Not as much time has passed as it had between other projections. Only about a day had passed since Hikaru's when Ellie finds the wardens herself. She's going to tear her hair out if she has to wait another week. She walks up to Ei first.
"Hey! Warden boy! Ain't you takin' too long? I'm sick of waiting. Strap me in the chair."
Ei’s flatly unamused by the term of address but knows darn well saying anything won’t fix her attitude. At least she included the ‘warden.’ That’s really the most he can hope for with her type.
“The system needs rest between projections, not us, but thank you for your concern.” He looks over towards the room, as if he can tell from here whether it’s ready or not, before sighing and taking his notepad. Not like he can’t get this party over with either way.
“Prisoner 008, Eloise Carter. Is there anything about yourself or your crime you’d like us to know before your judgment?”
With a hop to her step, she walks towards the room and tosses herself in the chair. She closes her eyes as she settles in to let the wardens do their thing.
"Said it before and I'll say it again. I wouldn't have done it in the first place if I was gonna regret it."
---
Despite the promise (implication?) that the rest of you would be free to watch, Ei shoos you away so the chosen prisoner can lead the way down the long hallway alone. Once they reach the courtroom, though, the wardens are too occupied setting the prisoner up in the lone chair properly to keep you away.
So a few of you make the trek yourselves, finding the hallway only marginally less lonely with your company. The walls still seem stifling, their silence somehow out of place.
But the courtroom is wide open, if barren, and there’s not much to be uncomfortable about until the prisoner of the day is secured in place. A strange…—machine? Somehow enough of it remains in shadow to obscure any useful details—emerges from the wall to hover around the prisoner’s head, then everything but you and the wardens is swallowed by utter darkness.
It only lasts a moment, though. Once the shadow subsides, you find yourself seemingly somewhere else…
