Ultra's Thread

Find the Truth!

Sato thinks very hard. "So the killer needed to set everything up before the murder..."

Ashley scoffs at him. "No shit. Of course they needed to set it up before. You can't kill them with the explosion before the explosion."

Axel shakes his head. "I think we're looking at this wrong. We can't think about the time of the murder. We need to think about the time of the setup!"

Erika looks up in thought. "Who's to say the scene wasn't set up in advance? It could have been done days ago-"

"That is incorrect!"



Spy shakes his head. "The trap has to have been set up today. Tucker has been keeping an eye on everyone's actions on his wall, with nothing listed there for today." The screen shows a picture of Tucker's notes written on his wall with everyone's actions. There's nothing written down about anyone setting up a trap, anyone gathering gunpowder, or anything even remotely resembling fireworks. "Plus, I'm sure he would have noticed explosives in his room."

James nods. "That means it had to be set up sometime today. But it couldn't possibly have been during the day. We would have noticed it."

Sato continues. "And it can't be before brother got fireworks because he would know."

Claus looks to the screen and then back to everyone else. "The time frame of setting up the murder is suddenly becoming very clear."

Erika stares at Claus a moment. "Time frame..."



Logic Dive

(In this section, you have to answer a series of multiple choice questions in order to reach the proper conclusion. Find the solution using your wits and intuition!)

Question 1!

When was the window broken and the gunpowder set up?
A. Before the Murder
B. After the Murder
C. During the Murder

Before the Murder

Question 2!

What Time of Day was the Murder Set Up?
A. Morning
B. Afternoon
C. Night

Night

Question 3!

Where was the Murderer?
A. At the Party
B. Outside
C. Both

Both

"This is the solution you're looking for."



Erika snaps her fingers as she finds the solution. "That's it! The murderer wasn't just at the party or outside. The murderer had been to both places."

Claus gives her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

She continues. "The murderer set everything up during the party. That's the only time that makes sense. If they had to set it up today, they couldn't have done it when it was light out or we would have seen the gunpowder. The only reason we didn't notice it earlier was because it was dark out."

James pauses. "So what you're saying is..."

"The murderer had to have left the party to set up the explosives and then returned to light them!"

Axel looks shocked. "That's like...two people!"

Leanne turns to Sam. "Put that list of people leaving and entering up again." The list appears on the screen. Leanne studies it carefully. "Just as I thought. The only ones that ever left and returned...were Spy, Ashley, Sylvia, and myself."

A panicked look comes across Ashley. "What!? What are you talking about!? Why would I ever get my hands dirty with some filthy gunpowder!?"

Vicky sighs. "Is having dirty hands really what you're worried we're accusing you of...?"

Sato points dramatically at Leanne. "That means you could be the killer!"

Leanne turns a little pale, but holds her composure. "Let's not point any fingers just yet. There's an important piece we're missing to this murder. Why did Tucker return to his room?"

Present Evidence!

"This is irrefutable!"

Leanne looks up at Vivian. "Vivian! You remember why Tucker went to see Sylvia, don't you? You told me when I was questioning you."

Vivian seems a bit shaky. "U-Um...Yes, but..." She glances at Sylvia.

"It's alright. We're just trying to find the truth. Relax and tell them what you know."

Vivian takes in a deep breath. "Alright. When we were at the party, the reason we left...was because Sylvia asked us to get her lucky pickaxe."

The room's attention turns toward Sylvia as she begins to sweat. "S-So? That means nothing!" She seems to be getting defensive. "I wanted my pickaxe because of other reasons! I left it in his room and I didn't want to leave so I could make sure the mood was right! You guys aren't seriously doubting me are you!?"

"So you left the pickaxe in his room?"

Sylvia looks confused. "What? Yes, of course I did! That's why he went there!"

Leanne grins. "I'm not so sure..." She pulls up an image of Sylvia's lucky pickaxe. "This was the pickaxe in question, wasn't it?"

"Of course! That's my lucky pickaxe. I'd recognize it anywhere."

Leanne lets out a small chuckle. "Heheh...It's funny, really. You pretty much debunk your own story."

Sylvia's eyes grow wide. "Wh-What!?"

"If that's the lucky pickaxe..." Leanne points at the screen with a dramatic flair. "Then explain its condition!"

Erika stares at the screen for a moment. "It's condition...?" A look of realization flashes across her face. "It's perfectly clean and maintained!"

Leanne nods. "That's right. If what Sylvia said was true, then this pickaxe shouldn't be clean at all!" The screen changes to show Tucker's room. Everything within is scattered, broken, and burned. "Just take a look at the objects in Tucker's room. Nothing survived intact. That means Sylvia's pickaxe couldn't possibly have been left in his room at the time of the explosion."

Sylvia looks to be panicking a bit. "R-Right, because h-he got it for me b-before..."

"No, that's wrong!" Vivian interjects. "I never saw Tucker with the pickaxe. In fact...when we were walking to get it is when the explosion went off. He never got to the pickaxe before the explosion. It should have been destroyed like everything else in his room!"



"A-Alright, fine..." Sylvia looks down, with a defeated look on her face. "It was me...I killed Tucker."

"I can't accept this!" Sam interjects. He points to Leanne, then retracts his finger as he realizes he doesn't know what to say. "I... Um... Ah! How could she have lit the gunpowder trail!?"

Claus scoffs at Sam's question. "Really, it should be obvious at this point. Just look at where the trail led."



Hangman's Gambit!

(In this section, you must spell out a word that answers the question provided. Pay close attention to the number of empty spaces to place letters in! A mistake could cost you some Influence!)

How did Sylvia light the gunpowder trail?

_ _ N _ _ S

"Let the words flow as if they were a stream!"



Aki stands there as realization comes across her. "Dennis."

Claus nods. "Exactly." The television screen changes to show an image of the gunpowder trail. It starts directly from where the fireworks launched. "Take a look at this image. The gunpowder trail that led to Tucker's window starts right here behind the stage. This is where the fireworks were lit. It's easy to see that when the fireworks were lit, the gunpowder caught light. Down the trail it went...until the fireworks were lit, launching into Tucker's room and killing him."

Sylvia looks at the ground. "Sam...just...stop. Please. It was me. I killed him. I put this whole thing together. I..." She gets choked up. "...I thought that Tucker was the mastermind. He...Leanne told me about the secret notes he had been writing. That he was watching us. I thought...I thought he was in charge. That if I..." She holds her shoulder with her right arm and clenches her teeth tightly. "...I just wanted this all to end. I didn't want to see my friends hurt. But...But because I didn't trust Tucker, he..." Tears begin to stream down her cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry...This is all my fault...I..."

Sam thinks. "...Then, who's the blackened? The one who set up the bomb? Or the one who actually lit it?"



Claus smirks. "And thus we've reached the ultimate question of this case."

Amelia looks shocked. "So you are saying...zat zere could be two possible killers!?"

Vivian looks almost sick. "...And if we can't figure out if it's Sylvia or Dennis...we'll all die."

James throws his arms back. "Well, except for the killer." He seems too relaxed for this situation. It's almost unnerving.

Sato shouts at Sam. "No! Brother would never do something like that!"

Erika stares at him intently. "But the facts support his hypothesis. This answer is logical."

"No! No! I won't believe it!"

Axel cuts in. "He's right! The one who planned it is the one responsible!"

A look of distaste comes across Claus. "With all this arguing, we're never going to reach a conclusion. It seems as if we're split on this argument."

"Nyahaha!" Nekoshi hops up from his seat. "Did somebody say SPLIT!?" A huge smile comes across Nekoshi's face as a large button comes up out of the ground. He performs a swan dive onto it as all the platforms begin to raise into the air. "It's time for the Scrum Debate! Nyahaha! This is my favorite part!"



Choose Your Side!

(Select which side you think is right in order to convince the other team in a Scrum Debate!)

Sylvia is the Killer!

Dennis is the Killer!

Scrum Debate!

(In this section, you will post your argument against the other team. You must use the word in bold in your response back to properly refute the statement! Good luck!)

James: “The explosion which Sylvia set up! She admitted to planning the murder herself.”

Scrum Debate!

(In this section, you must coordinate your team to refute the points on the opposing team. Try to match the keywords each of your allies have to the keywords in your opponents' statements. If you mess up, you'll lose influence, so be careful!)

The platforms rise into the air and split dramatically into two lines of teams. One arguing that Sylvia is the killer and the other arguing Dennis is the killer.

Sylvia is the Killer!
Dennis
Leanne
Sato
James
Sylvia
Axel
Ashley
Amelia

Dennis is the Killer!
Sam
Aki
Spy
Claus
Erika
Vicky
Vivian

Vicky's platform moves forward as she points at Dennis. “Alright, so Dennis lit the explosives. That means he’s the Blackened!”

Leanne shouts out Dennis' name. "Dennis!"

“The Explosives were set up completely without my knowledge the only thing that should have gone off was the display.”

Vivian cuts in, calling for Aki. "Aki!"

"Even if the display was the only thing that should have gone off, there's also the Gunpowder trail to account for."

"It's your turn, Ashley!"

“The gunpowder trail only led just outside of Tucker’s window though. The fireworks would have exploded outside if the gunpowder trail was lit by the display!”

"Go, Sam!"

"It's likely a firework was launched through the broken window to set off the explosion."

"Show them, James!"

“The explosion which Sylvia set up! She admitted to planning the murder herself.”

"I'm counting on you, Spy!"

"Nekoshi never stated that planning the murder actually counts as being the blackened."

"Sato, you're up!"

“But blackened is whoever did the murder, yes?”

"This is it, Claus!"

“Exactly. Whoever DID the action of murdering. That’s why even though Sylvia planned the murder, Dennis is the blackened. Because he lit the fuse to the fireworks that killed Tucker!”

FULL COUNTER!

"Do you understand now?"
"This is the right answer!"
"Our magnum opus
A form truly worthy of
Reflecting ourselves"
“The answer is right before your eyes!”
“Think before you talk next time!”
“Our answer is right!”
“This is our answer!”



Vivian looks down in thought. "The rules only state that whoever killed the other person becomes the blackened. It doesn't say anything about a mastermind or whoever planned the murder. That means whoever dealt the killing blow is the blackened. Which means...!" She looks up and points dramatically at Dennis.

"I am the blackened!" Sato shouts out loud to everyone.

The attention in the room all shifts over to Sato. Erika gives him a quizzical stare. "...You? But you're not..."

"Shut up! I'm the blackened! Everyone is wrong! Brother let me set the fireworks off! You have to believe me! Brother would never hurt someone! It was me!"

Claus seems increasingly frustrated with Sato's shouting. "Be SILENT! It's clear that the real killer is-"

"I KILLED TUCKER! I KILLED TUCKER!" Sato continues to yell at an increasing volume.

Dennis suddenly bends over grunting in pain with one hand clutching his head the other scratching his neck, defiling his bandages.

"U-Um...Dennis...?" Vivian looks over at him with increasing concern.

"IT WAS ME! IT WAS ME!" Sato continues shouting over everyone.

James look over at Dennis. "This looks bad. Nekoshi, call off the trial. I need to examine Dennis right away."

Fire literally shoots out of Nekoshi's eyes and into the air. "WHAAAAAT!? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! We can't stop the trial here, you NYANcompoop! This is just getting interesting! The audience gets bored when the drama is gone! NYA!"

"Someone's watching this...?" Ashley quickly attempts to fix up her complicated hair.

"SILENCE! RETURN TO THE TRIAL IMMEDIATELY! YOU WON'T LIKE ME WHEN I'M ANGRY!"

Somehow, things seem to have gotten louder. James attempts to leave his spot, but restraints pop out of his platform, holding him in place as he struggles. "Let me go! He needs help!"

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

A match falls from Dennis' bandages as he snatches it up with one hand, striking it and creating a fire on the end. His eyes stare, transfixed on the match. When he speaks, his voice seems different as if it's like the fire itself. "This trial is far from over. If we are meant to entertain then my firebrand can certainly put on a show. As the Servant said, we must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who is guilty and this farce yet leaves much room for doubt." Dennis's arm shoots up pointing at Sylvia "Excavator, your plan was terribly flawed, and yet, somehow, it still worked. I sense another hand at play. I'd like to know if you've an accomplice or a saboteur that must be shown the light!"

Sylvia steps back in shock. "Wh-What!? No! Nobody else knew about the writing except for me! Nobody knew about my plan!"

You attempt to present the Footprints, but get a strange look from Erika. "That's not helping us solve the case. Stop screwing around!"

You feel like your influence has taken a hit...