final trial

[arsholes]

[After a harrowing couple of hours, some illuminating discoveries, a couple of new allies, and a couple of new injuries, eventually Garfield's warning comes to mind. Shit's popping off. And now that you've got all of the ritual components (minus the hammer which, well, you have its owner), it might be time to return to the trial room and see if you can do something about it.

Reconvene in the Great Hall and make your way upstairs.]

Comments

[thealchemist]

That's the plan.

[Present tense.]

I didn't have time to do it before, though. I was getting better at them as I went, and I wanted to make sure he became something truly extraordinary.

[sunshade]

Absolutely not.

If that's what you need this knife for, I won't be handing it over.

[thealchemist]

You'd deny him his final wish? To get to be a part of tearing this place down brick by brick?

That's low.

[reresurrected]

I certainly don't doubt that he would wish for something like that after the lengths he was willing to go to in order to achieve that very thing.

[...]

But did he give you consent to do such a thing to his body?

[thealchemist]

...I didn't have the plan in mind until that week. Didn't have time to ask, and didn't think he was going to...

[Well, die.]

But he'd do the same to me if he had a chance.

[reresurrected]

... I don't doubt that much, either.

And I don't doubt that the two of you cared about each other in your own way. But--

[Hmm.]

[ninehundredlives]

Sorry, are we working on the theory here that four separate people were okay with this?

[She's hearing a lot of "maybe Hubert was okay with it" and not a lot of "hey, what the fuck did you do to Loki?"! And, uh, those other two guys she guesses.]

[rikonstructed]

...Considering the people involved, it's not impossible. [Like, probably not Jasper, but.] Not that he asked.

[ninehundredlives]

Somebody dying doesn’t make them public property. You can't even take donor organs without consent, even if it would save another life.

[thealchemist]

...If it makes a difference, I'll promise to only do Hubert.

He was my friend. I know it's not him, that's not the way forging works. But the last time we spoke he told me he wants to bring this tower down on the Patron. He thought it would redeem him. Said he would be satisfied.

[Karl shakes his head.]

I want to see it done for him. But I can do something so that a part of him is there to see it done as well.

[reresurrected]

... I believe you.

[And in this case? He actually does.]

I at least am willing to place my trust in you - and in Hubert-san - for this.

But know this much: if you betray that trust, I'll not be so kind to you a second time. Do we have an agreement?

[thealchemist]

If Mei can talk to the real Hubert at any point and he says he wasn't alright with it, I'll kill the night creature myself.

[Reluctantly, but honestly.]

I'm not used to working with people. But I can't take this fucker on my own. As long as you keep your knives out of my back, I'll keep mine out of yours. That work as an agreement?

[reresurrected]

Yes, that will do. Thank you for understanding, Heisenberg-san.

[He is very well-versed in people's bodies being used for things they didn't ask for so he's honestly pretty twitchy about this whole thing himself, but if Hubert can actually tell them it's all right, then...]

[sunshade]

Oh, please. You don't seem to think there's anything wrong with mutilating corpses, so let me spell this out for you--I'm not letting you turn Hubert's body into a strange creature you can just sic on the Patron. He's been torn to pieces already. Have a shred of respect, you absolute cur.

[ninehundredlives]

[wow you know she feels a little better suddenly]

cw: cannibalism

[thealchemist]

It's not Hubert anymore. [There's actually a shred of raw emotion, anger, even, when he says it.] When people die, they're just meat. You can't fucking humpty dumpty them and expect them to get back up like nothing happened.

No offense, Susan.

What's disrespectful is letting them rot when they can still be used to help.

Would you starve on a desert island just so you didn't have to eat the unlucky bastard who died first?

[ghostsguysgyuudon]

Yes?

[Blink.]

But -- but anyway, Heisenberg-san! Don't you think we can do something else? I mean, even if Hubert-san probably would be okay with this being done to him, nobody else would! I know you're trying your best, and I know you always think that people have to throw their morals away to succeed. But there has to be another way to beat him all on our own!

[sunshade]

[ She seems unmoved. ]

Oh, it's a waste, is it? It's just an absolute waste to not take this perfectly good corpse of our companion and mutilate him to make him into a weapon just because it would make things easier for you. That body might not have Hubert's soul in it anymore, but it used to, and since it appears that you either can't comprehend that, or don't care, perhaps you should brush up on respect for the dead--particularly, the dead who died for our protection in the first place!

[ She's not forgetting that Hubert and Somnus both died keeping the rest of them safe from Bryn. She can't forget. She won't. ]

Perhaps people are more willing to overlook this sort of indiscretion where you're from, Mr. Heisenberg, but it's not going to happen. The answer is no.

[twibeast]

I'm with Patchouli.

One's body isn't something you get to just mess around with even when they're gone. Hubert especially has gone through enough, this isn't right...!

And besides, we don't need this to help us.

[ghostsguysgyuudon]

[She nods vigorously.]

I know the Patron's strong, but we're as prepared as we can be. I know you probably won't listen to me since I don't have the experience everyone else has, but we have to stop him our way instead of just doing worse.

[spitessier]

The thought of you doing whatever you want with von Vestra's body is enough to make anyone sick.

[Yeah, to nobody's surprise, Katsuya is against it, who'd have thought]

[replacementshield]

'When people die, they're just meat'. Hmph, that says a lot about what you think of the dead.

We've seen enough of such scum running around. Your little pet monsters...just thinking of anymore being created makes me sick.

[ninehundredlives]

Those things aren't the people you had killed. They're mockeries.

[replacementshield]

What's low is scum like you turning their dead bodies into monsters.

[spitessier]

That's disgusting.