The Final Trial

[parasomniacs]

The Final Trial ‹ Mastermind ›

The dream world that they enter is shrouded in darkness. What was always an everlasting night has now taken even the stars from them. The only light comes from small, floating torches that flicker. Through what little light they have to guide them, they can see a small familiar form waiting up ahead.  Coming closer, they can indeed tell that Sheepy is waiting.

Now more than ever it is important that they arm themselves with the evidence that they have collected regarding the mastermind behind all this. Because this is the only chance they'll ever get to present it. Though death has always been the risk, now it's all or nothing.

Sheepy waits for them all to join her before grinning.

"Well, well, well... here we all are. Not all that many of you left, are there? Ah-- but then... maybe there won't be any of you left after this. Keheheheheh!! So let's make the most out of this last little session, shall we? Think you have it all figured out? Well let's find out. Like you were told, you gotta name all the remaining gunmen as well as the mastermind. So. Let's begin."

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[parasomniacs]

[ Will Sheepy even help you? Well... if you want to try... she is here. ]

[devilsnight]

Hey, sheep. You relay data, right? That's what you're here for?

[scythegun]

[...Well, we have more weapons than evidence and a lot of cats, but you know what at least we're here and probably going to figure something out, maybe??]

I'd like to start by saying that you're welcome to any of Crow's weapons that I didn't decide to keep for myself! Who knows if we'll need them~?

[did you expect him to be useful here??]

Though... I am a bit curious... Why do we need to hand the gunners over, exactly? I doubt anything good can come from that. Do we really want to lose anyone else?

[tibkins]

I don't think they'll be executed as long as we catch the Mastermind. No mastermind, no execution, right?

[She's all for naming the gunners, but no executions, please!]

[unlikelyend]

[ Probably, or at least find a way to make sure the mastermind is deda once and for all and then we all skedaddle. ]

I am not sure why we need to.

I do not wish for us to lose any more of our number than we already have.

[devilsnight]

It's a waste of fuckin' time, if you ask me. We're all against the Mastermind, yeah? I don't see why we should help them by stabbing our own in the back.

[parasomniacs]

[Sheepy just tilts her head.]

You do understand they've been killing you guys as well, right?

Either way... you knew the deal from the start. You need to determine who the remaining gunners if you want to go home safe.

LORE PUZZLE-PIECING

[respring]

[ After a short while, Sakura clears her throat and speaks up. She seems a little reluctant, since she's not the best with public speaking, but damn if she'll try. ]

Um...I think figuring out exactly what happened here is also important.

[ She shuffles through some of the papers in the evidence pile. ]

There's a lot of people involved, a group called "Ranarium", and some sort of clothing company.

[ Thinking for a minute. ]

It's a small guess, but I looked it up and saw that a "ranarium" is a place where frogs are bred. Didn't someone find a frog in the garage, today? There's...a big theme of frogs, here.

[vigilantims]

Yeah. It looked like one of those robots that they'd use in someone's execution. It was near some other equipment that also seemed to be execution items.

But... Aside from that were there anything else in relation to frogs around here? I think there's more evidence pointing to this clothing company.

[unlikelyend]

All I have deduced is that Ranarium seems to be a group that is political in nature, so we can likely categorize it as a political group of some sort.

[ ... ]

Either way, I suppose that is where they happened to get their name from.

There was a name of interest regarding a company called Dressing, which may be the clothing company in question.

[simplism]

Alright... so we're looking for someone who could be responsible for everything taking place. That means that there should be evidence of that person somewhere in the hotel, right?

But since Sandra Chavez died... there hasn't been anyone like that. It's all been Sheepy and she's well-- something.

[He's the absolute worst person to be talking about programs and data, however... Even he knows something is up with this situation.]

So if there isn't anyone here who could be the Mastermind... where are they?

[respring]

Were there any locked doors we couldn't open? I know the control room was forcibly opened, but--maybe they're hiding.

[devilsnight]

[Oh. Uh. He...thinks he's got this one.

...He's from 1994 and he absolutely does not have this one, but he's gonna try.]

Sheepy said she's a program, right? So something's gotta be running her, some sort of computer...thing.

What about Aloysius? There was a note Mikami accidentally faxed at me that said something about an operating system called Aloysius that Sandra was supposed to be providing support to.

Either way, Aloysius runs the sheep. If the sheep answers to the mastermind, the mastermind's Aloysius, yeah?

[unlikelyend]

... Perhaps they could be hiding somewhere in the dreamworld? It is dark, and the only evidence that I believe has pointed towards an individual being the mastermind I surmised may have been the correspondences between the Director and Sandra.

However, there was an individual named Aloysius mentioned in one of the pieces of information unearthed through investigation, who is responsible for sending out the incentives, who I suspect could be the mastermind.

[parasomniacs]

[The light in the dream world increases - it goes from the dead of night to a heavily overcast sky, not a single beam of blue peeking through. Then a foot presses through the clouds, stamping them down into a substantial staircase. Something is coming down from the sky. It alights just in front of the fog and then continues to walk forward.

A ball-jointed frog doll about twelve feet tall stands just outside the gathered circle of participants. It looks at them, its eyes turn in their joints like they would blink if that were possible for a doll, and then it raises its own paw in front of his face.]

Interesting to be graphically rendered for your comprehension. How... inefficient.

[tibkins]

...okay, this isn't NFT. I'm officially stumped.

[NFT being 'Normal for Tackleford', that is. Her town had a lot of weird stuff, but this? It'd be huge news]

[devilsnight]

...Jesus Christ, I have never been so bewildered in my fuckin' life.

[ladies and gentlemen, the idiot that caused this. i'm sorry.]

Aloysius, yeah? It's a pleasure.

[scythegun]

[..................................]

I don't know why I expected anything else.

[GIVE HIM A MOMENT, MAYBE HE'LL RECOVER...]

[unlikelyend]

[ What the actual fu--

... Give Duke a moment. ]

[respring]

[ It's a frog. Of course it's a frog. ]

More frogs...I guess the Ranarium influenced more than we knew.

[inordertobelieve]

[ ....................................................... ]

I realize you're not actually a frog doll given your nature, but...

[ Actually where is he going with this?? PLEASE STOP BEING A FROG; THIS IS EVEN MORE DISTRACTING THAN THE SHEEP.

.... deep breaths. ]

Do you mind introducing yourself in your own words?

[vigilantims]

[ HE'S FOUGHT HUGE THINGS BUT NOTHING LIKE THIS are we still even going to fight this thing ]

Don't tell me you have axe blade for teeth.

[ if he doesn't it makes him ... marginally better than the robot frog......... just by a little ]

[anindomitablewill]

...Just when I thought this place couldn't get any more ridiculous. This happened.

[ This was real life apparently. What was this even? He's totally DONE. Yup. ]

[parasomniacs]

Alright, everyone, you've heard from Aloysius yourself now. It's time to make your decision.

[Sheepy looks at them with a strange spark of determination in her eyes. Whatever it is-- it seems like she knows what she's doing.]

Please place your votes now.

[tibkins]

W-Wait, what? Now? You mean only for mastermind, right?

[Because she has no idea about the gunners]