managed to set up an Anti-magic field around the entire area strong enough to affect even me!" she let out another giggle, and closed her Tome entirely, "Don't worry, though, he may be powerful, but I haven't seen any evidence of any grand master scheme or something~! The Council will be here before you know it, and we'll be free in a heartbeat~!" she concluded, puffing out her chest in pride.

"But that's off topic! Nariko totally did kidnap her! If Krista can't leave the Morgue of her own choice, then she's been kidnapped! The fact that she knows and understands the rules makes everything worse, 'cause she can tiptoe around them so she doesn't upset Monokuma!" she took a second, and softened her tone. "I know how it feels to not want to watch a loved one suffer... but Nariko is unstable and dangerous... her personality traits make her too volatile to reason with - if we could, we would - but I've already seen six corpses in Davis's game. Her threats are real. So we gotta take her out before she kills anymore of our friends, kay~?"

Councils and magic and souls, all this was so confusing in Aleecia's head. Sure, the girl made up fantasy worlds as a kid. But she had never gotten fake wands or toys and she had been completely dismissed when asking to have a fairy party. The girl had completely given up on her imagination when life got hard and she wasn't willing to risk it. Almost as if... the sounds of cheering and horses hooves had trampled out all of her imagination to be left in the stadiums she had been paraded around in.

Aleecia shook her head, skipping over her past thoughts to get back to the debate itself. "S-She can't kill Krista, and you can't kill her! I won't let you hurt her! She needs love and companionship to fix her, not to be gutted or smashed to pieces!" Aleecia opened her eyes and squinted, doing her best to push through the pain of her stinging retinas. "If you say Nariko's soul has just been artificially placed in a robot's body, you're also saying you don't care what happens to that soul! You're all going to murder the defendant without trial, without a hearing. I need to hear what she has to say." Tears sprang from the blind girl's eyes. "Or else, how could I face her in the afterlife?" Her arms fell to her sides.

"Without medical attention, I'm just going to get worse. There's no way I'll be able to meet her so soon after such a heartbreaking betrayal."

Faith couldn't help but find herself moved by the words. She had her morals, her beliefs, her ways of doing things and the things she disdained. All her life, with the guidance of the Initiative and her Mother, she had built up herself from nothing, established hersefl and her beliefs over countless years. But she could not call herself the Daughter of Ylemetris if she did not find empathy for her foe, desparate to save her friend; the love between compatriots, if not something more.

"I-I understand, Allie, I do... Nariko has suffered, in her actions I can see it; she doesn't deserve to be put to death. Not really." she trailed off, something clouding her vision ever so slightly, but wiped away quickly, "This is her Trial in Absentia... we have Cyrus the Witness, Nariko the Defendant, Monokuma the Judge, and us the Jury. By all accounts she is guilty of crimes, that in this place would be enough for execution."

She placed her hands to her side, oddly saddened by the turn of the argument. She didn't want to do this, not anymore. She wished there was another way, some way to sort things out that didn't involve violence or a divide among prayers. But it was too late for that.
"Depression and the like are cruel mistresses... and for those that suffer at their hands, full support should be given..." but as quickly as she turned, she placed her hands back upon the counter, staring her foe in the face, "But that is no defence for actions that bring harm, or threat of harm to others. Nariko has done both. You have Mercy, the doctor... but Nariko has shown the depths of her instability... I-I'm sorry..." she trailed off, a single tear rolling down her cheek, "...I-I will request my mother help her soul reach the afterlife at the moment of her passing..."

Her heart skipped a beat, before stopping all together. Faith had vocalized the trial of Nariko's execution, one of Aleecia's closest friends here. Aleecia couldn't see Faith's face, and for once, the blind girl was greatful. At the very least, she couldn't see the resolve Faith had come to. Faith's last words couldn't be processed with Aleecia's brain, all she heard was the sorrow in her opponents voice.

Aleecia's legs couldn't hold her weight anymore and she slipped down to her knees, her hands still holding onto the counter as if for dear life. Her tears drenched the front of her sweatshirt and her soul cried along with them. Even the idea of the loss of a closest friend was a much deeper pain then anyone else's death had been. Aleecia knew she was a horrible person in doing this, believing and relying on the enemy, but she couldn't take that. Nariko had helped her, but not treated her as a burden, someone that was only useful for her talent. The robot hadn't had to deal with her parents or the press like her brother. She didn't have to deal with the responsibility of keeping so many people alive like Ice. But... she had to deal with problems of an even higher level. And now the blind girl was leading her to the slaughter. So much for not being a burden.

She had done this. If only she hadn't been so broken and needed help. If only someone Nariko had relied on someone more capable like Ice or Ellie. Nariko wouldn't have felt the need to do such dire actions, nothing would have messed up her programming so bad. What was better?! To have lived as a killer robot normally and died without having felt the feelings of joy and companionship, or to have felt all of this, only to die before being released from her shackles?

Aleecia's sobs grew louder as her brain came to the realisation of her own faults. She curled up in a ball and screamed out for her own helplessness. Was this what Ice had felt? His need to not get attached to anyone because he felt this pain?

Watching her opponent break down in front of her tore at Faith. Though she was her foe, though her goal here was to convince her to side with them, that their cause was just and right, her heart stung with guilt. This wasn't the kind of outcome she had wanted. She didn't want to destroy the girl, leave her crying in a broken mess on the floor of the Diner, crying out for the life she wanted to save but couldn't. How she wished for some kind of time altering spell, to go back and fix what she had said, to convince Allie in a way that wouldn't result in their current predicament.

Faith slammed her hand onto the counter and forced herself over it in one action, landing behind the girl with an odd amount of dexterity. She couldn't change things, but at the very least she could help with the pain. She knelt down, over the crying girl, and took her into her arms, hugging her close, hoisting her up off the floor so her clothes wouldn't be dirtied.
"...I'm sorry, Allie..." she whispered, "...I am the stone. The castle. The blanketed void. Protection. Penitence. The Protector. The Guardian. This contract of blood, the seal my soul. My Ward no harm shall befall you. Aureus Castellum."

[Melo]

Though Cyrus had expected some disagreement on the matter, he hadn’t expected a full-blown discussion like this. He was happy there were some people as passionate as him on this topic. Last time hadn’t brought this kind of issue. They didn’t make a fuss about the ‘potential loss’ of the Alexandria group. Perhaps it was because they now had a better idea what they were up against? He had just expected a small group of willing volunteers, and the rest to hang back and do nothing. Well, there was nothing to it but convincing this should be done, right? It just happened to be that these kinds of issues were where Cyrus’s talent came into play.

When Cyrus approached the counter, it appeared his opponent was going to be Bliss. Caora was still burying his face in her side, trying to drown out the sound of everyone debating.

“Hello Cyrus.” Bliss was quiet, at least compared to the people debating all around them. “I'm glad you didn't get angry with Jezebel again. I know it's hard.” She placed her wrists on the counter. “I still want to go to the zen garden with you some time.”

“Hello Bliss Cyrus responded politely. ”Perhaps we can go together after this issue is resolved. That’d be nice.”

”As for Jezebel, I do not see the problem. This is a voluntary call-to-arms.” Cyrus tried to make this clear once more. ”I do not hold it against anyone who refuses, and won’t tolerate anyone doing so.” He tried to stay eloquent despite the tension the situation brought. He found it slightly more difficult than usual, it had been long ago he had felt so emotionally involved in a topic of discussion. It reminded Cyrus of the old days, days he had no time to reminisce about right now.”However, I am going to give this a shot, regardless of our numbers.”

Bliss shook her head. “It's not about who wants to go or numbers. Everyone carries someone on their shoulders, even if they don't know it.” Bliss folded her hands over her chest. “Caora is so alone right now. I'd love to help, but if something happened to me, what would Caora do? Seeing Mary's determination every day gives me hope. But if she were to pass away...” Bliss sighed. “And without Mondatta, you're the only leader we have left. How will we be able to function if all of our leaders are gone?”

Cyrus was somewhat surprised by Bliss’s resistance to the situation, but he could see her point. No, this was definitely not the easy situation he was sometimes making it out to be. It wasn’t simply a choice of going or staying, as much as he wanted it to be. ”It’s not that I don’t see where you’re coming from. But I can’t leave Krista to die.” He shook his head. ”What about the people who get their hope from Krista? Or Aleecia, if we are forced to take that route? There are people that depend on her in one way or another as well. It is ignoring this situation that would bring despair to all of us.” Cyrus lowered his head. ”And I sure as hell cannot call myself a leader if I don’t act now.”

“I want to save Krista to. I do but...” Her teeth where chattering. “Are you sure she's going to die? I'm not worthy to judge the value of a human life. I don't think anyone is, but it seems like...” Bliss stopped herself. “Do you rely on Krista, Cyrus?”

Cyrus thought about it for a second, the value of one life. “Indeed, that's not something you can just determine in my opinion.” But it was the second part where things got personal. “I draw strength from multiple people here, emotional strength. I don't really think anyone would believe me if I said otherwise.” He started. “Krista has helped me a great deal as well, yes. But so have you, I can assure you.” He paused for a second, then slowly shook his head. “Please do not think of my motives more personal than they are. I think Krista is a great person, but I'd do this for anyone in this situation.”

“I find it hard to believe you don't feel a little close to her. You were the only person she chose to share this with. But I guess it's possible she just sees you as the leader like everyone else.” Bliss dug her fingers into the countertop. “But even so, you need to consider her emotional well being too. We want to free her, it wouldn't be incorrect to say we'll be risking our lives or even dying for her, but is that something she would want?” Bliss looked away from Cyrus. “Being the one who survives is never easy. Krista was used by Lucas, used by Erin, and now she's being used by Nariko. All killers, all who used her for their own gain. By attempting a rescue, we're giving them exactly what they want.” She looked up at Cyrus, here eyes were visibly wet. “Do you really think we'll be better off if we do this?”

”I consider her a friend, that’s what I said.” Cyrus said calmly. He firmly shook his head at Bliss’s counterargument. ”Lucas and Erin both only used her to get out. They failed. They want nothing anymore. And I do not see why we should take them into consideration either.” He answered bluntly. ”They intended to kill her, and all of us, by attempting to escape. To them, she was a pawn, not a person. This is exactly the opposite. In fact, how different would we be from them if we didn’t try? We’d be abandoning her. If she had any trust in us, we’d be straight up betraying it. ” He looked Bliss square in the eyes. ”Of course, if you doubt she wants to be rescued. The door can’t be opened, but it was ajar when I left it. Unless Nariko closed it entirely, it’s possible to try asking her yourself.”

He then touched on a different point. ”Regardless, yes, we are putting our lives at risk. We will have to develop a plan of sorts, to reduce risk to a minimum. Alexandria was defeated in combat without us suffering casualties, so it is possible. However, we will have to be smart about it. ”

“Hold on, you're moving too fast.” Bliss folded her arms. “I wasn't saying to consider the opinions of the previous two blackened. I consider Davis and everyone he controls a killer to. I think he wants us to try and save Krista.” The nanny sighed. “I'm not really expecting to change your mind. I suppose I was hoping I'd feel a little more sure of this after talking to you. But I guess all we can do is hope things turn out okay.”

Cyrus sighed. “Of course he wants us to. Or at least he isn't against it. But I disagree with the notion we shouldn't do it just because of Davis as well. We don't know his motives, but I don't think it's simply to kill us. There are better ways.” He shook his head. “ultimately, there's only one best outcome. And I'll do my damnedest to achieve it. You have my word,Bliss”

[FamishedPants]

---

Zachary quietly approached the counter, collecting himself before the inevitable showdown that was about to unfold. He had to ask himself if he'd truly have the same stance were it another individual put into that situation. He imagined it. Again, what if it were Cyrus instead of Krista there? At the moment, Zachary hadn't any reason to personally dislike anybody more than him, and even that wasn't very genuine. So in that hypothetical scenario...

...He couldn't let Cyrus die, and he still would not allow himself to sit idly by and watch somebody sacrifice themself in vain! Given the situation at hand, Zachary had absolutely no reason to trust that it would end with anything other than two deaths instead of one. Perhaps if he were the odd man out, he could reluctantly back down, but that wasn't the case. He wasn't the odd man out! He wasn't crazy! And so, a fire in his heart, he knew he couldn't back down. Even if it hurt to argue with his only friend.

Jezebel approached with her head up, eyes locked with Zachary's. There was no uncertainty lingering in her eyes. If anything, she looked outraged that someone would dare suggest to go through with this rescue. The trickster was shorter than Zachary, but height meant nothing in a battle of ideas. Jezebel had proven herself far better than Zachary at arguing her points in the last trial. This had the potential to end very poorly.

“So...” Jezebel began. “Like, you totally think it's a good idea to risk everyone for that little liar?” She gave Zachary a sideways glance. “Like, do we even know Krista is going to die?”

"Are you saying that she's not worth trying to save because she's lied before?" he instead asked. "She's locked up with the 'sister' of a robot that tried to turn a competition into a bloodbath, and who doesn't seem to be above tricking people into captivity. You shouldn't have to even ask that. It's not a matter of 'if", it's 'when'."

“If we can't trust emo bot, then we totally can't trust killer teddy. Cyrus didn't even bat an eye when the fur ball offered his help.” Jezebel unfolded her arms and placed them on the counter. Her hands were closed into fists. “As for Krista, It's not like she was hiding baby pictures. She hid something very important from all of us.” She fret her brow. “Let that sink in okay? She totally trusted that robot over all of us. I wouldn't be surprised if she was working with them. Nobody can be that stupid, right? If so, it’s not like we can stop this sort of thing from happening again. Betty keeps walking into trap after trap.”

Zachary nodded. “I won’t disagree with you there. I also don’t like the idea of placing any amount of trust on someone who is keeping us in here.” Had he any alternative options when Geina attacked him, the Archer would not have relied on the bear to get him out of that mess. But the doctor wasn’t the priority right now. “But moving on,” he stole a glance at the robot before returning to Jez. “I can understand that she has not been entirely honest with the group over something fairly severe, but again, is that really enough to warrant abandoning her to her death? Or, even in the best-case scenario, leaving her and another to be confined with that killer bucket of bolts until it decides it just wants to kill them? As Cyrus mentioned earlier, there’s a very real possibility that it’ll only continue asking for more and more sacrifices, then what? We’re down two people at the very least and in the same predicament?”

Jezebel folded her arms up with a groan.“Like, to be totally honest with you, I don't think Aleecia should turn herself in and junk. But if that's what she wants to do, like, who are we to stop her?” She gave the archer a sideways glance. “Like, going to your point about what Krista deserves. I don't think it's that she deserves to be condemned, I don't think she's done a lot to earn her rescue.” The clown's face suddenly scrunched up in anger. “Like oh my god! Even if you can forgive her for running into Nariko's loving embrace, she still insisted on being Erin's ally. And before that, she totally ran away from the people who were protecting her to be with some barf bag. That was how the first murderer in this killing game happened. She got one of her protectors killed. Is it all coincidence that it just happens to always be her?” She threw up her hands in mock submission. “I'm sure, I'm so sure.”

Zachary found himself grinding his teeth to the point it was almost audible to everybody around him. He had been as calm as one could really be while arguing with a life or two on the line, but Jez's statement had obviously touched something the Archer couldn't address without exploding. His fist collided with the counter quite with a loud thud.

"Earn?!" he repeated, throwing his hand out to the side. "So we have to 'earn' our freedom and be 'worth it' to live? You and that ventriloquist are suggesting this, seriously? I can't agree with that kind of thinking, at all! I can agree that Krista has made some really stupid decisions, and I won't fault you or anybody else for being upset she's kept the truth hidden. But I refuse! I refuse to believe that a life should be ditched over something so miniscule, so insignifcant! A life is worth so much more than doubt or practical use!" wearing an expression that was hard to decipher, he continued quietly. "There's... only one equivalent."

His arm fell back to his side and his expression softened. "...Hate her. Shun her. Hell, interrogate her, I'll even help! But abandoning somebody to die is just too cruel, and the only other alternative to that is even more questionable than Krista herself. Even if there's a risk or hard feelings, we shouldn't willingly cull our numbers." Perhaps given his clearly emotion outburst seconds prior, the effect of Zach's subsequent attempt at a logical reasoning was diminished, but at the very least it would make it clear that he had chosen the side out of an actual investment rather than something not quite as solid.

“Like, willingly culling our numbers would be rescuing her.” Her hands were balled into tight fists. If it weren't for her gloves, Jezebel's knuckles might have shown up to be pure white. “Even if Cyrus's radical plan saves everyone, it's just a matter of time before she gets someone else killed. Or are you okay with saving someone if it means someone else has to die down the road?” The clown looked Zachary in the eye.“I'm so not abandoning anyone. I'm totally making the choice that protects the most of us. Because I care about everyone, Zachary. I'm not bad enough to risk everyone's life for some two-faced blond bimbo. Jezebel quickly fashioned a smile. “Am I missing something Zachary? Is that what makes her worth our lives? You're so into blonds, aren't you?”

His eyes cast downwards to the floor, Zachary gave potentially the longest, most drawn-out sigh ever conceived in the history of sighs. He shoulders slumped as though he'd finally given up. Slowly, the young man looked back up to his friend and opponent, and begun speaking.

"Yes." he said straight. "I don't think I need to tell you, but I really do take our promise as serious as a heart attack. Even if we're at a disagreement currently, I don't think any less of you and I still do trust in you. It might sound weird, but that's the truth. And another truth, Jezebel, is that I really want to make it so that you do not have trouble doing the same, which means I certainly do not want to lie to you." Ackerson gave himself a minute to think before continuing. "One of the only ways I can think of proving this to you is by telling the truth, even if it's difficult or won't lead to my ideal result in a given scenario. So, again, let me say 'yes'."

He rubbed the back of his neck softly. "Yes would be the answer to your last question. Aesthetically, I do find Krista, as a blonde, very physically attractive. I would even say, given our brief interaction before all of this, that I find her fairly pleasant to be around, but this is said by a man who had never cared enough about her before to really be affected personally by her deception, so take that for what you will.

However, this does not matter. I can only repeat what I've said before in that my stance would not change if it wasn't Krista up there. If it were Cyrus, if it were Max, and especially if it were you, I would still choose the attempt to save over the other two choices. So please, even if we cannot agree on this subject, at least do me a favor and take my opposition seriously! Because even if that weren't the case. Even if I were thinking with my dick and not my heart, Krista is most certainly not the first person I would jump headfirst into danger for just to get the chance to fuck."

Jezebel's sarcastic smile had disappeared sometime during Zachary's “confession.” The trickster was leaning against the counter with one elbow, while her other hand was on her hip. “Like, do I want to know who you 'would' jump head first into a fight for? To fuck I mean?” The question must have been rhetorical because Jezebel did not give Zachary enough time to answer it. She folded her arms and stood with her shoulder and hip pointed towards the archer. “We can totally stand here and argue, but neither of us are going to budge.” Jezebel looked at Zachary. “Like, you'll just keep listening to your heart, and I'll so keep listening to my head. There's no point in discussing this further with you.” Her eyes softened. ”It's not that I don't understand how you feel. I totally get that. It's just... Jezebel trailed off. “Bogus.” The trickster turned her back towards Zachary and walked away from the counter.

“So it seems.”

Zachary, too, decided to leave the counter, as there was simply nothing more he could do.