Trial Four: Resume!

Everyone’s eyes turned to the source of the contradiction. Wyatt looked over in shock.

It was Griffin.

Griffin stood, his hands placed flat against the stand. His forehead was outlined in sweat. “That’s wrong. Wyatt didn’t draw that picture.”

Damien had stepped back in fear at Griffin’s outburst. “Who did it, then?”

Griffin glanced at everyone’s shocked faces, their hands frozen in place on the levers.

Dagger giggled. “Oh, I guess it’s not the end, then! Trial continued!”

The levers disappeared.

Griffin took the scroll he’d retrieved when Wyatt had run into him. “Look!” he shouted, opening it up.

The group gasped.

There was a picture of the murdered body of Erik. It looked very similar to the picture on the elevator. Wyatt glanced at the signature, written in the same handwriting as the message on the wall.

Damien Rogue.

He looked at the shocked boy. Damien’s eyes had widened. “It wasn’t me!”

“The writing is the same!” Griffin said. “I found more of the death scene drawings in Damien’s room! Every...one...of them! The executions! The murder scenes! All in your room! Look at the date, too! It’s on the same exact day as when Crimson was murdered!”

“Wait, Griffin,” Star said, holding her hand out to stop him. “From this, we can see that there’s still more to find out. We shall not convict anyone else until we know for sure who it is.”

Griffin reluctantly agreed.

“We have to start from the beginning, at the fact that the Despair Disease was the motivation for this case.”

“In that case, as stated before, the main suspects would be Wyatt, Chase, Griffin, and Star,” Cassie said.

“What if...it wasn’t the disease that was the motivation?” Harmony asked tentatively. “I mean...there are many reasons we could kill for other than the disease.”

“How about the other motivations?” Thane asked.

“You mean...the ones used before?” Sophie asked suspiciously.

“In that case, the one that makes me the most suspicious would be the second motivation,” Star said, her eyes travelling up to the ceiling in thought. “Dagger told all of us secrets about each other that would definitely make us think, even for a brief moment, about killing each other.”

“What if it isn’t a motivation?” Chase asked ominously, looking left and right, “What if it’s a grudge that happened even before we got in this place?”

"What...do you mean?" Harmony asked.

"What if they recovered their memory like Kiara, and remembered a grudge?"

"Dagger." Griffin turned to the evil mastermind on the throne. "Tell us who caught the disease other than the four original people."

Dagger raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And if I don't?"

Chase laughed darkly. "We'll strangle you by your stupid tie and then use your corpse as a trampoline while we smoke cigars in celebration."

Dagger raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright." He had a small smirk on his face. "There was a person who caught the disease."

"Who?" They all asked simultaneously.

Dagger smiled lazily and pointed to his right. "Thane."

They all gasped at Thane, who closed his eyes.

"Is...it true?" Harmony asked. "It isn't, right? I trust you. You trust me. You would've told me!"

Thane wiped his forehead. He let out a deep, mournful sigh. "Yes, it is true. I caught the Despair Disease. I was afraid of telling you because I figured we would all panic, knowing it was contagious."

"So, which disease is it?"

Thane looked around. "I basically predict the bad things to come. I receive answers that I'd rather not get."

"You could be the culprit, then!" Sophie said.

They looked to Star. She tucked her hair back behind her ear. "Let's hear this one out, actually. If there's a contradiction, then it's not him."

"If Thane was the culprit, then his disease would be perfect for killing," Sophie said, "You already know the next culprit."

Harmony gasped in sadness. "The puppet strings...fit Thane too." She looked downwards, biting her lower lip as she tried to hold back tears.

Thane looked down at his feet. "It'll be fine, Harmony," he murmured quietly. Thane attempted a weak, half hearted smile. "I always think up of a plan."

Harmony let out a sob. "You...never...keep...your...word!" She hiccupped in between each word, almost in hysterics.

"Don't stress yet, Miss Harmony," Griffin said, "it's not like we've already voted him as the murderer already. This is just a playthrough to see if he is."

Harmony hiccupped once more and nodded, her eyes wide.

Thane looked grateful.

"Wait, what about the maze?" Sophie piped up. "Thane was with us that time!"

Damien interjected. "I know I wasn't there, but what about later on?"

Star nodded slowly. "Though I hate to do this, Thane, I have to ask you. Were you one of the people who knew the maze even before Dagger told us about it? Tell us the truth."

Thane shook his head.

"Speak!" Damien shouted. "You used that secret passage, didn't you?"

Thane visibly jumped a bit before coughing. "No, I didn't know. My disease lead me to the end, where I found Crimson's body."

Harmony nodded eagerly. "That would mean he didn't do it, right?"

Star nodded. "Yes, if what Thane saying is true then he would be cleared of suspicion."

"There's also the possibility that he's lying, though," Damien pointed out.

"That is true, too," Thane sighed. "Which is why I seem very suspicious."

"Exactly!" Sophie said. "We found Thane at the murder case. He was crying and screaming and in shock. They could've been fake–"

"No, that's wrong," Wyatt interrupted.

They all stared at Wyatt.

Star gestured for him to continue.

"I don't think Thane would fake anything. If Thane committed murder, it would have been less flashy," Wyatt glanced over to Thane. "No offense, but you're kind of a shady guy. I don't think a murder this sudden would have Thane attempting to show himself as someone who tried to pretend to be innocent. He would have hid."

"True," Cassie said.

Star nodded in agreement. "We can't be sure though. The objective is to not get caught. Thane could play by off by being very open about this murder."

"Now that I think about it," Griffin said, "who would commit such an open murder like this? I mean, the notes and the drawings are so openly admitting, yet this murder has two potential culprits and probably more."

Wyatt thought for a minute, staring at all the grim expressions the remaining people wore. It suddenly dawned upon him about who would have the potential. "Yes, there is one person. But they're not present."

"What? Who? Did Crimson commit suicide to frame us?" Griffin asked.

Wyatt shook his head. He pointed to Damien. "Think about it! Damien's alter personality! Slayer Vega! Didn't Crimson tell us in one of the trials that Vega was a notorious assassin?"

Damien jolted. "He would never do that!"

"Now that I think about it, Damien was the person who was way ahead of us when we were in the maze!" Cassie said.

"He could have known the directions of how to get to the end of the maze, then!" Chase exclaimed.

"Idiot!" Damien snapped with an unusual amount of force. "I wouldn't do that!"

"No, he didn't go to the end of the maze," Cassie said. "Damien decided to go back and tell you guys about the maze."

"What time was that, do you know?" Star asked.

"It was a while after the maze, maybe half an hour afterwards. We thought he found himself back at the end, meet Crimson, got a map, and went back," Cassie said.

"Then that wouldn't make sense," Griffin sighed. "The murder occurred right after? It would be very little time to get through the maze, considering the length. Even if he had the map, it would take a while. Remember when we ran? That alone took some time. There's no way Damien could have gotten to the end, killed and probably fought Crimson, and then proceeded to cover up the murder. After that, he had run back through the maze, hoped nobody saw him, and washed and dried off before going to Wyatt, completely not out of breath? Just in half an hour? There's no way."

Wyatt met the eyes of Chase and Thane. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"That's wrong, Griffin," Thane said lowly, "and Wyatt can prove it."

Wyatt nodded, holding his phone out to show the picture. "While investigating, Chase and I found a secret door, right next to the entrance to the maze. It took us less than a minute to get to the room where Crimson was found. What if Damien had left and immediately went back to the end room using the shortcut we found? It would make things so much faster."

"Hold up, guys, like I've said before, slow down, step on the break and put the car in reverse," Griffin frowned. "What would that say about the maze's structure? We all thought it was the opposite from the entrance, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Griffin narrowed his eyes. "Just because I saved your life, Wyatt, doesn't mean I'll be on your side. Do you have any evidence to prove that the end room is right next to the entrance?"

"Yes," Chase responded.

"There was blood seeping from the crack between the wall and the floor. Only one room had blood in it, and that was the ending room, where Crimson was murdered!"

Damien looked shocked. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Slayer Vega would."

There was a flash of red and the fuming assassin glared at all of them in distaste. "WHAT THE HELL MAKES YOU THINK I KILLED THAT BITCH, HUH!?" Vega screamed.

"The clues point to you..." Harmony whispered quietly.

Thane nodded slowly. "I remember. I woke up last night, just in time to see a shadow leave my room. When it was morning, I realized some of my props were gone. That could've been you, Damien."

Vega glared at Wyatt. "YOU!" He screamed, lunging out of his stand and rushing over, grabbing Wyatt's shirt. "THIS DAMN ORDEAL IS YOUR FAULT! IF YOU'D JUST FUCKING ADMITTED THAT YOU WERE THE KILLER BEFORE, WE WOULDN'T GO THROUGH THIS!"

Wyatt felt Vega's hand tighten around his windpipe as his hands reached up, attempting prying his hands off. He choked, seeing black spots before he heard Dagger's alarmed shout as Vega was pried off of him. Wyatt collapsed, his knees buckling as he used his arms to shakily support himself on the stand. Wyatt gagged as he breathed in deeply for air.

After a silent moment, Star recovered. "Vega..." she said quietly. "You killed Crimson, didn't you? You wouldn't react this way."

Vega attempted to struggle out of his bonds. Looking up, Wyatt saw Dagger holding Vega in a lock grip, Vega's arms twisted behind his back and Dagger's hands around his wrists. Vega snarled, almost animal like.

Wyatt rubbed his neck. "Vega..." he croaked.

Vega laughed, throwing his head back. "HA! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He looked at the shocked audience. "That's funny! Why the hell would you losers think of me?" He grinned. "I didn't know the damn passage was there! You can't prove it!"

Wyatt made a slightly strangled cough in realization.

"Speak!" Damien shouted. "You used that secret passage, didn't you?"

"You're wrong, Damien," Wyatt said slowly. "You did know that the passage was there."

Vega stopped struggling. "What did you say?"

"Damien had said it clearly when he attempted to convict Thane. He said, 'Speak up. You used the secret passage, didn't you?'

Vega paled in response to his words.

"I...I..." Vega looked like a cornered animal. "I...didn't do anything."

"What about Slayer Vega's other reports?" Harmony brought up. "Vega said...he only slashed, and he never used accomplices."

Star looked over. "I think...that was a little lie that Crimson didn't want to tell."

Wyatt looked over to Dagger. "Dagger, would you bring us a file on Damien and Slayer Vega?"

He pretended to think for a minute. "And what would you do for me?"

"I won't stomp on your corpse?"

"Hmm...nah."

Griffin groaned. "We don't have the freaking time for this."

Dagger grinned, despite the situation. "I'll do it, under the condition that you get on your knees, beg me, and call me Master for a whole week. And it only applies to Wyatt."

Cassie visibly choked down her laughter.

Wyatt's face twisted into a look of confusion and dismay. "You want me to what?"

Dagger pointed to the ground. "Get on your knees, beg me, and then call me Master for the rest of the week."

"No way!"

"Fine!" Dagger released his hands off of Vega and raised his arms in a surrender manner. "Guess you don't want the files, then!"

"Fine!" Wyatt shouted.

Cassie interrupted them. "Wyatt, we need those files."

Wyatt crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Alright, that's it, story time!" Chase yelled, exasperated. "Wyatt, there was once a little bird mom who had two little twins. One was stubborn and never got anywhere, and the other one was willing to move on. One day, the mommy bird tried to get the twins to fly. The stubborn one said no. The other bird did, and guess what? He flew! He made progress! He got a wife and stuff! As for the other little bird, when he finally made the decision to fly, he was too damn old! He fell out of the nest and all his little bones shattered, and the bird had to drag himself away while trailing blood behind him before he died!"

"I wonder who the little birdy who died was a representation of..." Star wondered.

"Fine!" Wyatt snapped. He looked over to Dagger, who smirked and pointed to the ground at his feet.

Wyatt walked over and knelt down, looking away from the looming figure of Dagger. "Please?" he grumbled.

"Oh, what's that? Did I hear a mouse squeak in my room?"

Wyatt cleared his throat. He pushed down his gag reflexes and forced a desperate look onto his face. "Please, Dagger?"

Dagger tutted, shaking his head in disapproval. "You forgot the second part of our deal."

Wyatt gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Please...M...Master Dagger?"

Dagger thought for a minute. "Close enough," he approved, snapping his fingers. A large, leather bound book appeared. Dagger chucked the book at Chase, who yelped and caught it before it hit his face.

Wyatt stood up, joining the group as they huddled around the book.

Star flipped a few pages into the book before skimming to the middle of the book, pointing at something in excitement. "There! Look!"

They read Damien's profile, about his alter form, Slayer Vega.

Harmony gasped. "There! Look!"

The excerpt read:

"Slayer Vega: notorious for his habit of only leaving stab wounds on his victim's bodies."

They looked at Vega, who looked defeated.

Vega grimaced in anger. He glared at all of them in hatred. "Well? Will you end this damned trial or not? I tried, and I failed. Go on and proceed." His words dripped with venom.

Star cleared her throat, nodding silently.

"Crimson was murdered almost at noon. The murderer had, beforehand, set up props to kill her. They had found the maze, and it was most likely that they knew she was the second person who knew about the Fourth Floor. Beforehand, they had sneaked into around the manse the night before, getting props. They were almost caught by Thane. They must've known somehow that Thane would catch the disease, so they tried to frame him.

"The next morning, Dagger gave us the motivation. They knew they were doing good for the group. When we decided to find the fourth floor, they had guided them into finding it, while those with the Despair Disease stayed back. That made the sick people potential suspects, because they didn't have an alibi.

"When we found the maze, they must've spent a long enough time to trick everyone into thinking they didn't know about the maze. They went out, with everyone believing that they were just going to tell the others. In truth, the culprit was actually starting their plan.

"First, the culprit used a trapdoor they had found before that they knew was a shortcut to the end of the maze, and waited there for Crimson. When she arrived, they fought, the culprit ending up as the winner. They did their trademark stab wounds, before tying Crimson's body to the ceiling with the puppet string they had brought. They also staged up the mannequin, carving the message, and leaving the knife there.

"Once the culprit was fine, they left, knowing Thane would be the first to find the body. They changed their clothes, shoving the evidence in AlterAssassin's locker and leaving the note. After that, they did their ritual drawings, but this time on the elevator doors. They carved the message. Afterwards, they ran into Wyatt, telling him to get the others.

"When Thane found the body, they pretended to be equally as shocked, acting like nothing had happened at all.

"...and that culprit...is you, Damien, a.k.a. Slayer Vega!"

Vega looked like he would break out some nine millimeters and shoot them all down. At the last second, he reverted back to Damien, who broke down and began sobbing.

"I'm sorry! It was Vega!"

"What was your motivation for this?" Wyatt asked. "We never knew why you wanted to kill Crimson."

Damien looked at them through tears of fury. "You were right! It was a grudge long before this happened!"

"How did you frame me so perfectly? How did you know I had the disease?" Thane inquired. "Chase?"

Damien shook his head. He reached into a small bag he'd been carrying with him, bringing out the laptop. "AlterAssassin."

Damien handed the laptop to Wyatt. "Yes, I took him." His grip tightened on the laptop in anger. "Damn...I can't believe I lost..."

He reverted to Vega. "WELL!? VOTE FOR ME, DAMMIT! WHAT KIND OF SICK SADISTS ARE YOU, WAITING TO VOTE FOR A PERSON WHO KNOWS THEY'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE!? AND YOU!" Vega pointed at Wyatt. "Even when I am dead, I'm still hunting you down. I won't forgive you." He laughed as the levers appeared.

Dagger raised his arms. "Please vote for who you think is the murderer!"

As they pulled the levers, holding back their tears, Vega, with double voices, made one last message, repeating it like a mantra.

"I'll hunt all of you down in hell until you've all become my muses!"