chasma | WEEK TWO EXECUTION

Entry tags:

*execution

WEEK TWO EXECUTION

week two: execution

no melodies no memories

Hopefully you got a long night of sleep? Barring that, you got whatever answers, or closure, you might have needed. Because it's strangely quiet, the following Sunday morning, the everyday background music you've all gotten used to reduced to mere echoes on the wind.

Breaking the silence, somewhere, much like the song of Friday, there is the echoing, cruel laughter of voices you should faintly recognize throughout the city. It's followed by humming of that newly familiar song. It's strongest, interestingly, close to the plaza.

As time turns to 1 PM, though, there is a change as the voices fade. While there's no compulsion to investigate it, there's a small gathering in the plaza. Your three Watchers are here with their daemons, and so are... Suigetsu, and his daemon, front and center. All damages and evidence, anything amiss from the weekend, is all gone, and replaced with the state of the plaza from the week prior.

Nearby, the Watchers stand clustered together. Suriel is silent where they lean on their crutch, wings drooping under their cloak as their caracal paces restlessly. Shamsiel is also silent as they stand there to the other side of Suriel, their cloak covering them completely with the exception of their one good arm which clenches at their chest. Keeping an eye on Suigetsu is Baraqiel, tiger-formed daemon tracking Naito closely, pacing where the Watchers have estimated the boundary will be.

And then, another party will be compelled to join them. Rochalizo will find that his feet are carrying him to his destination, Philia sticking close to him as they travel across banks and canals to the heart of the markets. Once he passes through the centermost area of the plaza, opposite where Suigetsu stands, he'll find that he can't go back, and neither can his daemon.

Likewise, no one can enter the plaza further than where the three Watchers stand, having gotten a good gauge of what will happen now. There will be no interfering from outside parties, no matter what it is that's about to happen. Any attempts to do so will result in them meeting an invisible barrier, one that rebuffs them with the same amount of force used against it—so take care.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'll take that as a compliment!

[when suigetsu moves—crap, crap, fast—he continues running away from him, thinking. of course what he did wouldn't be enough to slow suigetsu down. again, he's reminded of how horribly outclassed he is in pure fighting ability.

he doesn't have time to deliberate over his options. if suigetsu is going to move in closer, instead of sticking with long range...

with philia still flying above to keep an eye on suigetsu, rochalizo sprints towards the canal bank.]

Sure, sure. If you're really fishing that hard for 'em.

[This is absolutely a shounen fight because there's just going to be vaguely unhelpful dialogue all while everyone is moving at top speeds. They will have an entire conversation in the next 30 seconds. I believe in them.

That being said: he's moving to within roughly close-combat distance, but close combat for him is still a little ways out -- an arrow reaches pretty for even if you don't actually shoot it. He's pulling back an arm to swing--

And puts himself even lower down instead, Naito following along behind instead of in front. There's a reason for that.

One (1) rock materializes and homes in on Rochalizo's retreating figure.]

[rochalizo's trying not to run in an entirely straight line, so as to throw suigetsu off—but even as he swerves, the rock beans him in the head.

ow. for a moment, rochalizo sees white (and vaguely, his first thought is something like, what the hell, not fair) (this is hypocritical of him, given that he threw the first figurative rock) as he stumbles and falls, skidding across the ground.

get up. he has to get up. (he offers his silent thanks to whoever healed him, because the scrape would be so much worse with his burns.) he's at least near the canal, as he rises to his feet as quickly as he can, knife still in hand.]

[He can totally do zigzagging running, but let's be real, having a homing rock (even if it's a small rock) is a whole lot more handy for bringing your prey down. He and Naito are more in sync than usual because they're forced to be -- putting him (them) up against the wall in combat is just asking for him (them) to rise to the occasion.

Speaking of rising, once they get within range thanks to the rock strike Naito pulls up short and rises a little to get out of range of any knife retaliation while Suigetsu slams first his bow down low to see if he can trip Rochalizo up in his run -- and then stabs up with the arrow.

Regardless of the outcome, he's going to follow up with what looks like an actual typhoon at point-blank range -- it might blow him back some, but Naito is there to buffer the recoil.]

[rochalizo doesn't quite fall again this time, but he doesn't manage to fully avoid suigetsu's stab, as it pierces into his shoulder. pain explodes, and rochalizo hisses—but he really doesn't have time before suigetsu fuckin. summons a typhoon.

he lets out a cry as the storm rages, wind whipping at him and threatening to knock him off his feet. still, before he can be sent flying, his first reaction is to reach out and try grab suigetsu's wrist with his free hand, because fuck you!]

[You can't really let your opponent have room to breathe in a battle to the death -- that's really the point when you get down to it, you keep pushing them as hard as you can until you can push them right over the cliff. That being said, Suigetsu has his own disadvantage here: up close and with Naito mostly out of the way his reflexes are slowed by the need to go off sound alone.

There's a yelp and a curse as they both get blown to kingdom come (or just across the place, but luckily not directly into the canal; or maybe it would have been luckier for him if they did land in it?).]

You are really startin' to get on my nerves, curly!

[I don't know which hand Rochalizo grabbed but he has a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other and he's going to use the free hand to whack at the grip on his wrist. Watch your fingers.

Let's just ignore that sensation of weightlessness for now. Surely it's fine.]

[honestly, his hair's probably getting less curly by the day, because they're not natural ):

anyway. rochalizo's trying to slash at suigetsu while they're in close quarters, but as suigetsu hits him, he lets go.

the typhoon can't keep them in the air forever, and so rochalizo slams into the ground; he's not un-agile, but despite his best attempts, he doesn't manage a proper landing. there's another cry as he feels something in his torso crack, but adrenaline pushes him through into sitting up. it's not the easiest of feats, though, between the pain and being drenched from the typhoon, the water in his clothes weighing him down.

suigetsu, where is suigetsu—he has to keep moving.]

[There's a snarl as he takes that slash mostly on his forearm -- it could be worse, he still has an arm at least, but there's blood on both of them now and it's all getting mixed up in the typhoon too. (This is a blood mist joke because why not.)

Also the reason he still has an arm is because... he's being pulled away by some unknown force from his target?? Naito makes a somewhat concerned noise and floats on up towards him -- or maybe they're both being floated up at this point??

And up... and up...

]

Uh. What the hell...?

[His back finally bumps something invisible in the air (a gentle pushback from the barrier, though it's not especially helpful, hm) and his daemon swishes up against it at the same time.

They are now 30 feet in the air. ☆ Flying shark real.]

[okay, what the fuck. rochalizo stares for a moment, because ????

but he hears someone yelling, as he forces himself to half-get up. maybe he should've picked the bow and arrow after all? no, his aim would be terrible like this.

instead, after he grabs his knife from where he dropped it by reflex, he moves over to where the rock that suigetsu threw at him is. and then, he yeets it at suigetsu's face. it probably doesn't have its homing properties anymore (at least, not for him), but whatever, he's doing his best!!]

[YOUR aim, what about HIS aim, man.

Suigetsu is grumbling and shaking his head because keeping up with Naito in the air is a bit of a difficult proposition at this point -- there are options, but there are a lot of things happening very fast at once, including but not limited to:

1. Rochalizo throwing a rock at him. It is a good throw! He is a little lower down so it can doink him. He makes a face.

2. A second rock (NEW!) materializes, nyooms at Suigetsu, bounces off the shark that tries to get in the way (ow) and beans him in the head (double ow). There's a yelp.

3. Suigetsu properly loses his temper because you know what.]

Okay, you know what, that's enough already!!!

[Just going to nock an arrow and fire at roughly wherever that first rock came from.]

[AND THEN ALPHINAUD GETS THROWN?? OW??? He drops his next arrow in surprise and there will be a minor reprieve from attacks because wow?? Now he's woozy and curling up around his midsection. Nice. That being said, he's lost his temper and that is always A Time.

A tiny violin appears and plays Despacito.]

Edited 2021-10-17 19:51 (UTC)

[throwing off his drenched cape, rochalizo dodges the arrow. looking up at suigetsu, while half-trying to find the rock again, he gauges the distance. too far? or...

the typhoon's dying. maybe now's a good time to—?

and then suddenly, he stops. it'll be hard to tell what exactly is happening from an outside perspective, save for that the fire fades from rochalizo's eyes. but kaeya, at least, will feel a sense of hopelessness through their tether.

[linkin park music plays]

(i feel like i should clarify that it's not literally playing because that seems like something fyre and i might do at this point)

but with the newfound sense of sorrow, the adrenaline starts to wear off, as rochalizo crumples from the pain.]

[They are seriously both on their last legs here.

Preeetty sure his wounds got some real bad jostling there, and while he's got arrows it's going to be a real hard time firing them. That said, everything else is wearing off along with the typhoon; that means Suigetsu and his daemon are feeling the beginnings of a drop. Naito can cushion some of it, but...

Well, he still doesn't sound quite panicked when he calls out:]

Real quiet now, aren'tcha, curly? [and to the audience] Think you've got me now, don'tcha?

[There's a long laugh, a ridiculous cackle that probably hurts considering everything, but hey. Why not. It's the eleventh hour, and he--]

[Reaches down for his coin.

A gigantic Alpha Crab bursts into existence in the middle of the execution area, sending up sprays of water from the canal and dirt from the ground. Suigetsu, still cackling unhelpfully, lands lightly on its head.

The crab wiggles its tiny little eyes... looks around... and then ponderously begins to swipe its large pincers at Rochalizo on the ground. Hm.]

[um.]

What the—!?

[unfortunately, in his utter sense of despair, rochalizo's movements are sluggish, and so he doesn't move out of the way in time. a claw slams into him, efore he hits the ground again. Pain flares throughout his entire chest as he lets out another cry.

(sorry, kaeya!)

but then—

again, only kaeya will truly be able to feel it, as the hopelessness dissipates. or, in the wise words of snow:

he can do this. he has to. both him and suigetsu are soaked, but the typhoon is gone, with no more winds or rain pushing back at him. suigetsu isn't too far from him.

wheezing as he coughs up flecks of blood, he pushes himself back up in an attempt to stand on his feet again.]

Yeah! Go for it, Alpha Crab!!

[Suigetsu out here being a crab rave cheer squad. His daemon does a little loop-de-loop in its bubble, hovering carefully out of reach of the pincers -- the crab is large, and kind of clumsy, and you never know.

Anyway, since Rochalizo seems to have possibly stopped moving, Suigetsu is going to nock up an arrow again and have a go at his last known location--

]

Hah...?!

Ow, ow, hey! What's the big idea?!?

[Sadly he is not getting the full effect of this, because there is no other way to put it: the crab rave has gone full literal and the Alpha Crab is now dancing in place, waving and wiggling its overlarge pincers like it's at the discorustacean club.

.... It is not a very good dancer, but he can't really see that anyway, so it's just going to get inflicted on everyone else. Too bad??

He is way too busy trying to stay on, so maybe it's a good time for Rochalizo to make his last stand.]

[he is. not going to question why the crab is dancing. he is in too much pain and too exhausted for this.

unfortunately, adrenaline can keep him going only for so long, especially when he's losing blood from his shoulder wound. he collapses to the ground again, and despite his attempts to push himself back up, he stays there.

he has to act. suigetsu might be blind, but that has't handicapped him enough. if he regains his footing and manages to fire an arrow, it's over—]

[... but he doesn't really need to stand for this, at least.

gritting his teeth through the pain, half-pushed up off the ground, he mutters,]

Goodbye, Suigetsu.

[like he said at the start, he'll be taking his life.

the air crackles, and then—electricity manifests around them, as if through magic, before it flies towards suigetsu and the crab, sending the canal alight.]

[Ah.

Lightning, lightning, lightning.

You can see it coming (in this case, you really can't), but it's not like you can run from it, especially when you are literally water -- he still isn't, not anymore, not right now, but his daemon sure is. Oops. He's also fairly drenched from shenanigans earlier and on top of a crab that's also halfway in the canal; the canal is also halfway on the crab and on shore.

It's a death trap, as surely as anything: even the Land of Thunder wasn't quite as annoying as all this.

He probably has his mouth open to say something else -- he always does. But there's just the sweep and crackle of lightning and it's hard to tell which scream is the crab, which one is Naito's in his head (can sharks scream? they can scream internally, maybe), and which one is his own. Yep, a familiar sensation for somebody who isn't all that familiar with physical injury: burning and burning and burning, inside and outside and all around. This is also what it means to be a Houzuki: you really do prefer the fire to the frying pan.

(Sorry Alphinaud!)

The magic is blinding and neverending, goes on and on for what seems like ages--]

Edited 2021-10-17 20:44 (UTC)

[(Also somewhere upon a very unhappy crab's back, there's a whole mess of shards, glass reflecting the dance of thunder to infinity and almost drowning out the last and inexplicable memory left behind by a terribly inexplicable boy.

It syncs up with Flat's beatboxing, somehow, because this is totally an appropriate requiem. ☆)

Everything clears in a cloud of steam and flash-cooked crab, with one very flash-cooked corpse and pile of Dust 'pon its back.

Suigetsu Houzuki is dead.]

remember

and dust you shall become in the end

The Watchers step forward in unison as the barrier falls, the same as they had with the verdict against Suigetsu. Their reactions vary - Baraqiel's earlier humor fading fast, Suriel standing in quiet anger, and Shamsiel will continue to be silent and look away, but it's clear to them that this is the end.

The winds have died down from the typhoon, and it's safe to enter the plaza now, but the air remains charged from the final blow and the remnant of, uh, memories. Naito shimmers into golden Dust, fading on the wind as the bubble of water encasing him becomes nothing more than water in the canal. The knife and bow and arrow both disappear much like the glass had after they were chosen, and it seems like nothing will be left behind.

And that includes the executed, Suigetsu's body turning to Dust like much his daemon - and then there's nothing left, save for the remains of the crab.

Suigetsu Houzuki is, indeed, dead.

The laughter from before returns, echoing, before the unknown but newly familiar voices turn to song again:

given the option of power or death,
the choice is clear; it only takes one breath.
to see a fight off with laughs and no remorse,
perhaps falling now was a just matter of course.
and though he stands tall to fight to the last,
goodbye, good riddance. your time here has passed.

After the Dust clears, and the song ends with more of that laughter, the Watchers will disappear in a shift of space around them. Rochalizo and Philia are left alone in the heart of the plaza with their victory feast.

[rochalizo is

just collapsing back to the ground. he has an arrow sticking out of his shoulder and probably a broken rib or punctured lung what do you want from him.

enjoy your crab, everyone!!]

[ NYOOMING TO THIS FUCKIN TWINK AS FAST AS SHE CAN GO ]

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REMEMBER -

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