The hell's your problem? What has this City done where I'm supposed to give a shit?
[ she isn't even angry about the dudes. maybe she should be. maybe that will sink in later - but for now, all she sees is some pompous douchebag trying to give orders. ]
What, too afraid to get your hands dirty? Might want to try another profession then.
[ ichiban also has a bone to pick with their mysterious host, but baiken looks like she currently has that on lock, and he's not about to get in her way. no, instead he's veering toward throné as she stares down at one of the thugs.
there's a moment where he almost reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder, but vividly remembers the last time he touched her without warning and quickly withdraws, instead just saying: ]
My role is to be a guide, not a participant. To put it another way... I'm not paid to care how you get anything done. Just to make sure you do it.
[You know when someone has a palpable Aura of intimidation about them? He's got that, his eyes now a brighter red, but he isn't making a move. If they don't start any, perhaps there will not be any. Who's to say.]
except, sadly, baiken isn't as hotheaded as she used to be, and has enough sense to know that cutting this man down (well. attempt.) is not where her priority should be. it isn't even fun to insult him, because he doesn't care. ]
Stuffy bastard.
[ well it wasn't like she wasn't going to insult him, mild as it is in the grand scheme of things. she STOMPS off the bus to her other two companions. ]
ah, but then baiken is joining them, and she asks the million dollar question. ichiban looks between the two of them, his eyes lingering on throné's a little longer before he breaks his silence.
"you're a good man, ichiban." ]
Look, I wanna get out of this in one piece too, but I don't want murdering these guys to be part of the plan, either. [ . . . he faces the metallic teeth in the bus's newly opened hatch. ] We're not going anywhere until we get some fuel? Then I'll do it.
[ THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT YOU'D SAY YOU SHITTY PROTAGNIST PIECE OF SHIT!!!!! ]
Now that he's looking at the bus, Ichiban can tell it actually seems hungry. The driver was not simply using a turn of phrase; it's gnashing its 'teeth' like it's starving, after they've failed to give it any fuel, and when he approaches despite Throné's attempt to interfere...
It doesn't take much effort. He barely has to get near it before the mechanisms catch him, devouring him eagerly.
Ichiban is dead.
Wherever Throné has put her pocketwatch, she can feel warmth from it. A very faintly visible chain runs from it to her, through her to Baiken, to... well, right now, to the bus engine.
Oh, yeah, and if she was still standing close or if Baiken has gotten closer? They're splattered with his blood. Mephi's a messy eater. It's sowwy.]
well let me tell you a thing that you're going to very quickly learn on this cyoa - throné is not a fan of blood! she does not like it! so when ichiban's horrible meat remains splash her face and her white clothes, she kind of bluescreens. it's a loading screen up in there as she goes through all five stages of grief very quickly.
she is a little shellshocked? like. w - what do you even do with that? a man just died in front of her that she considered a friend and she doesn't know she's on cyoa so she just. thinks he's dead. like, for real, forever. maybe he is!
she feels the warmth of the pocketwatch where she has stashed it, unfortunately, in her... well i'm not sure she's wearing a bra, so just, like, there. in her bobbies. she is too shocked by ichiban being dead to care, and she stumbles back a step or two and just stares at the bus.]
[ for all her blustering, death isn't as easy to shrug off as she'd like it to be. there's a separation between her feelings and her actions, an acceptance of the kind of person she is, that makes it so she can swing the sword. cut people down. it is different in this context - a selfless choice, yet still a violent end that none of them can control. was it worth it?
she's shocked too, at the suddenness of it. the finality of it. no fanfare, no nothing. just carnage. she looks to throné, noticing the chain. great. awesome. she doesn't like that it leads to the engine, if only because she isn't sure she can convince throné to throw herself in, if that's what any of this means.
any other time, baiken would just walk away. but she can't.]
[The watch is ticking in her chest, now, just by the way. They can both probably hear that happening. I'm really gonna have to keep writing it like this if that's where she's keeping the watch huh?]
[He glances up at that, from where he was checking his own watch, completely unconcerned with Ichiban's unfortunate demise.]
Your ties.
[It seems at first like that's all he'll say, but he does at least elaborate:]
You'll drag each other into hell, or drag each other back out of it. That's up to you. But I would hurry up and use the watch; we should have company soon.
[that seems to snap her out of it a little. she looks up at verg, and then. pulls the watch out of her tiddies. what's it doing?
there's a thought that crosses her mind - something awful and twisty and sad, because you can drag each other out of hell just makes her think about viktor. but she pushes it aside firmly, and focuses. can she try somehow to bring ichiban back with this thing? she shakes it.]
[The watch rings as an alarm sounds. Their vision goes dark, and when they can see again-
They're standing in front of an enormous door, one that looms far above them. Heat emanates from the gap between its panels, agonized cries and wails audible through it, and as it creaks open, the heat increases. Not enough to burn, but it's absolutely unpleasant.
When there's enough space made... hands reach through the gap, with a multitude of laments. One of them, they can see clearly, belongs to Ichiban.
The question isn't exactly spoken aloud. It's more that they feel it, in some way:
[oh my god we really sent ichiban to real hell through the act of vore
throné is a pretty sensible person! she's reasonable. she thinks before she acts, mostly, and she isn't the type to immediately put herself in danger for other people. she'd describe herself as selfish, even, when it comes to self-preservation. this is danger. this is something that might get her killed. the hands are terrifying, and uncomfortably familiar. really, her instinct is to get rid of them somehow, attack or get baiken away from them or something, but she sees ichiban's hand.
and throné does not think this time. will they share the pain? throné will, even if baiken does not. she reaches out and grabs his hand and pulls.]
[ the choice is obvious. baiken has said it before - she's consigned to hell. it's come a bit sooner than she had anticipated, but now, flinching at the oppressive heat... the choice on what to do comes to her easily.
was it this easy for ichiban, when he had jumped in?
baiken strides up behind throné to give her an extra hand (heh) with that piddly strength stat of 8.
it's either that, or she's fighting every single demon in hell solo. ]
And their vision blanks out once more, though this time it's partially with the pain of it. They feel the pain of his death, lessened to a slightly more bearable level with the two of them sharing the burden of it-- every moment of being killed by the engine's jaws. It's impossible to say how long it lasts; time dilates, in moments like this. Maybe it's a few seconds. A few minutes.
When they open their eyes, though, all of them open their eyes. Ichiban will have felt that same pain a second time in the split-second of his revival, but there isn't a mark left on him, and if any of them look at the watch's face... its hands slowly stop spinning backwards, coming to rest as it ceases to radiate warmth.
They're all right back where they started, by the bus.]
If you're finished, [their guide says behind them,] throw them in already.
okay, well, again. she's pretty used to significant amounts of pain, so this sucks but it's not unbearable. she takes the pain of the death fairly silently, mouth clamped shut. don't make noise. don't give them the satisfaction.
and when it's over, and they're all standing there, exactly how they started, throné immediately turns to ichiban and pinches his face as hard as she can. she will stand on her tiptoes if she has to in order to reach.]
Idiot.
[DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN except do. i, flurry, think we should all get death as a little treat.]
[ she grits her teeth against the pain, letting death(?) take her. it shouldn't have gone any other way--
except they're right back by the bus. ]
...Huh.
[ HUH? and of course VERG!!! is here. that is the real punishment. throné has ichiban handled - which is another 'huh' moment - so she turns her attention to verg again. ]
[ ichiban hears the gnashing, and it doesn't faze him too badly. yeah, it's unsettling, but he's faced worse before, hasn't he? the old tattoo artist in kamurocho has a knack for predicting his subjects' destinies, and he has yet to fail—ichiban is the very embodiment of the brilliant irezumi inked on his back, the koi who swam up the waterfall and became a dragon, after all. he thinks there's still time to negotiate, to maybe find another way that doesn't involve any sacrifices because that's what heroes do, dammit—
but then the bus's gruesome mouth suddenly envelops him whole, and though it happens faster than his brain can process, he screams as his entire being is eviscerated by the cold unfeeling metal, skin and sinew and marrow all blending together until the man known as ichiban kasuga ceases to be in one final burst of unimaginable excruciation. fuck, FUCK, it hurts, i'm sorry, i'm so so sorry, is this really how it ends, arakawa-san—
and then it's over.
he opens his eyes. he blinks once, twice, patting himself up and down. he flails his arms, he touches his face, he almost grabs at throné and baiken before his brain turns back on and quickly decides he'd like to continue being alive and in one piece, thanks.
he takes throné's pinch without flinching, and with his final breath before he needs to inhale once more, he simply utters, ]
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she wanders over to one of the barely alive guys, staring down at him like she's deliberating.]
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[ she isn't even angry about the dudes. maybe she should be. maybe that will sink in later - but for now, all she sees is some pompous douchebag trying to give orders. ]
What, too afraid to get your hands dirty? Might want to try another profession then.
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there's a moment where he almost reaches out to place a hand on her shoulder, but vividly remembers the last time he touched her without warning and quickly withdraws, instead just saying: ]
Necchan, c'mon. You can't be serious.
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[You know when someone has a palpable Aura of intimidation about them? He's got that, his eyes now a brighter red, but he isn't making a move. If they don't start any, perhaps there will not be any. Who's to say.]
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throné looks up at ichiban when he approaches.]
... If you and Baiken think that we can make it through this without dying, then I won't. [folds her arms.] But I will not die here. I made a promise.
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except, sadly, baiken isn't as hotheaded as she used to be, and has enough sense to know that cutting this man down (well. attempt.) is not where her priority should be. it isn't even fun to insult him, because he doesn't care. ]
Stuffy bastard.
[ well it wasn't like she wasn't going to insult him, mild as it is in the grand scheme of things. she STOMPS off the bus to her other two companions. ]
Figure it out yet?
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ah, but then baiken is joining them, and she asks the million dollar question. ichiban looks between the two of them, his eyes lingering on throné's a little longer before he breaks his silence.
"you're a good man, ichiban." ]
Look, I wanna get out of this in one piece too, but I don't want murdering these guys to be part of the plan, either. [ . . . he faces the metallic teeth in the bus's newly opened hatch. ] We're not going anywhere until we get some fuel? Then I'll do it.
[ THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT YOU'D SAY YOU SHITTY PROTAGNIST PIECE OF SHIT!!!!! ]
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Since we have determined this is happening...
Now that he's looking at the bus, Ichiban can tell it actually seems hungry. The driver was not simply using a turn of phrase; it's gnashing its 'teeth' like it's starving, after they've failed to give it any fuel, and when he approaches despite Throné's attempt to interfere...
It doesn't take much effort. He barely has to get near it before the mechanisms catch him, devouring him eagerly.
Ichiban is dead.
Wherever Throné has put her pocketwatch, she can feel warmth from it. A very faintly visible chain runs from it to her, through her to Baiken, to... well, right now, to the bus engine.
Oh, yeah, and if she was still standing close or if Baiken has gotten closer? They're splattered with his blood. Mephi's a messy eater. It's sowwy.]
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well let me tell you a thing that you're going to very quickly learn on this cyoa - throné is not a fan of blood! she does not like it! so when ichiban's horrible meat remains splash her face and her white clothes, she kind of bluescreens. it's a loading screen up in there as she goes through all five stages of grief very quickly.
she is a little shellshocked? like. w - what do you even do with that? a man just died in front of her that she considered a friend and she doesn't know she's on cyoa so she just. thinks he's dead. like, for real, forever. maybe he is!
she feels the warmth of the pocketwatch where she has stashed it, unfortunately, in her... well i'm not sure she's wearing a bra, so just, like, there. in her bobbies. she is too shocked by ichiban being dead to care, and she stumbles back a step or two and just stares at the bus.]
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she's shocked too, at the suddenness of it. the finality of it. no fanfare, no nothing. just carnage. she looks to throné, noticing the chain. great. awesome. she doesn't like that it leads to the engine, if only because she isn't sure she can convince throné to throw herself in, if that's what any of this means.
any other time, baiken would just walk away. but she can't.]
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she's not unused to violence, but the fact that she's expecting something to change and nothing really does has her stunned.
how in the fuck are they going to get the other bodies in there.]
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so baiken tears herself away from the scene and back to verg, her beloated. ]
Hey. What's up with the chains?
[ (teej voice) he doesn't know what the fuckity-fuck you're talking about ]
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Your ties.
[It seems at first like that's all he'll say, but he does at least elaborate:]
You'll drag each other into hell, or drag each other back out of it. That's up to you. But I would hurry up and use the watch; we should have company soon.
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there's a thought that crosses her mind - something awful and twisty and sad, because you can drag each other out of hell just makes her think about viktor. but she pushes it aside firmly, and focuses. can she try somehow to bring ichiban back with this thing? she shakes it.]
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They're standing in front of an enormous door, one that looms far above them. Heat emanates from the gap between its panels, agonized cries and wails audible through it, and as it creaks open, the heat increases. Not enough to burn, but it's absolutely unpleasant.
When there's enough space made... hands reach through the gap, with a multitude of laments. One of them, they can see clearly, belongs to Ichiban.
The question isn't exactly spoken aloud. It's more that they feel it, in some way:
Will they share the pain?]
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throné is a pretty sensible person! she's reasonable. she thinks before she acts, mostly, and she isn't the type to immediately put herself in danger for other people. she'd describe herself as selfish, even, when it comes to self-preservation. this is danger. this is something that might get her killed. the hands are terrifying, and uncomfortably familiar. really, her instinct is to get rid of them somehow, attack or get baiken away from them or something, but she sees ichiban's hand.
and throné does not think this time. will they share the pain? throné will, even if baiken does not. she reaches out and grabs his hand and pulls.]
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was it this easy for ichiban, when he had jumped in?
baiken strides up behind throné to give her an extra hand (heh) with that piddly strength stat of 8.
it's either that, or she's fighting every single demon in hell solo. ]
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And their vision blanks out once more, though this time it's partially with the pain of it. They feel the pain of his death, lessened to a slightly more bearable level with the two of them sharing the burden of it-- every moment of being killed by the engine's jaws. It's impossible to say how long it lasts; time dilates, in moments like this. Maybe it's a few seconds. A few minutes.
When they open their eyes, though, all of them open their eyes. Ichiban will have felt that same pain a second time in the split-second of his revival, but there isn't a mark left on him, and if any of them look at the watch's face... its hands slowly stop spinning backwards, coming to rest as it ceases to radiate warmth.
They're all right back where they started, by the bus.]
If you're finished, [their guide says behind them,] throw them in already.
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okay, well, again. she's pretty used to significant amounts of pain, so this sucks but it's not unbearable. she takes the pain of the death fairly silently, mouth clamped shut. don't make noise. don't give them the satisfaction.
and when it's over, and they're all standing there, exactly how they started, throné immediately turns to ichiban and pinches his face as hard as she can. she will stand on her tiptoes if she has to in order to reach.]
Idiot.
[DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN except do. i, flurry, think we should all get death as a little treat.]
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except they're right back by the bus. ]
...Huh.
[ HUH? and of course VERG!!! is here. that is the real punishment. throné has ichiban handled - which is another 'huh' moment - so she turns her attention to verg again. ]
Oi, can it.
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but then the bus's gruesome mouth suddenly envelops him whole, and though it happens faster than his brain can process, he screams as his entire being is eviscerated by the cold unfeeling metal, skin and sinew and marrow all blending together until the man known as ichiban kasuga ceases to be in one final burst of unimaginable excruciation. fuck, FUCK, it hurts, i'm sorry, i'm so so sorry, is this really how it ends, arakawa-san—
and then it's over.
he opens his eyes. he blinks once, twice, patting himself up and down. he flails his arms, he touches his face, he almost grabs at throné and baiken before his brain turns back on and quickly decides he'd like to continue being alive and in one piece, thanks.
he takes throné's pinch without flinching, and with his final breath before he needs to inhale once more, he simply utters, ]
—holy shit.
[ YEAH? ]
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One body wasn't going to fuel the entire bus. If you have to throw your life away, don't do it for something that futile...
[He's just been watching all this happen, man.]
Before you complain at me about the process again, keep in mind they're not going to live long out here whether you do it or not.
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