revivalproject | [Network Video]

Easy?!

[Stu thinks he can brandish at Shaw again to show the muppet she's a threat, only now they're both actively threatening him.]

What the--what the fuck is wrong with this place?

[He has to drop into a crouch, protective hands over his head, communicator clattering to the ground.]

Let me go, man, just tell me what you want and I'll do it, just don't kill me, I didn't do anything to you, man.

[God, Shaw is torn. On the one hand, she's been wanting to do that for a while now - not to actually hurt the kid, but maybe to scare him a little for real. But on the other hand...]

Uh. Don't get me wrong, that's a cool piece you got there. But we're the good guys, remember? And he's a punk, but he's also like sixteen.

[Still, though. She likes you, little furry dude.]

[Knuckles grunts. He's around 16 too, for that matter. And not great at doing the people thing.]

Okay, so we've got him. Let's get Donnie and ask about the tablet!

[Or do whatever else they need to to make something make sense.]

[Sobbing:] Yeah, you're the good guys, whatever, this is good.

Crying doesn't work on me.

[She says with a roll of her eyes, already pulling out her tablet. She has no regrets about not wanting the turtle kids to actually be present when she confronted Stu, but this does mean that she has no idea if they're hiding close enough to actually have heard what's been going on, or if they're still blissfully in the dark.

Nevertheless, she dials them up.]

Hey.

[She says, into the machine.]

You guys wanna recount what happened with the tablet for an audience?

Knuckles is pleased by this turn of events and he stands there, still looking intimidating but not doing anything more than that as he waits for the replies. Hopefully this will help them get to the bottom of this mess. Surely if enough evidence piles up, this guy won't be able to keep denying things.

Or maybe Knuckles is just being naive again.

[The turtle that appears is not Donnie, for any of those who know how to tell the difference - the blue bandanna and lack of goggles are the easiest tells. He smiles as he walks up, not actually from where he and Donnie were hiding but a different spot, misdirection made possible thanks to his portals.]

Hey gang. [He gives a little wave, and an extra smile for Stu’s camera.] Heard we needed some eyewitness testimony?

[Stu has to look between Shaw, the muppet, and now the whole new turtle, because he doesn't know any of these people, but they all seem pretty sure about who he is.]

Did I steal something from you, too?

His strategy's playing dumb.

[Shaw tells Leo, rolling her eyes.]

Really dumb.

Maybe he really is that dumb.

[Knuckles sneers, then looks to Leo.]

Eyewitness testimony would be great.

[Leo doesn’t really know Knuckles, but he gives him a little salute anyway. He’s probably way too short to be their killer, so knock that one off the list.]

Right, so, after Richie got attacked, me and Donnie did some cyber-sleuthing to put together that whoever called Richie and lured him out that night was using Eddie Munson’s tablet. But! [He throws up a finger dramatically.] First, they used the Comms datapoint to change Eddie’s display name to “Unknown”. Then, they changed it back.

So, me and Dee made a trap, right? We set up a program to alert us if anyone changed their username to “Unknown”. And it happened again, right when Robin was attacked, this time from Donnie’s tablet! And when we examined the tablet at our house and discovered it was a fake. It had been switched out! But who could have done the crime?

[Leo takes a deep breath and turns to point at Stu.]

You! When you came over to our place with your friend for a “movie night” and stole his tablet!

[Leo straightens back up and folds his arms.]

It’s elementary, my dear Winston.

[He means Watson.]

[Stu is just looking down into his camera on the ground. The general smugness around him has not stopped him from crying.]

I don't know who any of these people are.

Uh-huh.

[Her voice is heavy with skepticism.]

So he just hallucinated you coming over to his room, is that it?

[Knuckles listens to the story. It all sounds pretty airtight to him. Maybe someone more objective would wonder if anyone else had access to the tablet, but as far as Knuckles is concerned, the story is seriously damning. And Stu's ridiculous attempt at squirming out of it is preposterous.]

You're seriously denying going over there when people can prove you did?!

[Leo nods along eagerly.]

Donnie records everything, he can definitely prove it.

[Leo actually has no idea if Donnie recorded this particular interaction, but it’s probable he has some evidence they were there.]

Yeah, whatever, dude, I'll say whatever you want. Fine, I was never there, you happy? Are you done now?

Look, this is dumb. Leo and I know he's lying, because he's lied about us, but he's clearly banking on everyone else thinking we're the ones who are full of shit. So I say we quit arguing, and just tail him. Make trying to attack someone again too annoying for him to bother with.

[She pauses.]

Probably his friend, too. I don't know where he fits into this, if he even does, but I wanna hear what he has to say.

[Knuckles scowls, annoyed and frustrated it still isn't having the end result they hoped for. Just tailing the guy sounds like a nuisance. But annoying him ... yeah, Knuckles can get behind that. He's pretty annoyed himself right now. He'd love to pass it on.]

Fine. We'll tail him. And what about this friend? Where's he?

[Leo is also not super happy with this outcome, if only because trying to tail someone indefinitely sounds like it’s bound to fail eventually.]

Can’t we just put him and the other guy in jail…?

[He more mutters this than says it loudly, but some people may be able to catch it if they’re watching. Certainly the gathered party can hear it.]

Why don't you just kill me now? Billy didn't do anything to you, just leave him alone, man, please.

I'm about ready to put some tape over your mouth if you don't stop being dramatic.

[Shaw mutters under her breath, before addressing the other two.]

We don't have a jail, unless you guys have been hiding one from me for the past nine months. As far as I can tell, we're all stuck with each other, murderers and non-murderers alike.

Maybe when all of this is over, we should think about building one. Especially if the Agrii don't boot them out of here!

Eh, guess this is why that Wesker guy's allowed to just wander around with his dog...

[He kinda likes the demodog, though.]

No one's going to kill you, sheesh. [He adds this to Stu.] Look, just tell us where you hid Donnie's tablet so we can get this over with.

Then why are you doing this to me? I haven't done anything to any of you. I don't know why you think I have anything. I went to see Donnie, he didn't want to see me, and now you're saying you're going to get Billy, and he's all I got here, man, all of you want me to say I'm a murderer and he's my only friend.

[If you can understand any of that between big, hiccuping sobs.]

Yeah, that's not gonna work; he's not giving us crap. Look, he needs a babysitter, and someone needs to talk to Billy.

[Shaw bends and leans forward, putting her face right up to that still-filming screen.]

Hey. Any strong and silent types watching this? We need your help.

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