THIRD TRIAL

[neverhadafriend]

[Once again, you make your way to the lobby of the Adventurers Club. Once again, you make you way down the stairs to the trial room that awaits you below the surface. Today, however, the birds seem to be occupied by something other than the excitement of murder. Whispers are exchanged, and although no sentences can be made out, you might hear the occasional word--enough to know that they're talking about wishes.

Before the weight of the conversation begins to settle in, Genie appears in the center of the stage, glancing around at the podiums.]

Wow, the crowd's really starting to thin out, huh? [He lets out a nervous chuckle.] Y'know, I don't...think I've asked my master what happens if this keeps happening until nobody's left.

[He looks like he's about to add something else, but glances towards the birds on the ceiling and decides against it. Third times the charm, right?]

Comments

[primafacie]

Hm? Oh, I grabbed several of the same dress. I must not have remembered to take them off this one.

[On a scale of 1 to 10 on how forced cheerful this sentence is, Sugarplum's currently at about 12 or 13.]

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

[ ... ]

A knife would only nick or scratch you. That's what you said, right?

[ dislike! she dislikes this!! ]

[primafacie]

Yes, I did. I'm sorry, is there a problem?

[She's still just. Powering through this.]

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

So what would happen to a knife if it hit you?

[primafacie]

It would probably damage the surface of my body, but I don't think it would do any lasting harm. That is, nothing that couldn't be buffed away.

[redloxy]

And...do you have tools for buffing yourself, here?

[primafacie]

Well, not for anything substantial. It's a good thing I haven't taken a real fall since we arrived.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

...With vinegar.

Vinegar can buff out damage to porcelain.

[primafacie]

Oh, aren't you ever so smart, Miss Cassandra.

[Her tone has shifted, becoming more mocking.]

But that doesn't explain why I've done it, now does it.

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

... Did the Genie make you hear Marie?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Just something I picked up from my handmaiden days.

[Frowns. Oh, we're doing this now.]

You said you can't heal, and you don't bleed. But if you were hurt in an attack, you could buff the scratches from a knife out with vinegar. That would explain the bottle and rag found in the kitchen.

[halloteen]

Are we... supposed to care about the "why?"

[just. leaning on her podium being like "well at least this time we won't be soaked in blood."]

It doesn't make them less dead. Any of them. And now you, too.

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

So the knife would be deflected. Which could damage it, but wouldn't wound you.

[ like!!! ]

[primafacie]

I suppose so. But you would know more about that, wouldn't you?

[redloxy]

You've been acting...really strained, for a while now. I kind of think you're hiding something!

[Foxy hasn't talked to Sugarplum as much since her memories started coming back in force. It's...kind of embarrassing, and just strange, to think about how she was acting then.]

[primafacie]

You would know, wouldn't you? You've stopped playing nice.

[bottlerockets]

Hey, that's--that's not true, she's still nice. She's just being herself now.

[And not the weird alien brainwashed Foxy from before.]

[madmadam]

She was certainly having a rough go of it when the big blue buffoon gave us all hearing issues, if I recall!

[prodigalhairess]

[If you were dealing with fresh out of the tower Rapunzel, that probably would've been enough to convince her! But Rapunzel now is fresh off a several month stint of forcing her own happiness to throw off everyone else from her true emotions SOOOOOO....]

You said you don't bleed. But can you even be hurt?

[primafacie]

Oh, yes. Porcelain is ever so fragile, after all.