[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, ]
just, without any words at all she's going to start trying to drag the fuckin bodies towards the teeth. with her noodle arms. she wants away from this entire place and if ichiban tries to jump in again she's going to lose her whole mind. that scream is still echoing in her head, thank you.]
depending on how you look at it, perhaps it is good news that baiken can throw an entire person with one arm. however. that person isn't usually laying prone on the ground, so that kinda sucks having to peel their dying, bleeding bodies up. she scruffs the first one and drags them to the bus. now that she's actually doing it, this feels... gross. ]
[ IMAGINE IF THAT WAS REAL. no, ichiban does not in fact repeat the same stupid mistake that cost him his life the first time around. at the same time... he still looks sickened, almost queasy at the idea of forcing another cognizant being through the jaws of mephistopheles.
but... if there truly is no other way out of here...
. . .
without another word, he casts his gaze downward as he goes to help throné with the body she's trying to carry. ]
[The engine's jaws devour their meal eagerly, crunching their way through the bodies; they're already smeared with Ichiban's blood, but it's shortly indistinguishable from the rest. One by one, it feeds on them as they're tossed in, grinding and grumbling its way along.
Finally, the driver calls out-]
Verg. Mephi's all full. Rumbling ready.
[He glances over his shoulder to her, then gestures for the three of them to follow as he steps back onto the bus. We're good to go, my dudes.]
[ghhhhh. she doesn't feel good about this. she's really kind of nauseated by watching the bus eat people, but it's fine, she'll deal. they were going to die out here anyway. just keep telling yourself that.
once they've got the bodies into the maw, she wipes her hands off on her clothes, and then goes off towards the door of the bus. she's going to sit down and try not to be too sick. like listen - it's one thing to kill people, she's done that plenty, but feeding them to a monster afterwards isn't exactly something that she can desensitize herself to without some effort.
so she just sits here and stares at the ground and makes a face like she's trying to endure a smell she really, really does not like.]
[ what must be done, must be done. if only baiken could be as cold and badass as she really wanted to be, this wouldn't affect her at all. it isn't quite guilt, but something more primal deep down that unsettles her. hm. maybe we will unpack that later.
before reboarding, she takes one last look at this sad excuse of a back alley.
then she gets back on the bus, sitting quietly in her own little row - but not without casting a nasty glare at verg on the way, because. of course. ]
[ it's almost like ichiban shuts down completely as they throw body after body into the grinding engine, his own simply moving of its own accord to get this done and over with. it's much of the same when he brings up the rear and boards last; he doesn't say anything, doesn't sit down, almost doesn't breathe.
[The bus starts up once more, then finally begins to rumble along again, deeper into the Backstreets. They pass more of the same sort of run-down areas, with the occasional person seen milling about; there's little to their expressions, seemingly just going through the motions, and some duck away after spotting their strange vehicle. Those who don't simply watch it go by, impassive.
Verg and their driver are quiet, meanwhile, up until the bus slows to a stop once more. If they look out the windows, the people here are notably different-- they have strange body parts that might look a bit familiar. They don't attack the bus, but they do linger outside, watching it.]
The facility isn't far. You'll be going by foot from here.
[Their guide finally speaks once more, glancing back to them.]
The Bough you need to retrieve is located somewhere deep in the fallen Lobotomy Corporation branch of this district. Our Before team confirmed no other major groups are present, but... that never means you'll meet no resistance.
There should be a guide for you at the branch entrance who can tell you more. That's all.
[this is the most dire fucking bus in the universe.
throné does not want to go outside with the bug people. like at all. but she also does not want to stay on the bus with the driver and the guide, so. she stands, looking at the other two she knows. they don't have to go to the guide at the branch entrance, they could just sneak away and try to go back to wherever the ship is? but. she has no idea where the ship is at all.
she doesn't say a word to verg - she just tries to get past him without touching him, fists clenched.
once they're off the bus she'll be more talkative, but she doesn't like the People In Charge being able to overhear her conversations.]
[ well if gregor is any indicator, there's nothing to fear with these other pathetic mononoke sad bug people milling about. sure beats sitting on the depressing bus ride through purgatory.
sure, they can chatter on the way. in the meantime, if there's any additional bugfolk around, baiken is gonna be giving them the stare down glare down until they're all set to go.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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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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just, without any words at all she's going to start trying to drag the fuckin bodies towards the teeth. with her noodle arms. she wants away from this entire place and if ichiban tries to jump in again she's going to lose her whole mind. that scream is still echoing in her head, thank you.]
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[ she hates you so much, verg.
depending on how you look at it, perhaps it is good news that baiken can throw an entire person with one arm. however. that person isn't usually laying prone on the ground, so that kinda sucks having to peel their dying, bleeding bodies up. she scruffs the first one and drags them to the bus. now that she's actually doing it, this feels... gross. ]
See you in hell.
[ and in goes the first (second) victim. ]
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he jumps in again ]
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but... if there truly is no other way out of here...
. . .
without another word, he casts his gaze downward as he goes to help throné with the body she's trying to carry. ]
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Finally, the driver calls out-]
Verg. Mephi's all full. Rumbling ready.
[He glances over his shoulder to her, then gestures for the three of them to follow as he steps back onto the bus. We're good to go, my dudes.]
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once they've got the bodies into the maw, she wipes her hands off on her clothes, and then goes off towards the door of the bus. she's going to sit down and try not to be too sick. like listen - it's one thing to kill people, she's done that plenty, but feeding them to a monster afterwards isn't exactly something that she can desensitize herself to without some effort.
so she just sits here and stares at the ground and makes a face like she's trying to endure a smell she really, really does not like.]
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before reboarding, she takes one last look at this sad excuse of a back alley.
then she gets back on the bus, sitting quietly in her own little row - but not without casting a nasty glare at verg on the way, because. of course. ]
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man. ]
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Verg and their driver are quiet, meanwhile, up until the bus slows to a stop once more. If they look out the windows, the people here are notably different-- they have strange body parts that might look a bit familiar. They don't attack the bus, but they do linger outside, watching it.]
The facility isn't far. You'll be going by foot from here.
[Their guide finally speaks once more, glancing back to them.]
The Bough you need to retrieve is located somewhere deep in the fallen Lobotomy Corporation branch of this district. Our Before team confirmed no other major groups are present, but... that never means you'll meet no resistance.
There should be a guide for you at the branch entrance who can tell you more. That's all.
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throné does not want to go outside with the bug people. like at all. but she also does not want to stay on the bus with the driver and the guide, so. she stands, looking at the other two she knows. they don't have to go to the guide at the branch entrance, they could just sneak away and try to go back to wherever the ship is? but. she has no idea where the ship is at all.
she doesn't say a word to verg - she just tries to get past him without touching him, fists clenched.
once they're off the bus she'll be more talkative, but she doesn't like the People In Charge being able to overhear her conversations.]
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pathetic mononokesad bug people milling about. sure beats sitting on the depressing bus ride through purgatory.sure, they can chatter on the way. in the meantime, if there's any additional bugfolk around, baiken is gonna be giving them the stare down glare down until they're all set to go.
still hates verg. goodbye forever you fuck. ]
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